Summer in the Family Album

I live in New England. Winter started early this year and with more snow on the way, it isn’t leaving anytime soon. It’s one for the record books.

The lack of a January thaw has me daydreaming of summer—sunshine filled days and the beach. Obviously, I’m not alone. Derek Sundberg of Essex, in the United Kingdom, sent me this photo. It’s part of a series of 14 snapshots that all depict the same people.

The woman in the belted bathing suit on the right is his mother, Emily May. (I’m withholding her last name for privacy purposes.) Derek believes that one of the group members is the photographer. So who are the six other people shown above? He has no idea.

It’s a lovely group snapshot taken at the beach in the late 1920s to about 1930. The girls’ bobbed cuts and shapeless bathing suits confirm the time frame. I love the canvas bathing pavilions that surround them.

In this picture, Emily (b. 1905) would be in her 20s, but I think some of the women look like younger teenagers. Derek wrote that his mother spent her entire life in Thurrock, Essex, and that she once worked at Thames Board Mills, in Purfleet, Essex. It’s possible these folks are her friends from work, friends from town or a couple of younger relatives.

It’s an identification mystery. Here are some suggestions:

• I’d start by showing the images to relatives to see if anyone recognizes the man and the women. I’d also ask if anyone remembers his mother’s friends from her job. Another relative might have other pictures of this group. The unknown photographer likely would”ve taken other pictures that summer.

• Next, I’d compare their faces to other images in family albums. If these individuals were Emily’s friends or family, they’ll appear in other pictures.

• Third, I’d post this image on photo reunions sites like Dead Fred and Ancient Faces and hope for a match.

If anyone recognizes these young people, send me an email and I’ll forward it to Derek. I’m going to link this to my FaceBook page because it’s possible one of my FB friends from overseas will know these folks.

Guess what? Next week I’ll be back with more ancestral pet photos. I’ve found a way to show them all at once. Let’s hope it works.