The Few Good Women
The creators of the A Few Forgotten Women Project are a group of friends, known collectively as A Few Good Women. We are united by our friendship, our love of different aspects of family and local history and a passion for preserving the past.
Pat Adamson
I have been interested from a very early age to learn about those in my family who I am descended from. I know there is no cure from the desire to learn about peoples past and will happily talk about genealogy and history for hours and can not resist an opportunity to help people with their trees. I love talking to the older generation about their experiences and memories.
I was told by my father that at age three when my paternal Great Aunt Sarah died followed by her brother two days later that when clearing the old farmhouse I tried to persuade my Aunt and him to keep all the old letters in case I needed them one day. I did not succeed in this case but have been given many family heirlooms since.
I learnt to skip to the rhyme Mary Ethel Gustard salt pepper and mustard. I was curious who was this lady with the unusual name was it turns out she was my maternal Great Grandma and is the reason I started a doing a Guild of one name study on the name Gustard. On my wall hangs the death penny of her brother that started my interest in the Western Front Association I wanted to know not just where he fought but what he wore and ate. I am currently the secretary of the Somerset branch.
I am a poppy seller and a volunteer with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on one of their projects other interests are crafts, reading, local history, my local church and I am a member of various Family History Societies. I have a very patient and lovely family and a ginger cat Angus who know that holiday pictures might feature more than a normal amount of pictures of gravestones They grew up with the knowledge of how to work a microfiche reader and that every plaque and memorial must be read just in case one of the names might one day be one I am looking for.
Pat takes responsibility for the story categories 'Witchcraft' and 'Women at War'.
Liz Craig
I became interested in family history as a child, having grown up with a family tree of fascinating Welsh names on my bedroom wall. I’ve been actively researching my family history for nearly 25 years, and love researching historical context to bring my ancestors’ stories to life. In doing this, I’ve also diversified into other projects such as a one-place study of the Somerset village of Dunster The Temple Lodge Home for Inebriate Women in Torquay (operational 1891-1929). I’m especially interested in women’s history, the history of medicine (physical and mental) and rural history. Follow me on Blue Sky Instagram or Mastodon.
Liz takes responsibility for the story category 'Alcoholism'.
Janet Few née Braund
The Jesuits say ‘give me a child until they are seven and I will show you the man’, or woman of course. When I was seven I spent my time making up impossibly large families in ‘my famerley book’ (spelling was not a strong point). I also wrote long stories or played complicated, extended games of schools. Although I enjoyed ‘dressing up’, I hadn’t yet started donning period costume but most other aspects of my current life were there in embryonic form.
I believe good history is for everyone. I am passionate about encouraging young people to become interested in the past, especially through living history or family history. I spend part of my time as my alter ego, Mistress Agnes, living in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
I also research my own family history, with an emphasis on putting the lives of my ancestors into a wider context. My website Granny's Tales contains my own memories, the stories of family treasures and the results of some of my family history research. Working with the A Few Forgotten Women Team, I focus on preserving the stories of the ordinary and the marginalised; people who have little voice in the historical narrative. I teach family and local history classes and am a tutor for Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd. who offer a range of online genealogical courses. I have written several books and numerous articles of interest to family historians, as well as two historical novels.
Currently, I am serving as the president of the Family History Federation. I work closely with historical organisations in my home county of Devon and I am an honorary founder member of the Society from One-Place Studies, vice-president of The Isle of Wight Family History Society and a Master Craftsman of the Guild of One-Name Studies.
You can read about my chaotic historical life on my blog at Latest News from the History Interpreter. Here you will find my ramblings about history, genealogy and writing, as well as accounts of my various travels hither and yon. You can also follow me on Bluesky @janetfew.bsky.social but beware, I have no idea where I am going.
Janet takes responsibility for the story categories 'Enslavement', 'Illegitimacy' and 'Prostitution'.
Margaret Roberts née Jones
My grandfather probably didn’t realise what he was starting when, after I asked one too many questions about his family at the age of fifteen, he told me to ‘stop being so nosy’. Of course, telling a curious teenager not to ask questions had exactly the opposite effect and I have been researching family history ever since. Thanks to his rather unconventional encouragement, that teenage curiosity eventually led to me becoming a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an author, speaker, sports historian and genealogist.
I am an independent researcher specialising in the history of sport and leisure, with a particular interest in women’s sport during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, early teacher training and the hidden stories of women. Over the years my research has included Victorian swimming communities, women’s football, swimming baths and their employees, and the role of physical education in teacher training. I have published a book, academic journal articles and have presented my research to audiences both in the UK and internationally.
I am the editor of Playing Pasts, the UK’s only online magazine dedicated to sport and leisure history research, bringing together stories from academics, independent researchers and enthusiasts.
