25th Dec 1918.
I am not the photographer, but I own this wonderful photo. It was taken at the wedding of my great aunt Lily Nevill, to Albert Rumbell. Albert was an unsung WW1 war hero, an infantryman. The 4 chevrons on his right sleeve indicate that he was on overseas active service 4 times. The 3 bars on his left arm show that he was wounded 3 times.
A WW1 expert wrote to me on why he has no rank - "My guess is that Albert was an infantryman who was just unlucky. Each time that he returned to the fighting he was wounded again and in the end his time spent in hospital and on convalescent almost equalled his time on active service. Hence he was never in the field long enough to get noticed as a potential NCO". He was also illiterate, which too would have precluded him from promotion.
I have been told that his regiment was the Middlesex Regiment, the "Die Hards"
What I love about this photo:
- The tunic that Albert is wearing is well worn. It is probably the tunic he wore on the Western Front. The war is over by now, but maybe my Great Aunt was fiercely proud of him and asked him to wear it, or maybe he had no suit at all.
- I know that these people were not rich, yet look at the money that's been spent. The bride's and bridesmaids' dressers are elegantly beautiful and so evocative of the times, just on the cusp of the change from Victorian to Edwardian.
- They were married on Christmas day, an indication of how little leisure time people had then.
Comments very welcome.
Tags: vintage vintage-photos Britain UK United-Kingdom England 1910s wedding marriage bride groom bridesmaids mob-hats hats WW1 infantryman hero uniform British linen Middlesex-Regiment Die-Hards keep on flickr
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1920ish.
I am not the photographer, but I own this wonderful photo. The boy is one my 2nd cousin once removed. His name is Bobby Thirkettle. I think it dates to the early 1920s. The clothes are typical for most British boys of his age during the 1st half of the 20th century. His Mum was probably inordinately proud of his naturally curly hair and it hasn't yet been cut much. This same boy is 3 or 4 years older in my photo:
www.flickr.com/photos/24931307@N04/8321458980/in/photostream
It's a studio portrait and maybe the pipe was a make-it-cute prop. In a boy's mouth, it seems almost shocking now, but at that time, pipe smoking was acceptable, desirable even.
Comments welcome.
Tags: vintage vintage-photos Britain UK United-Kingdom England boy curly curly-hair pipe pipe-smoking boots short-trousers 1920s child-smoking Thirkettle childhood keep on flickr
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1920s.
I am not the photographer, but I own this wonderful photo. The family is surnamed Thirkettle and the father is my 1st cousin twice removed. His name is Percy (born 1886) and her's Polly. It was taken some time in the late 1920s I'm guessing and, looking at the Union flag being waved, this might be British Empire Day (24th May). The boy on the father's shoulders is Bobby, the same boy as in my pipe smoking photo:
www.flickr.com/photos/24931307@N04/7862572388/
I think this is a most charming portrait of a family. You can so feel the love, security and confidence.
Comments welcome.
(the original photo wasn't of course taken by a Sony NEX5, I just used that camera to scan it)
Tags: vintage vintage-photos Britain UK United-Kingdom England married-couple family 1920s clothes fashion 1920s-fashion Thirkettle keep on flickr
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About 1915.
I am not the photographer, but I own this wonderful photo, which I think is a studio portrait. He is Ernest Samuel Thirkettle, born Oct 1895, my 1st cousin 2x removed. She is Ivy Isabella Rose Otway, born Oct 1898 also distantly related. They were married in May 1915, he was 19, she was 16.
Don't you love his formal clothing for one so young? And doesn't she look a lot like Kate Winslet?
See also:
www.flickr.com/photos/24931307@N04/16043602475/in/photoli...
(the original photo wasn't of course taken by a Sony NEX5, I just used that camera to scan it)
Tags: vintage vintage-photos Britain UK United-Kingdom England Kate-Winslet young-woman young-man clothes fashion 1920s-fashion Thirkettle sepia bow-tie high-collar love keep on flickr
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1915.
I am not the photographer, but I own this photo. This family's surname is Nicholls and they are my maternal grandparents. The man's name is Tom and her's is Bertha. The girl standing left is my mother Eileen. The little girl sitting on her mother's lap isn't a girl, he's a boy, my uncle Alex. Boys then were also put in dresses when they were very young (which is sensible when you think about it, with the need to change nappies often).
As can be seen, my Grandfather was a serving soldier and this photo was taken in the darkest days of the war. He may be on leave or he may be recovering from an injury. He was a front line motor cycle dispatch rider and was gassed at least once. The injury was very severe and he died a lung related death eventually in his 30s (and because that was about a dozen years after the end of the war, my grandmother (who then had 4 children) didn't count as a war widow)!
Comments welcome.
Tags: vintage vintage-photos Britain UK United-Kingdom England 1915 WW1 motor-cycle-dispatch-rider hero uniform British linen girl boy boy-in-dress childhood keep on flickr
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