Author: kira0030

St John Ambulance Cadets

kira0030

I was going through a box of memorabilia tonight when I came across my St John Ambulance cadet certificates and badges.  I think I was missing a couple of service stripes for my years as a cadet.  I remember doing the drill and training but not so much the exams.  I loved the events that we went to to provide first aid support to the senior officers.  We went to agricultural shows, the Schützenfest at Hahndorf, South Australia and Christmas Pageants.  As it says in the Wikipedia link the Schützenfest was held in mid summer resulting in many cases of too much to drink, heatstroke and extreme sunburn for us to treat.

 

Our uniform was a white dress and black beret with a grey wool cape for winter.  It wasn’t very practical at all.  Thankfully in later years it changed so that women could wear trousers.  The below photos show cadets from another South Australian country town, during the time I was a cadet.  I couldn’t find pictures of my own cadet division online.

 

The Ancestral Places Geneameme

kira0030

Thanks to Alona from Lone Tester for this geneameme.  Using the alphabet how many letters can you name ancestral places for?

  • A – Adelaide, South Australia (Willison, Scadden, Buring)
  • B – Berlin, Prussia (Buring)
  • C – Cornwall, England (Scadden)
  • D – Draughton, Northamptonshire, England (Heeps)
  • E – Elmore, Victoria, Australia (Heeps, Boyd)
  • F – Flaxley, South Australia (Willison)
  • G – Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Welsh)
  • H – Hindmarsh, South Australia (Willison)
  • I – Ireland (Plunkett, Hayward)
  • J – Jamaica (Carousa, Caransa)
  • K – Kettering, Northamptonshire, England (Bodger)
  • L – Littlehampton, South Australia (Weller, Wigzell)
  • M – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Welsh)
  • N – Nottinghamshire, England (Wigley)
  • O – Oxford, England (Tibbatts)
  • P – Prussia, Germany (Buring)
  • Q – Queenstown, South Australia (Welsh)
  • R – Richmond, South Australia (Chapman, Weller)
  • S – Scotland (Reid, Willison, Burnett, Boyd)
  • T – Tylden, Victoria, Australia (Humphrey)
  • U –
  • V – Victoria, Australia (Heeps, Boyd)
  • W – Westminster, Middlesex, England (Chamberlain)
  • X –
  • Y –
  • Z –

Preparing For The Researching Abroad Roadshow

kira0030

How do you prepare before attending a workshop or conference?  I haven’t always done this as well as I could have so this time I would like to be more prepared.  The two principal speakers are Chris Paton and Dirk Weissleder.  Chris will be speaking on the UK and Ireland and Dirk on Germany.  I have ancestors from all of these areas so their presentations will have significance for me.

It’s easy to look at a conference program and be overwhelmed by all the talks on offer.  I’ve done here what I’ve previously done with the OzComicCon program.  I pull out the main speakers and topics I am interested in. Below are the presentations from Chris and Dirk the key speakers.  This is taken from the Adelaide roadshow program.

Chris Paton

  • British and Irish Newspapers
  • Scottish Research Resources Before 1800
  • British Censuses and Substitutes
  • Irish Family History Resources Online

Dirk Weissleder

  • Primary and Secondary Sources on Genealogy in
    Germany
  • Introduction to European Research
  • The International German Genealogical Partnership
  • Archives, Libraries and Institutions for Genealogical
    Researchers in Germany

I will also review the information I have on my Scottish, Irish and German ancestors and make notes to take with me of surnames, era of dates of birth, and birth places/counties or parishes. Eg. Buring/Biering, Berlin, Prussia early 1800s.  Willison, Galston, Ayrshire, Scotland. Reid, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 1800s.

What I will do next is prepare any questions, I might have, for the speakers.  It’s best to ask generic questions at a presentation and keep specific questions for one on one time. Eg. What might have happened to an ancestor if they disappear from records in 1840s in Germany?

Lots of other bloggers have mentioned the things to take to a conference so here are just a few: pencil, notebook, drink bottle, fully charged electronic gadgets, comfortable clothes and business or geniecards.

I’m looking forward to two great days of learning, catching up with friends and meeting new people.

DNA Results

kira0030

I woke up this morning to find that my DNA results are in and one person has contacted me already!!  I’m excited to get stuck in to checking out all the matches and following the leads they bring!  I chose Ancestry DNA because I’m already an avid Ancestry user and also because I can download my raw results and upload them to other DNA testing providers such as Family Tree DNA to get even more matches and interpretation tools.

Hopefully there will be more blog posts to come about my matches and the knocking down of brick walls.

Unlock The Past Roadshow

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This is the first time I’ve been an ambassador* for a genealogy event.  I’m excited to be attending the roadshow in Adelaide to hear Chris Paton, Dirk Weissleder and other presenters speak.  I have both Scottish and German heritage so this event is perfect for me.

The Adelaide event is on the 23rd and 24th August, 9:00 to 4:30 at The German Club, 223 Flinders Street, Adelaide.

To book your ticket go here http://www.unlockthepast.com.au/events/researching-abroad-british-isles-european-ancestors-adelaide scroll down to the middle of the page and click Book Now.

The full Adelaide program can be found here and the dates and times for all other locations here.

*As an ambassador I receive a complimentary ticket to Researching Abroad: Finding European & British Isles Ancestors.

Uncle Bill

kira0030

There are many stories I could tell about my Uncle Bill.  I was reminded of one yesterday when I visited a friend who has backyard chooks (chickens).

Bill Willison

President of Southern Districts Poultry Club Bill Willison on right.

We had chooks at our house also and Dad and Uncle Bill often gave some to each other.  I had a pet bantam I named Wobbles because it had a deformed foot.  Now one night Uncle Bill came to pick up some bantam hens from Dad.  It’s easiest to catch them at night when they are roosting.  You can probably guess what happened.  Wobbles was picked up with the other bantams and taken to Uncle Bill’s.  I was heartbroken the next day when I went to feed the chooks and Wobbles wasn’t there.  I don’t recall how old I was at the time maybe about seven or eight.  All was made right again though when Uncle Bill returned Wobbles shortly thereafter.  So many fond memories of my uncle, William Henry Willison.