I have some treasured heirlooms

My great grandma was Rosanna too!
But not Cornish.

What history there is!

Callistemon

My great grandma was Rosanna too!
But not Cornish.

It is a lovely name I think.

I have a piece of clothing which belonged to my grandmother's grandmother - about 150 years old.
Also have several bits of needlework done by my great grandmother.

threexnanny

I have a piece of clothing which belonged to my grandmother's grandmother - about 150 years old.
Also have several bits of needlework done by my great grandmother.

What is the material and colour?

It's a lace hat.

Before my parents got married, my Dad acquired a small soft-toy camel. He left the RAF soon after they were married, and his stripes were sewn to the camel’s legs. Over the years he put badges and pins on it from things we did or achieved as a family - a CND badge from the Aldermaston marches which he policed, my Tufty Club badge, BOAC Junior Jet Club badge, school prefect badge, my first nursing name badge etc. When he died, it was the only thing of his I really wanted, and the rest of the family weren’t bothered so it now sits on my piano.

It has no monetary value at all, but it’s the story of my childhood, and it’s worth the world to me.

I'd forgotten about the photographs! I've got several photos of my maternal grandmother, all of them in sepia. One is of her in a group photograph in school; all the children look rather unkempt! Others are of her in service at the age of 15 and some others of her on her 21st birthday. Older photographs are of my grandmother's parents and their little dog. Those are on sepia tin plate.

I have my Grandmothers engagement ring which sadly only fits my little finger, but who knows, one day if the diet works! I also have postcards sent to her from WW1 by her then young man. He wasn't considered good enough for her by her parents so she married my Grandad. The postcards are really beautiful and so sweet.

We had letters from mum to dad and vice versa, when they were apart during the end of the war, when mum could hardly afford a stamp. We destroyed them, they were very personal to my parents. I did the same with letters to me from my husband, I destroyed them after he died, they were for my eyes only, not to be passed around as exhibits

I’m just renovating this lovely old screen that was my darling Nan’s ....

That's a lovely thing to have Coconut.

We have a sampler done by my great grandmother which is well over 100 years old. We also have a grandmother click which was given to my grandparents when they got married, again over 100 years old.

J52 that is spooky.

I've just remembered lots of table cloths, tray cloths and napkins embroidered by either my nan or DH's mum. They never see the light of day now but I can't throw them away.

I have an Ossie Clark blouse, yellow, in silk georgette with a black/grey design by Celia Birtwell on it. It's a teeny size 8 and I remember wearing it with nothing underneath even though it's fairly see-through. Reminds me of happy, carefree times in my late teens. Also - 5 years of teenage diaries, each one showing what a boy-obsessed little numpty I was back then. Great fun to read though and a great reminder of all the fabulous bands I went to see. I guess none of these are what you'd call heirlooms though.

My grandmother's wedding ring which she nearly sold in the depression after WWI when she had nothing left to buy food for her children. It reminds me of how fortunate I am.

My treasured possession might seem rather odd. It is a very old wooden step ladder. It belonged to my late father-,in-law, who was the sweetest man ever. I love decorating and use it all the time. It is rickety and covered in paint. We now have new stepladders but I never use them!

I cherish an old Waltham fob watch and a set of old postcards in a tattered old book, left to me by my great aunt Fan. The back of the watch is engraved, and she had the same initials as I do now.

I have my Dad's wartime scrapbook. He was an officer in the Royal Signals and was at Dunkirk and Alamein.
I have the pre-printed card he was allowed to send to my mother after Dunkirk. He could only tick that he was safe and well.
Also I have the Orders for the Day for the start of the Battle of Alamein. They end 'Men do your duty'.

I have a birthday greeting from my Dad sent on the only approved memo, where you crossed out the messages not relevant. He was a 'Desert Rat' and was missing presumed killed at one time. Luckily he was later found in an army hospital.
Also still have a ration book and some petrol coupons!!

Thanks for starting this thread WhiteWave, it's lovely to read about everyone's treasures.

I do think that the every day mundane things are so much more interesting than the more expensive items.

It is probably a good idea to reappraise some of the everyday stuff we use.

threexnanny

It's a lace hat.

Oh what a picture that springs to mind! All the Dickens series.

I have 2 sets of side plate, cup and saucer. One was my mother's "best" and one her mum's "best"
I never met my maternal grandmother as she died when my mum was in her late teens - but I do have a ring that was her engagement ring and her glasses(not sure why mum kept them)
A bracelet made out of silver threepenny bits from my nan and a brooch that was my mum's stepmother's, that she gave me when I was about 10 because she knew that I liked it- probably not worth anything! I was also promised 1 of her elephant ornaments that she had lined up on her mantlepiece . Unfortunately, they were stolen by a kleptomaniac patient in the first elderly persons home that she was in !

Definitely my mother's and grandmother's sewing table including her inch tape-measure and the needle-case I remember watching her make when I was about five.
But my daughter has no interest in needlework and when my sewing-machine blew its motor, I took back from her the one we gave her as a teenager!