Dr Tardieu – advocate for abused children

Dr Tardieu - advocate for abused children

This brief article  is a tribute to a very special  Frenchman;  Dr Auguste Ambroise Tardieu,  who was born in Paris in 1818.     Dr Tardieu headed the team of  French doctors who performed a post-mortem on the disinterred body of English schoolgirl Marian Marsden in 1854. 

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The Malvern water-cure springs

The Malvern water-cure springs

My friends, authors and historians  Cora Weaver and Bruce  Osborne ,  recently published a  well researched, richly illustrated  book called Celebrated Springs of the Malvern Hills. Here is small extract; These pure springs  inspired the water-cure clinics at Malvern, lining the pockets of physicians such as  Dr

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Titanic Teddies

Titanic Teddies

HELLO, I CHOSE (AND EDITED ) THIS STORY ABOUT MY DISTANT RELATIVES. IT’S A BIT SAD, BUT VERY INTERESTING……EDITOR DES. There are some touching  links  between the Teddy Bear, that quintessential symbol of childhood  comfort and security,  and the  tragic loss of the  passenger ship Titanic on

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An Australian Tribute to Isambard Brunel

An  Australian Tribute to Isambard Brunel

STEAM AND SPEED The  brilliant British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born at Portsmouth  in 1806, the son of a highly regarded French engineer.  Many thousands of Australians have a connection with Brunel as  their ancestors emigrated on his innovative steamship, the SS Great Britain. At the

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Old Sydney’s Physician: the Southerly Buster

Old Sydney's Physician:  the Southerly Buster

In 1910 Henry Lawson wrote the following lines celebrating Sydney’s restorative Southerly Buster; ‘Tis a glorious mission , Old Sydney’s Physician   Broom, Bucket  and Cloth of the East, ‘Tis a breeze and a sprayer that answers our prayer,  And it’s free to the greatest and least.

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