Notes on the back of old photos

grannygran
I can see that someone didn't keep your photo/photos which must have been both sad and irritating...but who?
Your mother?
I'm a bit confused.
Sorry.

A few years ago I had someone to colorize a wedding photo of my husband and me..it turned out beautiful, true to colours too.
I was so pleased I shared it on my Facebook. I have 2 great grandchildren..seeing my wedding photo I was asked by Mummy if I'd get a copy for the children, and any other older family pictures, asked to write on the back. I,was delighted to do so as I'm very much into the family tree.
I not only had them printed but placed them in a nice album..
Last year when the family moved house the album was returned.."I believe this is yours" as it was handed to me..my heart sank. It's stil here if they want it, when clearing my home..

Some of the comments my DF wrote much later on the back of very old photos (1920s/early 30s) did amuse us.

One seaside one read something like, ‘Great Aunts Gertrude and Elsie, dressed in the fashion of staid ladies of their day.’

His memory decades after the events was remarkable. Some relatives had a farm, where he’d stayed s a child, and there was once pic of a magnificent shire type horse, all smartened up for a show - he even remembered his name, Boxer.

I found a picture of a new baby amongst my late mother's things which had this written on the reverse:
" Cathy Kelly's baby. Please send it back". It made me laugh.

Like some others, when I found my parents’ photos after their death, I found that there was nothing on the back of any of them to say who and where they were.
I have got boxes of photos which are from my marriage in 1966 . Unfortunately, I went down the route of having some of them on the computer and didn’t print them off. Thankfully, I still kept the originals so when the computer died, I lost nothing. I have learned nothing from that though and the photos I take now are on my iPhone. As far as I know, I couldn't print them off if I wanted to, so if and when that dies, they will all be gone.
My children and grandchildren only have the photos that are on their phones. I feel sad that future generations won’t have photo albums to look at and won’t see how things were at this time. Half the fun of researching family tree stuff on the computer is seeing photos of times gone by. Future generations won’t have that and it’s very sad. How will they know what we wore, the houses we lived in, the furniture we chose? I find that heartbreaking.
What do others think? Am I being a dinosaur?

I hate being photographed and always have. I recently found a photo of me aged 2, which my mother had sent to my father who was in the army in India. The picture showed me holding my favourite doll facing outward so her face could be seen. On the back my mother had written ^This is NOT a photo of M0nica, it is a photo of Doll-lol-lol. My dislike of being photgraphed goes back that far.

We have a few old photographs from my family and DH's, but it's so annoying when some have no names on the back. There's one of his dad as a little boy, with four ladies. His mum had three sisters, but we've no idea which woman is his dad's mum ! If only they'd written names on the back.

Going through my mum's photos was good as they had the names of the people on the back until we got to the one that said 'no idea'.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202509/medium-8ieno-img-0618.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202509/medium-7kxwua-img-0608.jpeg

I found an old photo at my mums after she died. A large group of Edwardian people. I’d never seen it before. Thankfully her cousin was still alive and she put names to all of the faces and told me the history of some of them, too. I’ll be forever grateful to her. The footballers were in a charity shop; I somehow managed to find out who they were ( someone on the internet probably knew; one of the upsides of the www).

pably15

no many years ago, my O.H got all our photos, and we have lots,,,and he wrote the names on the back of all of them.
I'd love to have photos of my GGrandparents, I do my family tree, and I keep hoping to find more..

During a boring weekend a couple of years ago, with rain belting down I settled myself comfortably with a big pile of old photos and did the same.It may be interesting for grandchildren and great grandchildren in the future to look at.

I remember it being VERY WINDY!

I was also in holiday on Hayling Island in 1956 foxglove. It was my parents choice for our annual week at the seaside. . Mr C and I have had several holidays there too. It’s not changed so much.

I write on the back of my old photos. My dad used to do the same, sometimes with lovely Bible verses too. It shows me we and others were very loved by him.

no many years ago, my O.H got all our photos, and we have lots,,,and he wrote the names on the back of all of them.
I'd love to have photos of my GGrandparents, I do my family tree, and I keep hoping to find more..

What a lovely find. I see so many posts on genealogy groups from people who sadly have photo's that they don't know who they are of or where taken.

I always think how much people are going to miss out when so many people no longer have actual photo's and just store them on phones or computers. There could be nothing for future generations to see. I am lucky enough to have images from my paternal GGGrandparents onwards and maternal GGrandparents.

I have a Hayling Island snap from about 4 years later I think.