New Stories

The most recent additions to our site and newly updated stories can be found on this page. Please click on the images below to learn more about these forgotten women. We know that some visitors to this site will have an interest in a particular aspect of women's lives, or may wish to avoid certain topics. For this reason, the stories have been categorised under a variety of headings. The stories page lists the categories for each story. When you go the the page for a particular category, you will find a list of the stories that touch on that theme. You can also access the stories that form part of a series that has been created during collaborative A Few Forgotten Women Friday research.

The nature of this site means that many of the stories we tell do not make easy reading. Please be aware that some of the biographies will contain material that some readers might find distressing. If you have further information about any of the women whose stories are told here, please do get in touch.

The information in these stories is accurate to the best of our knowledge, given the sources that were available to us at the time of writing. We cannot be held responsible for any errors of fact that may have inadvertently included. Please inform us if you believe that any errors have been made. Where the women have descendants, we have tried to contact them to get permission to tell their ancestor's stories. This has not always been possible. If we have told a story of your ancestors and you would rather we removed it, please do contact us.

For stories that have been generated as a result of collaborative research on A Few Forgotten Women Fridays, you can either go to the stories page or to the dedicated page and choose the institution that interests you.

More stories will be added regularly. Check back for updates or follow us on social media for the latest news.

VAD Personnel

The stories of those women who were involved with the Voluntary Aid

Detachment and were investigated as part of the ‘Perpetual A Few Forgotten Women Friday’ collaborative research project.

Ellen Richmond

A story of survival and Ellen's traumatic relationship with her husband, George Wellock, which led to divorce. This story contains an account of domestic abuse that some readers may find distressing.

The Grange School of Housewifery

Here are the stories of the women who attended the Grange School of Housewifery in Street, Somerset. They were investigated as part of the ‘A Few Forgotten Women Friday’ collaborative research project. More stories will be added over the next few weeks.

The Mount School, York

Accounts of the lives of women and girls associated with The Mount School, York as pupils, teachers or non-teaching staff. These stories are part of our ‘Perpetual A Few Forgotten Women Friday’ collaborative research project.

Dinah Townend

A story from Yorkshire of domestic abuse, Illegitimacy, lawbreaking and overcoming adversity. There are elements to this story that some readers might find distressing.

Mary Ann Audley

This story sets the life of Mary Ann Audley, who at the age of fifteen was working as a prostitute, into context.

Julia Mahoney

The story of Julia Mahoney and her family. Julia's disability led to her living for a time at Chailey Heritage. Please be aware that this story contains an account of domestic abuse.

Elizabeth Chiddicks

Elizabeth Chiddicks aka Chitticks died at the age of sixteen. Guest author Paul Chiddicks, asks 'Did she Fall or was she Pushed?'

This story originally appeared on The Chiddicks Family Tree website. It contains a detailed description of death by injury, that some readers may find distressing.

Cheshire County Training College, Crewe

These are stories about the lives of women who trained to be teachers at Cheshire County Training College. They were compiled by volunteer as part of one of our Forgotten Women Friday research days.

Letitia Gilbert

Letitia Gilbert gave birth to four illegitimate children before marrying Thomas Cook.

Maria Bindon

The story of a young woman, who was in prison in Bath in 1861 and was labelled as a prostitute.

Rebecca Cotton

Rebecca was a young women who lived her short life on the Isle of Wight in the eighteenth century. She had three children but left no descendants and very few traces in the documentary record. Her story is set in the geographical and historical context of her time.