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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: Gragareth on Wednesday 27 August 14 19:48 BST (UK)
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Inherited these prints. Anyone know where it is, and when etc..Could be celebrating the Queen's
coronation. Or the end of WW2 I think less likely. Replies appreciated. Gragareth.
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The second one looks like the children are dressed as nursery rhyme characters....it does have a fifties look about it too.
Carol
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Possibly summer of 1953. The children look fairly affluent. I would say the photograph is taken south of the North/South Divide. 1st ptotograph, boy with suit/shorts (centre) looks like how I was dressed at that age at that time.
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The second one looks like the children are dressed as nursery rhyme characters....it does have a fifties look about it too.
Carol
Oh Yes! The little girl holding the bowl with a spider on her skirt must be Little Miss Muffet!
I swear the little boy in the middle of the three boys in the first picture is wearing the same outfit my father was wearing in a photo when he was about the same age. Even down to the same hair cut and facial expression. ;) He was born in 1940. (Edited to add that he was born in England who came out to Australia in 1954 as a 10 pounder, if that helps to add to timescales and locations.)
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Very cute.
It is difficult to date especially as the children are in 'costume', however I am going to guess 1940s due to the hairstyles and dress (at least the small part I can see) of the older ladies in the top photo. :) Or if they are unfashionable it might be later. :)
Due to the flag I am wondering if it might be a dating clue and related to WW2?
I would also be interested to know if there are any other similar (era) photos in the collection?
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Hi
Trying to work out what it says on the 2 cards held by the girl with the tins.
"King George"? + 2 dates?
Ray
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Hi
Trying to work out what it says on the 2 cards held by the girl with the tins.
"King George"? + 2 dates?
Ray
Well spied. I'm sure it will help if we can work out what that says. Maybe one of the whizzes can enhance it? :)
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I tried to enhance it but it pixelates badly and the writing blurs...I thought I could see...Be there the???
As it is scanned from a negative at 300ppi...then it needs to be scanned at around 600-800dpi to be in with a chance of reading what is on the card.
Carol
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Sorry - deleted irrelevant question!
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This doesn't help the location but it may help in dating!
I think the girl with the brush, bucket, etc is Mrs Mopp.
Wiki gives info about the character in ITMA (It's That Man Again) 1939-49 radio show. Her catch phrases were 'Ta Ta For Now' (TTFN) and 'Can I Do You Now, Sir'. I think I can see parts of these phrases on the two pieces of card with, possibly, Mrs Mopp and ITMA as the last 2 lines of the front one.
See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_That_Man_Again
I Googled Mrs Mop(p) and I've learnt all this in the last few minutes.
;D
Gadget
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Many thanks to all who helped with my query. For ease I said prints, but actually negatives of the old box camera size. Scanned these at large resolution and then in Photoshop software. So even with that resolution isn't good. However can say to "Gadget" you're correct. Only now looked closely and cards do say Mrs.Mop, and "Can I do you now sir", catch phrase in the radio show "Itma". So this surely dates the photos to 1953 ? I think are more likely somewhere in Yorkshire. Gragareth 30.8.14
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On second thoughts more likely 1945. Or may be not war end or coronation ! Gragareth.
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There aren't very men around so it could be ww2 years or just after. I've enlarged on screen (PS is playing up on my laptop!) and done a snip of the group at back right. Clothing maybe enough to get a date :-\
Gadget
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Both pics are from the same event. The little girl to the extreme right 2nd pic appears in the first in front of the flag.
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... older ladies in the top photo....
Ladies are in the mid ground on the left - one appears to be holding a white cloth. I think I see feet of a child as well. Does anyone see any clues in those clothes?
[Lack of men may be due to war, maybe men are at work, or maybe men prefer not to attend kiddies fancy dress events. ;) ;D]
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The flag seems to be upside down in both photos.
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I don't think the date would be as late as 1953; Tommy Handley died in January 1949 and his very popular ITMA show ended. So if the photo was taken after that date "Mrs Mopp" would probably be unfamiliar to many of the children here.
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I don't think the date would be as late as 1953; Tommy Handley died in January 1949 and his very popular ITMA show ended. So if the photo was taken after that date "Mrs Mopp" would probably be unfamiliar to many of the children here.
That might be the case, but the children might not have had much input into the choice of character. "Mrs Mopp" was probably Mum's choice, as it would have been an easy costume to put together at no expense. ;)
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Possibly Empire Day Celebrations.
James
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Possibly Empire Day Celebrations.
and
The flag seems to be upside down in both photos.
Empire Day celebrations happened in each Primary school in New South Wales until the mid 1950s. Often a parade, always the Union Jack. School children got 1/2 day, and in the evenings there was bonfire and crackers. (24 May is late autumn in Australia, whereas Guy Fawkes 5 Nov is height of bushfire season). To me, the outfits are so very similar to my own childhood recollections of 'what I wore". Australia had rationing for quite a number of years, due to WWII. The rationing continued into the 1950s for some items. Not sure about clothing. But also, in many rural districts, children were expected to wear 'hand me downs' .... So the eldest got the school uniform, and then when he/she had outgrown it, it went to the next sibling, and the eldest got 'new' .... sometimes the 'new' was actually hand me downs from neighbours or etc.