I am passionate about history being accessible to everyone and believe strongly in the value of family history as an inclusive community where people of all ages can share knowledge, stories and discoveries. I am particularly interested in intergenerational learning and encouraging people to explore the lives of those who may otherwise have been forgotten.
Alongside my research, I am Chair of the Family History Society of Cheshire, Society Liaison Officer and Trustee for the Family History Federation, a Trustee for the Devon Family History Society and the British Society of Sports History as well as a core member of the Few Forgotten Women team.
When I am not investigating the past, writing, speaking, or disappearing down yet another research rabbit hole, I can usually be found baking cakes, although even then there is often a little history involved.
Bsky: @researchdogsbody.bsky.social
ORCID: 0000-0003-2639-4813
Jane Braund
I’m an accountant by training and a historian/genealogist by inclination. I’ve been researching my family's history since the 1970s.
Jane takes responsibility for the story category 'Women at Work'.
Linda Brignall
A life surrounded by books both in my career and at home; I am now retired and also surrounded by documents and memorabilia as I spend time pursuing a love of Family History.
I have been researching my family for several years, but still see myself as a
beginner in many ways, and will always be learning and discovering new things from the past into my own future.
Linda takes responsibility for the story category 'Domestic Abuse'.
Janice Brinley Codd
I first became excited about family history when I was 17, just before my 18th birthday. We were on a family holiday in France, and I remember that I was sitting in the garden when my Uncle showed me three pieces of paper: my Grandparents marriage certificate, my Great Grandparents marriage certificate and my Great, Great, Grandparents marriage certificate, which gave me the names of my Great, Great, Great, Grandfathers – I was holding some 150 years of history in my hand! I was hooked from that moment and have been researching family stories ever since.
I have completed many courses on genealogy, and am working towards the McC in Genealogy from the University of Strathclyde, but would still describe myself as an ‘enthusiastic amateur’. My interests range from Devon and Cornwall to Wales, Scotland, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. I have a one name study – Rowlings - one of my 3 x Gt Grandfathers from that last marriage certificate.
Janice takes responsibility for the story category 'Sickness'.
Wendy Durston née Russell
I have loved local history since early childhood but only caught the family history bug in 2007, how I wish that I had paid more attention to my grandmother and her sisters when they told stories about their lives. I now combine my interest in both by doing a One Place Study of Compton Dundon, the Somerset village that at least 10 generations of one branch of my mum’s family grew up in.
It took me until I was 40 and living overseas to realise that I wanted to be an archivist. A decade later having moved back to my home town in Somerset I discovered that a local archive was looking for volunteers and the rest, as they say, is history.
Wendy takes responsibility for the story categories 'Activism' and 'Women's Suffrage'.
Mandy Geary
I was bitten by the family history bug in 2012, so could be classed a a relative latecomer compared to others in the group. I have been studying all aspects of Family History - including DNA - since 2015.
I’m a family historian at heart with an interest in both local and house history. After 37 years working in the City of London, the pandemic presented the perfect opportunity for a career change and after undertaking various genealogical studies, I’m now an associate of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and working part-time as a professional genealogist.
You can find out more on my website, and on my Facebook page.
Mandy takes responsibility for the story categories 'Infanticide' and 'Murder'.
Fiona Movley M.B.E.
My family history journey started one winter morning early in 1996. Three decades later I am as enthusiastic as I was when I first started. The stories behind the individuals on a family tree interest me the most and I love to travel in my ancestors’ footsteps. I am the 4th generation to have crossed the Atlantic on an ocean-going liner!
An amateur family and local historian, I am currently studying with the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies.
Away from my hobby I am still involved in the world of business, and I am also chair of a leading arts charity.
Helen Shields née Bowden
I am an amateur genealogist known by some as “Auntie Kate”, based on my great grand aunt Kezia Ching (1860-1933). I have a One-Place Study of Sticklepath, a village near Okehampton in Devon. In my spare time I am a Granny and school governor!
Witches in our culture are largely thought of as fantasy and feature at Halloween. However, I worked in Malawi (2010-12) where witchcraft was very much part of daily beliefs especially when illness struck. Neurological problems and deaths often were believed to be the work of witchcraft. I am perhaps unusual therefore in having spoken to someone accused of witchcraft (after several people ‘the witch’ had prayed for in hospital died).
Helen is responsible for the story categories 'Accident' and 'Child Mortality'.
Ann Simcock née Mayer
I am a former history and drama teacher who has had a love of history from my early years. My greatest achievement was teaching our son at home enabling him to follow his dream as a professional musician. I have also helped my cousin to discover her paternal Grandparents. Recently I have been sharing my love of family history, endeavouring to encourage others to follow our addictive study, with talks and presentations.