Happy April Everyone! And don’t worry, there’s no April Fools here – it’s too much work trying to come up with something fun yet somewhat believeable. Instead, I want to share with you some of the recent family heirlooms I’ve uncovered! I’ve recently been going through a bunch of stuff from my Grandparent’s house, organising and digitising as much as possible, and what initially started as a focus on photos, soon turned into finding so many amazing documents and items that I didn’t know existed or even expected to still be stored away somewhere. It’s honestly amazing the things you find in the back of cupboards, so here’s five of my favourite recent finds! First up is the item that turned this whole project from just organising and digitising photos to scouring for documents – my great grandfather’s Freemasons Certificate. Rolled up in the back of the cupboard, neither I nor my mother had ever heard or seen anything about my great grandfather being a Freemason. He joined Faith Lodge No.327 in Rand in October 1946, and also amongst the finds was the invite to his investiture. We asked my Pop about whether he knew if his father was a Freemason, and he did remember him being involved, but not later in life after they’d moved in the early 1950s. But, as my Pop rightly pointed out, Freemasonry is a very secretive society, so he may have continued his involvement and everyone was none-the-wiser. I don’t know the chances of being able to discover more about this part of his life, given the secrecy and the fact that the Lodge no longer exists, but just knowing he was a Freemason is good enough for me. I’ve grouped the next three pieces together as one because they are all of the same subject matter – honouring and remembering my two times Great Uncles. So firstly is a pendant featuring the war photos of both my 2x Great Uncles, William Thomas Johns and Barkel James Johns. This was probably my Great Grandmother’s as it is styled similarly to other jewellery pieces she owned. A piece that was definitely my Great Grandmother’s is a locket, which contains the images of William and their mother Fanny Johns. The outside of the locket features the image of a soldier, so I’m wondering if it was originally my Great Great Grandmother’s, and eventually became my Great Grandmother’s and she added the photo of her mother. A third, heart-shaped locket was also found, but the photo inside has worn and aged to the point that I can’t really determine who the image is of – maybe I’ve found someone’s secret wartime love affair, who knows... The final item in this little collection is one that I was most excited to find. I’ve always wondered where William Thomas Johns’ war medals ended up. William was killed in France in February 1918, so his medals were presented to his mother. I’ve no idea where they ended up or if they still exist, so when I came across an Oaklands War Medal, I was very hopeful that maybe his medals were still hiding somewhere, possibly with my grandparents. This medal was created to honour those from the Oaklands district who served in World War One. I don’t know if they were presented to everyone, or just those who lost their lives, but the town did hold a memorial service in mid-1918 to honour four men who had lost their lives, and it’s possible that this medal was presented to the family then. I’m still on the hunt for the elusive war medals, but this one is kind of more special, because it’s really one-of-a-kind, and not many people in general would have an Oaklands War Medal. Speaking of William Thomas Johns, the next item is three Embroidered Postcards from World War One. Now I’ll be honest, when I first found these shoved in an envelope with some random photos, I initially didn’t think too much of them – they’re pretty and I knew they were special, but I didn’t initially connect them with William. It was only when my mum started looking through what I’d organised, that she mentioned that they would be sent from whoever went overseas. And, while looking at the Ypres card, it all suddenly clicked, because William’s battalion was stationed at Ypres at one point during the war. Sadly, there is only the remnants of some writing on the cards, so I have no idea what he may have written to his mother and his sister, but it’s amazing to know that he sent such beautiful pieces home to his family, particularly because I do have a postcard from his time in the training camps before he headed to the front. Again, these cards are stunning and I can’t believe how well they’ve kept for over a 100 years considering how delicate some of the work is. And if we’re talking about how well something has kept for over 100 years, although in this case, we’re talking close to 130 years, then I was so shocked to find the front page of my Great Great Grandmother’s family bible, looking pretty darn good for its age. Finding the front page of the family bible was an amazing find to begin with, but it’s what’s on the back of page itself that is the greatest part of the discovery. You see, in case you didn’t know, the family bible was where the births, deaths and marriage information was written down. And so this one page features the birth information of my Great Grandmother and all her siblings. Now, I already had all this information in my family tree, and I’m thinking my mum already knew this may have existed, but if I hadn’t know much about the family, this would have been an extraordinary discovery. Even already knowing the information still makes it an extraordinary discovery, particularly because of how well preserved it is. We all know that bible pages are as thin as an atom, so for it to have survived not only being flipped while it was still in the bible, but to also survive as a single page for god knows how long, is amazing. It’s an item that I never expected to discover and it’s probably one of the most precious pieces of physical family history that I own. Finally is a collection of books that had been presented to my Great Grandmother when she was at school at the turn of the century. I honestly cannot believe how good of condition these books are in and that they’ve been kept for this long. My Great Grandmother attended a small rural school, Felton Woods, near Oaklands in New South Wales, and some of these books are definitely not what I’d imagine being presented to children in rural Australia. And given their good condition, I’ve got to wonder if she ever actually read them – most of the wear and tear looks like it could be attributed to just moving books around in the past 116 years. Books include:
It’s absolutely amazing the things you find when you start digging and scouring through piles of papers you might otherwise be tempted to just chuck out. Given the number of times my great great grandparents, great grandparents and grandparent’s moved in the past 130 years, I’m genuinely surprised that all these items have not only travelled fairly well, but have still been kept. Some of the other documents I’ve found are things that you wouldn’t need to hold onto for so long, or even pass onto the next generation, but I’m so glad they have been tucked away and kept safe until they could be appreciated once more.
I feel like I’ve scoured every little hiding place in my grandparent’s house, so I don’t know the chances of finding any more goodies hiding away, but you really never know – there could be another great find just waiting to be discovered (I’m looking at you war medals). So if you’ve yet to go through the cupboards and boxes at your parents, grandparents, or even great grandparents, you might want to get on it. Especially if those people are still in your life, because they might be able to tell you more stories about the items you find. What interesting family heirlooms have you uncovered - let me know below! Happy Hunting! Victoria :) |
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