A Family History Of...

With the Battle of the Somme almost a year away, tragedy hits the Attenborough family for the first time.   One Attenborough brother faces weaponised gas at Loos – the biggest battle of the war so far. Will he make it home? Join host and genealogist Jen Baldwin and her guest Harvey Henson, Somme specialist and Commonwealth War Commission Communications Coordinator, to examine the chaos that unfolded at Loos, and its effects on one ordinary Leicestershire family.  Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Guest: Harvey Henson (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah Cornes Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

Did the headlines tell the whole story?In this episode, we’re joined by Somme specialist Harvey Henson to uncover the real stories behind one of the First World War’s deadliest battles.Using British military records, wartime evidence and expert insight, we follow three Leicestershire brothers who went to war - and reveal what happened to them beyond the history books.Start listening now.Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Guest: Harvey Henson (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah Cornes Executive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James 

One family. A battle that would shape generations.History remembers battles. Families remember absence. Over the course of a single year, three telegrams arrived at the Attenborough family home on Druid Street, Hinckley. Three brothers - Walter, Arthur and Richard Attenborough - were swept into the upheaval of the First World War, serving in different regiments as the conflict intensified from Loos to the Somme. Across four episodes, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin is joined by Somme expert and Commonwealth War Graves Commission Communications Coordinator, Harvey Henson, to explore the devastating impact of the war's early years on one working-class family, and how their story survives through the historical record. 

Gallipoli may dominate the history books. But the records tell the rest of the story. Gallipoli is one of those moments in history that can seem enormous when we look back at it now. But when we delve into the naval records of the men who actually experienced it, something surprising happens – it barely interrupts the page at all. In this bonus episode, host and expert genealogist Jen Baldwin steps back from this defining First World War campaign to explore what family history records can reveal when we look beyond the big moments we already know. Through the wider context of Gallipoli, this episode dives into the careers, continuity, expertise, and everyday labour that kept the Royal Navy afloat during wartime. As more naval records become accessible online, Jen explores how they help family historians and researchers alike. Moving past the headline news and reconnecting with Navy ancestors in ways that simply weren’t possible before. Host and researcher: Jen BaldwinEditor: CM87EditsScript editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine GilbertProducers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James PlumbDesigner: Michael McCoshSocial media: Sarah CornesExecutive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

Gallipoli is over. But its effects ripple on. After the chaos of the Dardanelles, HMS Prince George limps into Malta, a harbour strained by wounded men, damaged ships, and the unrelenting work of repair. For Nelson Langsford, the danger gives way to a different kind of pressure, as engineers and dockyard crews work around the clock to keep the fleet afloat. Joined by naval historian Charlotte Ward‑Kelly, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin explores how these quieter weeks appear, and often disappear, in the records. Back home, as Nelson moves from frontline service into instruction and training, his story shifts again. This final episode traces how one man and his family carry the aftershocks of Gallipoli forward, shaping work, identity, and remembrance long after the guns fell silent.Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Guest: Charlotte Ward-Kelly Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah CornesExecutive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James

The battle for Gallipoli begins.  As war comes knocking, Nelson Langsford moves from routine service into active conflict aboard HMS Prince George. Tasked with carrying troops and patrolling hostile waters, the ship turns toward the Dardanelles, a narrow strait Britain hopes to force open and end the war quickly. But it won’t be that simple. Joined by naval historian Charlotte Ward‑Kelly, host and genealogist Jen Baldwin delves deeper, uncovering what it was like to experience this gamble far below deck. As mines detonate, shells strike, and ageing battleships strain under impossible pressure, survival in the engine room comes down to seconds, skill, and instinct. In this episode, one ordinary man witnesses naval confidence collapse, the strategy shifting, and the Gallipoli campaign taking its most fateful turn. Host and researcher: Jen Baldwin Guest: Charlotte Ward-Kelly Editor: CM87Edits Script editors: Niall Cullen, Daisy Goddard, and Madeleine Gilbert Producers: Madeleine Gilbert, Ellie Ayton, and James Plumb Designer: Michael McCosh Social media: Sarah CornesExecutive Producers: Helen Kaye and Steve James