Lydia

Born in Southborough (near Tunbridge Wells) in 1945, I was in Singapore from 1950 to 1953 and went to my first proper school, Hamilton Lodge School, in 1954 and then from 1962 at Eastbourne College; entered Sussex University in Brighton in 1964 and then was at University College, London, in 1967. In 1970 I was employed at the Public Record Office as an archivist and then in the British Library in 1977 as a cataloguer in the Eighteenth Century Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) project, retiring in 2005 as the head of the British Library’s C19th British Books department (which covers the period 1801-1914).

What am I? Archivist, librarian, bookseller, bibliographer, genealogist, archaeologist, book collector and author with these books A biographical dictionary of those engaged in the Kent book trade, 1750-1900; Kent town guides, 1763-1900; two books on the Faversham and Sittingbourne book trades; The ornamental stock of Henry Woodfall; Newhaven and Seaford coastal fortifications and The war-time letters of Lieut. R. R. Goulden, 1915-1916 as well as articles in the Dictionary of National Biography and in various journals such as The book collector and the British Library’s Factotum.

I held various posts in the Sixty-Six Club such as being its Appeals director, Vice-chairman, archivist and trustee; and also was chairman of the trustees for the Sixty-Six Club Trust Fund. I was the Secretary of the Spurs Club (and my wife Caroline was its Treasurer for sixteen years), later becoming its archivist. Both the Sixty-Six Club and the Spurs Club papers were catalogued by me and these club papers are now held in the British Deaf History’s national archives. I also  catalogued the British Deaf Association’s papers (covering its beginnings to when Elizabeth Wincott left the BDA) and these papers are now in the London Metropolitan Archives.

I became a British Deaf History Society trustee in 2016, having been a member for several years and now serve on the acquisitions sub-committee.

Phillip hails from a deaf sporting family – his auntie Kathleen Squires competed in the 4^th International Games for the Deaf, White City, London in 1935, winning both gold in the team relay and bronze in the sport sprint. His father Frank was a prolific sportsman especially the pole vault.  This inspired Phillip at an early age, and like his father, he enjoyed excelling in all sports especially football and chess.  But athletics remains his first love.   

Phillip was educated at Burwood Park School where under the influence of a professional games master, George S. Watson, he continued to develop into a master sportsman. He has represented Great Britain at the 1981 Koln Deaflympics in athletics, and the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics as Team Manager winning the gold medal.  As for chess, he has represented his county several times at the World Individual and Team Championships. He is currently President of the International Chess Committee of the Deaf.  He continues officiating football and futsal matches as referee as well as some coaching.    

Because of his deaf roots, Phillip has always been engrossed in deaf sports history in all deaf sports globally.  He is involved as Secretary / Historian and Researcher for the British Deaf Sports Heritage (formerly British Deaf Sports Council), and with the vast material he has, he hopes to find the time to write books and journals on various deaf sports history.   The thorny question is when he will put pen to paper!

Geraldine is a Deaf/BSL user, with a keen interest in history, especially history relating to the deaf community, as well as local and community history. Geraldine considers herself a life-long learner and is always keen to learn new things.

Geraldine attended mainstream education in the 1950s. Following mainstream education, Geraldine felt that her most impactful educational experiences began after she left school, completing her first degree, BSc hons in Sociology with Open University at the age of 50, shortly after this she completed an MA in Voluntary Sector Policy.  Further courses include a diploma in 19 Century and 20 Century Women’s History. 

Besides being a trustee for BDHS, she also volunteers at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, her local cemetery, where she records and archives old graves, as well as researching her own family history. After spending over 30 years working within Deaf and Disabled Peoples organisations including roles such as Project Manager, Strategic Development and CEO – Geraldine finally retired in 2018 and is currently a trustee for 3 Deaf organisations

Having just finished his second stint as Treasurer, Geoffrey J Eagling, born and bred in the leafy Surrey, became deaf through measles at the age of 18 months old.  Educated at Peckham Park PHU, Ackmar Road Deaf School and Burwood Park School, he is retired after a career as a Draughtsman in the maritime division of civil engineering company.
 
In addition to contributions to Deaf History Journal, he is the author of publications, Ackmar Road 1898-1983: A history of a London School for the Deaf (1998); Sir Arthur Henderson Fairbairn, 1852-1915: Britain’s Deaf and Dumb Baronet (jointly with A. F. Dimmock, 2006) and Burwood Park School: A photographic record of the School Years, cricket and football line-ups: 1955-1996 (2010)
 
Geoffrey represented the GB athletics team participating the World Games for the Deaf twice – in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1969 and Malmo, Sweden in 1973.  In the final of the 400m Hurdles, Geoffrey raced with the world-class hurdler, Vyacheslav Skomorokhov who came 5th in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.

Peter has had a lifelong interest in both Deaf history and criminology. He is the author of numerous Deaf history and Deaf crime books.

He has been involved with the British Deaf History Society since 1997 and was Company Secretary from 2007 to 2026. From 2010 to 2018, he was President of Deaf History International.

Within the BDHS, he holds the position of Honorary Curator for the British Deaf Association.

Melinda was appointed Chair of the BDHS at the 2021 Annual General Meeting.  She has always been interested in History, studying the subject at both ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level.  (Incidentally she was in the same class as the previous BDHS Chair, John Hay for 7 years!).  She is also one of three editors of the Deaf History Journal.

She is third generation of a large deaf family.  Educated at Frank Barnes School 1952-1954, Hurtwood School 1954-1961 and Mary Hare Grammar School 1961-1968.   She gained her B.A. degree from the Open University, M.A. from the University of Durham and Cert Ed. from the University of Nottingham.  Now retired from her post as Head of Communication and Training at the City Lit, London, her family regard Melinda as the official family historian and she has collected photos and items such as her deaf aunt’s RSDDC, Margate cloche hat (1920s) and great aunt’s artwork.

She wrote a life story about her deaf mother entitled “My Younger Days”, concentrating on the early years which included WWII. The wealth of her mother’s photos of school and home life is amazing and she also has lots of her mother’s school magazines and items.  All her life she had been listening to her mother telling her school and home stories, as well as her deaf grandfather’s, so she now knows them by heart!  She is now researching and writing a biography and photographic record of her deaf Great Aunt Isabel MacDonald nee Drake 1890-1990.She is also the author of The History of the National Deaf Club 1906-2000 and A Deaf History in 50 Objects.

She has also been researching her ancestry through the Ancestry website and visiting the National Archives at Kew.  She has always known of her Irish ancestry, through her maternal grandfather, but it was only recently that she discovered she also had Dutch ancestry, through her paternal grandmother, thanks to the Ancestry website when a second cousin contacted her!