Gt Aunt Annie My Gt Aunt Anne (known always as Annie) was christened on the 7th December 1851 at St Mary’s Church, Handbridge in Chester the daughter of William & Harriet Onions. According to a local press cutting written at the time of her 100th Birthday she was born in a house built over what used to Knights Brewery in Park Street, Chester. She attended the little school of St Mary’s on the Hill under a Mrs & Mrs Jenkins. The boys and girls in this school were apparently separated by a curtain to help them concentrate on their studies. Her father William and Mother Harriet died when she was just 18 so she then lived with her Grandmother in Queen Street, Chester. She moved for a short time to work in London before returning in 1903 to Chester and worked as a dressmaker for Browns in Eastgate Row. She retired age 71 and went on to receive a telegram from the Queen on the occasion of her 100th Birthday. She died in 1952 at a Chester nursing home.	Gt Aunt Annie with a Telegram from the Queen Annie Onions reading her Telegram from Buckingham Palace on the occasion of her 100th Birthday. Another picture taken on this momentous day shows her with cigarette in hand which seems very non PC these days!!	William Paddy My Gt Gt Grandfather William Paddy was born about 1830 in Coventry, Warwickshire the son of William & Elizabeth Paddy. He was educated at Bablake Boys School Coventry and by the time of his marriage to Frances Evans on 6th April 1858 had joined the Army and was stationed at Salford Barracks. His Army service took him to Kilkenny in Ireland where his second daughter Maud was born. By 1871 he had risen to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He is pictured here in the uniform of a Rifle Volunteer Company probably about 1870. After his retirement he lived in Crewe Street, Chester and worked as a Timekeeper for a Cabinet Manufacturer. He died in Chester on the 7th January 1896 and is buried at Overleigh Road Cemetery in Chester. More information about William's Army career is available via the Miscellaneous Pages.
NAAFI Shop circa 1914 This photo shows Thomas Bagnall Holland seated 2nd from left in what looks like an early NAAFI. The NAAFI shops date from about 1894 and were set up to provide shopping facilities for the British Armed Services. Given that Thomas died in 1922 this photo probably dates from the period of WW1 between 1914 and 1918. Some familiar old brand names can be seen on the shelves such as Frys Cocoa, Horlicks and Players Medium Navy Cut cigarettes.	Crosville Coach Trip This picture from my wifes families album dates to about 1920 and shows a coach party setting off from the Spital Vaults Pub in Boughton, Chester. Prominent in the picture at the front (left) is the Pub's landlady Mrs Billington with a Mrs Vickers 4th from the left inside the coach with her children. Given the UK's unreliable Summer weather it takes little to imagine how spirits might have been dampened by the return journey on a wet Bank Holiday Monday! Sadly no known family members are visible in this photo.	Griffith Family Group This lovely family photo shows my wifes father Thomas Griffith with his father & mother together with his brothers and sisters. Given the relative ages of everybody this picture would have been taken circa 1912.
Wounded Blues This photo dates from about 1916 and shows WW1 soldiers recuperating at Tooting Military Hospital in London. Known as "Wounded Blues" patients were issued with blue tunics during their stay in hospital. I'm still trying to identify which if any family member might be pictured here.	A Sketch by George Mckay Buried in a box of old paperwork recovered from the house of my Mother after her death was this charming sketch of my Father drawn in pencil by George McKay. From reports handed down my father was very fashion concious in his adolescent years and the sketch shows him in Oxford bags, the must have fashion in mens trousers in the 1920's.	Chester 1926 Strike Committee On the 4th of May 1926 Britains Trade Unions called a General Strike in support of the miners who were threatened with compulsory pay cuts. The General Strike continued until the 13th of May 1926 although many miners continued their strike for several more months. This picture shows my Grandfather Richard Holland (bottom right) with the Chester Strike Committee. Many Chester people may well recognise a family member in this photo which benefits from having people names listed.