A Visit To Thiepval

 

Thiepval Memorial. 

Over ten years ago, we paid a visit to Loos Memorial so that I could pay my respects to my great-uncles Harry and Herbert Dickman, who died in 1916. This year, I was lucky enough to visit Thiepval Memorial, where one of my 'cousins', John William Dickman, is commemorated, and to pay my respects.

 

J W Dickman, Thiepval. 

John was the son of John and Mary Dickman, of 38, Kay St., Lower Openshaw, Manchester, and he served in the 8th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment. He was only 24 years old when he died on 15 July 1916 - just two weeks before my great-uncle Harry was killed. (Herbert died earlier that year). 

What a terrible year that was for my family. 

Photos copyright Sue and Nigel Wilkes. 

'Scarlet Sin'

 My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World magazine (Nov/Dec issue) is on the ancient craft of dyeing. 

In 1814, Jane Austen wrote to Cassandra to complain about the local dyer: ‘My poor old muslin has never been dyed yet. It has been promised to be done several times. What wicked people dyers are! They begin with dipping their own souls in scarlet sin’.

Dyes were used for many different fabrics: wool, worsted, linen, cotton, and silk. 

The secret of Turkey-Red dyeing (from the Far East), was much sought after in Britain, but it was not until the 1780s that it was successfully accomplished in Britain, in Manchester and the Glasgow area. 

The late eighteenth century also saw the introduction of new dyes from metals, like 'iron buff' and orange from antimony. 

Image from the author's collection: Costume Parisien, Journal des Dames et des Modes, 1803. A ‘Robe de Mousseline Turque’ [Turkey muslin].