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This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.

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Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead 1872-1930

On 12th July 1872 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead was born. Winston Churchill was his godfather.

In April 1901 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 28] and Margaret Eleanor Furneaux Countess of Birkenhead [aged 22] were married.

On 7th December 1907 [his son] Frederick Smith 2nd Earl of Birkenhead was born to Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 35].

In 1918 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 45] was created 1st Baronet Smith of Hillbrook.

In 1919 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 46] was created 1st Baron Birkenhead of Birkenhead in Cheshire.

In 1921 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 48] was created 1st Viscount Birkenhead of Birkenhead in Cheshire.

        
                    The London Gazette 32776.  Whitehall, December 9, 1922. Letters Patent have passed the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland creating the undermentioned Earldoms, Viscountcies and Baronies:
                
                    The Right Honourable Frederick Edwin [aged 50], Viscount Birkenhead, to be Viscount Furneaux, of Charlton, in the County of Northampton, and Earl Of Birkenhead. [[his wife] Margaret Eleanor Furneaux Countess of Birkenhead [aged 44] by marriage Countess Birkenhead.]
                
                    The Right Honourable Horace Brand [aged 78], Viscount Farquhar, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., late Lord Steward of the Household, to be Earl Farquhar.
                
                    The Right Honourable Arthur Hamilton, Baron Lee of Fareham, G.B.E., K.C.B., to be Viscount Lee of Fareham, of Bridport, in the County of Dorset. 
                
                    William Hesketh [aged 71], Baron Leverhulme, to be Viscount Leverhulme, of The Western Isles, in the Counties of Inverness and Ross and Cromarty.
                
                    The Right Honourable Francis Bingham Mildmay to be Baron Mildmay Of Flete, of Totnes, in the County of Devon.
                
                    The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Paton Maclay, Baronet, to be Baron Maclay, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark.
                
                    The Right Honourable Sir Edward Alfred Goulding, Baronet, to be Baron Wargrave, of Wargrave Hall, in the County of Berks. Sir John Henry Bethell, Baronet, to be BARON BETHELL, of Romford, in the County of Essex.

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On 30th September 1930 Frederick Smith 1st Earl of Birkenhead [aged 58] died. His son Frederick [aged 22] succeeded 2nd Earl Birkenhead, 2nd Viscount Furneaux of Charlton in Northamptonshire, 2nd Viscount Birkenhead of Birkenhead in Cheshire, 2nd Baron Birkenhead of Birkenhead in Cheshire, 2nd Baronet Smith of Hillbrook.

On 8th September 1968 [his former wife] Margaret Eleanor Furneaux Countess of Birkenhead [aged 90] died.