John was the youngest of two in his family. His parents had emigrated to Christchurch New Zealand as newlyweds and he and his brother were born there. In 1926 John was sixty, he was still working for Railways at Middleton Station a short walk from his home.
He and his wife raised a family of five, the youngest were still attending school in 1926. Their eldest two sons had completed (or almost completed) apprenticeships as fitters with P.D.Duncan. Their eldest son had surprised them by leaving to live and work in Australia a few years earlier without any discussion. They were both a little anxious that history should not repeat with their younger son.
John
enjoyed listening to radio short-wave broadcasts in his shed in the backyard. He
enjoyed listening to music but I don’t know if he played an instrument. Most of
his children had learned to play though. He also liked sketching, painting and
photography and would spend time “colourising” photos to bring them to life from
the sepia tones in which they were developed.
No comments:
Post a Comment