Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 4d

The names were once carefully painted in gold - and now fifteen young men from a forgotten WW2 memorial are remembered again 🌹
#LestWeForget #WW2 #KentHistory #RollofHonour

funnywherelifetakesyou.org/2025/10/17/e...

Each Name a Story: The Lives Behind a Forgotten War Memorial

Fifteen young men, lost too soon, rediscovered from a forgotten Second World War memorial in Rochester. These are stories of courage, sacrifice, and the people behind the names

funnywherelifetakesyou.org

1 2 16

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 6d

⚠️ SCAM WARNING! ⚠️
Fake DWP “Winter Fuel Payment 2025–26” texts are doing the rounds. If you get one:
- Don’t click it
- Report it by forwarding to 7726 and delete the message

The real DWP will never text a link to apply for payments...
#ScamAlert #DWP #WinterFuelPayment

Screenshot of a scam text message claiming to be from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The message says the recipient qualifies for a “Winter Fuel Assistance 2025–2026” payment of £200–£300 and includes a spurious link to https://dwp.confirmationnow.qpon/uk. The text urges the user to apply before 15 October 2025 but it’s a phishing scam.

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 6d

Having researched all 15 names on a local WW2 memorial, currently hidden away in storage. I was shocked how few died in direct combat. Many of these young men died as a result of accidents, misadventure, or the hidden dangers of war - yet each life mattered 🌹
#WW2 #LestWeForget #LocalHistory

colour photo of The Kent Electric Power Co 1939-1945 Roll of Honour listing 15 names, initials, rank, and service:
Bennett, A A.B R.N
Bradley, R G SGT/Obs R.A.F.
Chaston, T W SGT/W.Op R.A.F.
Clegg, R A CPL R.A.C
Derrick, A J F/O R.A.F.
Foster, R C L.A.C. R.A.F.
Harris, A T Sig R.N.
Hulme, J F/O R.A.F.
Jarrett, J S F/SGT R.A.F.
Kelly, E F C PTE R.W.K.
Kemsley, H CPL R.E.K.
Quarrinton, S B A.B R.N
Seagar, I SGT R.A.F.
Taylor, C W L.A.C. R.A.F.
Walkinshaw, C V SGT R.A.F.

2 5

Reposted by Natalie P

Society for One-Place Studies @oneplacestudies.bsky.social · 6d

Come and meet us (and many #FamilyHistory societies and vendors) at the Oxfordshire Family History Society Family History Fair on Saturday 25 Oct 2025. 10am to 4pm at Cherwell School (North Site), Oxford. Free entry, free parking, and chance to chat about #OnePlaceStudies!

#OnePlaceWednesday

Society for One-Place Studies.
Come and meet us.
Saturday 25 October 10:00 to 16:00 at Oxfordshire FHS family history fair, Cherwell School, Oxford.
Free entry!
www.ofhs.uk/fair2025
One-Place Studies, where family history and local history unite.

7 7

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 6d

Able Seaman (Gunner) Sidney Benjamin Quarrinton, a former electricity meter reader aged 24, was lost at sea on 23 Aug 1941 🌹 His ship, MV Stork, carrying aviation fuel to Gibraltar, was torpedoed. Just 3 of 22 crew aboard survived.
#WW2 #MerchantNavy #LostAtSea #WeWillRememberThem

1 1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 6d

Just reconnected with a cousin in Australia after 50+ years and he sent this photo - my great-grandad and grandad!! Never seen it before, but my grandad's grin explains everything about our family’s love of motorsports 😄 #FamilyHistory #Genealogy #Ancestry #OldPhoto #VintageMotorcycle

c. 1920s photo of a moustached middle aged man wearing a trilby hat, shirt and tie, and three piece suit, rides pillion behind a grinning young man with flat cap, shirt but no tie, and three piece suit.

1 16

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 6d

Well, I’m clearly a dinosaur as not seen this before but laughed stupidly… thank you @alliethinks.bsky.social for brightening my evening 😂

1 2

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 8d

Amongst the lasting monuments at the National Memorial Arboretum, a dew-covered web against autumn leaves reminded me of how wonderful yet fragile life is...

