The Deasington Archive

The idea of creating this modest archive of photos and audio recordings plus a family tree (of sorts), developed very slowly over many years. When Zillah was alive, she kept me up to date about the extended family, and sometimes we would talk about her childhood with ‘Pop’, Nana, her eight brothers and sisters and the changing cast of characters who came to live with them at various times. It seemed to have been an unusually happy childhood in a world vastly different from the present, one that my own children (for example) would find very hard to imagine. The strength of the bond between the siblings, and the fact that it endured till the end of their lives, is I think a testimony to that upbringing.

I was aware that some years earlier Grahame Crow had attempted to construct a Deasington family tree but had come to a halt owing to the uncertain paternity of Pop’s father. At least, this was what I was told – I never spoke to Grahame about it.

I saw quite a lot of my aunts over the years, particularly Kath and Connie, who’d remained in Sutton. Less of my uncles, I suppose, but I never felt I’d lost touch completely. In 1992, grateful that that that generation were still all with us but aware of the march of time (Connie the eldest was 82 by then), I decided I ought to try to get their voices and their memories on tape.  

So it was that between 17^th and 20^th February 1992 I recorded a series of conversations with my mother and her sisters, at different addresses in Sutton Coldfield, using a portable cassette recorder. This part of the archive is explained in detail in the document The Deasington Tapes February 1992 Introduction. There are also notes on each recording to guide the listener. 

The other main element of this archive is the collection of old family photographs. Most of these were pictures my sister Pam had, and which she let me scan. I decided it would be easier if the archive confined itself to the previous generations, i.e. my Deasington aunts and uncles, Joseph and Florence and their parents and siblings, if known. I have also constructed a Deasington Family Tree showing the descendants from Joseph and Florence down to the present. (The whole tree can be viewed on MyHeritage.com). But you will need to request an invitation from me as the administrator.