Thursday, February 24, 2022

John Littleboy and Ann Fenn

 John Littleboy married Anne Fenn on 29th January 1803 at St John the Baptist Church, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England.  They are my 5 times great grandparents.

Hillingdon is a suburban area within the London Borough of Hillingdon, situated 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex that originally included the market town of Uxbridge. The church of St John the Baptist stands at the top of Hillingdon Hill, at its junction with Royal Lane. It was built in 1629, replacing an earlier building deemed to have become unsafe. In 1846, the architect George Gilbert Scott was asked to design an extension, after the increasing population meant the church was becoming too cramped. This extension was completed between 1847 and 1848 by the Fassnidge builders from Uxbridge. The barrel roof of the chancel was renovated in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II. In 1964, a vestry was built on the north-eastern side of the church.[8] On 8 November 1940, a bomb fell on the south side of the church, damaging many of the windows on the south and east sides of the church. The windows were repaired following the end of the Second World War.  Below are two photos, one a sketch of the church in the 1600's and one much more recent.


Thursday, March 25, 2021

William Stettler in the Aust. National Archives

  Recently we decided to head to Canberra to see a fabulous art exhibition that included Van Gogh's Sunflowers.  What a fabulous painting it is, it illuminates the room!  At the same time I wanted to find out why William Stettler was court marshalled in WW2.


Thursday, April 25, 2019

The real Stalag Xlll

Stalag 13 was on the outskirts of Hammelburg, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Frankfurt. During World War I, the camp was used to house Allied prisoners of war. In the summer of 1940, the southern end of the camp was prepared for prisoners of war from the enlisted ranks. The camp was called Stammlager XIII C, or Stalag XIII C for short, and wooden barracks were built to house POWs of a variety of nationalities.

Map of location of Stalag 13