This week's prompt photograph from Sepia Saturday features a man posing in front of a car.

Well, I covered owners and their cars a few week's ago. So instead, the tall, slim figure of the man in the prompt reminded me of my favourite uncle, Harry Danson, who drove not only a car and motor bikes with sidecar, but also sailed a small yacht pff the Lancashire coasts at Fleetwood.

Lots of words can be used to describe my uncle. He was a man of many parts - a joiner, soldier, Dunkirk survivor, a skilled do-it-yourselfer, productive gardener, keen photographer, yachtsman - and ballroom dancer.

A young Harry

Harry Rawcliffe Danson (1912-2001) was the middle child of five, born to my grandparents William Danson and Alice English in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. His middle name came from his grandmother Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe. The photograph above is the only one I have of him as a child, and is part of a group photograph of the family, taken in 1916, as my grandfather set out to war.

Harry followed his grandfather into becoming a joiner. and I remember him making a miniature table and chairs for my doll’s house. Not surprisingly he was skilled in do-it yourself.

My next knowledge of Harry was from his army photographs.

*Young man around town - look at that hairstyle!* *The reverse of the photograph indicates it was taken in Salisbury -when Harry was undergoing Army training?*

I think there is an Errol Flynn look about him here!

This signed menu of December 25th 1939, written in French and typed on very flimsy paper, was found 60 years later amongst Uncle Harry's papers. He was in France with the British Expeditionary Force, 9/17th Field Battery.

In the Sergeant's Mess, breakfast was cold ham with piccalilli, eggs, coffee and roll and butter; for dinner - turkey with chestnuts, pork with apple sauce, potatoes, and cauliflower followed by Christmas pudding, apples, oranges, and nuts, with cognac, rum and beer - a wonderful feast in difficult conditions and testimony to the skill of the catering corps!

Five months later Harry was one of the many men evacuated from Dunkirk, saved by the flotilla of small ships. Sadly many of the men who were at this meal may not have survived. My mother used to tell how Harry arrived back home from Dunkirk still in the uniform in which he entered the sea to be rescued. He never talked about his wartime experiences, but seeing commemoration services or documentaries on TV could bring tears to his eyes, so the memories remained very strong.

Harry later served in North Africa.

Harry had a short lived marriage in the 1940's and never remarried. He returned to the family home (below), living with my widowed grandfather and his sister. He resumed his joinery trade renovating the house, and taking pride in his garden, with floral displays in the front and productive fruit and vegetables at the back and in his greenhouse.

I recall him taking his sister (my Aunt Edith) out for a Sunday run in his motor cycle and side car. He later progressed to a car, extending the driveway, by knocking down the gate and tresllis, and turnip the hen hosue int oa garage.

Living close to Blackpool, the UK home of ballroom dancing, Harry could often be found on the dance floor of the Wint r Gardens or Tower Ballroom - and he was never short of partners.

With a good friend, neighbour & dance partner, c.1970's.

Harry was a keen photographer, at one time having his own dark room to develop pictures. He took this photograph of St. Chad's Church, Poulton-le-Fylde, noted for its carpet of crocuses in Spring. Dansons back to 1736 were baptised, married and buried here.