This book was produced primarily for the author's
mother's 80th birthday, and is an excellent idea for other family
historians to emulate.
The story is set firstly in Beenham, Berkshire, in
1748 and takes us to various parts of the country before ending in
Reading and Bristol around the 1940s. It begins with the marriage of
Charles Benwell to Elizabeth Ayres and continues down the years,
unfolding the family's history.
The book of 138 pages of text with photographs has
approximately seven family trees, but sadly in the interests of space,
occupations and place names have been omitted.
Each chapter contains essential historical background
of the period and discussion of occupations. It was here that I wanted
to return to the main story, where the author shows a good sense of
living through the tragedies and happy times of her family.
It is a book with particular interest for those having
Berkshire ancestors and with an interest in the surnames covered.
Generally, it has a warm, family feel running throughout the book, and
an excellent first attempt at putting one's research into print. A good
read for the cover price of £6.00. (JM - June 2001)
Berks
FHS 
Contents
with any queries