It was a transport theme on this week's #ancestryhour. Followers posted pictures of their ancestors beside an eclectic selection of boats, cars, bikes and motorcycles.
So I thought I'd adopt the idea and dig into my own photo archives for a few photographs on a similar theme.
You may recognise the photo of my dad in his 1937 2 stroke Morgan, which I wrote about in my post If Only I'd Kept... Dad had once owned a motorbike (also pictured) but changed to a car after he came off his bike.
Scolded by his doctor
Some of you who've read my blog for a while may remember that Dad damaged his leg when he was a small boy affecting its growth and resulting in his right leg being shorter than his left. He had to wear a built-up shoe to compensate. After his motorbike accident, his doctor is alleged to have told him off, saying "those machines aren't designed for someone with a gammy leg!"
I also found a great photo of my grandparents with my great-granddad (front right) taken in 1953 beside what I think is a Morris Eight. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!
Our family cars
Amongst my dad's slide collection (my current scanning project) I found several of me and my family over the years showing an assortment of cars we've owned. (Great action photo of me in the bottom, middle, eh?)
The Hillman Minx was a favourite model of my dad's as you can tell from the photos - we had quite a few! But the estate car version pictured below - or "shooting brake" as it was also known - has a part to play in my family history story.
Driving back one day from a holiday which we'd had to cut it short because I'd gone down with mumps, we were involved in a minor car accident. It was in the days before seat belts and Mum, sitting in the front passenger seat, put her hand out to brace herself and broke her wrist. You can see her still in plaster when we went back a few weeks later to "finish" our holiday.
Mystery rider
My last photo is an intriguing one. I'd found it in an anonymous leatherette pouch full of assorted snaps. I've since established (courtesy of James Hewing, at the National Motorbike Museum) that the motorcycle itself is a Royal Enfield 500c, from around 1927.
But as to the rider... I'm still working on it. One possibility is that it's my maternal grandmother's cousin, Anna Helena Talbot. So if you're a relation and can identify her, I'd be most grateful!
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