Editor:- Ron Cawdell ‘Homebase’ Ashlake Farm Lane, Wootton Bridge, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 4LF

tel. 01983 88629 cawdell@rcawdell.fsnet.co.uk

The July 1st Cawdell Family Reunion at Baldock in Hertfordshire was another hugely successful occasion. Whilst it was not quite as well attended as the 1995 one it was nevertheless a very enjoyable day. The video recording of the 1995 reunion was shown and proved very interesting especially to those who missed that reunion as well as those who were there and were now looking a little different with the passage of 5 years. Our grateful thanks must go to Michael and Christine Cawdell of Royston for the organising and smooth running of the event.

Another wonderful Cawdell Family Reunion was held in 1997 at the home of Winnifred Robinson, nee Cawdell, in North Vancouver. Some 28 members of the two Cawdell families that are established in Canada attended together with Ron and Doreen Cawdell from England. Fred Cawdell, who had represented Canada at the 1995 Baldock reunion with his wife Carol, also attended. Ron and Fred gave a report on the 1995 Baldock reunion. Ron spread the family tree out and great interest was shown as most of them did not know how their ancestors had arrived in Canada or where their English roots were. Winn laid on an excellent buffet and was thanked by Ron for making the event so successful.

A Cawdell Family Reunion is now planned to take place in New South Wales on May the 26th 2001. The venue will be either at the home of Kerrin Cawdell-Smith or in a hall nearby. Arrangements have been made over the internet between Ron Cawdell and Kerrin. Kerrin is a descendant of Thomas Cawdell born 1847, the son of Colour Sergeant James Cawdell. He went, or was sent, to Australia with his two younger brothers James and Charles. James and Charles died at sea and are recorded as ‘Smith’, parents unknown. Thomas Cawdell then became known as Thomas Cawdell-Smith. It has not been possible, to date, to determine the name of the ship as it obvious that something strange took place resulting in the two deaths and the adoption Of the ‘Smith’ name. It would appear that Thomas did not want that information getting back to his parents in the U.K.

Any member of the Cawdell family wishing to attend the Australian Cawdell Reunion will be most welcome. Details of Australian Hotels and Self Catering Apartments etc. are available from your travel agents. Temperatures up in Cairns, for the Barrier Reef, are around 80f at that time of the year and a self catering apartment costs about £58 a day which will sleep up to four persons. The price is for the apartment not per person. Hotel prices in Sydney vary according to grade of course but are as low as £25 per person per night in a twin room. £50 for a single. During the reunion a headstone is being erected at the grave of Thomas Cawdell and his wife Martha, nee Woolley..

The rewrite of the Cawdell Family History is progressing slowly. A lot more interesting information has come to light since the first production in 1995. Since then a computer has replaced the word processor which has made the task a lot easier and more professional. It is proposed to have the finished article printed and published in hard back form. Many Cawdell’s have already assisted with articles and photographs of interest but if there is anyone that has any material they feel would enhance the book please don’t hesitate to contact me. I know that you would all want the finished article to be as comprehensive as possible. Some of the material will obviously have been contained in the 1995 production. I therefore propose to offer a generous discount to anyone that purchased the earlier publication. At this stage I have no idea exactly how much the book will cost to publish but I will not be passing on the full cost by any means as this project is something I have wanted to do since we finally produced our family tree in its present form together with all the interesting historical facts that emerged during the research.

Although its very early days some members of the Cawdell family are already asking when the next reunion will take place. I have mentioned this to Michael as so much of the organisation falls on his shoulders living at Royston, Herts. Since the 1995 event we have unfortunately lost several of our older family members who were sadly missed this year. At the same time we do not feel that it is the type of event that can be held too frequently. The five year gap from 1995 to 2000 seemed to be about right and early July appears to be a good time of the year. We would therefor be looking towards early July 2005 for the next Cawdell Family Reunion at Baldock. The venue for the last two occasions was ideal and if available would again be the choice I assume. Please contact Michael or myself if you have any observations on this subject.

Lillian Cawdells grandson, Andrew John Cawdell, died aged 10 years of meningitis in 1998. She is dedicating a stained glass window, to include the Cawdell Family Crest, to his memory. The church is the Church of the Ascension at Wembley Park, London. The window is still in the design stages so the date of the dedication is not known at present. Any member of the Cawdell family who would like to be present at the dedication and would like to be kept informed of the progress can contact Lillian Cawdell. Tel. 020 89045443

It was Lillians husbands grandfather, Thomas James Cawdell born 1853, who was the original researcher of the Cawdell family and who produced the first family tree. His work laid the foundation for the present extended tree and the historical facts that have come to light since.

Michael and his son David have produced a web site on the internet. At the moment it is in its early stages but do visit it. You only have to visit http://www.cawdell.com you can contact Michael through the site. We are hoping to put Newsletters on the site and other information as available. Such as 2005 Reunion, The family tree and other articles.

Michael also uses it as a business site so if you are a business with the name of Cawdell he is willing to enter your details at no cost. You can e-mail Michael or Tel. 01763 246109 or 01763 222922. Tell Michael of any up dates on the Tree so he can keep it up to date.