jennyann
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
This is such a tricky topic in so many ways. Years ago people didn't take as many photos as they do now, of course. I have no baby photos at all because film was very scarce in the WW2 years. I have talked about "The Photo Box" that we had in our house before on this forum. The "Box" was added to over the years as photos were sometimes handed over to the family. It was definitely not a given in our family. People just didn't hand over photos like they do now. You had a quick look mostly and into the drawer, or in this case the "Box" they went. My Mother had divested herself of all her relatives. She was an only child and after my Grandfather died in l944 that was it for her side of the family except one male cousin, whom she fell out with eventually. The "Box" usually only "came out" at Xmas or if someone came to visit from Canada or a past friend etc. but that was a rare occasion.
My father had five sisters and two brothers. My Aunt Eva and Uncle Fred emigrated to Canada in 1912..came home to England and then went out again to Canada in 1923. The box contained photos taken when Father's family were mostly teenagers or newly married along with his father and mother. My grandmother went to Canada twice alone to visit her daughter(photos of her her at sea and with her daughter in Canada) and also one of my aunts and her husband lived here for ten years. My father also spent a few years in Canada. So there was a real mix of additions to the "Box".
In May l995 my oldest brother Peter died suddenly. I received a phone call from the West Midlands Police, to whom the neighbours had given my phone number to, in my office here in Vancouver early one Monday morning. He died of complications following a serious influenza bout which he left untreated. He was 56 years old. My youngest brother, Bill who had just days earlier had arrived back in England after l5 years living in Hong Kong had moved to his flat in Sutton. None of our neighbours knew Bill was back in England and neither did I until I tracked him down through his estranged wife in Hong Kong. I flew to Brum to help
arrange the funeral. It was a very sad time indeed. Peter loved the "Box" and had named some of this mysterious people in the photos which helped tremendously.
Eventually, Bill and I looked at the "Box" and it was decided
that I would bring it back to Vancouver with me. It was a complete
jumble and some of the additions over the years I hadn't seen. It weighed quite a lot. I was determined to make this a project to work on and over the years I have completed it the best way I can. I remember having to pay a large amount in excess baggage when I brought these photos, etc. back to Canada. The suitcase was so heavy that it had to be hand carried off the aircraft and arrived in the Carousel area in Vancouver via lift!!!!!!!
I have to say over the years working on this project has been very therapeutic. I managed to name most of the people and also the
places in the photos that were not marked. Since I once lived in the same place as my Father in Canada, I even recognized some of the photo locations there. I made separate albums for my two brothers. My father unfortunately told my Mother to throw away a lot of her personal stuff when they were first married and moved into a flat. My mother regretted that forever...so her own pre-marriage album is very slim. I do have one or two photos of Mum as a girl and also of her parents.
Finally, I made a large album for my Father and all of his family including photos and mementos from the "Box" and some that had come from my Aunt's house in Kingstanding and she held photos from different areas of our family that had been given to her over the years. The only way the latter items were available to my family was because my parents cleared the house and the solicitor told them they could take them. This way the "Box" gained some photos that it would never have had, of weddings and photos from Canada, etc. I am very glad that I did this because it gives me peace of mind now that although it's not "scrapbook" style and perfect as some people's are, at least the people and places(mostly) are named.
So the "Box" is no more in it's old form and in the future my children will have some idea who these people are, etc. from the albums.
My husband's Mother who passed away in l997, was a war bride from London. One day, years before she died we arrived at her house before she moved into a flat and most of the old family photos she had were reduced to ashes in a bucket in the garden....she told us that she doubted that we would be interested in them!!!!!! What a shame. We have so few now of that family.
My father had five sisters and two brothers. My Aunt Eva and Uncle Fred emigrated to Canada in 1912..came home to England and then went out again to Canada in 1923. The box contained photos taken when Father's family were mostly teenagers or newly married along with his father and mother. My grandmother went to Canada twice alone to visit her daughter(photos of her her at sea and with her daughter in Canada) and also one of my aunts and her husband lived here for ten years. My father also spent a few years in Canada. So there was a real mix of additions to the "Box".
In May l995 my oldest brother Peter died suddenly. I received a phone call from the West Midlands Police, to whom the neighbours had given my phone number to, in my office here in Vancouver early one Monday morning. He died of complications following a serious influenza bout which he left untreated. He was 56 years old. My youngest brother, Bill who had just days earlier had arrived back in England after l5 years living in Hong Kong had moved to his flat in Sutton. None of our neighbours knew Bill was back in England and neither did I until I tracked him down through his estranged wife in Hong Kong. I flew to Brum to help
arrange the funeral. It was a very sad time indeed. Peter loved the "Box" and had named some of this mysterious people in the photos which helped tremendously.
Eventually, Bill and I looked at the "Box" and it was decided
that I would bring it back to Vancouver with me. It was a complete
jumble and some of the additions over the years I hadn't seen. It weighed quite a lot. I was determined to make this a project to work on and over the years I have completed it the best way I can. I remember having to pay a large amount in excess baggage when I brought these photos, etc. back to Canada. The suitcase was so heavy that it had to be hand carried off the aircraft and arrived in the Carousel area in Vancouver via lift!!!!!!!
I have to say over the years working on this project has been very therapeutic. I managed to name most of the people and also the
places in the photos that were not marked. Since I once lived in the same place as my Father in Canada, I even recognized some of the photo locations there. I made separate albums for my two brothers. My father unfortunately told my Mother to throw away a lot of her personal stuff when they were first married and moved into a flat. My mother regretted that forever...so her own pre-marriage album is very slim. I do have one or two photos of Mum as a girl and also of her parents.
Finally, I made a large album for my Father and all of his family including photos and mementos from the "Box" and some that had come from my Aunt's house in Kingstanding and she held photos from different areas of our family that had been given to her over the years. The only way the latter items were available to my family was because my parents cleared the house and the solicitor told them they could take them. This way the "Box" gained some photos that it would never have had, of weddings and photos from Canada, etc. I am very glad that I did this because it gives me peace of mind now that although it's not "scrapbook" style and perfect as some people's are, at least the people and places(mostly) are named.
So the "Box" is no more in it's old form and in the future my children will have some idea who these people are, etc. from the albums.
My husband's Mother who passed away in l997, was a war bride from London. One day, years before she died we arrived at her house before she moved into a flat and most of the old family photos she had were reduced to ashes in a bucket in the garden....she told us that she doubted that we would be interested in them!!!!!! What a shame. We have so few now of that family.