Fenland Family History Research

09/01/2026

BENJAMIN BLUNT 1888 - 1918

Benjamin Blunt was born in Walpole St Peter, Norfolk on 6 July 1888. The son of Thomas and Elizabeth Rebecca Blunt, he was the seventh of ten children although two died in childhood. His older siblings were Harriet (8), Robert (7), Frederick (5), and Ethel (2). Benjamin was baptised on 3 August 1888 in St Peter’s Church. His birth was registered as Benjamin though his name was recorded as Ben Willie at baptism and Benjamin William on his death certificate.

A younger brother, William, was born in 1890, and when the census was taken in 1891, the Blunt family were living in the Fen outside the village of Terrington St John, close to the railway station. Benjamin’s father was working as an agricultural labourer. Two younger sisters, Mabel and Elizabeth, were born in 1894 and 1896 respectively.
In 1901 the family were living in the Barracks, Tilney All Saints. Thomas was employed as a yardman on a farm and Benjamin’s two older brothers, Robert and Frederick were farm horse keepers. At 12 years of age, Benjamin would have not long finished his education.

By 1911, the family had moved again and were living in Marshland Fen, Emneth. Their residence is noted as having six rooms and was housing seven adults and one child. Thomas, Frederick, Benjamin, and William were all employed as farm labourers, Harriet as a cook, and Ethel a domestic servant.

In 1916, aged 28, Benjamin enlisted as a gunner in D Battery of the 189 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. His service number was 124405. The horse drawn Artillery was deployed close to the front line.

In May 1917 Benjamin spent 5 days in No 2 General Hospital receiving treatment for diarrhoea. He returned to service on 14 May 1917.

Having been shot in the thigh, Benjamin was transported to the Queen’s Military Hospital in Whalley, Lancashire. Previously the County asylum, the hospital opened in 1915. Benjamin would have arrived at the hospital via its own railway siding, with many of the injured troops that arrived having come straight from the front with their uniforms still covered in mud.

Sadly, on 9 January 1918, Benjamin, aged 29, died as a result of the gunshot wound, thrombosis and septicaemia. He was buried in Tilney St Lawrence Churchyard and is commemorated on the Marshland St James War Memorial.

09 January 2024

09/01/2026

08/01/2026

If there’s one question in your family history that keeps resurfacing, this is the perfect time to get it answered.

The Tailored Research service gives you:
✨ One genealogy problem solved with expert care
✨ A clear explanation of what actually happened
✨ Reliable records and context you can trust
✨ Emotional relief from years of uncertainty

Start the year with clarity – send me the puzzle and I’ll take it from there.

07/01/2026

ROBERT CHARLES WINTER 1913 - 1943

Robert Charles Winter was born on 4 January 1913 in Leverington, Cambridgeshire. Named after his father, although known as Charlie, he was the youngest of seven children of Robert Charles and Ellen Winter. His older siblings were John (10), twins, Annie and Gladys (8), Edith (6), Emmie (4), and George (2).(Previous generations had alternated between the use of Winter and Winters; the S was dropped permanently in the 20th century.)

When the 1921 census was taken, the Winter family were living in Main Road, Parson Drove, between Cherry Tree House and the Police House. Robert senior was a blacksmith working from home and his eldest brother, John, was an apprentice blacksmith. Robert, Emmie and George were recorded as being at school the “whole time”.

Robert was listed in the local trade directory dated 1931 as follows:
Parson Drove, Wisbech Engineer - Agricultural Winter, Robert Charles
Just before the start of the Second World Ward, Robert was still living with his parents in Main Road with his father still working as a Blacksmith, and Robert as a drainage engineering labourer.

On 17 February 1940 Robert married Annie Benstead at Murrow. Their only daughter, Nancy, was born on 21 April 1942 in Sutton St Edmund, Lincolnshire.

Despite having a reserved occupation, Robert enlisted and served as a Sapper, Service No. 2156546, in the 585th Field Park Company of the Royal Engineers. A field park company was a unit of the Royal Engineers that provided an infantry with heavy equipment, workshop, and stores. In July 1942, the unit began preparations to take part in the landings in North Africa.

At the beginning of 1943 the SS Benalbanach, a Ben Line 7,152-ton passenger/cargo ship, was carrying 389 men, and a crew of 74, from the Clyde to Bona, North Africa. Robert was one of those men. On 7th January 1943, situated north-west of Algiers, the SS Benalbanach was hit by two torpedoes launched from enemy aircraft. The ship caught fire, blew up and sank almost immediately taking the lives of 57 crew members and 340 troops. Robert Charles, who had turned 30 just three days previously, was sadly one of the men who lost their lives that day. His body was never recovered.

