Volume 6, Number 1 2003 

Family & Community History

Contents

Editorial	3
ARTICLES
The Arithmeticke Project: a collaborative research study of the diffusion of Hindu-Arabic numerals  Peter Wardley and Pauline White	5
The New Lanark Highlanders: migration, community, and language 1785-c.1850  Margaret Nicolson and Ian Donnachie	19
FOCUS ON EXPERIENCING WAR (Focus editor: Michelle Winslow)
'Forget? no, I never ...': Polish reflections on the impact of the Second World War on self, family and community  Michelle Winslow	33
The abduction of Marcel Guillo: the 'composure' of community identity within wartime Breton narratives  Treve Crago	45
'There are times when we would all prefer the factory life': letters from the trenches to the Shippam works in Chichester during the First World War  Keith Grieves	59
REVIEWS
L. Davidoff, M. Doolittle, J. Fink and K. Holden, The family story: blood, contract and intimacy I830-I960  (Ann Burke)	71
N. Goose, Population, economy and family structure in Hertfordshire in I851, Volume 2: St Albans and its region  (Nesta Evans)	72
E. Jones (ed.), The Welsh in London I500-2000  (Chris Williams)	72
P. O'Leary, Immigration and integration: the Irish in Wales I798-I922 (Brenda Collins)	73
NEWS	75

Volume 6 No. 1 pp. 5-19 May 2003

THE ARITHMETICKE PROJECT: A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH STUDY OF THE DIFFUSION OF HINDU-ARABIC NUMERALS

By PETER WARDLEY AND PAULINE WHITE

The Arithmeticke Project comprised a series of micro-studies by Family and Community Historical Research Society members in England and Ireland designed to test the findings of Peter Wardley in respect of the diffusion of the use of Hindu-Arabic in place of Roman numerals, a spontaneous change on the part of individual scribes that occurred without official direction. Inventories for the period I540-I700 were the major primary source and attention was focussed on the monetary values recorded in the valuation column of these documents. Reflecting other work on this issue, the findings showed a significant transition in the numerals used in the valuation columns from the late I6th century to the mid-I7th, but with notable exceptions. The investigation was extended subsequently by examination of other documents, including wills, churchwardens' accounts and estate papers. As the first such project undertaken by the Society, it has provided a blueprint for future ventures.

Volume 6 No. 1 pp. 19-33 May 2003

THE NEW LANARK HIGHLANDERS: MIGRATION, COMMUNITY, AND LANGUAGE 1785-C. 1850

By MARGARET NICOLSON AND IAN DONNACHIE

This article discusses an example of Highland-Lowland migration in the early stages of

industrialization. It addresses the origins, timing and quantity of Highland migration to New Lanark and in doing so highlights some migratory mechanisms, including temporary, step-wise, kin and chain migration. Moreover, it explores how Gaelic language and culture, together with religion, were sustained over a considerable period after this migration. In doing this, it notes how David Dale and Robert Owen adopted different attitudes to language. While lack of concrete evidence means that some of the conclusions must remain speculative, this example of interdisciplinary enquiry raises new questions about the migration of communities and their maintenance at their points of destination.

Volume 6 No. 1 pp. 33-45 May 2003

 
'FORGET? NO, I NEVER ...': POLISH REFLECTIONS ON THE IMPACT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR ON SELF, FAMILY

AND COMMUNITY

By MICHELLE WINSLOW

The events and acts of the Second World War, which resulted in suffering for millions of people, have been documented extensively in past decades. Less well documented is the extent to which the war continued to impact on the lives of many of those who lived through it. And over 50 years later, problems are still evident as many people live with memories of trauma and injustice. This article aims to shed light on a number of areas where the past has continued to impact on present day lives and does so by focusing on the experience of a group of people with a particularly traumatic war and post-war history - Polish emigres. Research with Poles who settled in Britain as a result of the war has been scant, but a number of projects and publications have been carried out and have highlighted issues including war trauma, post-war hostility and discrimination, and mental health problems. The studies discussed in this article were produced using oral history and reminiscence methods, and in addition to their historical contribution, the process of relating life stories was recognized as a significant aspect of the work. Following this review, consideration is given to areas where further research would be valuable, across disciplines. For historians of family and community history, scope for further study on the impact of war in memory exists in many areas, and with people from diverse backgrounds.

Volume 6 No. 1 pp. 45-59 May 2003

THE ABDUCTION OF MARCEL GUILLO: THE 'COMPOSURE' OF COMMUNITY IDENTITY WITHIN WARTIME BRETON NARRATIVES

By TREVE CRAGO

This article explores the still highly contentious question of the Breton people's perceptions of identity during the Second World War. This quintessentially subjective task relies almost exclusively upon oral testimony as a primary source. During the turbulent events of the I939-45 conflict, the Bretons have been considered in popular memory as having stereo typically displayed nationalist identities in two contrasting forms. The first of these forms or images is of treacherous collaborators and opportunists, fraternizing with occupying forces in order to set up an independent Breton state under a German protectorate. The legacy of this 'treachery' was to have long-term consequences for the way the French State regarded Breton language and culture. In marked contrast, other heroic Breton 'patriots' led one of the most active branches of the French Resistance movement. But how did the Bretons really regard themselves? By focusing on narratives collected in one area of Brittany, the article highlights some anomalies and paradoxes involved in being Breton during this dark era.

Volume 6 No. 1 pp. 59-71 May 2003
 

'THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE WOULD ALL PREFER THE FACTORY LIFE': LETTERS FROM THE TRENCHES TO THE SHIPPAM

WORKS IN CHICHESTER DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

By KEITH GRIEVES

In evaluating the resilience of the British soldier on the Western Front less attention has been paid to the importance of news from the workplace in the wartime lives of temporarily uniformed men. Letters from soldiers in France to their paternalistic employer Ernest Shippam at Chichester suggest that the firm remained a powerful element of 'civilian' culture among citizen soldiers. The stoicism of the soldier after 1914, in the face of so much awfulness, should be placed within the longer continuities of work and friendships and aspirations for survival and security after the war. News of other enlisted men from the work-bench and developments at the firm suggested that continuing attachment to the workplace was a critical element of troop morale in the First World War, alongside unit identity, bonds of mateship, officer-men relations and divisional efficiency.