Week 34: The Semliki Crossing

I have recently bought another book written/compiled by a Palin.  This particular 580 page book was compiled by the son of diary/journal entries made by his mother, father and grandfather.  One of the great things about this book was it also included plenty of great pictures. 

Week 33: 72 Years Ago

I remember one particular summer my mom had taken all of us kids to the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto.  This was an annual event but this one year I learned something new and very strange.  This year they had a large ship, HMCS HAIDA, in the harbour that was open to the public.  My mom dragged us on the ship.  I was possibly 10 years of age and did not want to go on some old ship – I wanted to go on the rides!

However once on the ship my mom had said something to a steward that caught my interest.  Her brother was on a similar type ship during the war and it sunk.  She asked if we could go down below to see where he might have worked and we all were led down to the bottom of the ship to see the boiler room. It seemed like forever to get there and it was small and dark and smelly.  My mom said that only reason that her brother survived was he was jettisoned to the surface in an air bubble as the ship sunk.  The steward looked at her in disbelief and I must confess, I could not picture that happening.  I never forgot that story and had always wondered if there was any truth to it or was it just a “tall tale”. 

Week 32: Mystery of Mary Eleanor Palin

So quite a few years ago a cousin had told me that it was rumored that my great Aunt Mary Eleanor Palin was good friend with Princess Marina of Greece that married Prince George, Duke of Kent.  We all know how “family stories” can be exaggerated or even totally fictional and so I took it with a grain of salt.

Princess Marina of Greece married Prince George, Duke of Kent on 29 November 1934 at Westminster Abbey

So I was totally shocked when another cousin emailed me proof of that connection.  However there is another side to this story and that is where there is a lot of mystery. 

Week 31: Crewe Works Fatality

It is sort of funny, in a weird way, how much time a family historian spends reading or searching for obituaries.  We can learn a lot from them.  You would normally see the deceased’s age at death, when they died and the survivors.  We could also possibly find out a little more about the deceased person, their interests, their hobbies and any club affiliations.

So I was truly surprised to find a full inquest into the death of one in our tree along with who all went to the funeral.  From a purely historical angle, it was also interesting to read how the inquest and the funeral proceeded.

  The Inquest is a tad graphic – you have been warned!