Our talk this month was from Bob Bridges, and related the fascinating sequence of research and events which got him into Family History. His initial interest was in old cameras and photography and he purchased a box of glass slides, which he then started to try to put into context. They showed scenes of some women in a devastated landscape and several of wooden crosses in what looked like a temporary graveyard. He quickly picked up the centre of focus appeared to be on one individual, and the scene appeared to be France or Belgium just after WW1. He traced the soldier and his family and made contact with descendants of this soldier’s parents, who were unaware of the soldier’s existence, or that of his wife, who had visited the temporary grave, and had probably taken the photographs. Between them they pieced together the story and the probable reasons for the family rift. The upshot was Bob meeting a group of the descendants at the soldier’s grave on the 100th anniversary of his death. He was honoured with the very emotional task of giving a eulogy. The setting was very different from the one in the original photographs.
We are now all used to seeing the beautifully designed and tended graveyards which the Commonwealth Grave Commission brought into being, but the pictures and newspaper reports Bob showed indicate the situation and dilemmas people faced before this was achieved. This prompted several good discussions and further examination of the slides.
Our speaker in May will be Bernard Bowen with what I understand will be a medley of stories, mainly military. Bernards talks are always engaging and you never know where he will take us, so be prepared for a good discussion.
I