A PEEK INTO THE PAST

The September AGM meeting was followed by refreshments, and a presentation of a collection of photographs on screen & a talk on their acquisition.
Andrew Ingram, well known to our society for his extensive knowledge of local history, enthralled his audience with a new talk of history, anecdotes and a show of photographs of our local environment, some of which had been rescued from local tips & others given to Andrew. It was interesting to hear that many pictures were taken from glass slides that hadn’t been seen for many years.
We looked at photos of trains, buildings, the Wisbech canal, well-known local people, sports days, & of royal visits, from Peterborough to our local villages, from London to abroad. We saw images of the River Jordan, Bethlehem & Jerusalem, taken by his relatives when abroad. Andrew, as ever full of information told us that the water from the River Jordan was always used for our Royal Family baptisms.
He showed how dates could be given to pictures by looking at costumes, vehicles & shop fronts, & demonstrated that by detective work he was able to date precisely, a photo, from an unclear poster in a named shop window advertising the local ‘Mart Fair’ that only took place on a particular Wednesday in September. He used the local Kelly’s trade directory to establish the year the shop was in business & by using a rotating yearly calendar came up with the precise date.
We saw old familiar constructions like the old ‘Wisbech Gasometer’ & Octagon Church, now no longer in existence, but remembered by the photos taken.
There were many memories recalled by the audience after this talk, which was very well received.
[Barbara Holmes]