Susannah was the 3rd and 4th great grandmother of three of the founding members of this website but who was she? Where did she come from?
Clifford Walter Emptage
Colour Sergeant Clifford Walter Emptage was a career soldier who served in the 21st London Regiment.
He was a specialist in machine guns. When invalided out of France in 1915 he continued to serve as a training instructor.
Cyril George Emptage
Sergeant Cyril George Emptage was a career soldier who served in the Machine Gun Corps, which became the Royal Tank Regiment during World War One.
He was killed in the battle of Lys in April 1918.
Bonaparte’s Hat
The story of an encounter with a veteran boat man named Hemptage and of his meeting with Napoleon Bonaparte. Why was it so important?
A Brush with Life
Frank Sidney Smith was born in Thanet Union Workhouse. He had a difficult start in life, spending his early life in the children’s home at Manston. And much of his adult life was traumatic.
Art became Frank’s therapy, a way of processing his life and understanding himself. His work has become recognised as “an extraordinary work of social history.” Anthony Daniels, The Telegraph, 2001
Wills Project
The Wills Project is our attempt to transcribe the wills, probate accounts and inventories that we hope will provide insight into the history of our Thanet ancestors.