Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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In 1890 [his father] Sigmund Neumann 1st Baronet (age 32) and [his mother] Anna Allegra Hakim Lady Neumann (age 26) were married at Vevey, Switzerland.
On 9th June 1891 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet was born to [his father] Sigmund Neumann 1st Baronet (age 34) and [his mother] Anna Allegra Hakim Lady Neumann (age 27).
In 1911 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 19) was commissioned into the 1st Norfolk Yeomanry and served until 1920. He saw action at Gallipoli and was invalided out of the theatre with amoebic dysentery. He served as a staff Captain 1917–1920.
On 6th February 1912 [his father] Sigmund Neumann 1st Baronet (age 54) was created 1st Baronet Neumann of Cecil Lodge. [his mother] Anna Allegra Hakim Lady Neumann (age 48) by marriage Lady Neumann of Cecil Lodge.
On 13th September 1916 [his father] Sigmund Neumann 1st Baronet (age 59) died. His son Cecil (age 25) succeeded 2nd Baronet Neumann of Cecil Lodge.
On 17th February 1920 [his brother-in-law] Captain Victor Malcolm Wombwell (age 26) and [his sister] Sybil Rose Neumann Baroness Grimston were married. This marriage was annulled in 1921.
In 1922 or 1923 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 30) and Joan Grimston Lady Neumann were married. She by marriage Lady Neumann of Cecil Lodge.
On 24th October 1923 [his brother-in-law] Robert Villiers Grimston 1st Baron Grimston (age 26) and [his sister] Sybil Rose Neumann Baroness Grimston were married.
On 19th July 1927 [his son] Gerard Robert Henry Sigismund Newman 3rd Baronet was born to Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 36) and [his wife] Joan Grimston Lady Neumann at Burloes Hall, Hertfordshire.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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In 1936 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 44) assumed by Royal licence the surname of Newman in lieu of Neumann.
In 1939 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 47) was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire.
In 1951 [his mother] Anna Allegra Hakim Lady Neumann (age 87) died.
On 11th March 1952 [his brother-in-law] Robert Villiers Grimston 1st Baron Grimston (age 54) was created 1st Baronet Grimston of Westbury in Wiltshire. [his sister] Sybil Rose Neumann Baroness Grimston by marriage Lady Grimston of Westbury in Wiltshire.
In May 1955 Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet (age 63) died. His son Gerard (age 27) succeeded 3rd Baronet Neumann of Cecil Lodge.
On 15th September 1969 [his former wife] Joan Grimston Lady Neumann died.
GrandFather: Gustav Neumann
Father: Sigmund Neumann 1st Baronet
GrandMother: Babette m Neumann
Cecil Gustavus Jacques Neumann aka Newman 2nd Baronet
GrandFather: Jacques Hakim of Alexandria
Mother: Anna Allegra Hakim Lady Neumann