Albert & Donald on the beach

Note that even on holiday, Bert is wearing a collar and tie. Donald cannot be more than five in this picture, dating it no later than 1925. I do not know the location, but it is most likely somewhere on the Kent coast.

A Christmas card - 1911 style

From Bert to Ada. Note the red ribbon holding the card together.

Bill & Connie Warden?

This photograph appears to be a copy print. What looks like a burn mark on the top is actually an image in the print.

The photo is from the Crown Lane archive and I think it could be Bill and Connie Warden. I only knew Bill from when he married Ada in 1961 and I don't have any known earlier pictures of him. But comparing this with later pictures of Bill, I think there is a resemblance. Also, the woman appears to be older than the man. Their marriage certificate of 24 August 1914 shows that William Drewitt Warden, 26, a bachelor married Constance Anetta Dickens, 36, a widow. Her father is shown as George Dickens, so I presume she had reverted to her maiden name. (Bill's age on the marriage certificate is not quite right though. His death certificate shows he was born on 4th July 1890. This is consistent with the age of 70 shown on the certificate of his second marriage to Ada Mackie on 13th April 1961. So when he married Connie, he could only have been 24.)

A few more "unknowns"

These are all from the Crown Lane archive so they could be related to either Ada McCann/Mackie/Warden or Bill Warden. The top picture has "Flo's" written on the back, but that is not a name that rings bells with me.

The middle picture could be relatives of Bill Warden. If that is the Anchor Hotel, Shepperton in the background, then the church is St. Nicholas C of E Church.

A Corner of Scrips

This is a picture from Ada's archive and presumably dates from around 1951 when she was there. It is printed on white card. The untidy right hand edge indicates that it has been cut or torn from something bigger. The block paving in the foreground and extending beyond the doorway looks identical to that seen in the Bardrick's 2006 newsletter.

A load of blokes in a charabanc

I do not know who these people are or what the occasion is. I presume it is workplace-based, as the passengers are all male. Many of them are conspicuously brandishing short rods. Maybe they have been involved in the manufacture of this device, whatever it may be. They all seem to be wearing overcoats, so it is not exactly the best weather to be riding in an open-topped vehicle. The name on the side of the charabanc looks like "C.G. Lewis".

The picture came from the "Crown Lane" archive, so possibly Albert Mackie is here somewhere. If so, this could be a party from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

Update

I have now made contact with Chris Lewis, nephew of Charles George Lewis and suggested a possible connection with Woolwich Arsenal. Chris has provided some interesting further information.

A little research and the vehicle in your photo is a Karrier KL type. One of the very first forward control vehicles ever built. Reg no. YN7601. New June 1926 and cost £1250.
In 1927 C. G. Lewis’ phone number had a 0 added to the front making it Greenwich 0220. In your photo it still reads 220. Since all his vehicles were re-varnished every year, I think the year could be 1926-27 as photos of this vehicle in 1928 show the new number.

The full company title at this time was C. G. Lewis safety coaches. With the name in a triangle base side down, later wings were added to this as the wings of speed (28 mph legal speed limit). He also did a lot of work for Ministry of Defence: - RN stores Deptford, Royal Naval College Greenwich, Royal Artillery Woolwich, & Royal Arsenal, so possible.

Chief Inspector of Mechanization, Chislehurst

This is a set of passport-size photos. Surnames are written in pencil on the back. These are:
Top row l-r: Arrow, Barnard, Blanchard, Lawton
Middle row l-r: Mayo, Prior, Shotbolt
Bottom row l-r: Way, Wetherell, Williams

Some carry a rubber stamp, as shown at the bottom. Stamped photos with dates are:
Arrow 13FEB1941
Barnard 21FEB1941
Mayo 7-MAY1941
Shotbolt 8-FEB1941
Wetherell 8-FEB1941

They are contained in the envelope below.



So what exactly did the Chief Inspector of Mechanization do? According to this site http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/lsm/dhmg/mahon1.html he/they authored a document entitled "Self-Changing Gearbox for Matilda" in 1941. This site http://www.awm.gov.au/firstopac/bin/cgi-jsp.exe/shelf1.jsp?recno=39653&userId=&catTable= shows authorship of another document about Matilda. So who or what was Matilda, you ask? It was an infantry tank, designed at Woolwich Arsenal and produced between 1937 and 1943. See, for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_tank

This site http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/cats/stern/st30-03-.htm lists a document "STERN: 4/11 1942 - Booklet prepared by the Department of the Chief Inspector of Mechanisation, Chislehurst, Kent, containing specifications and illustrations of armoured fighting vehicles, including Cruiser Tanks, Infantry Tanks and armoured cars."

Here is an interesting bit from Hansard, February 1948 http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1948/feb/02/electrical-and-mechanical-department From here, follow the link to the previous section and you will learn that - at the time - "manure forks are practically unobtainable in Devonshire".