Mike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, cannot help looking for that local connection when he reads a book or watches…
Local History
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Local History
How a decadent English poet and a Hollywood comic actor were brought together by the late night drinking ‘Bingers’
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, on the life of decadent English poet Ernest Dowson and his admirer, comic actor…
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Local History
Grape-picking nuns? Late-night drinking sessions with a bottle of Liebfraumilch? How nostalgia and a wedding celebration sent me on a search for Blue Nun, a 1970s favourite
by TonyBlue Nun, for those too young to remember it, is a sweet white German wine. It was a popular tipple in the 1970s and early…
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CommunityLocal History
Ladywell’s ‘Claude Monet’ who helped gain equal rights for women in Royal Institute of Watercolour Painters
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, is an admirer of impressionist painter Terrick Williams, who he describes as Ladywell’s Claude…
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Local History
Alfred Graham & Co, once the biggest employer in the area, made the loudspeaker phones on the Titanic which sank 110 years ago
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, discovers that Ladywell Heights was the site of Alfred Graham & Co’s St Andrew’s…
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CommunityLocal History
Victor Hugo’s friendship with a Guernsey archeological dynasty and a Ladywell link to the author of Les Miserables
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, traces a Guernsey archeological dynasty’s link to Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, and…
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CommunityLocal History
Ladywell’s Winter Olympic connection: Audrey the aviator and alpine skiing champion
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, delves into his Rolodex and tracks down Audrey Florice Durell Drummond Sale-Barker and a…
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CommunityLocal History
Coming up roses – from Napoleon and a Paris Chateau to Dermody Road, Lewisham, two famous gardeners and the Rose of Martinique
by TonyWalking past the Rose Corner in Ladywell led Mike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, to ponder an historical link to…
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CommunityLocal History
In Dulci Jubilo, a festive medieval song, turned into hit tune by Mike Oldfield, was first given a popular arrangement by a Ladywell organist
by TonySearching online for a festive hit song, Mike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, discovers a link between Mike Oldfield and…
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CommunityLocal History
A Ladywell inventor of fire alarm systems who worked alongside Alexander Graham Bell deserves more recognition
by TonyMike Guilfoyle, vice-chair of the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, believes Alfred Charles Brown should be better known for his pioneering work on London’s…