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Lost Images Reunited, Fareham, Hants (2026)

30/05/2026

case #211: A Cheeky Message at the Start of WWI

I couldn't resist this somewhat cheeky postcard sent from Syd to his older brother Harry at the start of WWI. I always look at these with trepidation—did Harry survive? I bought this one. I had plenty of clues: names, an address, and also a bit about Harry's military career, including his regimental number "282445". It also had a brilliant postmark which told me it was posted at 2:15pm on the 23rd of June, 1917, in Walworth S.E. You would think that would make my life easy, but somehow I have a bit of a mental block with military records. Luckily, the lovely folk on the Ancestry UK - The Friendly Family History Group came to my rescue and really helped me break through.

So this is Sydney Arthur Young (b. 1903), writing to his older brother Henry "Harry" Young (b. 1895), in 1917. I absolutely love the cheeky message, which I think beautifully reflects some of Sydney's personality at the age of 14, and exactly how 14-year-olds might treat their older brothers!

I wonder what Harry thought when he read it, did he carry it with him througout the war? Thankfully, my military record block was cured by the best news possible: Harry did survive the war, thank goodness.

Sydney went on to marry his wife, Catherine, and raise a large family with lots of children. I've also got a picture of him in his later years, and I still think you can see some of that boyhood cheekiness in his eyes.

This piece of family history has now been reunited with a direct descendent of Syd, and the family are really happy to have the postcard as they had never seen this one before. As the reunitee and I live reasonably close to each other, we managed to coordinate the return via a relay of people, with the postcard eventually being safely held in the County Archive to be picked up.

If you like postcards and family stories you should check out my fellow enthusiast at the The Forgotten Messages Project - who do great stuff reuniting postcards with their families too (they are all lovely too).

25/05/2026

case #201: Uncle Frank and Aunt Jane

I found this photograph on Vinted, which is a bit of a departure from my usual tracking grounds! Based on the clothing, it looked to date from the 1860s and was taken in Woolwich, and the back has an annotation reading "Aunt Jane & husband Frank (uncle) Julian." Having such specific names and a location of Woolwich made it relatively straightforward to trace the right family line.

The subjects are Frank Julian (1833–1894) and Jane Unicume (1833–1866), who married in 1860. They are so beautifully dressed here—do you think they had this portrait taken to commemorate their wedding day?

Frank’s life was completely shaped by the military and a love of music. He was actually born in Tasmania, where his father was stationed while his regiment accompanied convict transport ships. Tragically, both of Frank's parents died young, leaving him and his sisters orphaned. He was sent back to England and raised in the Woolwich Asylum, which was an orphanage specifically for the children of army personnel. He eventually enlisted as a military musician himself and rose to become a band leader. I even managed to find a later photo of him looking very dapper in his official band leader uniform!

Sadly, Jane passed away in 1866, likely from complications after giving birth to their son, Frank William Julian. Frank Junior went on to follow his father's career as a musician, and he eventually retraced Frank Senior's steps right back to the other side of the world, emigrating to Australia with his wife, Eleanor, and their 10 children!

The "reunitee" for this photograph lives in Australia and couldn't buy the listing directly due to Vinted's regional restrictions, so I was happy to step in, secure it, and forward it on.

I am so pleased to say it has now been safely reunited with Frank and Jane's 3xGreat-Grandchild! Because the original image is in such wonderful, clear condition, the family is actually looking into getting an enlargement made to frame.

24/05/2026

case #167: Putting James North in the Frame!

I spotted this intriguing photograph/postcard on eBay, and it really got my attention - an interesting composition, a nice picture and an intriguing story to tell perhaps? Dating from around 1905, the back is annotated naming the subjects: "Sarah Ann Kitchingman, James North, Mary Emma Kitchingman, Sarah Margaret Kitchingman, Nora? (Alice Wells granddaughter sister of Sarah Ann)." With such specific details, it was a genealogist's dream to sort through the generation lines.

Although you might be surprised to learn just how many Kitchingmans there are out there, but thanks to these wonderfully distinct names, tracing the family tree was a smooth process.

So this is Sarah Ann Kitchingham (born 1859 in Peterborough) two of her children Mary Emma (b1888) and Sarah Margaret (b1899) and her Great Neice (probably). The picture looks to be taken on the steps of the school house in Lingdale (where they were living in 1911). I've included a picture of the house now - do you think it's the same front door? I'd like to see if there were steps up to the door but I couldn't do that using streetview ;). This is next to the school where James was the headteacher.

