John was born in Brixton where his father, Matthew, had been ‘perpetual curate’ of St John’s Church since 1853. In 1864 the family moved to Finchingfield in Essex following the appointment of his father as vicar. John was educated at Felstead School and subsequently Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, from where he graduated in 1876. He…

Like many early writers on local history, he was in the classic mould of clergyman-historian, though unlike many of them he also had journalistic instincts. In fact, he probably thought of himself as a man of letters who wrote about local subjects because that is what was around him. He is one of the few…

Frank Warren was the second son of William Thorn Warren, an established Winchester printer and newspaper proprietor.  Educated at Westfields Preparatory School in the city, he won a scholarship to Sherborne.  By 1896, however, he had joined the family business and was soon put in charge of the newspaper section, becoming editor of the Hampshire…

Dudley Waterman was born in Southampton.  On leaving school he worked in an architect’s office and became a skilled draftsman, taking part in numerous local excavations including Roman Clausentum and Saxon Hamwih.  

Austin Whitaker was born in Hull, grew up in Cheshire and was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Liverpool College, crossing the Mersey to school every day from his home in Birkenhead.  In 1925 he went up to Magdalen College, Oxford, obtaining a degree good enough to land him a post as a lecturer in…

White was a Londoner, with his birth being registered in West Ham. Nothing has been discovered about his early years or details of his higher education. He was, however, well qualified securing a BSc (Econ) degree and a doctorate and was also a ‘barrister-at-law’. According to information on the dust jacket of the second edition…

Ernest Westlake was one of the five ‘founding fathers’ of the Hampshire Field Club. His primary interests were geological, but an enquiring mind and the freedom to devote time to his pursuits enabled him to collect specimens on the grand scale and accumulate a wealth of data that spilled over into early human history.

Ernest Westlake was one of the five ‘founding fathers’ of the Hampshire Field Club. His primary interests were geological, but an enquiring mind and the freedom to devote time to his pursuits enabled him to collect specimens on the grand scale and accumulate a wealth of data that spilled over into early human history.

Although White the naturalist is well documented, there is little on White the historian. His entry in ODNB notes that in recording his local parish he sought ‘pleasing information’ and ‘cheerful employment’, with a   requirement to ‘light upon ancient customs and manners … especially on those that were monastic’.  However, of course, his real contribution…

William Thorn Warren was born in Winchester, the second son of Nathaniel Warren and his wife Mary Ann.  He was educated at Trafalgar House School and learned to become a practical printer in the business established by his father.