Member Article

North East blood required

Hundreds of years after they spilled their blood in a series of vicious raids and reprisals, the Border Reiver clans are being asked to do it all again. Newcastle University researchers are seeking people with ‘Border Reiver’ surnames, like Armstrong, Fenwick, Burn or Robson, to donate blood samples for a groundbreaking project which aims to find out if a person’s surname signals their genetic makeup. Now researchers are aiming to find the descendants of these notorious families for the Northern England element of a national project called People of the British Isles (PoBI). They hope to collect up to 600 blood samples in total for scientific analysis and will be looking for common genetic patterns and the presence of certain genes, such as those that determine hair colour.

Potential volunteers are being asked to attend the Northumberland and Border History Fair in Hexham on December 2 to donate blood samples. Volunteers should be able to trace all four of their grandparents to the same geographical area in Northumberland, Northern Cumbria, County Durham and the Scottish Borders. All volunteers who fit these criteria can participate, however, the study team will be particularly interested to hear from people who have a ‘Border Reiver’ surname by birth or a parent with the surname.

Project leader, Dr Caroline Relton, of Newcastle University’s Institute of Human Genetics, said: “The Border Reivers were at the centre of an incredibly exciting era in British history and they left an impressive legacy in the people, culture and architecture of the Border lands. “We believe there are equally fascinating stories to be told about the Border Reivers’ genetic legacy and we hope to make many discoveries using thorough scientific analysis that has never been done before. “We’re encouraging as many of our ‘modern day’ Border Reivers to come forward so that we can build as full a genetic picture as possible.”

The call for the Border Reivers families follows a separate project commissioned by the Centre for Life in Newcastle for a new exhibit to examine genetic inheritance. Last Saturday, November 25, 100 male volunteer Robsons were invited to give a DNA sample which is being examined for genetic similarities. The results will be included in a ‘Robson Encyclopedia’, to be featured in an exhibit next Spring.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .