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darkroom12
Guest
I the oldest surviving member of my family with my son and daughter and my 4 grand children following on. After my mother died in 1999 (my father died in 1970) I found a whole pile of letters (some dating back to 1885 - 1900) and a number of birth and death certificates and a mass of photographs, some including one set of Great Grandparents. I also found out that my maternal grandfather was a submariner in the 1914-18 war and was quite highly decorated for bravery. I don't know why. but these were never ever talked about when my family were alive. I have found out that those that went to make up my family were farmers, coal miners, a Royal Navy officer. later a Merchant Navy Captain. Policemen (3 generations), painters and decorators, and a Confectioner. Some of the female members didn't go out to work, but others were 'in service' for the landed gentry, also office workers and at least two served in the armed services during the 1939/45 war There was one member who was a criminal who had served time 'inside' but I cannot find anything out about him.
From these snippets I developed an intense interest in the people who went to make up who we were and in the intervening 21 years have amassed information going back to 1830. This has taken me all over the NE and NW of England. I have found direct relatives in both Australia and America. I also found out that a photograph of me aged about 18 months old was taken on a farm with me sitting on the shoulders of who was a German POW, waiting to be repatriated after the war ended.
I set out a project at the beginning of the 1st lockdown to assemble these photographs, take as many more as I could of places where my forebears lived and worked. Then to write all the information in chronological order to be passed onto my Grandchildren so the family history is not completely lost. Who knows, in future years with a foundation like this, hopefully they may be able to dig even deeper into who we were. There is an album and the written history for all the grandchildren each containing about 90 old photographs.Plus about half as many again of new ones taken during my searches in Northumberland and Cumbria. The project is now finished and the fruits of the effort are ready to be handed over.
From these snippets I developed an intense interest in the people who went to make up who we were and in the intervening 21 years have amassed information going back to 1830. This has taken me all over the NE and NW of England. I have found direct relatives in both Australia and America. I also found out that a photograph of me aged about 18 months old was taken on a farm with me sitting on the shoulders of who was a German POW, waiting to be repatriated after the war ended.
I set out a project at the beginning of the 1st lockdown to assemble these photographs, take as many more as I could of places where my forebears lived and worked. Then to write all the information in chronological order to be passed onto my Grandchildren so the family history is not completely lost. Who knows, in future years with a foundation like this, hopefully they may be able to dig even deeper into who we were. There is an album and the written history for all the grandchildren each containing about 90 old photographs.Plus about half as many again of new ones taken during my searches in Northumberland and Cumbria. The project is now finished and the fruits of the effort are ready to be handed over.
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