Sidney Burrard was born at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, where his father Revd Sir George Burrard (3rd baronet) was the rector. As the third son, his expectations of inheritance were limited, but the baronetcy did indeed pass through him and on to his son. He served in the Grenadier Guards, as had his grandfather, Lt…

Burgess was born in Chelmsford but at the time of the 1911 Census he was living with his parents in Kingston-upon-Thames. By 1939 he had moved to Southampton holding the post of Deputy Librarian since 1934. At the time he was the only professional librarian on the staff. He remained in the Library Service until…

Born in the Southampton Parish of Holy Rood, Bullar lived his whole life in the town. A schoolmaster for nearly four decades, he taught many of those who were to become the town’s civic leaders. As it was put in an obituary published in the Southampton Times “The life of Mr Bullar is in fact…

Born at Newport on the Isle of Wight, Brannon initially followed his father’s profession of printing and engraving. Moving to Southampton, in about 1845 he set up his own business. Subsequently, his interests widened to include architecture and engineering. Relocating to Shanklin in 1863, by the mid 1870s he was settled in London. Like many…

The ‘first historian’ of Alresford, Robert Boyes, was a native of the town, born to John Boyes and his wife Mary (nee Russell).  Educated at the Free Grammar School, he was elected its master at the age of 21. Taking up residence in the schoolmaster’s house at 60 West Street, he was joined by Ann…

George Boon was one of the leading Roman archaeologists of his generation.  His excavations, principally at Silchester in the north of the county, as well as on sites in Wales, were complemented by his comprehensive knowledge of Roman artefacts and coins.

G.H. Blore was a student (1882-89) and schoolmaster (1902-1930) at Winchester College. Much of his historical research and writing came after his retirement from the College in 1930. He was an inaugural member of the Friends of Winchester Cathedral (FOWC) in 1931 and editor of the annual Winchester Cathedral Record from 1935 until he handed…

Ernest was born in Breslau in eastern Germany. His family, described as ‘professional and academic … with a liberal tradition’, came to England as refugees in 1935. He was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and the Leys School in Cambridge, where the family initially settled, and soon become proficient in English.

Educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was the son of Dr Samuel Birch, Keeper of the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, where he too worked between 1864 and 1907 in the Department of Manuscripts.

Mary Aylwin Marshall was born on the Isle of Man to Robert Marshall, a Doctor of Medicine and his wife Anna.  She was one of the first students to train at the London School of Medicine for Women, qualifying as a doctor.  In 1928 however, having met and married Thomas Cotton, a Canadian cardiologist, she…