Those small components of the Historical Record

I've never met an unhappy Local Historian. Even though they often work long hours through unpreposessing material, unappreciated by those around them, they seem content plough on through their chosen field, to occasionally come up with polished gems that illustrate with startling clarity the upheavals of history.

One such gem was produced by Alf Daines of Poslingford. So many times, in the course of rummaging through old attics or boxes of memorabilia, we come across a photograph of a group of people and ache to find out the names for everybody and discover more about them. I never get round to it, but Alf did, and managed to identify everyone in this photograph of the Posligford Summer Men's Outing to Great Yarmouth

The Posligford Mens Summer Outing to Yarmouth 1938

The Summer Men's Outing to Great Yarmouth was arranged from Poslingford in 1938.Two coach loads of buses run by Longs of Glemsford made the trip, driven by Tommy Tice and Charlie Gibbons. (see the Glemsford photographs for more of them and their coaches)

Alf Daines names those on it (left to right from the back):
Arthur Bridge, George Mortlock snr, Tommy Tice, Archibald Barton, Cliff Meekins, Joe Manfield, Alf Frost, Bob Cooper, Teddy Taylor, Arthur French, Charlie Bowers, Don Streeter, Cecil Mansfield, Walter Hickford, Fred Meekins, Bert Bridge, Walter Rawlinson, Reg Meekins, Ernest Hickford, Herbert Bridge, David Brett, Harold Mason, Albert Hicks, George Mortlock jnr, Vic Basham, PC Knott, Jimmy Deeks, James King, Charlie Gibbons, Fred Beacham, Jack Deeks, Charlie Basham, Arthur Jay, Bill Daines, Toss Barton, Ted Basham, Willy Webb, Harry Bridge, Percy Addison, Bill Stone, Clem Crick, Arthur Green, Mr Melton, Bert Hicks, Bert Mitson, Joe Mitson, Bill Blewitt, Bill Meekins, Charlie Bridge, George Meekins, George Bridge, Bill Mayes, Harry Spooner.

For some descendents, this photograph is the only known pictorial record of a grandfather or great grandfather. Sadly, these surnames, so evocative of the border regions around the Stour Valley, are no longer so prominent in the area: The homes of Poslingford are now quite out of the financial reach of local people, and their little farm cottages are now gone, or converted into gentrified 'weekend retreats' by Londoners. Of the names of the men on that trip, only the names Daines, Deeks, French, Frost, Mansfield, Mason and Taylor are still to be found in the village. What then has happened to the other twenty-nine families?