Snippets from family archives, contributions received, newspaper articles and other sources unearthed during our research. There is no planned structure for this page. It's just a series of random ramlbings! Check the main news page for the progress of research and other interesting facts.
Family Folklore
As always family stories go down the generations. Here are some from the author's (David Skyrme) branch of the family:
- The family have a strong naval tradition - many worked in Pembroke Dock, and other later (early 20th century) moved along to other South Coast naval bases - Plymouth and especially Portsmouth.
- There was a pirate in the family (James Skyrme 1720-1722)
- Great uncle George (now deceased) recalled vividly the Battle of Jutland, where he swept up dead people's limbs from the ship's deck
- Another relative was shipwrecked off of Whitby in a storm in the 19th century.
How Well Do You Know Your Skyrmes?
During my research into the Pembrokeshire Skyrmes some interesting facts have been uncovered. At the start of each of the publications I put 10 teasers to whet your appetite. Here they are:
The Skyrmes of Manorbier and Penally:
1. Which Skyrme went north using one Christian name and came back to Wales with another?
2. Who dropped the surname Skyrme and used a version of their middle name as their surname?
3. Who was the object of an attempted (but failed) murder?
4. Who was shipwrecked just 200 yards off the coast at Whitby and was lashed by gales and high seas before being rescued 50 hours later?
5. Which were the most popular boy's and girl's Christian name up to 1900?
6. Why was a London Metropolitan policeman stationed in Pembroke?
7. Why didn't HMS Pembroke go to sea?
8. Which family did two male Skyrmes marry into, who are believed to have descended from a 7th century king?
9. When was the first census where the majority of Pembrokeshire Skyrmes lived outside of Pembrokeshire?
10. What mode of transport did the Skyrme shipwrights from Monkton use to get their job in Pembroke Dockyard?
The answers are on page 41 in The Skyrmes of Manorbier and Penally (PDF 2.5Mb).
The Skyrmes of Llangwm:
1. In the mid-1800s what was the minimum sized oysters that were allowed to be caught in Milford Haven?
2. Why did one Peter Skyrme "marshal in procession" a group of over 190 Pembroke freemen?
3. Who was the missionary who wrote a book of poems?
4. What did one sea-faring John Skyrme buy for £12 that made a difference to his life?
5. One of the first casualties in the first World War was a James Skyrme. How did he meet his untimely death?
6. Who became a civil servant in the government of Sudan and why would this have happened?
7. Who became an OBE in the 1961 New Year's Honours?
8. Who married a bigamist?
9. Two spinsters are buried together at the Black Tar cemetery. One was aged 84. How old was the other one?
10. What was the connection between some Skyrme descendents of Llangwm and Stratford-on-Avon?
The answers are on page 46 in The Skyrmes of Llangwm and The Cleddau (PDF 3.1Mb).
Welsh Newspapers Online
The Welsh Newspapers Online Beta wesbite (launched March 2013) has a good selection of articles on Skyrmes, many from the Pembrokeshire Herald and Gazette (from 1884). This is help filling in many gaps in our research. As is common most of the stories involve criminality or untimely deaths. Here are a few to whet your appetite:
- Robert Randell Skyrme - a strange story, since he unwittingly married a bigamist! Robert was a descendent of John Skyrme of Llangwm. In 1870 he married a Mary Phillips in Haverfordwest, and they then moved to Cardiff. He died aged 44 only 5 years later. The story that broke the news of Mary's bigamy appeared in editions of the Cardiff Evening Express on 23rd and 30th December 1893. Having married again in Cardiff, she came to court seeking maintenance from her third husband Thomas Williams, a train driver who had moved away to Cowbridge. However, his defence, brought forward her first husband Daniel, whom she married when 17, showing that he was still alive, and that therefore her subsequent marriages were illegal.
- John Skyrme of Llangwm - charged with storing and collecting under-sized oysters (less than 2¼ inches diameter) in Milford harbour. Apparently he allowed his assistant to measure them, and when he found out he is reported to have said to her: "You knew it was harm for me, but not for yourself." The report continues: "He took the oysters, and dashed them down, saying 'You have done me now.'". The case was dismissed. (6 April 1866)
- Accident to Thomas Skyrme employed by Mr Lewis of Narberth. He was driving a waggon near Pendine, along with a colleague George Nicholas. George jumped off to put the brakes on but the horse's reigns got entangled in Thomas's legs. He was thrown off the waggon and fell under the wheels. He suffered compound fracture of the ankle, dislocated thigh, and three broken ribs. (11 June 1909)
- An even more terrible accident to another Thomas Skyrme. This happened on the Corston Estate in February 1910. In preparation for thrashing farm workers were positioning a traction engine supplied by Mr Rogers. Unfortunately the axle broke and the machine fell over onto Thomas. He moaned "I am done, carry me to the hay house." He was carried into the servants' hall and the doctor called. However, almost all the bones in his body were broken and after survivng 7 hours during which he was conscious, he died. (11 Feb 1910). Previously in our research one of our correspondents had attributed his death to mauling by a bull!
- Willam Skyrme and his wife Rebecca charged at Saundersfoot petty sessions for selling beer at Knightson Farm without a license. William claimed that he was unaware of his wife going there. Rebecca, however, admitted the offence and was fined 4s with 6s 3d costs. (28 July 1876)
In More Modern News (2003 and 2006)
Raymond Perrett, father of Jane Skyrme, celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2003. He was the last surviving crew member of HMS Victory (when it was afloat). His story featured in the York Evening News 7th October 2003 and on BBC News. If we can get permission we will reproduce these stories here. He died in Dec 2006, aged 103.
Other Skyrme Trivia
A search of "Skyrme" on the internet will reveal lots of entries to do with the Skyrme model. When I (David Skyrme) was doing research in nuclear physics at Oxford University, I was often asked if I was related to Professor Tom Skyrme a nuclear physics professor at Birmingham University. It was after him that the model was named and also the Skyrmion "Loosely, a quasiparticle corresponding to topological twists or kinks in a spin space". Click here for a short profile of THR Skyrme and his work. Therefore he is probably the most famous, and best known Skyrme to date. Though any one of you reading this could change that....!
Other notable Skyrmes I have heard of include the former Chairman of The National Bus Company in England and Sir Thomas Skyrme (1915-2002), a barrister who wrote a seminal work History of the Justices of The Peace.
Coming out of the toilets in Hereford Cathedral on a sightseeing visit some years ago, my wife was shocked to find herself standing on a tombstone with her name!!
If you visit the museum in Pembroke Castle - in the heart of the Skyrme principality - you will see some needlecraft done by a Skyrme.
The (out-of-print) book Historic Pembrokeshire Homes and their Families describes how the Skyrmes from Herefordshire settled in Wales. It notes that the estate of Vaynor, Llawhaden "is a good family house belonging to a descendant of the Skyrmes whose ancestor accompanied Oliver Cromwell into the principality during the civil war. The Skyrmes "owned that estate for seven successive generations until the death of William Skyrmes in 1823.
A William Skyrme of Alltgoch was Sheriff of Cardigan (mid-Wales) in 1809.