Newspaper articles - Hatches, Matches and Dispatches

The term "Hatches, Matches and Dispatches" is believed to have been coined in the 1850s or 1860s, and was used to refer to the "Births, Marriages and Deaths" announcements which people paid to have inserted into a local or national newspaper.  But, towards the end of the 19th century, and growing in popularity in the 20th century, it became common practice to send reports to the local newspaper of a wedding day or an obituary and funeral details of someone who had died.  In addition, reports of special anniversaries often also appeared.  The information these reports contain are a rich source of information for the family historian.  

We are grateful to the British Newspaper Archive for making digitised copies of The Evesham Standard available, from which these reports have been transcribed.  Marriages are shown first, followed by Deaths and then Anniversaries.