This page gives more details about some of those 'Mystery Photos' that have been identified and may provide more information about the people shown in them. Any further information on these photos or the as yet still unidentified people in them would be greatfully received via our contact page or email 'romseyhistory@ltvas.org.uk'.
Left Click on any photo below to return to more Mysteries.
These ladies are having a celebratory tea. The Paisley pattern on the pinafore of the lady in the front row suggests 1950s. The decorations in the background may well be from the coronation of 1953.
In our discussion, it was suggested that these ladies might be workers at Wills Nurseries, but other people suggested that they were members of the Women's Institute.
However it turns out that they are the ladies of the Boy Scout committee. If you know who any of these ladies are, or can tell us about the event, please do so. You can contact us via our contact form.
This picture shows employees of Strong & Co Ltd receiving their long-service awards.
His granddaughter, Carolyn Fayle, tells us that the man on the right is Leonard Barrow. He started as a drawman and went on to manage the Princess of Wales in Shirley, Southampton and the Duchess of Wellington in Firgrove Road.
Gwyneth Cardy tells me that the tall gentleman at the back of the picture is Jack Oakley, manager of the bottling department.
PARTIALLY SOLVED
Some names still required
PARTIALLY SOLVED
Some names still required
Ellie Henson also recognises people in the above picture. She writes: My Nan, Annie Castleman, born in 1916 in Firgrove/ Pinegrove Road Sholing, still living in Crampmoor Lane (since Second World War) would like to let you know that the man in the middle of the photo of men at Strongs Brewery receiving their long service awards is, she thinks, Eddie Johnston. Nan worked at Strongs in the bottling department.
Valerie May says that it is her granddad Tom Moody standing next to Jack Oakley. Tom was the foreman in the cellar filling cask barrels. Most of Tom's family worked for Strong's at some time. Four identified - do you know the other four?
We have had a success here, thanks to Chris Levy and his friends. Molly Irvine says that the -
Back Row L--R. Mrs.. Lee, Mrs.Ivy Pragnell, Glad Head, Vi Jeffries, Mrs. Tongs, Beryl Durant
Front row. ?--Mrs. Maton, Mrs. Steele, Mabel Harding, Beryl ...
Chris says he has just been talking to Mrs. Steele's son Alan, and he said all these ladies were on the Scout committee, and they organised all the functions, and that's what he reckons the bows are. It shows the value of asking around, as I would never have thought of the Boy Scout movement.
Do you know the missing name(s) in front row?
SOLVED
SOLVED? or maybe not
Not all our pictures are top quality. This one was clearly taken from the back of a lorry. The US Army, 820th Ordnance Base Depot Company were based in Lockerley in the spring and early summer of 1944.
Their captain, Duane M. Hart, took many photos while there were here, and more when they reached Cherbourg. To see more of his pictures, go to :-
http://www.woodleynet.co.uk
/us-dunbridge.htm
We have managed to identify most of the places that Capt. Hart photographed, but this one had us defeated.
This picture is post 1918 because it includes the village war memorial. It is so distinctive with the pub opposite, but none of us can think which village it is.
It is likely to be one of the villages of Test Valley, but might be elsewhere. Can you supply an answer? Use the Contact Form if you have an idea.
Capt. Hart's English pictures were of Lockerley and East Tytherley, Dunbridge, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton docks. Can you identify this building? The fact that it has a seat in the porch could mean that it was a public building. If it was a pub or a hotel, I would expect a name board.
Chris Levy says it is a house in Chilworth, which seems very likely. Perhaps you know differently or can identify the house.
Alec Morley traced the location of this photo to Congresbury and contacted Chris Short, chairman of its history society.
Chris Short used to run the Wellow History Society but now lives in Congresbury. He confirmed that this is indeed a picture of Congresbury - one that the local history society there does not possess, so we are happy to unite this image with them.
Does anyone recognise this mill?
It is similar to many others in the Test valley and may be on the Test or one of its tributaries, but we don’t know which one and occasionally people give us pictures that they think are local, but prove not to be.
SOLVED
When we were given this picture, we were told that it was a carnival procession in Romsey.
However I cannot recognise the street through which the floats are passing and wonder if it is some other town. Does anyone have any idea. The event is taking place before the First World War.
SOLVED
Lesley Taylor of Dunbridge indicated that the photo was that of Dunbridge Mill and this was confirmed by Martin Fletcher of Rownhams who has sent us some other photos of the mill which shows that our picture is indeed that of Dunbridge Flour Mill sometime prior to 1900.
The mill was steam powered and operated by Ayleward & Sons , who also operated Lockerley Mill at that time. A corn mill was built at Dunbridge around 1880's and extensively extended up to about 1910. Unfortunately the mill was destroyed by fire on the evening of 27 October 1939. Martin's father who was about 10 at the time and said that the flames made it too hot to go outside!
Coincidently the "water wheel" shown on the sign of the Mill Arms (P.H.) is misleading as it is not linked to the flour mill (which was steam driven anyway) but rather to the coat of arms of the Barker Mills family who owned property in Mottisfont and surrounding areas. In any case the pub was built earlier than the flour mill , at around the time that the adjacent railway (which superseded a canal) was constructed. The mill subsequently used the railway to supply coal to power its steam engine and to send flour to its customers.
Rod Briggs traced the location of this photo to Romsey Town, a district of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire.
He Wrote - "Recently I looked through the "Mystery Photos" on your website and noticed one photo in particular.
I've come across this photo before on Ebay, a while back, and looked into it's location then.
The postcard photo is not of our Romsey Hants, but of Romsey Town Cambridge"
He indicated that it shows the "Wesleyan Band of Hope" on a protest march on the evils of alcohol (not a carnival as we had suggested on our website).
He also sent us a couple of other similar photos of the same Church protest march for comparison which confirmed the location.
SOLVED
Someone suggested that this church at was East Dean, but this is wrong because East Dean does not have a double chancel and is on rising ground. East Tytherley is more likely, but I have doubts. The photograph was probably taken by Mrs Suckling, who with her husband took photographs of many of the village churches hereabouts in the years leading up to 1914.
SOLVED - Jenny Lewis has identified it as being St Michael's Church at Stoke Charity, north of Winchester - which although not in our area of interest has helped with cataloging it correctly.