By Martin Brisland. Photo: Mike Daish. Do you regard yourself as a Sotonian? Do you live in Soton? Have you ever wondered where these words come from? They are thought to have been first used by a former Southern Daily Echo editor Clarence Firbank Carr (1892-1979). Echo journalists found...
Heritage
Heritage: Legacy of the Spanish Civil War
By Martin Brisland. In May 1937 the SS Habana arrived in Southampton with nearly 4,000 child refugees from the Basque region of Northern Spain. They were escaping the Spanish Civil War and were put into a temporary camp off Chestnut Avenue, North Stoneham until that September. The Civil War...
Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices 1981 – 2000, October Books
Next month October Books in Portswood, Southampton, invites you to join author Rebecca Mordan for a talk about Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, her book, the organisation she founded and a few Greenham songs.As a child Rebecca visited Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp with her mother and was part...
Heritage: Southampton and the demon drink
By Martin Brisland. Many in Victorian England were concerned about the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. There were local and national efforts as part of the Temperance Movement to encourage moderation with alcohol. William Westlake was a prominent local Liberal politician and Quaker. He held Temperance teas for...
Applause review: Time and Tide, Maskers Theatre Company
By amateur theatre editor Martin Brisland. Some may think that the history of Southampton is boring but not when presented like this! Time and Tide is an excellent evening of stories, songs and sea shanties presented by the Maskers Theatre Company with the help of the Southampton Salty Sea...
Free walking tour explores Southampton’s migrant history this weekend
Picture by Mike Daish. This Sunday there’s a great opportunity to learn about Southampton’s vibrant migrant history. The tour, which takes place on, September 3rd, will be led by Tony Kushner, who teaches and researches in the Parkes Institute and the History Department of the University of Southampton. He...
Heritage: Pride past and present
by People’s Pride Southampton volunteer Frida Eliasson. Picture: Mike Daish. Pride has undergone a growth spurt since its inception in the UK, with the first Pride Parade being held on the 1st July 1972, marking the three-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This first parade garnered a modest turnout...
Heritage: Miss Newman and the Titanic Relief Fund, ‘the lady on the bike’
By Martin Brisland. Image with permission from Southampton City Council Cultural Services. The Titanic story is one that continues to fascinate 111 years after the event. Out of the 908 crew onboard, there were around 688 crew deaths. Sadly, 550 people with a Southampton address perished in the sinking...
Heritage: Southampton street names’ connections to Britain’s ignoble colonial past
by Martin Brisland. When you walk through the Bedford Place area of Southampton, have you ever realised that some of the street names are linked to Britain’s ignoble colonial past and the East India Company? Southampton was a minor port in the 1830s at the end of its time...
Heritage: the real life King and I story, and its links to Southampton
by Martin Brisland. The much-loved musical play, which has recently been at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre, and film tells the real-life story of the tempestuous relationship that develops between King Chulalongkorn of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British school teacher whom the King brings to Siam (Thailand) to teach his many...