My Sepia Saturday photograph this week is a wedding photograph of my Auntie Amy and her first husband Wilf Sykes. According to the public records the marriage took place in the third quarter of 1929 and the clothes look about right for this time. Wilf was a wool sorter and they lived in Bradford which was still, in the 1920s, the centre of the British woolen and worsted industry. They had no children and Wilf died at the comparably young age of 59 in the early 1960s. Amy went on to marry two more times and lived well into her nineties. When she died, Amy left me a few hundred pounds as a legacy and it was witrh this money that we bought the dog which is named after her.
Whilst I knew Amy well and I am familiar with the rich detail of her long life, I know very little about her first husband, a man I can just remember from my childhood. I have never done any serious research into this link with the Sykes family (Sykes is a very traditional Yorkshire surname) but it is something I have flagged up to do in the coming months. I will let people know what I discover.
I will not be able to participate in Sepia Saturday for the next three weeks as I will be away on holiday. But Sepia Saturday will continue in my absence and its joint inventor, Kat Mortensen over at Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes will be looking after the participation list from next week onwards. However, for this week - if you are participating - let me know and I will add you to the following list.
And before anyone points it out, I know it is only Friday, but I always feel I need to get my Sepia Saturday post up early so the linking information is available to all participants and their readers.
ReplyDeleteBut... but... it's only Friday! ;)
ReplyDeleteWilf... is that a common name in the UK? Or in that era, at least?
I wondered if there was a family connection to the name of your dog, Amy.
ReplyDeleteYes, Alan, please count me IN for Sepia Saturday!
Disclaimer aside, my mind is currently destroying itself as it attempts to cope with Sepia Saturday on a Friday and to be honest it isn't coping too well all I can think of is adlkjasdblakjbalkbjalekjtlkajdlkjalbkjabdkjdk3eeiei!!"£()$!*%*%
ReplyDeleteGreat Photo Alan.They Look Very Relaxed .Dont You think people often look quite Stern & "Formal" in old portrait photos? Wilf + Amy look serene.
ReplyDeleteHave A Grand Holiday Lad!
Your Amy was such a good deal from you inheritance. Something that gives back every day.
ReplyDeleteI will get my act together and put a link on my sepia back to yours this time. I am a bad participant but will improve. You will hear my scanner humming today.
I really like the story and the photo is very interesting. It looks like a background painted on the wall.
I am up and on your site. Thanks for doing the work.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the holiday; maybe you'll keep us up to date with the local tipples in that part of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you remembered her in Amy the dog! It's a charming picture.
ReplyDeleteAlan,
ReplyDeleteThese sepia photos are great. Everyone always looks so stately in them! Thanks for sharing your stories along with them. Have a great weekend! The Bach
Yes, it's Friday, but I just posted mine too Alan, so count me in. We will miss you the next three Saturdays!
ReplyDeleteLove the name Wilf! Wilford? Any way, it's kind of endearing, isn't it! Beautiful wedding photograph! I love her hat and shoes especially.
Thanks for all the comments - JeffScape & Betsy : Wilf is a fairly common shortened form of Wilfred and was very popular in these parts about 100 years ago.
ReplyDeleteClicking on the picture reveals the most wonderful clothing details! I desperately want a pair of those shoes she's wearing...
ReplyDeletemy Sepia Saturday post is up now too (also early...)
I agree with Betsy and Leah...the shoes are great! She is stylish from the hat on her head to those fabulous shoes.
ReplyDeleteHave a fun holiday!
Lovely post, Alan. We had a "Wilf" Buckle at our church when I was growing up. He wore the most fantastic day-glo green pants and white buckle and he and his wife were known for their Square Dancing!
ReplyDeleteI have given thought on a few occasions about Amy's name, so it's nice to know the origin.
(Mine will be up momentarily.)
Your aunt and her husband look remarkably relaxed for the era - the photographer must have been born before his time! It's a fabulous photo.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's a connection somewhere to Eric?? Interesting research ahead.
Alan, as no one else has mentioned it, I thought I'd say that it's only Friday.
ReplyDeleteI love this picture. It sums up a whole era. It makes me want to do the Charleston. (But I won't. It's Friday evening, and all I have energy for is lifting chips to my mouth.)
That's a lovely story Alan. Nice link with Amy the dog too.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the Sykes family, isn't Eric Sykes from Yorkshire?
Please count me in for Sepia Saturday too.
Alan! Nice to visit your site. I found you through Betsey's blog. I am in the need of themes, and Sepia Saturday looks like a great idea. Something to do with those gazillions of old photos. I will post tomorrow, and let Kat know for the next several weeks.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love the clothes in the 20's. She's a fine looking woman alright no wonder she married twice after poor old Wilf. You don't here that name anymore. I have a distant uncle Wilf but he prefers Wilfred.
ReplyDeletei found you via meri..and this idea of sepia saturday is stunning.
ReplyDeletei have posted mine for the morning.
thanks..and enjoy your holiday.
rebecca
Alan - Be sure and add Lettuce's blog as she's jumped in and posted a lovely Sepia photo and article.
ReplyDeleteI'm in again this week!
ReplyDeletewouldn't it be loverly if folks returned to the type of wedding outfits they wore back in the day of wilf and amy.
love that name wilf!
i can't help but think of dicken's oliver when I hear the name sykes, but if perhaps dickens spell the name differently!
enjoy your holiday!
I'm playing again at http://meriak.blogspot.com/2010/01/another-sepia-saturday.html.
ReplyDeleteOh and I meant to say that Amy was quite fashionable and glam. Wilf was a handsome man. Were they great loves for each other?
ReplyDeletealan...when exactly do you leave on your trip? I want to post pics of you and our uncle before you go.
ReplyDeleteHello, Alan! I have just posted my first offering for Sepia Saturday. I may not have one every week, but I think I can promise at least one per month.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading these posts immensely. What a fanstasic idea for bloggers! I truly relate to those fading memories of uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. and often regret that I have not conducted extensive interviews for family stories all throughout my life. It is, after all, the simple day to day family stories that make the richness of our lives. Amy & Wilf...aren't they a sweet couple?
wow, way to go Amy!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Wilf was such a long-established name. I wonder if anyone is called Wilf these days?
great photo - I have some good wedding photos too, they'll appear sooner or later!
have a good holiday