I must start the story by acknowledging the huge debt of thanks that I owe to a relative of mine I never even knew existed until it was too late for me to meet him - Bill Norfolk (RWS Norfolk) who was born in Hull in 1913. His truly impressive combination of scholarship, ingenuity and dedication has been a privilege to discover and an example I could never hope to emulate.

After about two years my own research had taken me back to around 1681, relying for the most part on internet genealogy resources, family memories (my dad's cousins Gordon Norfolk in London and Jim Norfolk in Rotherham have been - and continue to be - a great source of knowledge and enthusiasm along with my recently discovered family in Pollington, Arthur and Jean Norfolk) and, importantly, parish and other records in The Borthwick Institute in York. In particular I owe a great deal to my brother, Keith Norfolk, and my daughter, Sarah Norfolk, who helped me so much to search and record information, especially on journeys to the Borthwick Institute. Having got as far back as the 1680s, I then discovered that I'd been unwittingly following in Bill Norfolk's footsteps. It's amazing how things turn up out of the blue, but they do. 

First of all, there was Jim Norfolk (no relation to me), with whom I'd been in contact for some months. Jim comes from a branch of Nottinghamshire Norfolks and is a dedicated Norfolk researcher himself, with a particular interest in discovering the link - if one exists - between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire Norfolks. He told me his father had been corresponding with a man called RWS Norfolk in the 1980s and had been given a handwritten copy of a book he had written entitled "Yorkshire Branch Of The Norfolk Family: Part One 1240 - 1470". Jim was a little reluctant to let me have a copy of this book, understandably fearing that it might fall into the public domain without its author being given the proper recognition he deserved for all his hard work in compiling it. A few months later, however, in records in the Borthwick Institute I found a direct connection between my own Norfolks and the Hull Norfolks, among whom, I eventually discovered, was Bill (RWS) Norfolk. I also found a reference to Bill's book in the Yorkshire Archaeological Society records. Once he knew of my own family connection to Bill and learned that the book was already technically in the public domain, Jim Norfolk was only too pleased to let me have a copy of Bill's book and, for that, I cannot thank him enough. And then fate intervened again. 

In the book I saw a reference to a tombstone that had been placed in the little church of Holy Trinity at Acaster Malbis, near York, in memory of Nicholas Northfolk around the year 1420. Although there was a gap of at least 200 years between where Bill Norfolk's book ended and where my researches had so far led, I had a feeling that Nicholas Northfolk may have been an ancestor of mine. After all, I knew my Norfolks had an Acaster Malbis connection and here, apparently, was a tombstone of a Norfolk within a stone's throw of my ancestors in Copmanthorpe.

In early December 2005 I went with my youngest daughter, Sarah, to see if the tombstone was still there. Unfortunately, the church was locked. I then wrote to the vicar of the church (Rev. Coates) to ask him if the stone still existed. The vicar passed my letter on to the Churchwarden, Roger Raimes, who then telephoned me. I immediately knew the name Raimes, as one of my relatives had married a woman called Elizabeth Raimes in the church at Acaster Malbis in 1821. Roger Raimes told me that he knew a great deal about my family as he had been a friend of Bill Norfolk and had a copy of his book. I told him I, too, had a copy, and it was then that he told me that I only had Part One of the story. He said he had Bill's further writings which carried the story onwards right up to almost the present day. What a stroke of luck! If I hadn't written to Rev. Coates I may never have known that Bill Norfolk had carried the history forwards. Roger Raimes also told me the tombstone had recently been restored and replaced in the church, at parish expense (no Norfolks had been traced who were prepared or interested enough to make a contribution!), as it was considered to be an important and valuable piece of history. He then invited me to visit him in his home at Acaster Malbis to see the stone and the Norfolk records in his possession. 

In January 2006 my wife, Sheelagh, and I went to meet Roger and his wife and were shown Bill Norfolk's book along with a family tree chart he had drawn up - from his own Hull branch's perspective - and other documents. It contained references to other branches such as my own which had left Copmanthorpe to go to the Pollington area, near Snaith, and helped to confirm so much of what I had managed to discover already for myself. And it was all backed up with references to specific historical documents such as wills, probate records and other documents – a splendid example of historical research, not a collection of guesses and assumptions as is so often the case with family research.

We then went to the church to see the tombstone. Holy Trinity is a very old church that was rebuilt in 1350, is still very much cared for and well used to this day by the parish and contains a beautiful display of restored, mediaeval stained glass, the work of "Robert the Glazier" who was also responsible for the glass in the West Window at York Minster. Roger Raimes is an extremely knowledgeable man, the perfect choice for churchwarden, as he clearly loves Acaster Malbis - his own family have a very long and distinguished history here  - the church and its history. The tombstone was removed from its original site on the church floor in the 1800s when the present, impressive church organ was installed (one which strikes the observer as being far too large for a church of this size) and for very many years was left propped up behind the organ until the decision was made a few years ago to restore it and place it back down on the floor, albeit not in the original location. Apparently, several coffins were found under the floor when the stone was first moved and they were left there, intact, when the floor was laid back down for the organ. The tombstone itself has had a great many feet walk over it in the last 600 years and is very worn, but the border inscription and coats of arms carved into it are clearly visible and there are several plaques on the church wall showing armorial details and a translation of the Latin inscription which reads "Pray for the soul of Nicholas Northfolk, armiger, who died in the month of December Anno Domini 1420 and Elene his wife, upon whose souls may God have mercy".  (An armiger is someone who has been granted a coat of arms.)

And so, to round off my own efforts, the rest of the family history had apparently been handed to me on a plate. And what a series of coincidences! It's just astonishing how things happen when you're not expecting them. If I'd not been contacted by Jim Norfolk and been given the original version of the book, I'd never have found out about the tombstone lying only twenty miles from where I live. Then, if I'd been able to get in the church I wouldn't have written to the Rev. Coates, who, in turn, wouldn't have passed me on to Roger Raimes, the one person who possessed the rest of the jigsaw puzzle.

But, of course, the search doesn't end here. There's still so much more to be discovered, so many more avenues, side alleys and, undoubtedly, dead-ends to explore.