Thursday 31 May 2012

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I love old photographs, I could literally spent hours flicking through an old album, and the older the better. I also love finding out about my family history, and luckily for me, my mum had traced both sides of the family back a very long way.

I was pleased therefore, when Mia's half-term homework project was to compile her "family tree". The children were allowed to make it as thorough or as simple as they wished, and could present it whichever way those chose.

My mum was also in her element, and delighted in teaching Mia all about her ancestors, and browsing through the old albums, and I enjoyed this too.

We really went to town, and are thrilled with the result;



I hope this little project has made Mia more aware of her family, and appreciate that although many of them, perhaps just people in photographs to her, if they had not existed, then neither would she or I. I hate the thought of these late family members being forgotten, their idetities not passed on down through the generations, and lost forever. I have really enjoyed getting to "know" our relatives, and plan to display many of these beautiful photographs, so they will become part of our home.

This is my Great-Grandmother Bertha, taken in the mid to late 1890's;


Her wedding to my Great Grandfather William in 1902, I love the beautiful dresses, and even the family dog attended!;



Her sister's wedding in 1904; her mother, my Great-Great Grandmother Julia is the lady standing on the right (as we look at the photo) in the nice hat behind the sitting bridesmaids;


And this is her mother, (Mia's Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother) Elizabeth; taken before both weddings, as she passed away before 1900. This photo was taken in the early to mid 1890's. Just think she was born almost 200 years ago! Mia found that facinating! Also a little hard to imagine I think;


This is Bertha's younger sister Martha, taken in the mid/late 1890's, isn't she pretty, I love to study the beautiful outfits and how they wore their hair;


My Great Grandparents on my Nanna's side, with my Nanna as a little girl, this would be around 1916;


Nanna with her own little baby (my mum!) in 1939/1940. My mum was born just before War broke out, and her most earliest memory as a little girl, was hiding in the Anderson Shelter in the back garden while the bombs were being dropped on Birmingham; (very close by!!)


My Nanna as a young woman, before she was married, in the mid 1930's


With my Grandpa; this was probably just after they were married, It always strikes me how "young" they look, and makes me a little nostalgic and sad - as of course I only knew them in their 80's and 90's.


And a family hoilday in the late 1940's; with my mum and her younger sister Sue, my mum loved the donkeys, (as of course do I!)


An older Nanna & Grandpa, some time during the 1960's;


Bertha as an old lady, just before she died in 1962;


And finally...ME as a 5 year old bridesmaid in 1986 with my Nan, outside their family home. They lived there for the rest of their lives from the day they were married (it was a wedding present from Bertha and William, my Grandpa's mum & dad), until my Nan passed away in 2007, age 96. It was very sad to have to clear the house and see it sold, but were were happy that it went to a young family, with two little boys..hopefully they will spend a long, happy life there too, just as Nanna & Grandpa did!


They may be all gone now, but at least we still have these lovely memories and some beautiful photographs to cherish. Now I must find a nice way of displaying them!

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me; Marina x




12 comments:

  1. I absolutely adored looking at these old precious photos. You are lucky to have them and you need to make sure they are held in such honor as they deserve. If I loved them, just imagine...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marina these are the most fantastic photos! What an absolute treasure - you are so lucky to have them :-) And what a cool school project. Bertha has the most beautiful bone structure, but my favourite photo has to be the one with the wee dog at the wedding - oh and the seaside donkeys. Just so lovely and nostalgic! Have a great weekend hon. Becks xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marina: You have some great memories and the pictures to back them up. It is so great to know the history. Not just the big events but the very little ones, like someone liked donkeys. That is so cool. I'm afraid you beat me to the punch as I'm in the processing of doing a wedding theme of family, but I don't know any of the special things that went on so mine will be just straight forward with no romance! I remember doing a family tree with Jake and it was a lot of fun to see them react to the stories..Happy Friday..Judy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for sharing such wonderful old fsmily photos. You are so lucky to have them and know about your ancestors too.
    I think the project you did with Mia was fantastic, I bet she was thrilled with the result.
    Lisa x

    ReplyDelete
  5. How lovely ` such a wonderful thing to do and wow, so many amazing Edwardian photographs!
    Now, do show us your Jubilee dresser...can't wait to see it,

    Sarah -x-

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow what a lovely post Marina. I love to see old photographs. They are so beautiful. I know what you mean when you say it makes you a little sad. I feel that way too. They should never be forgotten! Thanks for entering my swap! Have a lovely jubilee weekend! Love Katie xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love looking at old photos and learning about family members - yours are wonderful. I love the family tree you all created too, what a fantastic way to display the pictures.

    P.S Thank you so much for the amazing Jubilee parcel, I have received everything and really love it all! Have a great weekend. xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow you have some amazing history. Now a days there are many people that just do not know anything about their ancestors. It is wonderful that Mia got to do this project. I enjoyed looking at all the pictures and seeing how much you look like your ancestors as well. :) Could you please email me your address for the Jubllee Swap wattsfamilybythesea@gmail.com ~Thanks Have a Great Weekend xxHeather

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for sharing all those wonderful family photos and for the memories that go with them.Mine were stored in a box and only looked at every now and then,but I decided to frame them all and display them in the hallway.It's kind of comforting having them there.
    When I was little I used to sit for hours with my Mum who would tell me stories about my ancestors...it brought them alive to me. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  10. This post is so lovely. You are so lucky to have access to so many pictures! It's sooooo interesting looking at them. This may sound weird but I just can't imagine how they lived their lives. It's hard to explain, like (this may sound offensive - but I don't mean any offence!) when I see really old pictures I find it hard to imagine that the people were actually real and had lives, because it was such a long time ago. I find it so strange that this time 100 years ago, like 99.99999% of the people in the world weren't alive and there were completely different people living lives. Sorry little ramble there!
    Bet your daughter was extremely impressed with all this information, the end product looks fab!
    I've been nagging my Gran for about a year now to do a family history thing online but everyone in my family doesn't really like the idea. We're a small family and I don't know much about other relatives really, so I think maybe there are some secrets or something that they're trying to keep hidden. I just think it would be a lot easier and much more interesting to do whilst my Gran is still around!
    And update on the weird doll - I showed my mum the picture of the on your daughter has. And........................ I did have one! She said she might have sold it at a carboot or it is in the shed. But mine was second hand as well. Haha knew I recognised that face!
    & glad I entertained your son!
    Thanks for sharing this post, really enjoyed it :)xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Marina...again! Thanks for your comment....it did make me chuckle.Have a lovely weekend. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Marina.
    Just loved looking through your vintage pictures.
    Have a happy Jubilee weekend1
    Maria x

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your lovely messages! They really do brighten up my day xx