The Escape of General Exelmans and Colonel de la Grange

I wrote previously on the Napoleonic officers held as prisoners of war in Chesterfield. Whilst there were many interesting stories that came from that topic, I thought it best to tell of the story that first inspired my research into the prisoners at Chesterfield. That story is the escape of General Joseph Exelmans and Colonel …

Napoleonic Prisoners of War in Chesterfield

The number of prisoners of war captured during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with France was unlike those seen previously in British campaigns. By 1809, after over fifteen years of war, the numbers had risen to a staggering 40,000, which was just over three times the population of Derby at the time. In the early …

Food that’s “not bad for the front!”

Regular subscribers to our blog and Twitter will know that we like to link our posts to the monthly themes of the Explore Your Archive and History Begins At Home archive campaigns. For February the themes are ‘letters’ and ‘food', respectively. One letter in our collection which immediately sprung to my mind was one written …

William Rawson: The Brave Son of a Ripley Miner

I recently came across the Rawson Family of Nuttall’s Park and Wright Avenue of Ripley whilst writing a short biography of William Samuel Rawson, who lived in Ripley all his life. This William worked at Ripley Colliery from 1940, but had previously been employed at nearby Britain Colliery, both of which were owned by the …

The Gratitude of First World War Prisoners to Margery Swanwick of Chesterfield

A post from catalogue volunteer, Roger. The Record Office recently purchased several letters and postcards at an auction which illustrate aspects of humanitarian work during the First World War. Margery Eleanor Swanwick (1880-1959) a resident of Whittington, Chesterfield was active both in providing parcels of food and other comforts to Allied soldiers imprisoned in Germany, …

Aliens! Internees during the Second World War

Curious people that we are, we do like to receive enquiries that test our research skills. We recently received another interesting research enquiry, on the subject of internship during the Second World War. The enquiry we had was regarding an employee of the John Smedley company based in Lea, near Cromford, originally from Vienna. We were asked whether we …

Explore Your Archive – Prisoners of War

I first became aware that there had been Napoleonic prisoners in Derbyshire when I came across an unusual gravestone at St Mary and All Saints church, Chesterfield, aka the Crooked Spire.  The inscription translated as 'In memory of Francois Raingeard, thirty years of age, Prisoner of War, died 1oth March 1812' and bore the message 'Stop Traveller!  If …

Explore Your Archive – On This Day: French Prisoners of War

From the Derby Mercury, 14th November 1811: On Wednesday the 6th inst. Dominique Ducasse, Captain and Aid-de-Camp to Gen. Dufour, Tugdual Antoine Kerenor, Lieutenant, and Julien Deslories, Ensign, three French prisoners of war at Chesterfield, were conducted from the house of correction there, by a military escort, on their way to Norman Cross Prison, for …