Sepia Saturday 198: 12 October 2013





Alan from Sepia Saturday says:

It is 100 years since HMS Queen Elizabeth was launched at Portsmouth. Whilst this is not the Queen Elizabeth, it matters not, because in Sepia Saturday 198 we celebrate the start of something new. It might be a life, it might be a love, it might be a a new chicken coop or it might be a mighty ocean liner. In the case of our current photograph it was HMAS Albatross the Royal Australian Navy's first seaplane carrier which was launched in February 1928 at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney. The photograph, which was taken by Sam Hood (1872-1953) and forms part of the Australian National Maritime Museum's stream on Flickr Commons. If you have a picture of a launch of a battleship in your collection, feel free to share it, but a photograph of anything new, anything beginning or anything that floats on water will do. 


Joy and Ray's album
It's always a challenge deciding what to do for Sepia Saturday.

I saw the ship and immediately thought of my father's album with photos from the Navy but I think I will leave that for another day - as interesting as it was.

I decided instead to revisit my 1st cousin once removed's photo album because it was a symbol of a new beginning - namely her relationship with Ray Jeffery, her husband.

The frontispiece of the album looks like this...



In the top left hand corned it says "Commenced 1939"

In the middle it says "A Pictorial Record of Mr & Mrs Raymond Callaughan Jeffery"

The album has leaves between the pages to protect the photos but they are starting to deteriorate and tear or, worse, stick to the photos...



Here are the photos in context with writing underneath saying where they were taken...



Here are close ups of each photo....




This is a pretty hopeless photo - blurred and out of focus.  

The description says "The Ramp Central Station 1940"


But the back is signed by both of them with a more specific time - Aug/Sep 1940.



This is a much clearer photo.  I think Joy looks younger in this photo.  I can see bits of my mother in her face.  Maybe its just her expression.  Ray's still got that coat but no brolly.  

The caption reads "Botanical Gardens 1940"

You can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.  And the Governor Phillip fountain.

Look at this map here for their exact position at Number 48.

The back of the photo looks like this.



So not much more information really.

The newspaper cutting on the frontispiece says:



"Miss Joyce Wingfield, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I.W. Wingfield of Hamilton, whose engagement is announced to Lance Corporal Raymond Jeffery, AIF, of Coogee, Sydney.

I haven't been able to find this newspaper clipping in Trove yet. When I put Evalyn Mellor's name into the Search engine I got two results for the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner's Advocate in 1938 and 1940 which is coming soon!! I've submitted my email address to Trove to be notified when it's available and I'll search again for Joy and Ray's names.

So, Ray was living in Sydney and Joy was living in Newcastle.  How did they meet I wonder?  They didn't get married until 1942 according to the index on the NSW BDM.

I can only imagine that Ray was studying to be an accountant.  I'm not sure what Joy was doing.  I would have thought that she would have been helping in her parent's bakery in Newcastle.

The Wingfields lived at 13 Porcher Street Newcastle in 1936.  I think this changed its name to National Park Avenue later.  


View Larger Map  


Then 2 Rocko Court Flats Hamilton in 1937.  I cannot even begin to find where those might have been.

By 1943 they were at 167 Brighton Avenue Toronto.


View Larger Map


I can't find Ray and Joy in the electoral rolls online until 1949 when they are listed as living at 16 Stanley Street Merewether.



Ray and Joy had been married seven years by this time.

In another electoral roll from the same year, they are listed as living at 15 Brisbane Street Lorn.  Now Ray is an accountant.


View Larger Map


So a bit further inland near Maitland, but not too far from Newcastle.

This bit of research has unearthed more questions than answers.  

My To Do list has grown somewhat.  

1. I'd like to order Ray's military record from the National Archives.
2.  I'd like to order their marriage certificate
3.  I think I may have discovered, by the by, that there was a baby boy born before Joy and Shirley (her sister) that died in 1922.  So I'd like to order that death certificate.

Onwards and upwards.

This has probably been a bit of a boring post for everyone to read.  My apologies for writing/thinking on the run.

