JMH in the Lang and Gould Gardens 1952-54
This film starts with a beach scene; at 0:12 the film shows a house (whose?) and at 0:15 Joe’s brother Ernest; then at 0:24 it shows Susan in her ballet dress followed by scenes in the Lang’s garden; concluding with Florence Mary pushing an empty pram with Lockwood walking alongside, then escaping with the pram! From 01:08 we see a man and a woman in a camel coat (possibly Joe’s sister Ethel) playing with two dogs. Then the man playing ball with Joe.
At 01:55 the film shows Madge and Cyril’s garden at “Wilmington”, Elm Grove, Hornchurch.
Various sequences with Madge, Cyril, Joe and his mother, Mrs Hatherly, with the cat (cannot recall it’s name!) and Margaret’s red setter dog, Sally. Sally gets excited when Margaret comes home from the office and walks down the lawn to greet Mrs. Hatherly.
From 4:06 a family we can’t identify on the beach with Joe.
Fireworks at Maybury and City of Poona 1954
This (black and white) film taken by Uncle Joe starts at Maybury on Guy Fawkes evening showing a bonfire, rockets and other fireworks and then shows Peter and Christine enjoying sparklers. At 0:43 the scene is taken from a ship leaving dock in an urban setting; at 1:30 the ship passes other small ships below the mountains. Then at 2:03 there’s a close-up of a boat drill (lowering and raising a dinghy) in the Arabian Sea (the location is known from one of Uncle Joe’s photos). Next, the ship arrives somewhere (probably Aden) and the film shows interesting footage of a camel train beside a railway line. The next sequence shows men in pith helmets and turbans being addressed by a young merchant mariner all in white. The film’s end returns to a camel train beside a railway line.
JMH April 1955
This film, taken by Uncle Joe, shows Christine in a Puffed Wheat box, John digging while a tractor passes by and then Christine in a ploughed field wearing a crimson dress with special buttons made for her by Jean. It then moves on to views from on board his merchant ship City of Poona as it passes the Cadishead Viaduct on the way down the Manchester ship canal. At 2:23 there’s a scene with a little girl with a pram in a garden… The film then moves to London Zoo with a magnificent photo of a peacock, followed by a polar bear, a brown bear and a lion. Finally, there is a scene in his mother’s garden (55 Ashgrove Road, Ilford) with two women picking tulips. For the continuation of this scene, see the next film, part Joe, part Garden.
Part Joe, part Garden 1956
This film, taken by Uncle Joe (and following JMH 1955), is in a garden with two women picking tulips; the man in the window is Joe’s brother Ernest but we can’t identify the woman who receives the tulips. The last scene shows a white-haired lady – their mother, first with a woman in a red dress (possibly Joe’s sister Ethel)and a dog and then with Ernest.
When Joe died in September 1955 John inherited his camera. The remainder of the film (from 1:45) was shot by John at Maybury in 1956 showing some blossom and then at 1:45, Peter is playing tennis (still a field behind). Then others join the game. Pansies interspersed. The tennis game continues with participants including Jean, Sheila and Doris.
The main actors
Click on any image to see an enlargement
The Lang family
Florence was John’s youngest sister.
Florence (1906) married Harold Lang in (1927) Simon (1931) Susan(1940), Sandy (1944) and Lockwood(1948)
Madge and Cyril
Madge was John’s middle sister.
Madge (1900) married Herbert Reynolds in (1923) Margaret (1923) and Jean (1926).
Madge married Cyril Gould in 1945.
These two photos taken by Joe and given to John helped us to identify some of the locations.