Robert is commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial in Surrey (Panel 7, Column 20) as well as the Parson Drove war memorial on the village green and the Sutton St Edmund war memorial located at the top of Cross Road.



SS BENALBANACH
(January 7, 1943) The Ben Line 7,152 ton passenger/cargo ship sunk north-west of Algiers by enemy aircraft. She was carrying 389 men of a Motor Transport unit and a crew of 74, from the Clyde to Bona, North Africa. The Benalbanach was hit by two torpedoes launched from enemy aircraft. The ship caught fire, blew up and sank almost immediately taking the lives of 57 crewmembers and 340 troops. Her commander, Captain MacGregor, died in the water just as he was about to be rescued.

Convoys in the Mediterranean were subjected to the same harassment
they got on the Murmansk run. Typical was that of a 13-ship convoy
bound to Philippeville, Algeria, in January 1943. On 7 January
German reconnaissance planes shadowed the convoy but were chased
away by British Hurricanes. Two hours later Junkers 87s started
torpedo runs on the convoy, and at the same time a flight of dive
bombers attacked. The William Wirt, carrying 16,000 cases of
aviation gasoline, was the first ship in the convoy to open fire and
before the attack ended had sent four bombers into the sea. One of
the planes shot down by the Wirt put a bomb into a hold filled with
drums of gasoline, but it failed to explode. Another one shot down
by the Wirt flamed into a Norwegian freighter astern of her and set
it on fire. That ship exploded and sank. At the same time the
British ship Benalbanach, carrying American troops, was torpedoed.
She exploded and sank within a few minutes. Many soldiers jumped
overboard from the burning ship only to be killed by depth-charge
concussion. Another plane set on fire by the Wirt's fighting gunners
pulled out of a dive and stalled just above the bridge of the ship,
then crashed into the water. Two bombs near-missed the ship and a
third hit and flooded number four hold, but she stayed with the
convoy.

07/01/2026

You know that moment when you sit down to ‘quickly look’ at your family tree… and suddenly it’s midnight?
You’ve gone down seven rabbit holes, your eyes hurt, and you’re no closer to finding the answer you wanted.

The truth is, family history research looks simple until you’re actually doing it.
Records contradict each other. Names repeat. Spellings change. People disappear.
And you’re left staring at the screen wondering how on earth anyone solves these things.

That’s exactly why I offer Tailored Research.
You hand me one question, the one that’s been bothering you for years, and I follow the trail properly, carefully, and with full research methodology.

If January has you wanting clarity, this is your sign.
You don’t have to do it alone.

05/01/2026

There’s a moment so many people don’t talk about.
It happens quietly, usually late in the evening, when the house is finally still and you’ve carved out ten precious minutes to “just have a quick look” at your family history. You type in a name, maybe your grandmother’s maiden name, and you press search with a little flutter of hope.

And then… nothing.
Or too many results.
Or results that absolutely do not belong to your family.

And suddenly you’re staring at the screen thinking, Why is this so complicated? Why does everyone else seem to be uncovering their ancestors with ease while I’m drowning in William Smiths and census pages that look like they’ve been chewed by time itself?

If this is you, I want you to know something important:
You’re not doing it wrong.
It’s just genuinely hard.

Family history research looks simple from the outside. But once you're in it? The spellings change, the dates don’t match, people move villages with no explanation, generations reuse the same names, and entire branches vanish into illegible handwriting.

You start out curious and hopeful…
And within half an hour, you’re quietly frustrated, a little embarrassed to admit defeat, and feeling that same weight of “I should be able to do this myself.”

But here’s the truth: most people can’t.
Not because they’re not smart enough, or dedicated enough, or interested enough…
But because this work requires training, pattern recognition, access, and experience. It takes knowing how to follow the clues that aren’t obvious, how to distinguish the right John Brown from twenty near-identical ones, and how to decode the messy context that official records never explain.

Tailored Research exists exactly for this moment, the moment you realise you don’t need the entire family tree handled, just the one puzzle that’s been quietly bothering you for years.

Maybe it’s:
• a missing great-grandmother
• a rumour about an unknown father
• a military ancestor who seemed to disappear
• a place of birth that never quite adds up
• a branch that stops abruptly with no explanation

Whatever your puzzle is, there’s a reason it feels unresolved:
It’s pulling at you.
It’s asking to be seen.
It holds a story that matters to you and your family more than you realise.

January is a month of clarity, of organising, tying up loose ends, beginning again with intention. And Tailored Research is the perfect way to step into the new year with one big question finally answered.

And here’s what people often tell me afterwards:
The relief isn’t just in the answer.
It’s in finally understanding the truth, the real, human, nuanced story behind the records.

