At the start of 2021, David Parry contacted me to say that he had an autograph book which featured the signature of Phyllis Norman Parker. He very kindly sent me a photo of her autograph, and then mentioned that he had researched the stories of several people that featured in that book. When he sent … Continue reading Guest post – Arthur Richard Moresby Treherne
Summer Season – Charles Hayes
A peculiarity with researching the story of people’s lives is that it is often easier to work from their death backwards. Whilst some people might consider this to be ‘a spoiler’, finding out first how the story ends, it can also be viewed as a gateway into seeing how a person’s life developed into the … Continue reading Summer Season – Charles Hayes
Row, row, row your boat
I was attracted to this photo firstly by the insignia on the gent's blazer, and then by the inscription on the back of the card - more specifically the nomenclature of Mr C H Younghusband. I am making the assumption that the photo is of Mr C H Younghusband, but at the moment I have … Continue reading Row, row, row your boat
Summer Season – Phyllis Norman Parker
I admit, things didn’t get off to a brilliant start when I misread the surname as being Packer not Parker, however once that got rectified, then it was all systems go! Since I have owned this postcard, I have had a fondness for Phyllis. I see in her a resignation, a “what am I doing … Continue reading Summer Season – Phyllis Norman Parker
Summer Season – George Stockwin
Having already spent some considerable time researching the lives of George Ellis and Anita Creighton, I knew that going to the archive of The Stage newspaper was going to be the best starting point to pick up any information I could on George Stockwin. At this point, I didn’t know whether George Stockwin was a … Continue reading Summer Season – George Stockwin
Summer Season – Anita Creighton
Thinking that Anita Creighton was an unusual enough name that I might pick something up using http://www.ancestry.co.uk, that was where I started. In complete opposite to George Ellis, where I was over run with results, this time there was nothing that seemed to fit. Once again, I turned to the newspaper archive on FMP (I … Continue reading Summer Season – Anita Creighton
Summer Season – George Ellis
According to the names written on the back of this photo, George Ellis is the gentleman in the middle of the back row. I started by doing a basic ancestry.co.uk search, but couldn't really narrow down my George Ellis with the c. 2,400 other George Ellis' that appear on the 1911 census. I decided to … Continue reading Summer Season – George Ellis
Summer Season
If you come across a photo like this: you know that there has to be a story behind it! One of the things that drew me to this photo, was that most of the people on the photo were named, which is always helpful when trying to work out what is going on............ (and is … Continue reading Summer Season
C Philip Laslett
It's not only photographs of landscapes that end up relegated to charity shops and car boot sales. Very often discarded family albums can be found, containing sepia photographs of long forgotten people. The very fact that these albums have been discarded suggests that there is no longer any living connection with the photographs, but at … Continue reading C Philip Laslett
Ledbury
Ledbury today is a popular tourist destination, with visitors appreciating the historic buildings aligning the High Street and surrounding roads. Sometimes though, these historic (high)lights are hidden under a bushel - or in this case, pebble dashed render. Here is 1 The Southend, then and now: The Feathers Hotel, on the High Street in Ledbury, … Continue reading Ledbury
A Life In Black and White 