I inherited a large number of family photos from my paternal grandmother Jessie Stocking (nee Ephgrave). Her mother Phoebe features in many of them along with other family members. Some are of special occasions such as weddings, others are more informal. What can they show us about 1930s-1950s life?

A short summary of Phoebe’s life

My great grandmother was born Phoebe Caroline Gibson in north London on 10 December 1877 at her parents’ home in South Hornsey, London. Her father Joseph James Gibson was a skilled craftsman, a Looking Glass Frame Maker, and her mother, Phoebe Virginia (nee Wakefield), had been a general servant, born in Stepney, before her marriage.

Phoebe grew up with six brothers and sisters in Tottenham and, after marrying Frederick Ephgrave in 1896, raised her own family in Hackney and, from around 1910, in Lewisham. They had 11 children, but three died as babies. Her husband died in Catford of pneumonia aged just 50 in 1923. Phoebe didn’t die until 1954, when she was in her 70s.

Capturing family occasions

When my grandparents married in July 1929 (see photo below), their mothers were in attendance. The bride – Jessie Ephgrave – is flanked by her adult bridesmaids, both sisters of the groom, James Aaron Stocking. Directly in front of her is her youngest sister Gladys Ephgrave, aged 9, and next to Dolly Stocking, the bridesmaid wearing glasses, is her mother Phoebe Caroline Ephgrave, who was aged around 49. Susan Caroline Stocking, nee Hill, my grandad Jim Stocking’s mother, is standing far left in a pale dress. She was a year younger than Phoebe. Most of the wedding party have made an effort for the occasion, with many fashionable cloche hats in evidence. The family is gathered in a back garden, although it’s not possible to identify whose house it was. It doesn’t look like a professional photograph; perhaps another family member or neighbour had a camera. My grandparents certainly had access to one, as there are many other photos of them from this point onwards.

The photo below shows a family group in another back garden, although again I am not sure where. It seems to have been taken in the mid-late 1930s again, an informal photo. The men and older boys seem to be wearing buttonholes, but there doesn’t appear to be a bride and groom. Phoebe Caroline Gibson would have been 55-60 years old, and was living at 32 Court Hill Road at the time. These were fairly modern flats, so I think this is at a different address. Who is in the photo?

Phoebe is seated in the centre, possibly flanked by her older daughters. Her youngest daughter, Gladys, born in 1920, is standing behind her mother, hand on her shoulder. My grandmother is standing far right and my Dad is seated front left. His brother Ken is, I believe, the boy with dark shorts seated towards the right. Dad would have been about 6-7 years old, Ken about 4-5, so it is probably about 1937-1938. I haven’t identified what the occasion might have been.

The only photo I have of Phoebe on her own is this on, below, date-stamped on the postcard back with 27 May 1940. Phoebe would have been 63 years old. Unlike the earlier photos, this one does seem to have been taken in a professional studio, but I haven’t yet found the significance, if any, of the date, which might have prompted her to visit a photographer.

By the time the photo below was taken, it is clearly wartime, with the windows in the back of the house taped up against bomb damage. This one is easier to date, as the bride is Gladys Dorothy Edna Ephgrave, Phoebe’s youngest daughter. She married electrician Ernest George Wyncoll in Lewisham in the April-June quarter of 1941. The original is a small snapshot (about 3″ wide) which has been cut to a frame. The format suggests once again that this is an amateur photo.

Phoebe is seated to the bride’s left. My grandmother, Jessie Stocking, is kneeling far left, my Dad and his brother are the two boys at the back; Dad would have been 11, Ken 9. My granddad James Aaron Stocking gave Gladys away, but isn’t pictured in this particular photo. Perhaps he was the photographer?

I’m unsure of the date of the next photo, although I’m guessing it was taken in the late 1940s. Phoebe is seated on the left, next to her daughter Clara. Gladys is next to her, alongside her husband Ernie Wyncol. Seated far left is Shirley Collyer, Clara’s daughter, born in 1936, next to my grandmother Jessie Stocking. The little girl on her lap could be one of Glad’s daughters, perhaps Rita, born in 1944. Shirley looks about 10-12 here, so it could be 1946-48 – in which case, the little girl could just possibly be Rita, aged 2-4. It’s clearly another amateur shot – taken by grandad again, perhaps – the original being about 2.5″ wide.

The next photo was also taken at a wedding – that of my Mum and Dad – in May 1952. They had a professional photographer, who produced a lovely album bound in soft leather with each page interleaved with patterned tissue. Four of Mum’s sisters are bridesmaids, and my paternal grandparents James and Jessie Ephgrave are pictured to Dad’s right. Phoebe is standing between my maternal grandparents Horace and Elizabeth Brown; she is wearing a dark hat. On the far right is Jessie’s youngest sister, Glad. My uncle Ken is standing behind his dad, his fiance Audrey Hale standing next to him.

Phoebe Caroline Ephgrave died of colon cancer two years after the wedding, on 28 April 1954. She was cremated at Honor Oak Crematorium on 4 May 1954.