You deserve that clarity.
You deserve to have this one piece of your family’s story handled with care and expertise so you can stop wondering and start knowing.

And the best part?
You don’t need to dedicate hours or become a genealogist overnight.
You simply hand me the question, and I follow the trail.
This New Year, let’s give you that moment of certainty.

02/01/2026

Imagine this: it’s a quiet January evening. The house has finally settled, the dishwasher hums in the background, and you’ve got that half-drunk cup of tea beside you – the one you meant to enjoy an hour ago. You open your laptop because you’ve promised yourself that this year you will finally start looking into your family history. Before your parents get any older. Before those stories slip away. Before another year passes and you find yourself feeling that familiar twinge of guilt for not doing it sooner.

And yet… the moment the screen lights up, your heart sinks a little.
Where do you even begin?

If you’re anything like the people I work with – capable people juggling work, ageing parents, and the emotional load of keeping family life stitched together – you’ve probably had this thought more than once. That quiet feeling of: “I should already have done this. I should know more. I should be the one keeping these memories alive.”

Maybe you’ve tried searching before – scrolling through faded census images at 10pm, eyes tired, feeling like everyone else on those family history forums seems miles ahead. Maybe you’ve typed your grandparents’ names into a record search box only to get strangers instead. Maybe you’ve clicked away because the overwhelm was just too much for that moment.

January is a funny month. It brings with it this mix of hope and reflection. A sense of starting fresh paired with the subtle ache of things we don’t want to lose. And for so many people, that feeling is tied to family – to where we’ve come from, what shaped us, and who we are becoming.

Here’s the thing I want you to know:
You don’t have to carry the weight of figuring it out alone.
The Heritage and Platinum Packages exist for people exactly like you – people who care deeply, who want to honour their parents or create something beautiful for their family, but who simply don’t have the time, the emotional space, or the research experience to do it themselves.

I take on the puzzle for you.
Every tangled branch.
Every missing piece.
Every confusing record that feels impossible to interpret.

And I do it with warmth, respect, and the understanding that these aren’t “just records”. They’re your people.

I’m not just collecting names. I’m uncovering their stories – where they lived, what they did for work, the choices they made, how they survived, what shaped them. I’m looking for the threads that connect you to them, the details that help you say, “Oh… that’s where that part of us comes from.”

If you’ve felt that quiet pull, the one that says, “I don’t want to wait another year”, this is your moment.
Not the moment to do it all yourself.
Just the moment to say yes to letting someone help you finally bring your family’s story to life.

💚 A gentle reminder as we begin this new year:
You are not behind.
You’re simply beginning at the moment that’s right for you.

01/01/2026

January is a beautiful time to finally honour the stories that shaped your family.

The Platinum Package gives you:
✨ Multiple family lines researched in depth
✨ Clear explanations of ancestry and connections
✨ A beautifully presented narrative you can share with your parents or children
✨ The comfort of having someone experienced take on the emotional and practical load
If you’ve been feeling the pull to understand your roots, or to gift something meaningful to your family, January is the perfect month to begin.

Send me a message and I’ll walk you through the next steps.

01/01/2026

A Christmas gift that brings family stories back to life

Every family has that one story we wish we knew more about.
A grandparent we never met.
A great-grandparent we’ve only heard whispers of.

The Discovery Gift Card was created from that quiet curiosity – to offer a gentle, heartfelt way to explore your family history.
This Christmas, you can give someone the chance to begin their journey with just one ancestor, one meaningful beginning.

For just £55, I’ll research the direct ancestors of one person, create a simple family tree (maximum of 4 generations), and write a short, personal ancestor overview to cherish.

A gift filled with care, memory, and meaning.
Order now to receive the gift card in time for Christmas.

Message me or visit https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/FYR4KGD9GATCU
to order

🎁 Tag someone who would love this!

The Discovery Gift Card is a meaningful way to give the gift of belonging. Each recipient shares details of a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent, and receives a beautifully written ancestor overview with a simply family tree - revealing basic details of their roots. Designed for thoughtful gi...

31/12/2025

Have you ever sat down and thought, ‘Right… this is the year I finally sort out our family history’?
You open your laptop, type in a name… and suddenly you’re staring at records that make absolutely no sense.
Or worse – no records at all.
You think, Have I left it too long? Should I have asked more questions?

I want you to know something. You haven’t left it too late.
Your family’s story is still there – waiting, ready, and full of details you’d never uncover alone.

If January stirs something in you, let’s honour it.

The Platinum Package gives you a complete, multi-line history researched with care, clarity, and the respect your family deserves.