Where shall we

start?

Let’s start with Percy Massingham. Why? Well, we have to start somewhere and for us to look at our shared family history we need a shared ancestor. He will be a grandfather, great grandfather, great great grandfather or someone you’ve never heard of! Don’t worry, by the end of our story, you’ll know who he is and who many people you’ve never heard of are.

We can learn a lot from this information. We know who his father and mother were, when and where he was born, where he lived and who his wife and children were and finally how long he lived for. Do you know any of his children? Can you see how you are related? What’s missing? We have dates and places and new people, but we don’t know anything about him, his life, what he was like. We want to know the family history. For instance, what was his job? Was he involved in the Great War (as it’s called) of 1914-1918? Yes, we can see from the information above. Did he play sports, did he smoke, did he like beer now and again? Was he a gardener? Did he drive? Some of us know the answers as he was here with us, but as we progress back in time, these sorts of questions will usually remain a mystery. This is why every generation should ask questions of those living in their wide family, so we can preserve our family history. Does he look like anyone in your family? He’s a handsome chap. He never spoke about his service, which was typical of many young men whose experiences must have been awful. We do know that when he was in the trenches, a shell exploded nearby and he was buried for some time. He survived, of course. What about some of the questions raised earlier? He loved cricket, he smoked a pipe when was older, he liked sherry but there was a well stocked drinks cabinet. He had a wonderful rose garden and he didn’t drive. What’s missing? His job. He was what is called a journeyman master butcher. A successful apprenticeship made him into a journeyman and a during a long career he eventually became a master. We’ll find out soon why he became a butcher. The most important thing to remember about Percy is that without him, none of us would be here! He is our shared ancestor, our starting point. This is why we are starting with him.