Australia's flag was not actually formally authorised until the Flag Act of 1953, which QE2 signed off on. So until that time, it was not usually used for non military purposes. So, public schools usually used the Union Jack and school children, at least once a week at a formal Assembly, recited "I salute the Flag" (the Union Jack) among other words of allegience to the British Empire.
Cheers, JM
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Doesn't look at all Australian though does it - trees all wrong and end of house doesn't look Aussie.
Far more likely to be in UK.
Wiggy ;)
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The upsidedownness of the flag depends on which side you are viewing from. With two poles, how do you know which is the "staff" side?
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I was suggesting it was Empire Day celebrations in England.
James
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Thought you were - just answering MAJM who seemed to be saying Aussie. ;) ;)
Maybe I misunderstood her! :D
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Thought you were - just answering MAJM who seemed to be saying Aussie. ;) ;)
Maybe I misunderstood her! :D
I wasn't exactly clear in my words. I am not saying Aussie, but I am not ruling it out either. It could depend on the actual 'season'
:) There are many instances in NSW rural districts where the schoolyards were full of "English" trees right up until far more recent times.
:) If it were Empire Day, and in Australia, it would be late autumn. So the leaves should be falling off the deciduous trees, and the girls costumes are in need of a cardigan or so to keep them a bit warmer.
:) I mentioned the clothing rations and the hand me downs etc in case that type of situation also applied in Britain.
:) I mentioned the flag issue, as the use of the Union Jack does not restrict the children's parade to just Britain. In the 1950s the British Commonwealth of Nations still covered much of the globe, and the "Sun never sets of the Union Jack" was still a valid construct.
This link takes you to a search engine for some of the many photos at the NSW State Records Office. Only some of the photos have been fully catalogued/indexed etc. But a keyword search using "Empire Day" there, or perhaps at Google Images may advance the quest :)
http://investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/
Cheers, JM
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Keyword "empire" at NSW SRO photo thingy 1941
http://investigator.records.nsw.gov.au/asp/photosearch/photo.asp?15051_a047_000027
Cheers, JM
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The original poster thinks it was probably in Yorkshire :)
Also, chances are that it was a village fete/carnival/gala which were held in July/August each year in the 'olden days'. They didn't commemorate anything apart from summer and school holidays - I remember them from the early 1950s. Mum made me a fairy costume for one such even - all stiff white organdie ;D
I don't remember us having any special Empire Day celebrations.
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I don't remember any Empire Day celebrations in North Yorkshire either, although I do remember the rationing that carried on into the 1950s, sweets couldn't be bought without "candy points" rationing coupons, all our school houses were named after Empire/Commonwealth symbols, Springbok, Beaver, KIWI and Wallaby.
I remember Empire Day being celebrated purely by acknowledgement at the school assembly but no parades or galas,
Equally Oak Apple day was mentioned as well, as was Trafalgar Day.
Happy days
James
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Bit off topic, but I remember helping Gran pack boxes of goodies to send to England because you were still on rations! :D
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I don't think the date would be as late as 1953; Tommy Handley died in January 1949 and his very popular ITMA show ended. So if the photo was taken after that date "Mrs Mopp" would probably be unfamiliar to many of the children here.
That might be the case, but the children might not have had much input into the choice of character. "Mrs Mopp" was probably Mum's choice, as it would have been an easy costume to put together at no expense. ;)
Yes, that makes good sense!
And as camera films were practically unobtainable (in Britain at least) for the general public, from early in WW2 until about 1948, maybe these photos were taken later.
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I think more likely a summer village fete, most villages had them in the fifties and many still do including the rural village I live in now.
What size are the negatives and is there anything printed on the film edge? That might help to date them.
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I think it is the early 50s The girl's hairstyles look exactly like some old photos of me!
Chris
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I somehow feel that this is one school's contribution to a larger event, there are other groups around, but mum or teacher has photographed their group, I wonder where they borrowed the flag from, there was never one that large at any of the events in our village.
mike
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There are plenty of photos of "Empire Day" if you search Google Images.
Stan
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oops
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We had a big celebration at my school in 1951 for the Festival of Britian
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We had a big celebration at my school in 1951 for the Festival of Britian
that would fit very well.
mike
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It could be 1940s - this photo looks like a similar event:
http://voices.onthewight.com/wp-content/sites/2/2013/06/carnivals-children-scan0075.jpg
(said to be 1940s Yarmouth)
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I started school in 1954 in Nottingham, England. When I was at infant school for two years, I remember that we had a parade around the school on Empire day and that everyone got dressed up. Those who were in brownies/ cubs wore their uniforms and others wore anything but school uniform. We had a large union jack leading the way.
For the coronation, street parties were held on many of the streets.
Sheila
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Thank you to all replying to my question, with interesting comments. Where the photo is taken remains a mystery. Gragareth.
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It's the 19th September 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Auchtermuchty branch, Better Together victory parade. ::) ::)
Regards
Malky
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It's the 19th September 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Auchtermuchty branch, Better Together victory parade. ::) ::)
Regards
Malky
;D Wish I could "recommend" that comment but just as long as it isn't the Geo Sq "victory parade" ::)