Greathead Lane

I have just been alerted to Greathead Lane, New Germany, Pinetown 3610 in South Africa.  Not the best part of town. lots of barbed wire for protection and/or gated entrances.  Anyone any idea what the Greathead connection is?

Dad Greathead

I have been sent this photograph and on the back it says 'and Dad Greathead'.  The gentleman who sent is not related as far as we know to any Greatheads but does live in South Africa

Anyone recognise the man with the moustache?

Secrets of the Waterloo and City Line

Great utube, do watch to at least 2.26 minutes for a wonderful view of the Greathead Shield in the Waterloo and City Tunnel

Can you help with a J H Greathead website?

I have been contacted recently by a retired head teacher who is very interested our very own James Henry Greathead III.
I agreed to forward the following and hope someone can help him:

Can you help with a J H Greathead website? Do you have any J H Greathead heirlooms in the attic?
David Lumb BA (Oxon), MA (Oxon), MSc (Sheffield)
contact david@kinderclan.co.uk or David Lumb 10 Hogarth Rise Dronfield S18 1QG

I am contacting you with permission from Jan Cooper (née Greathead) with a request for your help.
I am planning to build a website on the sole subject of James Henry Greathead, the engineer. I will incorporate all material I can find on his life and achievements. This will be free access and available to be shared by all, though anything you request as confidential will be treated strictly as such. These days writing a book is less fashionable and I have no need of the income. So publishing free to the web seems the best way to celebrate a man who I feel is an unrecognised genius. Clearly much material is alreadily available through the web, including Jan's own www.greathead.org.
However I have almost nothing which is personal: private letters, photos, artefacts. For example, many families never throw away old letters and pass them on from generation to generation, hating to throw them away. When JHG addressed a parliamentary sub-committee to persuade them to allow permission for the first underground, he is recorded as showing them a brass model of his tunnelling shield. I imagine that would never be thrown away. Years ago, whilst in Grahamstown (his birthplace), a curator told me of a typewritten document from the 1930s by a direct descendant, discussing the hard life of an early pioneer. I guess that will not have been thrown away either.
So what I am asking you is this: do you have available any material that would help me: letters, photographs, artefacts? If so do please let me know about them. In this way John Henry's deserved fame might be enhanced and celebrated.
Thank you.
David Lumb

Womens Olympic Marathon go past JHG statue

Watched some of the Women's Olympic Marathon from the safety of my arm chair today and was delighted to see the route go past the statue of James Henry Greathead off Cornhill.  I am sure he looked down on the runners and gave a little cheer

Researchers around the world

I have had many thoughts recently, here are a few

Would those who follow the Greathead site welcome a Greathead society (inexpensive annual cost) with a quarterly newsletter?

Maybe I could encourage a Greathead Representative to come forward to assist me in research certain areas of the world, local to them?

Maybe someone might like to take up the DNA banner and get the ball rolling on the Greathead DNA project?

Please tell me what your thoughts are?

Gathering was a success

Over 60 people attended the gathering. Most arrived in time for the photoshoot and one picture taken can be found on the from page of the website. Others arrived and joined us for lunch and a natter, sharing pictures and memories and viewing the three main charts that I took. I think people were quite surprised at just how large the charts were.

Over the next few days I will be creating a page showing more photographs and hoping to update the website tomorrow.

Many thanks for all those who attended and made the day so enjoyable for me. Hope you found it fun too.

As many said, lets hope we can do it again. Is there another Royal wedding impending!!!!!!!

Clive Herbert Greathead

Jennifer wrote to me today from South Africa to say her father was Clive Herbert not Clive Harding that I had on the website. She has given me a few dates but has promised to come back when she has unearthed the family archive papers. I am really looking very forward to talking to her again

Margaret Curchin

Received an Email from the grandaughter of Margaret Curchin and after a short telephone call she has sent me five copies of certificates. I now have my first South African one!!

I have also managed to trace Margaret and her family going backwards and forwards to South Africa after her marriage in 1935. All will be revealed in the next website update. Thanks Heidi

Greathead Street, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Just discovered that there is a Greathead Street, Port Elizabeth, South Africa and have been promised a copy of the sign and road. Look forward to receiving it Alan, thanks

Greathead - Montgomery link

I was so excited this morning to discover an Email from Alan a direct descendant form Robert Featherstone Greathead. he lives in South Africa and says he is passionate about genealogy so I am looking very forward to working with him

Visit to see Esther and Caroline

Today I visited Esther and her cousin Caroline who very kindly talked me through some photographs and gave me lots of dates for their branch of the family. They are direct descendants of James Henry Greathead. Both were born in South Africa and had some wonderful stories to tell. I have added some of the data and photographs to the website and will add more as time permits.

Many, many thanks to both of them for their hospitality and friendlyness

Another new baby Greathead

I was delighted to hear from Sean in South Africa that he and his wife have a beautiful baby daughter born back in July. Many congratulations

Working together

Guy from South Africa sent me a chart and later an article from a book about a branch of the Greatheads who emigrated to South Africa. Not the 1820 setters but another branch. After much thought I was still concerned about the "roots" of his research. I was able to add some new twigs, and more detail to known twig for later generations, but it was the first two generations that I was convinced were incorrect. After consulting my IGI record, with careful consideration for the known errors and the actual copies of the 1841 census I am convinced I am correct. We will see............ Guy and I continue to correspond and the results will be included on the website update due end of November. Many thanks, Guy

Passenger lists on www.findmypast.com

I was excited to see that http://www.findmypast.com/ have now added entries up to 1929. SoI have added them all to a spreadsheet and am slowly going through them matching where I can and adding information to the narratives. This will hopefully add interest and detail to the relavant people. It is interesting to see that went on a round voyage and those that emigrated. Some even returned either to stay or re-emigrate.

Gerald Ernest Greathead

Thanks to some investigations by Alison and her chats with her Mum in South Africa, we have established she is the great granddaughter of Gerald Ernest Greathead . Alison has filled me in with a tremendous amount of modern data. I am looking very forward to hear from her Mum sometime soon. It would be lovely to have some photographs I must be patient.

Dr David J Greathead

I have just been informed of some tragic news. David sadly died last Friday. He was a tremendous help to me over the years, providing encouragement and advice and of course producing that wonderful book "A Passage to the Cape of Good Hope". He was working on an article on our lifeboat Greathead for the website I have his second draft saved on my computer. I pass my thoughts and very best wishes to his family

Alice Milner Greathead

Just made contact with Andrew who is the grandson of Alice Milner Greathead known as Millie. He tells me she had six siblings so since I only knew three of them and limited information about them, I am hoping he will be able to improve the situation. He also brought me up todate with the recent family. I look forward to many Email exchanges with Andrew

South African Greatheads

I was very please to receive an Email from Ann Shuttleworth who gave me some more information about William Henry Burgess and Susanna Greathead and their family. It was good to hear from her again.