By Karen Downham, Local and Family History, Leeds Central Library One of the best things about working in Local and Family History is the wide variety of topics that we can deal with, and not knowing what you will be asked on a day to day basis. It is always rewarding to help people find what they…
Category: Uncategorized
New Research Guide: Game of Thrones
by Antony Ramm, Local and Family History, Central Library Following on from our recent stock pop-up based on the Game of Thrones series and some of the real-world history that inspired its author, George R.R. Martin, we present the latest in our Research and Collection Guides series. Entitled ‘Tomes of Thrones’, this guide lists many of…
Ethelwynne in the Spotlight
Last Friday, we published a sombre but moving post entitled A Leeds Schoolgirl Reflects on WW1. Now, blogger Maureen Jessop has sent a more lighthearted little update our way. Take a look at the photo below (which, like last week’s poem, comes from the Leeds Girls’ High School magazine) and see if you can work out which of the…
A Leeds Schoolgirl Reflects on WW1
As part of Dying Matters awareness week, The Secret Library investigates the story behind a powerful poem on the subject of death and loss. Our Heritage Volunteer Maureen Jessop discovered the piece while reading and indexing the magazine of Leeds Girls’ High, the school that stood in Headingley from 1876 until its merger with Leeds Grammar School in…
Trials of a Leeds Soldier
Many Leeds citizens fought valiantly in the First World War, but few could tell a tale as fascinating as William (sometimes ‘Willie’) Lonsdale. This week, the Secret Library brings you an abridged version of his story, researched and written by one of our team of volunteers, using the resources available in our Local and Family…
D-Day Remembered
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings by the Allied invasion as part of World War II Operation Overload. Approximately 156,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches suffering casualties in excess of 12,000 personnel. Leeds Central Library holds a large number of items detailing the invasion, and the days and months that followed….
Gott Chelsea Fever?
With the excitement of Chelsea Flower Show this week we thought it timely to give you a glimpse of the fabulous Gott collection housed in the Special Collections at Leeds Central Library. The Gott bequest is a collection of 600 early English gardening books and periodicals including works published in the 16th, 17th and 18th…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 