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The pattern books and song sheets were Granny's, Iris, but I picked most of the books up in charity shops and jumble sales.
I even have a 'Pip Squeak and Wilfred' book. It cost me 25p!
A couple cost a bit more - they were in antiquarian bookshops.
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how I envy you , Maggie, I would love to find a hoard like that , I love old books , I,ve got one or two reprinted ones from the war ,but its not the same . iris
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It's funny about dad and the schools - he must have gone to quite a few - more than the average - and I can state categorically that he didn't like many!! :-D :-D :-D
...could be why he always preferred babies (they don't answer back) and animals!
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Make the rest of us look boring Maggie :-D :-D well most of us anyway :-D
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Too true, Liz.
I have birthday and Christmas cards from decades - the earliest is 1872.
Mum was going to throw them out, but I took them, bought some blotting paper - and they dried out wonderfully - then mum took them!!
Since mum died, I have them.
My sister (not previously interested in family history, and whose main comment was - how can you be sure) has just realised that I have an amazing social history of our family (with quite a bit of research, and paying for access to FMP etc from me).
It was me, who found the other granny in prison in 1939; the train derailer (g g g uncle) in a lunatic asylum. Went to the pub were another gg uncle fell down the stairs after a 'Buffs' meeting (probably pished as a newt) and died - and the landlord showed me the room where this meeting took place, described the original layout of the pub - and sold good ale to boot!
I found who my g granddad married after my gran's mother died, and her later claims of desertion (while he was serving in WWI - nice lady!)
I have offered to give my sister scans of everything - but I keep the originals!
Seeing this man today has made me realise, it's not who the letters are to and from, but the context. I need to create the stories of individuals.
First job is to find all the letters /documents associated with the tragic story of Edwin and Gladys.
I've still got quite a bit of letter reading to do.......
I also need to interrogate the younger of my elder brothers on information he gleaned from dad!!
Dad was embarrassed that he was illegitimate. He always had a short birth certificate. When he and mum divorced, he felt we (his children) wouldn't want to know him, so stayed away - working in Nigeria, the Arab Emirates etc. It was only when he retired and settled in Southampton that I got to 'know' him again.
Once I'd convinced him that his illegitimacy had nothing to do with him, and I didn't care, anyway - and his mum was a really amazing woman (she was) did he start to 'open up' - but then he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
I learnt that he went to 'quite a few' public schools - but under various names.
Gran would send him to a public school until the final demand came for fees. Then she'd take him out - and send him to another one, under a different name!
I never got the names he used. :-(
Gran wanted the best for him - but without paying for the privilege! :-D
I've since 'sussed out' who his real father was!
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It was dreadful the way the white feathers were dished out.
People laugh at hoarders or tut tut but we have our uses, there would be nothing in museums etc if everything went in the bin
Lizxx
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The main problem with the white feather issue was they often had no idea of the full details before they handed them out.
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Sharron - that's awful!! :-|
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My grandfather was forty when WWl broke out, he was a shepherd so he would have been one or the last to be wanted for the front anyway.
Somebody sent him a white feather!
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Wow what a little history nugget that is sounds amazing.
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:-)
Granny died 31.10.2003, aged 99. She was a hoarder :-S
Today, I have lent 3 huge picture frames displaying some of granny's 'stuff' , and my 'gleanings' to a very nice gentleman who is preparing a display for Remembrance Sunday. Basically, he wants items that show how the wars affected the lives of those left behind.
One contains examples of the type of letter format sent during WWII - including an example of 'V-mail'.
Another contains clothing ration books, food rationing books a letter describing the bombing of 'The Green Man' pub in Southampton, a coal allowance form.
The third contains leaflets about keeping chickens, growing veg and land girls, that I found in a book I bought 'The Country Housewife's Handbook' issued by the West Kent Federation of Women's Institutes in 1939.
Whilst rummaging for other things he may find useful, I discovered some song sheets from WWII, a couple of WWII clothes pattern books, and some books about WWI and WWII, and a WWI cookery book, published in 1917.
He'd like to borrow these next year, when he intends putting on a huge display on the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.
I also showed him letters between my grandparents during WWII - when granny had been evacuated to the New Forest, and granddad was still in Southampton (Dock Worker, in his 40's, so didn't need to sign up)
He wondered if I could put these in a separate folder for next year, so people could read them. I may have to censor one or two - not because of 'security', just to avoid embarrassing people :-S
I also intend gathering up all the information on G Uncle Edwin.
Uncle Edwin married Gladys whilst on leave.
Gladys found she was pregnant.
Edwin was injured, and died of shock.
Gladys had a stillborn baby girl, and put this information in the 'Births' column of the local paper.
Gladys died a few years later of TB.
Believe it or not, I also have letters between the school my mum and aunt were evacuated to, and my gran!
It was a fee-paying school, and gran couldn't afford the fees, so the Education Committee and head talk about reducing the fees!
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