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The GKN women that helped win the war
Women were sometimes the unsung heroes of World War II. Working tirelessly behind the scenes to manufacture the nuts and bolts for weapons and machinery, their work contributed as much to the war effort as those on the frontline. Our curator Henrietta took a deep dive into our Guest, Keen & Nettlefold (GKN) archive to
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Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Today, Valentine’s Day is – for many – a time for loved ones to exchange gifts. But the 14 February celebration hasn’t always been about showering the one you love with sweet treats and gifts. It was once a time of haphazard matchmaking and more modest displays of affection, as this excerpt from Hamish Hendry’s
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Ringing in the New Year
How do you celebrate the arrival of a new year? While traditions haven’t changed that much over the years, New Year’s Eve hasn’t always been the main event. In the Elizabethan period it was all about exchanging presents on New Year’s Day. But there’s more to this sixteenth-century practice than meets the eye. This excerpt
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Traditions from Christmas Eves past
With the most wonderful time of the year almost upon us, we thought it was time to bring The Larger Dumpy Books for Children: Holidays and Happy Days (1901) out for a read. We hope you enjoy the following extract from the book, which offers a fascinating insight into the Christmas Eves of times gone
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A Victorian Christmas
Margaret Chamberlain was a prolific diarist, and it’s thanks to her diaries that we know quite a lot about her early life – especially what Christmas was like in 1890, when she was 19 years old. Margaret was at the heart of a large extended family, which included her Chamberlain and Nettlefold cousins, and at