Prisoner in Wandsworth in 1873

I have been taking advantage of the free Lockdown Downloads from Discovery/national archives to browse two albums of Prisoner details from Wandsworth 1872-73. Among them was this rather engaging photo of Sidney Attfield so I decided to research his life. I was excited to find him living in Guildford Union Workhouse in both 1851 and 1881 since I have been a volunteer researcher there for several years.

Born in 1840 in the rural village of Albury in the Surrey Hills, he had 5 sisters and 5 brothers as well as 6 older half siblings. In 1848 his mother had died so by 1851 he and his older sister Sophia were in the Workhouse while the other children, younger and older, were still with their father.

Looking at Sidney’s prison record I discovered he was also in the Workhouse in 1858 when he absconded with workhouse clothing, and prior to that he had stolen a saucepan and a pair of shoes in 1856 and 1857.  There is a gap in his record of crimes until 1873 when he was listed as homeless and had stolen onions.

 His longest sentence was for the following crime in his home village.

So where was he in those missing years, since I could not find him in the 1861 or 1871 census? The answer lay in the Royal Chelsea Pensioner Discharge Records. Private Sydney Attfield attested at Shorncliffe Barracks, when he was 19, in October 1860. He is recognisable from his matching date and place of birth and also his physical description matches, including the scar. He was discharged as medically unfit in April 1867 after six and a half years of army service, two of those in India.  The reason for his unfitness was Epilepsy, which apparently was hereditary.  The surgeon added that this condition had worsened due to excessive use of tobacco and he was concerned about the effect of intoxicating liquor.

It may be that his hereditary epilepsy was the reason why 9-year-old Sidney was sent to the Workhouse in 1851 after his mother had died, while his 3 younger brothers stayed in the family home with his father John Attfield who was receiving Poor Relief.

Soon after his army discharge in 1867 Sidney was imprisoned for 3 months after stealing two shillings and then he spent 17 days back at Guildford Union Workhouse. The following year due to illness he was admitted to Camden and St Pancras Workhouse for 6 months.

After 3 months imprisonment at Wandsworth in 1873 for stealing onions, Sidney’s next appears briefly in the record book of Holborn Workhouse on July 20th 1874 and he is back at Guildford Union Workhouse in 1881 as a Vagrant which meant that he had to earn his bed & board by breaking flint stones into shingle.  I would like to tell you when he died but I have been unable to end his story as yet and perhaps I never will.

Past meets Present in London

Following the challenge set by Becky on It caught my Eye in Portugal this is my second Past Meets Present post but I've moved it across, more appropriately, to this blog.

I have many old postcards and photographs of parts of London and I can never resist using my phone for snaps when I travel into town, so here are a few locations to compare.

Building Tower Bridge

I like to think of my Grandmother, who lived nearby, watching Tower Bridge being erected.  She was 2 years old when they started and 10 when it was completed.

Southwark cathedral in the 1950s

The Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie only became a Cathedral in 1905.  Although frequently thronged with visiting tourists, this lovely building on the South Bank is well worth visiting.

When I took this photograph, the Shard was not quite finished.

St Mary-at-Lambeth next to Lambeth Palace in the 18th century

Now the Garden Museum in Lambeth

You can read my blog about finding my ancestors in St Mary's churchyard here.

 St Katharine's Docks were built after the monastic hostel of St Katharine and 1250 houses were demolished.  Opened in 1828 they were severely damaged by bombing in 1940.  In 1968 the Docks closed but St Katharine's Marina opened in 1973.  It is a lovely spot to walk around, eat or shop.  I go to see the beautiful Thames Barges moored there.

St Katherine's Dock

St Katharine's Marina

The Thames Barge makes this picture special.

From this angle you can avoid seeing the high modern buildings.

Visiting Antrim during the late 1940s #SundayBlogShare

How much have these places changed in over 60 years?

Lost Children

Every day I love to look at the old photographs which Lynn Heiden uploads to Twitter and Facebook as they give us a fascinating window into the past.  Often she is able to trace details of the lives of the people in the photographs, using census returns, trade directories etc.but sometimes there just aren't enough clues.  I was particularly struck by this group of unknown children so just for fun I thought I'd make up character sketches of them.  

Teddy was born early in the century, a much loved second child after the death of his brother.  Photographed, age 2, he is yet to be breeched so his mother has dressed him in a spotless, lace edged frock, cleaned and pressed by the maid, but he can’t resist trying to slip off his uncomfortable shoe.  Later his sister Muriel will be born, but he will always be his mother’s favourite and she is so glad, that just as he is about to be sent to France to fight, the “war to end all wars” ceases.  Sadly he decides to become an army officer and dies early in the Second World War, leaving a wife and four children.

Little May is very nervous, as she stands leaning against the wicker contraption in the photographer’s studio.  Why does she have to stand so still in front of that strange “camera” and why has the man hidden behind a tablecloth?  Ma says, “It’s for Da.  He’s gone a long way away to “fight for his country” and we need to send him something to help him remember you.”

