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@willsmanonename.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 7:42 AM

My #AATP talk about Dr John Cordy Keer is now live on @sogorg.bsky.social’s website. Discover how the Medical Officer of Health would have influenced your ancestors’s lives, & life in your #OnePlaceStudy or #LocalHistory
#Sudbourne

sog.org.uk/gold-library...

Public Health in Practice: Dr Keer of Plomesgate
John Cordy Keer was Medical Officer of Health for the Plomesgate district of Suffolk for 54 years. In this talk, we explore the vital public health work of the Medical Officer of Health throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We uncover how these local Medical Officers of Health battled infectious diseases, poor sanitation, and rural housing issues. We will also discover practical strategies for researching historical public health records using local archives, council minutes, and local newspapers to reconstruct this fascinating history.

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 7:37 PM

…The Medical Officer of Health monitored local health, investigated disease outbreaks, inspected housing and sanitation, reported on births and deaths, and advised local authorities. I’ve found some incredible information on outbreaks of disease & causes in
#Sudbourne
#OnePlaceWednesday #AATP

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 7:37 PM

Please excuse a shameless #OnePlaceWednesday plug for my talk about Dr John Cordy Keer, Medical Officer of Health for the Plomesgate District which covered my #OnePlaceStudy of #Sudbourne. It goes live at 8am tomorrow. If the role sounds bureaucratic & boring, think again…

#AATP #AATP26

First slide of my John Cordy Keer presentation

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 12:32 PM

I’ve just booked another trip to my happy place - The (UK) National Archives! 🥳 I’ll be trying to find some information about the elusive #Sudbourne #workhouse in these Very Big Books, & photographing some 1910 Valuation Act records for another one-placer
#OnePlaceWednesday

A large number of poor law documents bound into a large book

A close-up of a 1910 Valuation Act map, with assessment numbers in red

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Sep 30, 2026, 1:21 PM

I’m very excited to be doing the evening online version of #Suffolk Archives’ ‘Workhouses & #SocialHistory’ talk which starts on Monday 19 October. Not sure how much I there is to find out about the #Sudbourne workhouse - not much in the archives - but I’ll do my best!

#OnePlaceWednesday

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Sep 16, 2026, 7:08 PM

A bit late for #OnePlaceLabourers, but I was thrilled to find this postcard of a steam cultivator in #Blaxhall - an ancestral village & very near my #Sudbourne #OnePlaceStudy.
#OnePlaceWednesday

A postcard entitled ‘Steam Cultivator. Blaxhall.’

A close-up of part a postcard entitled ‘Steam Cultivator. Blaxhall.’

A close-up of a man sat on a plough - part a postcard entitled ‘Steam Cultivator. Blaxhall.’

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Sep 16, 2026, 5:32 PM

I treated myself to a special #Sudbourne #OnePlaceStudy purchase recently. I saw it on Facebook 🫣 so I hope it looks as good in real life! It should have arrived by next #OnePlaceWednesday, so I’ll show you then

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Sep 9, 2026, 5:57 PM

#Sudbourne school taught the ‘Tonic Sol-Fa’ singing system which uses 7 basic sounds: do/doh, re, mi, fa, sol (or so), la, and ti.
The method originated with Sarah Anna Glover of Norwich, England, in the early 19th century & was further adapted by English minister John Curwen.
#OnePlaceWednesday

@willsmanonename.bsky.social Sep 9, 2026, 9:24 AM

Thought I’d do a ‘Then & Now’ for #OnePlaceWednesday. This is the game van of The Honourable Alastair J. Watson of #Sudbourne - game as in birds. The black & white photo shows the van in 1912, & I took the colour photos of the game van last year at The Food Museum in Suffolk.