Author Archives: Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales

A valuable resource for genealogists and maritime historians alike has recently been made available on-line on the Library’s Full Catalogue. The Aberystwyth Shipping Records contain crew accounts and agreements (generally known as crew lists) and logbooks, together with associated papers … Continue reading →

This month sees the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first part of a report into the state of Britain’s railways written by Richard Beeching and commonly called the Beeching Report. This report called for a drastic reduction in … Continue reading →

David Lloyd George was born at Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, the son of William and Elizabeth George, on 17 January 1863.  This year, therefore, marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.  Although his background was by no means privileged, and he attended … Continue reading →

The poet Edward Thomas met one of the strangest deaths of the First World War.  On Easter Monday 1917, on the first morning of the Battle of Arras, a stray German shell passed so close to him that the rush … Continue reading →

Every now and again unexpected treasures which have accumulated over the years surprise and mesmerize staff and readers alike. I recently came across a single intricately embroidered leather gauntlet enclosed in an oval wooden case. A plaque in the box … Continue reading →

Our local supermarket is now full of Christmas chocolate, a reminder that another year will soon draw to a close. 2013 will be followed by 2014 and with it the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Some … Continue reading →

It is wonderful how a chance conversation can reveal an interesting connection.  I remarked casually to a friend that I was cataloguing some title deeds from Eglwys-bach, Denbighshire.  She replied that one of her acquaintances lived there, in a very … Continue reading →

One of the main attractions at this week’s National Eisteddfod in the Vale of Glamorgan will be the Gorsedd of the Bards of the Isle of Britain.  The institution was invented two hundred and twenty years ago by one of … Continue reading →

  Gareth Vaughan Jones was born at Barry on 13 August 1905, the son of Major Edgar and Annie Gwen Jones. He was educated at Barry County School, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Trinity College, Cambridge, gaining first … Continue reading →

Even to archivists familiar with medieval documents in their day to day work, seals have never been high on their list of priorities, neither in terms of describing them in detail nor in terms of undertaking conservation or preservation work … Continue reading →