A close-up of a dew-covered spider web hanging from the branch of a tree with autumn leaves at the National Memorial Arboretum

1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 9d

The Rock Garden at Chatsworth House in autumn. Created by Joseph Paxton in 1842 and redesigned in 2018
#SeasonalSplendour #AutumnColours #ChatsworthHouse #JosephPaxton

The Rock Garden at Chatsworth House on a beautifully clear autumn day, with red and green foliage colours reflected in the still water of the pond

2

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 10d

Three sleeping cherubs at Chatsworth House – the loveliest thing I’ve seen all day 🤍
#Chatsworth #Art #Sculpture #Cherubs

Marble sculpture of three sleeping cherubs, their wings folded as they rest intertwined on a circular plinth. Displayed in Chatsworth House.

1 4

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 18d

🇮🇪⚔️ From frostbite at Sevastopol to near-miraculous survival in India: Joseph Twohey’s extraordinary story ends with Hayling Island’s first full military funeral in 1913 (image generated by AI)

#FamilyHistory #CrimeanWar #IndianMutiny #MilitaryHistory

funnywherelifetakesyou.org/2025/10/03/l...

Luck of the Irish

Joseph Twohey (1837?–1913) an Irish-born soldier whose career spanned Crimea, India, and near-miraculous survival, honoured with Hayling’s first military funeral

funnywherelifetakesyou.org

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 24d

How a painstaking investigation eventually solved a 100-year-old mystery by identifying two missing Scottish soldiers. #WW1 #BattleofLoos #WarDetectives #LestWeForget

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How the war detectives solved the mystery of two missing Scottish soldiers

How a small, dedicated team identified two Scots who died more than 100 years ago in Northern France.

www.bbc.co.uk

1 4

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 25d

2nd great-grandfather owned a shop for the British in Italy pre-WW1. Just found this advert from 1908 with "prime quality Tennis Balls in stock" 😂 What else could one possibly need!!...

Extract from a newspaper advert from 1908 from the Journal de Bordighera showing the extensive range of produce sold by The British Stores, Bordighera, proprietor Chas. R Collingwood.

1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · 27d

Corporal Henry Kemsley, 2nd Battalion The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), went missing during the rearguard action near Dunkirk, 31 May - 1 June 1940 🌹 He was later identified and lies in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, France #WW2 #Dunkirk #TheBuffs #WeWillRememberThem

1 2

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 18

Sounds like a dramatic day, but worth the aggravation - eventually…

1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 10

esplanadefriends.org.uk/projects/roc...

Rochester Pier Temporarily Closed

We've had to close the pier for important safety inspections and potential remedial work which may take several weeks to complete.

esplanadefriends.org.uk

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 10

But Rochester Pier is currently closed…🤔

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 10

13 names researched now, and the trend continues:
- lost at sea after ship was sunk
- crashed when aircraft got entangled in a barrage balloon cable
- aircraft crashed into high ground on a delivery flight
- initially reported as missing but later identified and reburied in a military cemetery

1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 10

Ernest Frederick Campbell Kelly, aged 24 of Gillingham, 1st Btn Royal West Kent Regt, was KIA in Tunisia on 29 April 1943 🌹

First listed as missing, he was later identified and reburied at Massicault Military Cemetery close to Jack Jarrett (above)
#WW2 #RoyalWestKent #WeWillRememberThem

1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 10

Another young life lost not in combat: Warrant Officer Jack Sydney Jarrett, RAF, aged 22 from Chatham, killed with his crew when the Marauder bomber they were delivering accidentally crashed in Tunisia, 25 May 1944 🌹
#WW2 #RAF #WarHistory #Kent #LestWeForget

1 2

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 9

Now this :-( www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Westbury White Horse checked for any England flag damage

Red fabric which was draped over the

www.bbc.co.uk

1 1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 9

"trip trap trip trap over the rickey bridge..."

4

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 3

F/O John Hulme, 24, from Gillingham, KIA 9 Sep 1944 when his Short Stirling (designed and built in nearby Rochester) crashed on Texel, Netherlands, returning from an SOE mission. 3 crew died, 4 survived. Another young life lost in war, not in direct combat 🌹
#WW2 #RAF #ShortBrothers #ShortStirling

1 1

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Sep 2

⚠️ Never buy Kentish cobnuts without checking you own a nutcracker... I tried using a rolling pin to crack 'em … Who needs Netflix when you can watch cobnuts ricochet around the kitchen? 🤣🥜

1 1 5

Natalie P @tamoralady.bsky.social · Aug 31

In April 1942 HMS Cornwall was sunk by Japanese bombers in the Bay of Bengal.
192 men died, including 25-year-old Able Seaman Arthur Thomas Harris of Rochester.
He has no grave but is named on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

#WW2 #KentHistory #RoyalNavy #ChathamNavalMemorial #WW2History #LestweForget

1