This is of my Grandfather, George Butcher and taken circa 1960. He is in the garden of the family home which was near the railway station at Guildford. Behind the small fence is the River Wey and the tall tower like structure is in the grounds of the former laundry at Guildford. I am sure that large bushy flower behind him is either marigolds or wallflowers as they seemed to be favours. In this photo he is wearing a waist coat that matched the suit, which is rare, he usually wore a brown jumper with an orange fleck in the wool. So I wonder if this was him getting ready to go to an event.
I recall the laundry which was a derelict building during my childhood. It had been used during the war as dealing with sheets and alike from the military. During the war my Grandmother worked there and after then hated ironing with a passion and the smell of starch. Gradually the laundry knocked down and Guildford Crown Court built on the site.
Taking part in Sepia Saturday
Great memories. In 1960, I was expecting my first child. It's incredible how things changed after that. Then, even in Australia, we would put up with peeling lino on the floor and sooty yards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting back ground, and your grandfather is such a handsome man. It's funny my family has photos of relatives back in the 50's and 60's when they thought taking photos with cigarettes was really cool! They all had them! Well, mostly the men anyway!
ReplyDeleteHe was, wasn't he. It was the media of the time. Now the kids aspire to be, well actually I am not sure but it is how the famous are portrayed in the media that creates "our" image.
DeleteThe square, tapered shape of the chimney seems slightly unusual to me.
ReplyDeleteYou know I never noticed the shape of the chimney. Which shows that when we recognise something we don't always look beyond that.
DeleteSmells are such an important part of our heritage aren't they? And sounds too. I remember the smell of sweet coffee in my parent's thermos being opened in the car by the side of the road during breaks on our long trips to Sydney from Canberra. Funny - I never have sugar in my coffee. It's almost too much of a treat to have. And probably just as well given my weakness for just about everything else.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever seen a rectangular chimney stack before. I'm glad I never had to wear a waistcoat as smart as they looked when worn correctly.
ReplyDeleteHe looked very handsome there. But I mostly sympathize with your grandma's dislike of ironing. My mom grew a dislike for it too, because I liked it too much and took too much space every morning to iron my clothes. Many suspected I even ironed my underwear, which i didn't. I am way more relax about it now and haven't held an iron for many years now. Pity my mom never got to see that day... But back to that photograph, that laundry, so close to houses, it must have had a peculiar smell about it. I remember a friend in high school who lived across a chocolate factory and while the first time I smelled that, I found the smell appealing, it didn't take long for me to find it nauseating. Again, I feel from your grandma...
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HUGZ
I never thought to ask her about the smells. She did though hate ironing and the smell of starch. It must have been hot and steamy in the laundry and I wonder how many people were employed there.
DeleteEven though I have been collecting Guildford postcards for almost 20 years, I have never come close to finding one of Guildford Laundry during this period.
Yes, smells can take you back. Amazing really that we can remember a smell.
ReplyDeleteYes it is, the same as a piece of music can make us remember a year, event etc. The brain is a complex piece of kit!
DeleteIt probably was a special occasion - hence the photo. It's odd that the photographer didn't think to prompt him to take the cigarette out of his mouth. I've got several family photos where people are smoking, but usually the cigarette is between their fingers.
ReplyDeleteI thought that, but the photographer was probably my Grandmother and she was never great with camera's! In fact she hated having her photo taken, so I am always surprised at just how many I have of her.
DeleteI'm with your grandma on the ironing. I have a friend who was the principal inventor of spray-on starch which I have to admit made ironing a little more fun. Your grandfather was very handsome.
ReplyDeleteGeorge looked very handsome in this photo, but my eye kept going to the angles in the photo. Quite as eye catching as George.
ReplyDeleteI love how you could identify exactly what he should have been wearing! So I agree perhaps it was a special outing. Don't you hate it when you can't find a photo you feel sure was there somewhere?!
ReplyDeleteAnd I think we all owe Helen's friend a big vote of thanks. I for one don't miss that whole boiling up starch lumps to add to the washing. Spray on starch rocks!
ReplyDeleteFunny that someone who smokes was opposed to the smell of starch.
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