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I do realise that Family photos are mainly of interest to family members, so I am hoping to add a few other snippets to go with them. This post is about my Mother’s side of the family. I don’t have as much detail on this ‘branch of the tree’ as I do on my Father’s side. Dad outlived our Mom by twelve years, and it was during this time, when he stayed here with me, that I managed to get a lot of the family details. On the other hand, my Mom died quite unexpectedly and we hadn’t really dug into the history behind all the old photos.
This first large picture shows at least three generations.
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| The Simkins Family |
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Luckily, someone has written all the names on the back. Although, when I say names, not full names, just things like Uncle Bert and Aunty Ada. Finding out who is married to who, and to whom the children belong, will be a task for the future.
I have not done any research into ancestry yet. I did look online but found it all too complicated. I expect it is not that bad once you get going. (?)
The two centrally seated family members are of course my Great-grandfather and Great-grandmother. (striped cardigan)
Now standing behind Great-gran, is my Grandma, or Nan as she was always called. To her left is Grandpa, better known to us boys as Pop. Their two children are seated on the floor. My mother, is second in on the right and my Uncle Stan is second in on the left.
At the time of writing (2012), only one in that photo is still with us today.
Apart from Nan and Pop and of course Mom and Stan, I cannot ever remember meeting any of the others.
This next picture is slice off the one above to show the three generations.
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| Top - Nan & Pop S. Centre - Great Granny S. Seated - Dorothy S. |
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My mother sitting at the feet of Great-grandma with Nan and Pop standing behind.
If we could only arrange a ‘reunion’, what tales there would be.
At least I am writing a few thing down now for the next three generations to read up on.
My mother would have been just a teenager there I guess. I can’t accurately date that photo. (perhaps around 1927).
I have a few photos of Mom as a baby but I have left those remaining in the family album. However here is a very early one of Pop holding her up with her brother Stanley. Looks like the back garden in Linden Road. (1920?)
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| Pop holding Stan & Doss (Dorothy) |
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And a much better one that was obviously taken in a studio.
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| Dorothy & Stanley Simkins |
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There are dozens of ‘snaps’ taken in Linden Road, nearly always by Nan on the family ‘Box Brownie’ camera. I get the impression that she didn’t like being in photos; she doesn’t appear in many and I certainly never managed to take her photograph. Having said that however, there is somewhere in the family a bit of cine-film of her! (now on video I believe). It will be fun to track this down and finally digitise it as I have done with all these other negatives and prints.
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| Stan & Mom |
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These were taken right down at the
bottom of the garden, because I remember
that fence as the one backing onto the allotments.
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| Proud Pop with Stan & Doss |
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It is a shame that they only had a
'Box camera' in those days.
Had the quality been better I would have
loved to enlarge this next one of Mom in the deck-chair.
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| Mom, Pop and Uncle Stan. |
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And one of Nan at last.
Messing around on stilts with Stan.
She looks as if hers has sunken into
the soft earth.
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| Stan and Nan (pictured at last) |
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Simple pleasures in those days.
Just knocked up from bits of wood.
Years later Dad made us some,
and we would walk around for hours
looking over peoples fences and walls.
I remember one day walking all the way down
the road and into the local park just to
try them out in the stream!
Ah! At last one of Nan,
caught off guard!
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| Nan as she will always be remembered. |
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All taken in the 1920's and 30's.
All would change in 1939.
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