Welcome to BobAnderson.co.uk
This site is dedicated to the memory of my ancestors, particularly those family members of humble stock who, imbued with pioneering spirit and a desire to improve their lot, emigrated from the United Kingdom to New Zealand in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
I, Robert (Bob) John Anderson, was born in Wanganui, New Zealand but returned to the U.K. in 1967 and settled in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire where I still live with my wife Elizabeth (Liz). Our three children, their spouses and three grandchildren also reside in the U.K.
What then kindled my interest in family history? It all started over a decade ago when I began an investigation into the ancestry of my paternal grandmother, born Florence Britton, who was abandoned as a four-month-old baby in Yorkshire. She later sailed to N.Z., meeting my grandfather, Alfred Anderson, on the voyage.
The fascinating facts I established about Florence’s background, although leaving key questions unanswered, encouraged me to extend my research to other branches of my family, particularly the McCauleys, from Northern Ireland, and the Andersons, originating in Scotland.
The main purpose of this website is to encourage contact with others who may have links with my family and forebears. Surnames that feature prominently in my family history include the following: Anderson (Edinburgh and London); McCauley, Donaldson and McCausland (Tyrone, Northern Ireland); Britton (Buckinghamshire, Denbighshire and Shropshire); Thomas (Hampshire, Ireland and Sussex); Ford (London); Gadd (Bristol); Veitch (Edinburgh); Williams and Tricker (Suffolk); Boodle (Shropshire); Freestone (Yorkshire).