Comments

Kristin said…
The photo you described as hopeless looks pretty good to me. Not too blurred and sort of interesting. Good luck finding the engagement announcement! Finding newspaper articles is always exciting.
Wendy said…
I'm with Kristin -- I like the "hopeless" photo because it's an action shot -- they are walking! And they seem to be walking with a purpose. As a family historian too, I don't find your post boring at all. I like to see how others think because it gives me ideas about my own research.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Kristin - Thanks! I only knew Joy and Ray when they were much older. They are just babies in these photos. Well not babies, but barely adults if you know what I mean. And the world was at war so I guess that might account for the date keeping et al...you never knew what was around the corner.
Alex Daw said…
Thank you Wendy. I just worry that people think to themselves - "Hmmm...she's learned how to do maps now...pray God she finds something else to do apart from maps..give it a rest already!" But I do like maps - my geographical knowledge of the ins and outs of Newcastle is very weak, so I want to keep a record of where they were. Thank you again for your patience and interest.
ScotSue said…
The photographs may not be "spot on" but they are still an important part of your family and lovely to have, nevertheless. I like the way you have portrayed the family story, in particular the electoral register entries imposed on the maps. ..
La Nightingail said…
I didn't find your post at all boring. I've done some research into various aspects of my family's background & as Wendy said, seeing how someone else goes about it gives others useful ideas. I like both photos. They look like such a sweet couple. And reading that at one point they lived on a Brighton Ave. made me smile. My first apt. when I moved out of the family home at 23 was on Brighton Ave. in Albany, Calif. & it was a wonderful place to live. Only a block & a half from a big shopping center which was kind of dangerous as I really didn't have much extra money to spend . . . but, oh well. There was "Lay-Away" (also dangerous!) Anyway, good luck with your further sleuthing to find out more about Ray & Joy.
Anonymous said…
Capturing a moment in time so long ago, yet it reaches out and touches us now. Best of luck with your researches!
Not boring at all! I enjoyed reading it. And I also think that is a good photo.
I might have to do the map thing as well!
Nancy said…
The first photo may be blurred but I think it's a fabulous photograph. They look like such a chic couple, dressed to the nines. It's interesting to me that both photos were taken in 1940. I think Joyce looks younger and slimmer in that photo than in any of the others. How wonderful that you have the photo album. I think you could buy new interleaf paper that is acid free.
Mike Brubaker said…
A good interpretation of the launch theme. I think maps always improve our understanding of the context of where people lived and worked. Wendy's post this weekend included an address but no map, so the first thing I did was get it on Google Maps and StreetView. This is especially useful for unfamiliar distant lands.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Sue - Thanks for that feedback. I'm glad the maps add to the picture. I thought I might have been a bit too map happy ;)
Alex Daw said…
Dear Gail - Thank you for your lovely feedback. They do look a sweet couple don't they? I'm dying to know what "Lay-Away" is...is it another kind of shop? I'm guessing homewares....
Alex Daw said…
Dear Jackie - phew! Oh no, I might be spreading the map obsession!
Alex Daw said…
Dear Mike - Yes I thought Alan's idea of broadening out the interpretation was a good one. And even though I'm a local I still need maps for the finer detail - so I'm going to keep using them.
Alex Daw said…
I know we all have phones these days and it's easy to capture photos more than it was then but I still half wish that there were street photographers to take photos of us when we are going about our business...though I'm sure I'd find it intrusive at the time but looking back it seems so precious.
Alex Daw said…
Dear Nancy - I never thought of looking for new interleaf paper. What a good idea. There is a fancy paper shop not far from where I live. I should go in and ask them.
Bob Scotney said…
I'm always envious when I see family photos such as these. I gave hardly any of my family and none at all of my father.
Hazel said…
Leaves in between pages of photo albums - so that's the purpose. I remember wondering about them in my grandma's album and nobody ever told me why there leaves in there.

Joy on the 5th photo from top - I love her facial expression and the way she walked.

Hazel
Anonymous said…
I wonder if seaplanes are still in use anywhere.
Not boring at all, and a great way to step yourself through their life and open up questions and lines of investigation. I think I do it too although haven't tried maps yet.
Boobook said…
Certainly not boring. One thing I've discovered is that by writing a blog I fill in a few more gaps in our knowledge but there are always more questions unanswered!
Alex Daw said…
Dear Bob I have the opposite problem entirely - so many photos that I feel I should throw some away. It's not fair is it?
Alex Daw said…
Dear Hazel - well at least I imagine that's the purpose. They add an air of mystery don't they? Yes I'd love to know where Joy was going....she did enjoy shopping that's for sure :)
Alex Daw said…
Dear boundforoz - I think there are...we always used to see them at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney.
Alex Daw said…
Ooh Jackie - try the map thing...you'll never look back ! ;)
Alex Daw said…
Dear Boobook - you are very kind and yes, it's a kind of two steps forward, one back process isn't it?
If I may contradict you on that hopeless photo, by today's standards, it would work very well in the trendy street photography very much in vogue [again]. I like it.

Thinking on the run, is there any other way?
That's how I do it and that's how I end up with colossal posts
for which I am well known for, especially with the veteran Sepians.
Keep at it. The more you'll find answers,
the more questions will come forth...
:)~
HUGZ
tony said…
Giving The Physical/geographical context add a whole new dimension to your photos.Good Things Happen While Running & Thinking!

Popular posts from this blog

31 Things to do in August for National Family History Month

NFHM Blogging Challenge - Week 1

Merry Month of May Movie Meme