Skip to main content

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks: Week 46. Birthdays

 BIRTHDAYS

As a family we are not big on birthdays, we give cards and presents but we do not really go in for parties. Having said that I have spent some of my birthdays in far flung lands, India, Egypt and Argentina just being a few. 

So what can I write about for this weeks theme?

My initial response to the title was remembering Victoria Wood ( a UK comedienne) talking about  children's parties and 'potted meat sandwiches'! My own memories are of jelly and blancmanche and games such as pass the parcel, musical chairs and pin the tale on the donkey.

So this week after a struggle as what to write, I thought I would introduce you all to George.


George was gifted to me on my 2nd birthday by my paternal Grandfather. He may be a little faded now but I remember opening the box he arrived in, to see him lying within tissue paper, snow white, blue eyed and red paws with a large blue satin ribbon.

Over the years he has been well loved, as a child I used him to rest my head rather than a pillow. He has been treated rather brutally and has experienced both a twin tub and automatic washing machine over the years. His original stuffing perished and over the years he has been refilled with cut up stockings and tights, but I am pleased to say that he is at present filled with kapok.

I believe George to be a Wendy Boston bear, teddybears that were designed and made in Wales from around 1947-1968, when they were taken over by Denys Fisher Toys.


So what has a soft toy to do with family history? My response would be, they hold specific personal memories but also remind us of those who gifted them in the first place.

So as I reach my 60th year, George is a reminder of my Grandad Paul, but I also have other childhood toys to remind me of other members of the family or family friends.

BIRTHDAY FACT/COINCIDENCE 1.
My Paternal Grandfather was born on 25th June, my Paternal Grandmother, 29th June and my Dad, 30th June.

Grey Teddy was a birth gift to me by my Mum's Uncle Stan.

Stanley John George Clutterbuck 1913-1963. 

Stan worked in a bicycle and toy shop. He visited Mum shortly after my birth with Grey Teddy. He said that the bear originally had a blue ribbon, but he had gone out and bought pink ribbon and around it's neck, because I was 'a young maid.'

Stan suffered from asthma and a heart condition and very sadly died alone in a shop doorway in Whitton after becoming unwell, a year after I was born.

Although Grey Teddy still has his original straw stuffing, he has always sufferred from a loose head, which has been reattached many times. Perhaps he would be an ideal candidate for the Teddy Bear ladies on The Repair Shop.

BIRTHDAY COINCIDENCE/FACT 2
After discovering my Mum's birth mother, I also discovered that she was born on the same date as her maternal birth Grandmother.

And finally:-

BIRTHDAY COINCIDENCE/FACT 3
My ex-husband and myself shared the same birthday.





Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 48. Strength.

  FLORENCE STEWART PERRY nee ANDREWS 1882-1957 Kindly shared by JP If you have read any of my previous posts you will have perhaps noticed, I write a lot about the women in my tree. In the most part this is because many focus on the males in their tree, their occupations, their military service etc, but there are often 'strong' women beside them, caring for their children, managing on what money may or may not be coming in and often undertaking sideline home work which was so badly paid. One of those women was my Great Grandmother Eliza Pitts, but I have already written about her under the theme, 'Loss'. So today I am writing about another lady, the wife of my half Grand-Uncle, Florence Stewart Perry nee Andrews wife of John Arthur Perry. When writing his autobiographical journal, 'By Devious Paths' John A. makes this dedication:-  Dedicated to the constant and faithful companion on my Pilgrimage, 'By Devious Paths MY WIFE. Writing this I am well aware that ...
4 comments
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 31. Favourite Name.

EUGENIE MARIA MARY CRETON JAY  The Affair: An 1875 engraving shows a man snooping on his wife as she meets with her lover …   This weeks theme is difficult, it is like picking a favourite child. I rather like my 2x Great Grandmother's middle and chosen name, Rosella, but I have already written about her in a previous post:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Mothers Day (mypynthdev.blogspot.com)   Incidently my mother said, if she had known the name before I was born she would have chosen it for me. I'm not sure how I would have felt about that as child/teenager. Another name that has drawn me over the years is Catherine Sophia Lissa Woodley and whilst she had, in my opinion, a lovely name, she has an interesting story of her own to tell, I have already written her story:  Catherine Sophia Lissa Woodley: Sister of Mercy (mypynthdev.blogspot.com) So who have I chosen for this weeks post? Well she does have a nice name, but I have for some reason been drawn to her, since s...
6 comments
Read more

GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934: WHO ARE YOU MR P?

 GEORGE ARTHUR PERRY 1851-1934 WHO ARE YOU MR P? As with many people, my interest in genealogy started shortly after the death of my father. He had distanced himself from his family and rarely talked about them, so I really was starting from scratch. Small recollections of him speaking of an Uncle Ted, Uncle Percy, Uncle Ernie, Uncle Les and Auntie Dorrie, helped with a few of the names, whilst he also spoke of an older Uncle in Australia. Stories of his grandparents were sparce, he recalled a man, who wore a fez and smoking jacket and recalled that he had married the 'Nanny'. And so from these few snippets, so the the journey to find out 'Who are you Mr P?' began.  So where to begin with the story, well if I relayed the information as it was found, we would begin at the end and worked back to the mid 1870's until the brick wall was broken down when an incident occurred in 1881, which paved the way in finding the elusive early history due to a name change. The quest...
2 comments
Read more