Ward Family Photos from the early 1900s onwards

I found some of my Dad’s old photos recently and wanted to share them with the rest of the family so here they are!

Both my grandparents on that side were deaf, so my sister and I learned sign language very early on, and we spent hours playing games with them. They lived in Selsey from just before the war until my Mum and Dad bought their house when they got married in 1964. After that they lived in Prince Albert Road, not far from Fratton Park in Portsmouth.

In their Portsmouth flat, the doorbell obviously didn’t make a noise, as they wouldn’t have heard it, but instead they had a ping pong ball attached to a piece of string which was fitted between the corner of the lounge and the central ceiling light. If the doorbell ‘rang’ then the fitment vibrated and the ping pong ball swung across the room!

They were both active members at the Portsmouth Deaf Club, which was near Fratton train station in the 1970s. I did a brownie badge there, making cups of tea for their community!

Here are a few selected photos, with the full collection at the gallery at the bottom of the post.

Louis Gilbert Ward

My Grandpa Ward was known as Gilbert, and I’d love to find out more about my family tree to be able to put together the jigsaw pieces of the photos here.

This is him as a boy, and he looks very well turned out doesn’t he? This must be in the late 1900s, early 1910s.

Here’s another very serious pose, but again he’s very smart!

It looks like he’s captain of the Pontypridd Deaf & Dumb football team, in the middle of the front row.

I thought my Grandpa was a tailor, but here he seems to be a stonemason.

Here he is on his motorbike, which must be in the 1920s.

Here he is on the right, with some mates, most of them smoking pipes!

Ellen Ward (nee Parker)

My Nanny was known as Nell, or Nelly, and I think grew up in the west country. I think she also lived in Jersey, as she had family over there. You can read her wartime telegrams to the island, which I found absolutely fascinating.

I’m not sure which one she is in this photo but it’s the girls at Exeter Deaf School making Honiton lace.

This is Nell, on the left.

And here’s a photo of her with Gilbert (on the right) and another couple.

And here they are at Land’s End! I notice it has the mileage to Selsey on the signpost!

Lance Ward

My Dad’s brother Lance was 10 years older than him, so must have been born in the mid 1920s. He emigrated to Australia with his wife Vi and children Tony and Michael, my cousins.

Here are some photos of them, starting with Vi, pushing some children in Richmond, London.

This is Lance, Vi and the boys in Trafalgar Square at Christmas in 1950.

This is Lance, my Dad and the boys.

And here are Tony and Michael with their swimming trophies.

Vic Ward

My Dad was always sporty, and here are some of his team photos. He looks quite young in this one (second from the left in the front row) so I’m guessing it might be the school cricket team. The houses in the background could be Kingsham Avenue so I’m guessing it’s Chichester High School For Boys.

I’m trying to add these in chronological order, and this looks like they’ve won a trophy, maybe for Chichester as he did play at Priory Park in the 1960s.

This might be in Priory Park again, as the background could be where the clubhouse is near the bowls area.

I think this is Aldwick Cricket Club and as well as Dad (in the front row, second left) I also recognise John Herridge (front row centre) and Mick Robertson (or Robinson) in the back row, second left.

Here’s a newspaper clipping from the mid 1970s when my Dad presented a prize to some local schoolchildren who’d created a beefeater collage – maybe for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. Dad was manager of the TSB in Milton at the time, and we lived in North End, Portsmouth.