Bill's Beard

William and Isabella (nee McKinlay) Hunter lived for many years in the coal mining community of Lochgelly where they died in 1925. They had successive homes in Grainger Street, Chapel Street and Plantation Street. I would guess this photo of my great grandparents dates from around 1920. Whilst looking for information about the family I stumbled across online software which can be used to animate old photographs. The video clip below was created using the above image. If you sign up for a free trial on the MyHeritage website it's possible to animate a limited number of portraits. I suppose that in the future image manipulation of this kind will be widely used for those creating and presenting a family history. I'm undecided if I like it or if it contributes much of value. Moving on... below is an extract from the  Hunter Family Tree . Note that at present (April, 2021) I'm sti...

HMS Hermes  (R12) was a conventional British aircraft carrier and the last of the Centaur class. In service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984 she served as the flagship of the British forces during the Falklands War. After being sold to India in 1986 the vessel was recommissioned and remained in service with the Indian Navy as INS Viraat until 2017. In 2020 it was announced that Hermes was to be scrapped. These are photographs taken when I was aboard HMS Hermes on my way to Gibraltar in the mid-1960s. The aircraft carried at that time were  Fairey Gannets and Westland Whirlwinds. HMS Hermes flying the Union jack when moored in Gibraltar. Fairey Gannet having just landed on HMS Hermes. The aircraft was developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Fairey Gannet on the flight deck of Hermes. It was used in an airborne early warning (AEW) role on carriers. This aircraft carried a crew of three. The Westland Whirlwind served the Fleet Air Arm. Anti-submarine, and...

This is my grandfather, on a rare holiday and enjoying a trip to Southsea , probably in 1968. Not exactly dressed for the occasion, but grandfather was from an era when suits were the standard attire for all classes whenever getting out and about... although for beachwear perhaps he was taking that custom a little too far! That summer day was a scorcher. It was not long before the jacket and tie were abandoned in favour of the emergency handkerchief sun hat. Over the past few days I've been sorting through long-forgotten family photographs and I came across the following which I thought I'd include in a blog post. In this photo, again my father's father, William (Willie) Hunter, can be seen seated far left. At a guess the photo was taken around 1920, very possibly in Lochgelly but certainly West Fife. The Hunter family migrated to Lochgelly from Prestonpans around 1900. They hailed from East Lothian coal mining communities. I've tracked down ancestral reco...