Does anyone have any advice for finding photos please?

[SLDreew]

Hi all! This is my first post here so I'm really sorry if this is in the wrong place, I wasn't quite sure where to post this!

I've been researching my family history for some time now, but I've never managed to find a photograph of my great grandfather, Arthur Drew. I've asked my relatives and they don't remember ever seeing a photo of him, but my hopes are that there might potentially be something like a company photo from where he worked which might include him? I don't know if there were really such things at the time, though. He was born on 14 Aug 1896, married in 1922, had 3 children, and died on 7 May 1932, and lived in Birmingham his whole life. He didn't serve in WWI, working at Kynoch's during the war (I don't know exactly when though), and in the 1921 Census he's working at Edwin Showell and Sons. I was wondering if anyone knows of any photos of the workers at Kynoch's or Edwin Showell and Sons at those times, or perhaps if anyone has any advice at all on where to look. Sorry again if this is in the wrong place. Thanks!

 

[Vivienne14]

Welcome to the Forum. We have several Kynoch’s threads. They won’t necessarily offer names in the images but may be useful background material. Viv.

Kynoch's I C I 1800s - 1920s

Please note many images were lost when BHF was hacked so images may not be visible in certain posts. This thread covers discussion about Kynoch's during the period from the 1800s to the 1920s. For Kynoch's in the 1930s - 1940s go here...

birminghamhistory.co.uk

 

[Stokkie]

Are you on Ancestry or other genealogical sites? If not, consider the free trial and see if he's there. There's a 'Gallery' - of course it is wise to cross check and see if the identification is correct. Look for a wedding photo?Trace children and grandchildren. Not everyone is on such sites or puts up family photos though. Older relatives may have photos, but may not know the identity of individuals. If they have a collection see if you could digitally copy them on your phone. I had no family photo of my grandfather, but I found him on line in a wedding photo of one of his children. He was with his wife. My grandmother was his lover, mother of some of his children (and eventually his second wife). I am still looking for her and may not find her.

You might get lucky - I wish you success.

 

[SLDreew]

Thanks! I am on Ancestry and have been doing a lot of my research on there, but no one had any photos of him. I've asked all of my relatives I know (Arthur's descendants) and none recall seeing a photo of him at any point. He had three sons in 1924, 1926, and 1929, but he sadly died young in 1932 and so wouldn't be in any of their wedding photos. The family was quite poor, so they would've struggled to afford photos I think, and if any were taken at their wedding in 1922 I don't know who would have them. He was one of five children, but all of them died young and had no children, so any photos would've probably ended up with Arthur and his descendants. That's why I'm hoping he may have been photographed at his workplace or something like that.

 

[ChrisM]

Welcome to the Forum, also! I can't comment on Showells but I know a bit about Kynoch.

I have to say that unfortunately the prospect of finding a photograph of an individual employee from the period of the Great War is tiny or even nil. The size of the workforce at that time was huge, up to about 18,000 people. I doubt very much whether there was any photographic i.d. produced for any employee at that time and, even if there were, whether any such information would have survived after more than a century – even if the archive was accessible which, at the last time I asked the question, it was not. (The company does of course survive, unlike so many others, and is active these days under the guise of IMI plc, still based in the Birmingham area).

There are of course a few surviving photographs from those times which crop up occasionally. But these will be general photographs of the workforce at its daily activity and even if, by some miracle, your great-grandfather appeared in one of them, there would be no way for you or anyone else to identify him.

I'm sorry to be so pessimistic but it does sound as though Arthur was just one of so many employed on war work before apparently moving away from Kynoch - and then passing away at an early age. So all traces of him there are almost certain to have disappeared. It would be good to be proven wrong but I don't think that's too likely.

Good luck with your ongoing search and please keep us posted about any progress.

Chris

(PS I have a potted history of Kynoch online here: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/KOtherInformationKynoch.htm. It's safe to click on).

 

[Stokkie]

Thanks! I am on Ancestry and have been doing a lot of my research on there, but no one had any photos of him. I've asked all of my relatives I know (Arthur's descendants) and none recall seeing a photo of him at any point. He had three sons in 1924, 1926, and 1929, but he sadly died young in 1932 and so wouldn't be in any of their wedding photos. The family was quite poor, so they would've struggled to afford photos I think, and if any were taken at their wedding in 1922 I don't know who would have them. He was one of five children, but all of them died young and had no children, so any photos would've probably ended up with Arthur and his descendants. That's why I'm hoping he may have been photographed at his workplace or something like that.

Perhaps explore his wife's family on Ancestry and see if you can find anything there? Personally I feel that while Kynoch has a rich history, you are very unlikely to find any named photographs of individual members of the workforce. Sorry to be pessimistic too. But do let us know if you have any success.

 

[SLDreew]

Welcome to the Forum, also! I can't comment on Showells but I know a bit about Kynoch.

I have to say that unfortunately the prospect of finding a photograph of an individual employee from the period of the Great War is tiny or even nil. The size of the workforce at that time was huge, up to about 18,000 people. I doubt very much whether there was any photographic i.d. produced for any employee at that time and, even if there were, whether any such information would have survived after more than a century – even if the archive was accessible which, at the last time I asked the question, it was not. (The company does of course survive, unlike so many others, and is active these days under the guise of IMI plc, still based in the Birmingham area).

There are of course a few surviving photographs from those times which crop up occasionally. But these will be general photographs of the workforce at its daily activity and even if, by some miracle, your great-grandfather appeared in one of them, there would be no way for you or anyone else to identify him.

I'm sorry to be so pessimistic but it does sound as though Arthur was just one of so many employed on war work before apparently moving away from Kynoch - and then passing away at an early age. So all traces of him there are almost certain to have disappeared. It would be good to be proven wrong but I don't think that's too likely.

Good luck with your ongoing search and please keep us posted about any progress.

Chris

(PS I have a potted history of Kynoch online here: http://www.staffshomeguard.co.uk/KOtherInformationKynoch.htm. It's safe to click on).

Ah, I see. Thank you! I guess potentially he may appear in photos at Edwin Showell and Sons in 1921, but I couldn't find any if there were any taken. And again, I suppose it'd be unlikely he'd be in them and even if so he couldn't be identified.

 

[SLDreew]

Perhaps explore his wife's family on Ancestry and see if you can find anything there? Personally I feel that while Kynoch has a rich history, you are very unlikely to find any named photographs of individual members of the workforce. Sorry to be pessimistic too. But do let us know if you have any success.

Thanks! I'll try messaging some relations on ancestry and see if they have any wedding photos he may have appeared in.

 

[Tinpot]

Edwin Showell & Sons catalogue for sale online gives a brief history of the company which might be of interest to you.

 

[Stokkie]

Ah, I see. Thank you! I guess potentially he may appear in photos at Edwin Showell and Sons in 1921, but I couldn't find any if there were any taken. And again, I suppose it'd be unlikely he'd be in them and even if so he couldn't be identified.

Again I doubt that you are going to find named photos of workers. But you could explore the history of the company in Birmingham. Showells was a brassfounder making oilers for BSA rifles in WW1. After they made brass door fittings.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Edwin_Showell_and_Sons
You could even make a short web page if you wished about the company to gather information.