The real drama of this photograph unfolds in the years following this picture. In 1913, one of the daughters pictured, Mary Emma Kitchingman, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter. Down through the generations, family stories were passed along that the father was a local farm hand called Hutchinson.

Decades, well actually a Century later, the family used DNA to see if they could resolve this once and for all. Amazingly, the DNA showed strong connections to the North family. While science provided the DNA matches, it couldn't tell us exactly how the families crossed paths, so the family researched and a theory that James North or one of his sons (more of the right age) was actually the father of Mary Emma's daughter. When I reached out with this photograph to the family they were very excited to see that it literally puts James North right in the frame alongside Mary Emma, providing the ultimate visual link to back up the genetic evidence!

I am pleased to share that this piece of family history has now been officially returned to its rightful home! The postcard has been reunited with Mary Emma's great-grandchild. They said that seeing the picture was absolutely amazing that there was a photo of their GG & GGG with James North in it. They have shared it with all the North cousins on Ancestry and their mum's cousins in the UK. It's one thing to see a name match on a DNA website, but it is an entirely different experience to suddenly hold a 120-year-old photograph showing your ancestors standing side-by-side with the very person you've been searching for.

23/05/2026

case #194: Keep an eye out for copies

I spotted this lovely photograph of a mother and her baby on eBay, and it immediately caught my eye. The only clues I had to go on were the distinct 1860s fashion of the mother's crinoline day dress and a contemporary annotation on the back for "Cecila Edge and Percy Edge". Using just the dress style and those names, it was the work of a moment to deploy some genealogy skills and track down exactly who they were.

This is Cecilia Tarratt (born 1840 in Wolverhampton), who married Francis Edge in Staffordshire in 1862. The little bundle in her arms is their eldest child, Percy Francis Edge, born later that same year in Penkridge, Staffordshire. Cecilia's dress fits the 1862 timeline perfectly, although I do wonder how you'd get on with daily living in one.

However, there was a bit of a mystery! The format of the photo (rounded corners) and the studio being based in Cheltenham didn't quite line up with the age of the photograph and where Cecilia actually was at the time. Because of this, we think this photograph is actually a copy. Back then, the owner of a cherished photograph would often take it into a local photographer to get copies made for the family, so a photo may appear to be from an unexpected place or from a studio that was in business at a later date. This is well worth looking out for because it can completely fool you into thinking a photograph is from a much later era, making it hard to work out who it is, or leading you to match it to the wrong person.

So keep an open mind sometimes. It is also worth looking closely at the damage on a photograph you suspect has been copied. Perhaps use a magnifier and look closely at damage on the photograph and look to see whether it matches the surface of the print. If the surface is disrupted then your photograph is probably an original, if not then it is probably a copy (and the photographer copied the image including it's scratches and damage)

I am delighted to say this photograph is now with Cecilia’s great-grandchild! I love it when photographs are reunited with their direct descendants, and although the family already had some family treasures from Cecilia, they did not have a single photograph of her until now. It’s so wonderful to finally put a face to a name for them.

22/05/2026

It's time to expand, and I need your help! 📸✨

Since starting this page, I have been incredibly moved by how many "orphaned" vintage photographs and albums we’ve managed to return to their rightful homes. But the truth is, so many incredible photographs pass me by every single day on eBay and etc. There are simply too many forgotten faces waiting to be reunited with their descendants, and I'd like some volunteers to help.

I am looking to build a team of admins to find, research, reunite and post (you may be interested in the whole process-like me, or part-like Rose our Special Investigations Unit, any contribution would be great ). Whether you can spare a few hours a week or just a few minutes whenever you feel like browsing, your time would make a big difference. I'll provide some guidance - but my fundamental one is - "this should feel like fun for everyone involved".

It's very rewarding and... you get to use your skills on short term projects that actually end - it is a very welcome break from starring at your own family history brick walls!

Who feels like putting their genealogy skills to the test and reuniting lost treasures? Please add a comment below or send me an message if you're interested in getting involved. Our history needs you!

09/05/2026

Hello , how about something a little different?
I need your help. I bought this brilliant but tiny photograph, as it had so much information on it.

