Leeds veterans of the American Civil War (Part 2)

This week we welcome back Library and Digital Assistant Joey Talbot for the second part of his illuminating account of American Civil War veterans buried in Leeds… In the previous post, I told of how I was put onto the trail of Leeds veterans of the American Civil War after an email from Andrew Hopkinson…

Great War Territorial Volunteer – Percy Longfield

We welcome Library and Digital Assistant Becky Bavill this week on the Secret Library Leeds, who follows up her superb three-part investigation of a First World War diary with a short biography of another Leeds soldier of the time. Keep a look out for two more articles in this series coming soon… Percy Longfield is…

Leeds veterans of the American Civil War (Part 1)

As part of Armed Forces Day month, Library and Digital Assistant Joey Talbot brings us the fascinating story of American Civil War veterans buried in Leeds… This is the first part of this article – you can find part two here Back in March, we received an email about gravestone inscriptions at Leeds General Cemetery…

A mysterious diary from the Great War (Part 3 of 3)

We welcome Library and Digital Assistant Becky Bavill back to the Secret Library this week, for a brilliantly-researched story to mark Armed Forces Day on June 29. This is the third and final part of a three part series that has run throughout June, alongside a full programme of Leeds Libraries events. You can find…

A mysterious diary from the Great War (Part 2 of 3)

We welcome Library and Digital Assistant Becky Bavill back to the Secret Library this week, for a brilliantly-researched story to mark Armed Forces Day on June 29. This is the second part of a three part series that will run throughout June, alongside a full programme of Leeds Libraries events. You can find all three…

Cabinet Displays for Armed Forces Day 2024

Visit the Local and Family History department throughout June to see a display curated by our staff exploring two Armed Forces themes, as part of the Armed Forces Day Festival taking place across Leeds this month. One cabinet looks at decompression – the ways soldiers, sailors and air-force personnel relaxed or processed their experiences during…

A mysterious diary from the Great War (Part 1 of 3)

We welcome Library and Digital Assistant Becky Bavill back to the Secret Library this week, for a brilliantly-researched story to mark Armed Forces Day on June 29. This is the first part of a three part series that will run throughout June, alongside a full programme of Leeds Libraries events. You can find all three…

The Places We Live: Redux

This week, for Local and Community History Month, Librarian Antony Ramm offers a brief update to a previous article exploring the histories of communities around the wider Leeds area… Back in May 2022 we published a piece here on the Secret Library Leeds blog that explored the depth and breadth of the local history material…