Glyn Davies John’s aim was to show that being British means that we are descendants of immigrants even if we do not like the present form of immigration. What do we think are symbols of Britishness? He showed a series of ‘British’ symbols: Winston Churchill, The Union Flag, The Coat of Arms, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The Tower of … Read more
The Lieutenancy is headed by the Lord-Lieutenant. One of his or her roles is to vet anyone who has been nominated for the Honours List. South Yorkshire is very under-represented on the Honours List compared with the London area. The Honours System originated in Tudor times and the Lord-Lieutenant is the Sovereign’s representative in the … Read more
Colin is an architect who was employed by Sheffield Council. He ran the property function of the Council with the aim of making the Council’s property work more efficiently. Colin was involved in the Heart of the City Project as architectural adviser from 1994. He explained that it is important to get the design of … Read more
Where did the medieval knight come from? Most people have seen suits of armor in museums, and even parish churches have carved effigies of knights on tombs, so the picture of a knight is well known. In England the first knights were Normans who came with William the Conqueror. They fought on horseback, unlike the Saxons who … Read more
Guy Penrose Gibson was born in Simla, British India on 12th August, 1918. He died at Steenberg, Holland on 19th September, 1944 aged 26. He is famous for taking part in Operation Chastise, better known as the ‘Dambusters Raid’. Tom Briggs first heard about Gibson, when he was 10, from Wilfred Pickles on his wireless … Read more
Josephine Butler (nee Grey) was born in Northumberland in 1828. Her father, John Grey, a land manager and farm reformer, was an anti-slavery campaigner. Josephine was brought up in an atmosphere committed to campaigning against slavery. In 1852 she married George Butler, who was a head teacher in a school for boys. He believed in … Read more