However, it is eluding me a bit. Can you help?

Latest Update: Thanks to Denise Jackson and her super sleuthing skills, she has identified this as a photograph of the "first class" in Sidcot School - then the Quaker School in Somerset, some 19 pupils arranged around their teacher Josiah Evans. The 1861 census for Josiah Evans - the teacher here, shows him at the school and also about 11 of the pupils named.

I have contacted the school and am intending to donate the photograph to the school if they wish and also investigating the pupils to share a digital copy with them if they wish.

What I know: this is an early photograph, 1864.
It's the “first class” of a school.
All the names are carefully written on the back (in tiny writing but beautifully done).

I won't tell you the little I have found out because I don't want to prejudice you in any way.
Also, banana for scale!

03/05/2026

case #200: The Harpers of Pontblyddyn
I found this fantastic photograph of a large family—nine children, some very close in age. It was a bit damaged, and I love the way it is mounted in a "slap-dash" way on the original card. I see so many fantastic family photographs, with so much character in, but so many have no clues! So I was really pleased to see it was annotated with "Mr and Mrs Harper" and "received 3rd May 1883." (which I believe is the date of the photograph). It was taken by the North Wales Photographic Co. in Pontblyddin, ("near Mold" if that's any help) in Flintshire, Wales. I was determined to reunite this one. So, I was looking for a Harper family with at least nine children living in Flintshire around 1883. That gave me enough information to go on.

By a short process of elimination I was quite quickly able to identify the family as Edwin Harper (1838-1911) and Mary Harper (1837-1911). They actually had at least 12 children in total—you can take your pick from
Edwin (born 1863)
Margaret (born 1865)
Mary Ann (born 1870)
Thomas (born 1871)
Stephen (born 1872)
Christiana (born 1873)
Emily (born 1875)
Alfred (born 1877)
Esther (born 1878)
William (born 1880)
and Myfanwyn (born 1882, she went on to live until she was 91)
I think Myfanwyn is the baby in this photograph and that some of the older children had moved away and had their own lives as they would have been around 20. At the time of this photo, Edwin was working as a publican and lead mine agent.

Interestingly, I noticed that Edwin was born in Cornwall. Before he was a publican, he started out as a lead miner (as in the metal, not the chief). It made me wonder how a Cornishman ended up in Wales. Apparently, there was a large migration of Cornish miners in the mid-19th century because the tin and copper mines in Cornwall were struggling. Edwin came from a long line of copper miners—perhaps we’ve even seen his ancestors in Poldark!

I reached out to several people who had Mary and Edwin in their trees, and I’m pleased to say the photo has been reunited with a great-grandchild. I’ve even been able to put distant cousins in touch with each other to share this family treasure.

In case you're interested, I had a play with AI to see what it could do with the image. I asked it to produce a neat, clean, and higher-contrast version (minus the slap-dash mounting)—I really like the result! I’ve also included a couple of photos of Edwin and Mary when they were older that I found on Ancestry. Do you agree it’s definitely them?

02/05/2026

case 198: A Vinted Find!

I’ve broken out into Vinted, which is proving to be a rich source for finding "orphaned" photographs. While many know it for second-hand fashion, people are increasingly using it to clear out old boxes of ephemera and all kinds of other stuff, who knew?

This beautiful portrait of Frances Reay Robinson (1850-1924) in my opinion is a real cut above—just look at the elegant pose, the clarity, and how well it was lit. Taken in Eastbourne, likely in the 1890s, it was a work of moments to track down the family thanks to such a distinct name and the dates provided.

Finding the "reunitee" was a bit of a whirlwind. I reached out to a few people, including, incidentally the seller who was clearing out a box of family duplicates after a recent bereavement. They felt that finding these a proper home was a lovely way to honor the past. Another contact was a direct descendant of Frances who jumped at the chance to buy the photo.

The best part? It turns out the seller and the buyer were actually cousins who already knew each other! Once they realized the connection, the seller refunded the cost and is now, I believe, passing on even more family photos so they can be enjoyed by the wider family. This wasn’t so much a "reuniting" as it was a "shuffling around," but it’s a good result nonetheless (and putting family back in contact with each other is always good).

