AUSTIN J 40 It was in 1943 that Parliament passed an act that recognised that many miners were been struck down with what the miners called “The Dust” (pneumoconiosis’s). The Government decided to encourage employers to give ex-miners employment. Leonard Lord had taken this to heart and decided that those (in this case South Wales […]
To followers of the Irvin history, George’s cousin Henry Chipperfield recently sent us an image of his Helter Skelter at Edinburgh. We have probably had more Lighthouse Helter Skelters in our family than most others going back several generations. All this started from William Irvin who had four brothers, one went to Scotland which is […]
As you will know, the First World War started 100 years ago and this is a time when we all look back and think of those brave soldiers who went to war to help create our future. Millions from many countries did not return and their sacrifice, and that of their families, is something we […]
We love to see famous people visiting our fairs, and in the news stories on these pages you will find photos of lots of them including models, the odd Prime Minister (sorry, we do not mean the Prime Minister is odd but we hope you understand), pop stars, X Factor contestants (as opposed to pop […]
From time to time I wonder if anyone ever reads our website, and then we hear from people who have indeed done so and found something out that excites them! One such occasion was when we heard from Australia about Mary Ann Wright who is shown on the Irvin Family history stories on this […]
Wanted to share with you some correspondence between Steve Smith who is Editor of the Fairground Society and our friend Malcolm Gill: Hi Steve I delved into your details of James Irvin and his four sons James, George, Henry and William. Here’s what I have. James Abraham Irvin married Elizabeth Young 27 Sep 1842 […]
Another branch of the family that now lead towards George Irvin is the Stewart family whose life in fairgrounds dates back to the 1930s. In fact the Stewarts were boxers with a tradition of professional boxing and running boxing booths in fairs dating back to the Great War of 1914 to 1918. Perhaps the most […]
We have just come across some press cuttings related to the Irvin family history and links to the past and wanted to share them with our loyal reader. First of all, the next George Irvin is a direct descendant of Frank Wilson, described in the press upon his sad death (fortunately not from a hungry […]
Over the past week alone we have heard from members of the Irvin family who have come across our website and tracked us down. We are always delighted to learn more from people who read these articles (and it is nice to know that someone, somewhere, actually is!) so this is what they sent. […]
Very recently George Irvin was overseeing the arrival of his popular family fair in Bow, and met Hannah who has since sent us fascinating news about her much loved Grandfather. Here is her email below, a wonderful story and thank you for sharing this with us. My Name is Hannah, we met on […]