Stanley has always been a character.  Almost as soon as he was born he had a dirty laugh and he loves to take off people he knows, in his broad accent.  Borrowing his Dad’s pullover and his best hat and umbrella Stanley is trying to look like the rent man who comes round weekly, licking his pencil and writing down the payments, so he’s using his copy book as a prop.

Connie is usually happy.  Mother takes her everywhere, whether it is helping at the church bazaar or going to buy a yard of ribbon at the haberdashery shop.  Her brothers have gone away to boarding school, but Connie goes to a small local school with other little girls.  She likes the scene behind the bench in the photograph, as it is the largest picture of the countryside she has ever seen.  Soon Jim and Georgie will return for the holidays and she can run after them through the fields.

Gwenne was born just after World War One when her father had returned from the war.  Daddy was always very quiet and would frequently disappear for long walks.  Gwenne can’t remember seeing him smile, although Mummy said that he used to love taking her dancing.  He died two years before this photo was taken but Uncle Fred, Mummy’s brother, has always been more like a father to Gwenne.  He’s nor married so he always comes to Gwenne’s house, every week, for Sunday lunch.  Ten years later, he will give her away in marriage to young Hugh whom she’s known all her life.  Hopefully when Hugh goes to war in 1940 it will not change his life as drastically as it did to Gwenne’s father.

Elsie was born in London.  She has two brothers and two sisters.  She is the middle child but she is also the boss.  She looks after her youngest siblings while her mother does the laundry and housework and she expects her big brothers to do exactly what she tells them.  As soon as she can, she wants to help her father run his stall in the market.  She has the voice and the confidence to attract customers to the, “lovely juicy apples” and she loves the jolly atmosphere in the market street.  It won’t worry her that she will need to be up before dawn to fetch the produce and she is prepared to work hard.  One day she might have her own shop.

Please visit Lynn's Waffles to see her research on other pictures from her collection.

Lynn's Waffles #VictorianPhotos

In my early days on Twitter I came across some wonderful old photographs posted by @LynnsWPics

Soon I also discovered Lynn’s Waffles and made an Internet friend, Lynn Heiden.  Lynn has a vast collection of historic pictures which she shares widely, so today I have asked her to tell us more about them.

Lynn with Skye in front of some of her Victorian albums

What made you decide to start collecting old photographs?

 It was something that just seemed to happen, we enjoy going to car boot sales and I love old stuff that comes under the category ephemera, so interesting.  I bought my first album quite a few years ago, simply because I couldn’t bear to think that it would get damaged or worse still be thrown away and lost forever.

I love the word ephemera as it sounds so fragile, just like the photos you are saving.

Where do you find them and how do you store them?

Mostly at car boot sales, but also antique fairs and markets.  I try & keep the CDV or Cabinet cards in their original Victorian leather albums, if I have bought them together.  Loose CDVs I have mostly in sections in some fabulous wooden ex wine boxes my husband found at a car boot. Other Cabinet cards I have in larger albums. Postcard photos in categories in albums. But I still have many in bags and boxes awaiting scanning, it’s hard to catch up, as I seem to have acquired rather a lot in the last year!

What are your main criteria for buying an album or photographs?

I try to be a bit selective if I can, otherwise I would be totally overwhelmed.  Cost is a big factor, some sellers want top prices and are not prepared to haggle, so we walk away.  For instance, for a Victorian Album with CDV and Cabinet cards, I have a rough price in my head what I want to pay, depending on condition and content and I try to get as close as I can, even though it might seem a very low offer, and always make it clear to the seller that I am a collector and not buying to resell!  The majority are very kind to me, I also give them a card with my Twitter & Blog etc, so they can check me out ! 

How do you find more information about the subject of some of your pictures?

If I have a name or a place or even both written on the photo, that’s a huge bonus, then I can start searching on Ancestry, Find my Past or Family Search for a start to further the photo’s story.  Also googling the name sometimes brings in great info.  Often though I will ask my followers on Twitter and my Facebook page for help, I have had some super info that way.

Who is the most interesting character in your photograph collection?

That’s a real tough question, because I find them all so interesting, and even though they are not famous people, they all have a life story, and had their picture taken to capture a moment in time, that can never be repeated.

Have you managed to reunite descendants with their ancestor’s photo?

The Jewell suitcase family is my biggest success, over one thousand family photos returned to the family..In three parts on my Blog.

http://lynnswaffles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/jewell-suitcase-family.html

http://lynnswaffles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/jewell-suitcase-family-part-2.html

http://lynnswaffles.blogspot.co.uk/2014_05_01_archive.html

I have had other success too with smaller finds, and my latest only last week, was one CDV returned to family, will be in upcoming Blog.

Do you have a particular favourite photograph?

I love all my Old Photos, but favourites if I have to choose, would be the wonderful different Wedding photos I have, from various era’s and so many family members included in the majority.

If you haven’t discovered Lynn’s amazing collection yet, please go to one or all of the following sites:

https://lynnswaffles.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lynnswaffles

https://uk.pinterest.com/lynnswaffles/