Sepia Saturday give bloggers an opportunity to share their family history and memories through photographsThere was no hesitation in coming up with my posting for this week's theme. It had to be the two little girls who became my mother and aunt, Kathleen and Edith Danson.
They have featured before on my blog, but the photographs below match the theme so well - there is even a even a wicker chair. I just had to show you them again!
My mother Kathleen and her sister Edith were born one year and one week apart, in 1907 and 1908, daughters of William Danson and Alice English of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. They remained close sisters all their lives.
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Edith on the left and my mother on the right at the front of this parade in Poulton, c.1911. This is one of my favourite photographs in my collection. I love their big hats, frilly dresses and little bootees. Neither look particularly happy! The girls behind them have even bigger hats - plus is that a glimpse of ringlets?
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| Playing in the garden - Edith (seated on a wicker chair) & Kathleen, c.1914 |
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| Edith and Kathleen, 1916.
Not quite the long hair of the prompt picture, but instead big bows in their straight hair. I strongly suspect that this photograph was taken for my grandfather going to war in 1916.
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Aunt Edith was the eldest born on 2nd September 1907. I think of her as one of line of "Feisty Danson Females" and she was fond of regaling me with stories of the family and her life in teaching. She was the only one in the family to win a scholarship to Fleetwood Grammar School, riding the four miles on her bike in all weathers. She became a teacher at Burn Naze School in Thornton (a poor area of town the time), kept home for her father and brother, travelled widely, even to Russia in Iron Curtain days, and married for the first time at the aged 73. You can tell from her photographs that she was someone who enjoyed life. Aunt Edith, was, of course, my godmother and took on the role with great gusto at all stages of my life.
Her sister Kathleen (my
mother) was born 8th September 1908 and was the more reserved sister. I have
been proud to give tributes to her in other postings such as Happiness is Stitching
Two grown up girls - Kathleen and Edith in the 1930's
Skip across to this week's Sepia Saturday page to discover more childhood pictures
- or perhaps stories of chairs, tables and tea sets
I love the parade photo too.
ReplyDeleteThe girls in the prompt don't have ringlets either, their hair is rather straight, except for a few curly bangs in the older one. Sounds like you were lucky having both your mother and your aunt looking out for you.
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have had such a close & personal relationship with your aunt and know so much about her. My father & his sisters were close - as whole families, but not so much on an individual basis. However, all their children - all of us cousins - have become close over the years & even though not living nearby, try to see each other as often as possible - most often at our yearly vacation/reunion at Lake Tahoe with all the 2nd & even 3rd cousins in the process getting to really know each other in order to hopefully keep the tradition going. Still, I wish I had known my aunts & uncles just a little better, personally.
ReplyDeleteI liked my Aunt Enid too but I wouldn't mind having yours s well, one who liked telling stories. I'm sure my aunts had lots of stories they could have told me if they had been so inclined. My paternal Aunt Enid was good friends with my mother. But the 1930s striped dress and hairstyle in your photo reminded me of the Duchess of Windsor straight away.. Just the kind of clothes she used to wear.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I got my Enids and Ediths mixed up. But it doesn;t alter what I wrote !
ReplyDeleteDarling girls - I can't believe your aunt held out till 73 to get married!
ReplyDeleteOur aunts almost match : Auntie Amy (who features in my post this week) was born in 1904 and got married when she was in her seventies (although that was for the third time). Great pictures and memories.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great combo of stories and pictures. I'm slightly envious, since my family gathered only a very few times in my childhood...it isn't a tradition we shared probably because of some bad feelings between various relations. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteThey look so happy together in these pictures. Edith looks mischievous - she was probably a fun teacher. Getting used to marriage at age 73 would really be difficult. I hope she did it because she was madly in love.
ReplyDeleteA perfect choice! What do you think the parade was about? The boy and part of his banner look like an American Indian. Maybe a Canadian Indian for Commonwealth Day?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike. I have vague memories of my aunt telling me it was a parade for either Poulton Club Day (bit like a local Gala Day) or was it an Empire Day parade? The little boy Tommy ? had an uncle in North America - hence the banner and the Indian costume. I just wish now I had listened more closely to this story or taken notes.
DeleteA lovely and very apposite post about your mother and sister. There were five years between my mother and her sister but they were still close.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Edith managed to travel widely, even with keeping the home for her father and brother. Not many women were able to escape once in that position. Imagine finally getting married at 73!!
ReplyDeleteYes I can see why this week's prompt photo would make you think of your mother and your aunt. We can see from the photos how close they were. Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteA great story of a great relationship - precious. I see some of it in my brothers who are very close in age, and close no matter what the physical distance between them is.
ReplyDeleteA wicker chair and two little girls - perfect match. I can see why you would want to honour your godmother in this way; quite a lady.
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