I’m having a go at developing back stories for long-ago members of the Sydenham Cricket Club and its antecedent clubs in Christchurch, say before 1920, although I do spill over a bit later sometimes as in the example below. It’s not easy when so often all I have to go on for a first name is an initial or initials from annual reports or newspaper reports, but it is amazing what can be done. One club stalwart was W. V. J. Hamilton, known as Vesey HAMILTON 1895-1982, his full name being William James Vesey HAMILTON 1895-1982, son of Frederick James HAMILTON 1865-1951 who in 1893 married Ethel Upton SLACK born 1869. Online trees which include Vesey's parents have done pretty well on the HAMILTON side but not the SLACK side. Some have Ethel as a 14 year old in the 1911 census in London which is difficult to believe seing as she'd had a number of children in NZ by then, and others if they do go back a little don’t go far back. An assumptiom seems to be that she wasn't born in New Zealand but in fact she was, in 1869, her parents marrying in New Zealand in 1865. I think it’s partly because her parents William Upton SLACK 1832-1908 & and Sarah Charlotte COOPER 1840-1913 died in the Manawatu having been there for a number of years. Vesey HAMILTON was born at Palmerston North in 1895. William Upton SLACK actually spent 27 years or so living in South Canterbury before he went north. The likes of the following obituary in the newspaper and the MacDonald Index card for him at Canterbury Museum are misleading because they say he was born at Dune’s Hill in Cumberland and his wife was a daughter of the minister of Bridenith. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19080728.2.70 In fact his father was William SLACK 1803-1854 of Ann’s Hill in Cumberland (not Dune's Hill) and his mother Jane Hephizbah HERVEY 1803-1839 was the daughter of the Vicar of Bridekirk parish in Cumberland (not Bridenith). The latter was Rev. Humphrey Archer HERVEY abt 1767-1843 who in 1795 married Sarah MAWSON abt 1772-1827, the daughter of William MAWSON 1735-1802 and Ann BANKS died 1810. Ann’s Hill is by Bridekirk village, in Bridekirk parish. http://maps.nls.uk/view/102340821 Rev Humphrey Archer was the son of Rev Thomas HERVEY of Underbarrow Kendal. A cryptic source suggests that Thomas was the son of Robert LAMPLUGH of Dovenby Hall Esq, but I am not sure I am reading it. Rev Humphrey had an interest in tithes at Dovenby though a family connection but needs more work. The LAMPLUGH connection at Dovenby goes back a very long way indeed. William SLACK of Ann's Hill was the son of William SLACK 1774-1830 of Ardwick (part of Manchester) formerly of Kysick and Derwent Hill (near Keswick, had a good view of Derwent Water) who married twice, firstly to Mrs Mary BUTTERWORTH in 1799 and secondly to Mary TURNER in 1821. The latter remarried in 1833 to Rev. Thomas Lamplugh HERVEY who was a son of the above-mentioned Rev Humphrey Archer HERVEY. But wait, there's more... Some researchers have made progress on the COOPER side, with Sarah Charlotte as the daughter of Rev. George Fort COOPER 1807-1942 in Yetminster, Dorset, whose will is available online. I think I have taken this line further back as follows, although follow-up is needed to ensure that it is correct. Rev. George married Jane COOPER (COOPER is her maiden name) in 1832 at Yetminster. He was the son of George Fort COOPER 1778-1834 married to Sarah who also has a will available online. By this time the action is taking place at St Edmund, Salisbury in Wiltshire. George senior was the son of Rev. Edward COOPER 1752-1810 who married Mary FORT in 1776 at St Edmund, Salisbury. For those interested, with forbears like the above, I imagine a spot of googling alone will find out much. Much of what I found came from googling for leads to follow. Happily, the older monumental inscriptions for Bridekirk are online as a PDF download (google with the terms graveyards brigham bridekirk and the first hit should be a web page of the text of the item which has a link where you can find the PDF download). And a book of the older OPR registers of Bridekirk can be downloaded here http://www.cockermouthareachurches.org.uk/stbridgetsgraves/Bridekirk%20Directory.pdf There doesn't seem to be a one-stop tree online, I've had to cobble the above together from multiple sources which are awkward to share by this means. I anyone is interested in the details then feel free to email me. Peter