My mother's family the Hardies with their McFarlane cousins one hundred years ago

On the front row, the 2^nd from the left is Uncle Alex, the 5^th along is Aunt Mae.
In the centre are 3 women sitting together. The middle one is Grandma Hardie with Aunt Cissie on her knee.
Immediately behind them are 2 girls, the one on the left is my mother, the other is her cousin Maggie McFarlane.
Continuing to the right, the two boys are Uncle George and Uncle Hugh.
On the row above, Grandpa Hardie is 2^nd from the left. Beside him are Grandma Hardie’s parents, Hugh and Maggie McFarlane.
[Aunt Nessie, not in the group, would be just a few months old, and Aunt Frances was not born till two years later]

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I’ve been looking back to discover what was going on in the world when that photo was taken.


Abroad in 1910, Chinese troops had occupied Tibet and the Dalai Lama fled. In Hungary one thousand people lost their lives in floods, and an earthquake in Nicaragua killed five hundred. There was one item of good news - Marie Curie succeeded in isolating radium.

At home there was a great deal of unrest among railwaymen, shipyard workers and the Welsh miners. The suffragettes were active in those days and three hundred of them clashed with the police outside Parliament buildings.

On the political scene, there were two General Elections, one in January and the other in December. The Liberals were successful both times, and Mr Asquith was the Prime Minister.

One man’s name became known world-wide. Dr. Crippen, an American homeopathic doctor living and working in London, poisoned his wife and buried her body in the cellar. In June he was arrested on the SS Montrose which was bound for America. Later in the year he was found guilty and hanged.

The King - Edward VII died in May and was succeeded by his son who became George V.

The Girl Guides were founded that month.

Robert Falcon Scott was put in charge of the British Antarctic Expedition. This was to end in disaster two years later.

1910 saw the first Labour Exchanges, later to be known in Scotland as “the buroo.”

The cinema of course was still in its infancy, but in the USA many short one-reelers were being produced. The first Frankenstein movie was shot in 3 days and lasted 16 minutes. A version of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol lasted all of 10 minutes!

In the world of literature, Prester John by John Buchan, Howard’s End by E.M. Forster and The History of Mr Polly by H.G. Wells were published.

And what were folks singing and whistling? Down by the Old Mill Stream, Chinatown my Chinatown, Some of these Days and Let me call you Sweetheart.

Imported from South America, the Tango was making its first appearances on dance floors, and causing controversy - it was NOT respectable!!!

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Compiled by “rosebudgarden” this video is a collection of photos taken during the first decade of the 20th century. The song is “The Sparrow and the Gentle Dove” by Purcell.  



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A TOUCH OF CULTURE N0.3 is online tomorrow Friday 15th October 
http://atouchofculture.blogspot.com

***A Touch of Culture**A Touch of Culture**A Touch of Culture***