26/04/2026

case #186: A Poised Performer

I found this lovely and quite unusual photograph on eBay, which stood out immediately because the child looks so self-possessed and poised! It had a name and a date on the back and was taken in Gloucester. Looking at her, I guessed she was about 10 years old. Initially, I assumed her formal name would be Elizabeth, but searching for "Elizabeth Romans" turned up very little. Once I switched my search to "Bessie Romans," the pieces started falling into place!

Bessie was born into quite a large family in Gloucester, where her father was a successful timber merchant. In this childhood portrait, she appears to be wearing some kind of costume, perhaps Snow Ball or Snowdrop? That actually seems to have been a major theme throughout her life. My research uncovered a wealth of newspaper articles (including loads of photographs) detailing Bessie's recitals and appearances in plays in Gloucester. Romans is a good name for an actor isn't it? She wasn't just a performer, though; she was a central figure in the community, serving on many charity committees and organizing fundraising events. I even managed to find several other photographs of her in local archives, including one from 1934 when she was about 60 (she's in the front row on the very left). It’s interesting to see how the trend of photo jounalism for social events in newspapers really took off in the 1930s! Bessie never married, but she clearly lived a very full and active social life, eventually reaching the ripe old age of 88 before passing away in 1963.

I’m so pleased to say this photograph has now been reunited with a distant cousin. They were particularly happy to have the photograph because they previously had nothing at all from this specific branch of their family tree!

24/04/2026

case #177: An Ace of a Find!
I recently had a "near miss" that turned into a wonderful success. I contacted someone regarding a different case, but it turned out they were a very distant relative of that subject. However, during our chat, they mentioned they were specifically hunting for items from a particular studio in Llanelli belonging to the Ace family—who happen to be their direct ancestors! I did a quick search on eBay to see if any Ace Studio photos were currently looking for a home, and I struck gold. Although the subject of this specific portrait isn't a family member, the descendant was thrilled to purchase it because the card back was a design they didn't yet have in their collection.

The Ace family is photography royalty in Llanelli. William Ace, the son of a cabinetmaker, moved to the town in 1841 and, after starting as a shoemaker, taught himself the "wet collodion" process by 1856. He was an ambitious man, even serving as a librarian for the Mechanics Institution, where he likely learned about the science of photography. His sons Thomas, Charles, and William all joined the business, though they often had to sell boots, toys, and musical instruments to keep things steady! After Thomas Ace’s tragic death from TB at just 42, his widow Elizabeth bravely ran the studio herself for five years before transitioning the shop into a stationer's. It’s incredible to think that this specific photograph passed through the hands of one of these family members. As I’ve mentioned before, wives and daughters were often the ones mounting these images onto the card backs.

The family kindly shared some wonderful newspaper clippings with me, including this gem of a guide for Victorian sitters. I’m not entirely sure the photographer succeeded with the "pleasant thoughts" and "perfect stillness" for the baby in this specific photo, but the advice is too good not to share in full:

"CARTES DE VISITE. Hints on Dress &c. All Coloured Materials take equally well in Photography, except very light Blues and Purples, which should be especially avoided by Brunetttes. The popular opinion that nothing takes so well as Black is an error. Short Dresses are especially to be avoided. Small Plaids take very nicely, and Black Lace over any light material has a very charming effect.

Of all the qualities in a photograph, good expression is the most desirable, but at the same time the most difficult to secure; and a face which is full of animation often loses that quality directly it comes under the influence of the Photographer's Camera. Much may be done by putting sitters at their ease as much as possible, and much also lies with the sitters themselves, who should endeavour to call up, pleasant thoughts.

The most perfect stillness is necessary during the operation, and the eyes should be kept fixed on one spot; all the skill of the Photographer will avail him nothing if these two considerations are not borne in mind."

This photograph is now back with the Ace descendants, joining a collection that shows the progression of their family’s work. I recently gave a talk on dating photos where I noted the general rule is "they get fancier with time"—looking at the range of card backs this family has shared, can you see that evolution too? Thanks to the family for kindly sharing the information and to the Llanelli Community Heritage (www.llanellich.org.uk). Their website has lots of really good articles about the history and people of the town.

Lost Images Reunited

30/05/2026

25/05/2026

24/05/2026

23/05/2026

22/05/2026

09/05/2026

03/05/2026

02/05/2026

26/04/2026

24/04/2026

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