Showing posts with label Tom Shirreffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Shirreffs. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

'Plus Fours' in Scotland


More from Ron Offen:

The "pouffy pants" you noted Tom was wearing in one photo were called "plus fours," and were actually knickers (See photo at the right). They were all the rage in the 1920s.  They were, as you assumed, often worn for golfing. what a natty pair they were!


Saturday, February 2, 2008

Stan and Tom visit a Waterfall



I've done further research about the sites around Aberdeen to see if I could decipher the pictures in the scrapbook that I have. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, but they are mostly photos of the famous sites that are around Aberdeen. So far, I recognise a photo of the "Bridge of Dee" in Aberdeen. I'm getting closer to figuring out which castles are pictured. 

There are many pictures of a waterfall. I can't figure out which one it is. There appear to be many waterfalls in the region containing Aberdeen. I saw photos of several smaller ones, but none of them seem as powerful as this one. I didn't pay much 
attention in geography class, so maybe others will have an idea of which waterfall is in the photos from the scrapbook.

Along with the pictures of the sea and the waterfall are several pictures of Stan, Tom and, I think, their parents. In one photo (left), they are wearing the rain gear that you 
get when you visit a waterfall. They look a bit odd in that 
picture.

After that, you see them clamoring up the rocks to take photos there. There's one of my grandfather alone, one of his parents, and one of their mother with the two boys.  
In each photo, they are posed proudly.

The photo showing my great-grandparents has a lot of character, too. My great-grandfather is posed very proudly with his wife at his side. 

 The one with Tom  (at the right) looks like he is checking his cellphone, but of course there were no cell phones then. He's fixing his coat, but someone snapped the picture too quickly.  He wasn't ready.

They look very happy in these photos! It must have been an excellent family vacation. Judging from the stories I've heard, it probably was. If anyone has any information about these photos, let me know!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Stan and Tom Shirreffs in Scotland


I found a scrapbook containing pictures of Stan [my grandfather] and Tom Shirreffs [my great-uncle] around the time they were graduating from high school.  I think the pictures are from a trip they took to Scotland, but I'm not entirely sure.  I believe they visited Aberdeen together. Most of the pictures do not have any sort of information on the back of them and the cover is missing from the book. The book is filled with interesting photos, but some are faded or damaged.

There are pictures of the sea, a castle and of faces that I do not recognize. I would love to
 know more about who these people are. Over the next couple of weeks, I will post some photos. Maybe some member of the Shirreffs family out there will know who they are.  

In the meantime, I'm going to show you some of the photos. Here is a photo of Tom on a motorcycle wearing his le
tterman's sweater. On the back of the photo it says, "Me and my motorcycle. I like ours better." I'm assuming he's referring to American motorcycles? He looks kind of a tough guy in this picture! 

I think he earned his letterman's sweater from swimming. A clipping in the book from a newspaper shows both 

Stan and Tom as star athletes. Tom was a star swimmer and one of the mainstay of the one hundred yard freestyle, backstroke and fancy diving. Stan was a baseball star.

The second photo shows Tom and Stan in front of a large ship called "Rock All." My grandfather is clad in a suit and looking quite nice. Tom is wearing poofy pants  and argyle socks that seem suitable for golfing, but I'm not familiar with the styles of those days.

I hope you find these photos interesting. I will post more over the next few weeks.