Memories

We have finally got a printer and joined the C21st. The irony isn't lost on me that the first thing I wanted to do was scan family photos from the early C19th to the 1920's with my new toy. Apart from my dad and my aunt I never met any of the other people in these photos and as I am adopted I can't trace any likenesses. I have always been facinated by them though, it is one of the things of having a much older dad as the history goes further back. As a child I would love looking through the suitcase where so many photos were stored and some of them I snuck away for a college project. The most striking photo for me (and not one I have here) is of my dad's uncle Sidney. He is dressed in his Officer's uniform, posing for the camera at the onset of WWI. He came back and said goodbye to his family on his first leave and sadly he didn't survive. This image frozen in time is like looking at my dad as a young man.

The first two pictures are of this happy family before the onset of the war. I love this one as normally we see formally posed photographs during this period, but here they are dancing in a field and chatting. Nothing changes.

To the far left is my dad's grandmother. She was one of three sisters. She had one son Reginald and her other sister had a son Sidney. Then there was great aunt Millie who never married, but was incredibly rich and had a favourite nephew (luckily for my dad). These three sisters all lived near one another and so dad would choose which to visit on his cycle ride back from school as he would get different treats from each.

I think this must be at the end of that lovely walk.


Apparenly dad's grandmother was a lovely woman, even though she looks pretty scary in this picture.

This is her son, dad's father, in his army uniform. Luckily for him he was a private unlike his cousin which improved the odds for survival ever so slightly. I have photos of him by the pyramids of Egypt and so he must have fought the Turks. Like many men of that generation he never spoke of it.

Skipping ahead to the early 1920's and a scene from the beach. Dad's mum Hilda is on the far left in what dad descibes as that 'bloody coat'. Apparently she wore it all the time. Auntie Betty is giggling in the middle and I think the baby must be dad so that would date this picture as 1926. They hired white beach tents each year they had their family holiday . Dad remembers it so fondly we always go to the same beach on his birthday in mid September . We picnic, fly kites, play boules and generally have a great party. He'll be 83 this year I hope he still wants to go.

Betty in her fluffy bonnet.


Every image of dad'd dad is with a pipe.


Here is the bonny baby boy.