Jack & Norman Canton from Narrandera

This lovely photo came to me partly identified. Someone has written the following on the inside cover of the studio photograph:

To Auntie Vida

From Jack & Norman

with love

Oct 15th, 1922

Jack aged 3 years

Norman aged 2 years

So we know that Jack was probably born in about 1919, and Norman probably in 1920. But I was missing a very important detail – the surname of the boys! I knew I needed to narrow down the location where the photo was taken. I couldn’t read the somewhat calligraphic signature of the photographer. I turned to my Instagram community for help, and I’m happy I did – they always come through for me!

Someone commented that the location was Narrandera (here spelt Narandera) in New South Wales, Australia, and the photographer Harold Phillip Jackson operated his photo studio there between 1921 and 1938.

I am not acquainted with Australian genealogy and was hoping records are available online for me to look through. As I still didn’t have a surname for the boys, I looked for “Norman” with a “Jack” as brothers living in Narrandera in the early 1920s. Jack could of course be diminutive for John or Jackson, or even James. I knew the brothers were just a year apart in age. And that the seller of this photograph didn’t find the photo in Australia, but in the UK. So perhaps “Auntie Vida” lived in Europe, possibly UK.

The Narrandera city directories I found online were not much help. I next turned to public family trees on Ancestry which might include brothers by the names Norman and Jack (or John, Jackson, or James) from Narrandera. It took me a while, but I found them! As soon as I saw the photo of their father, published on Ancestry, I knew I had the right family! Just look at the three!

Photo of the father on the left: public family tree on Ancestry

I then discovered that the boys’ father had a younger sister Vida who lived in England at the time this photo was dedicated to her, so that’s probably how the photo ended up in the UK. Yes, yes, yes, I love when all the puzzle pieces fall into place!

So let’s see what we can find out about the brothers and their family. I can tell you that their lives were pretty well documented in the local newspapers which to my luck are accessible online.

According to a public family tree on Ancestry, the boys’ father William Henry Canton emigrated to Brisbane, Australia in February 1911 from Tottenham, England. According to his application to the Mudgee Municipal in 1940, William was a veteran of WWI, he held the position of the first honorary secretary of Mudgee and District Patriots War Fund.

He married the boys’ mum Violet Hayley in March 1918 in Sydney. Violet had been a nurse during WWI. She was from Tambarora, New South Wales. There is a tiny photo of Violet on the same public family tree on Ancestry:

Their older son John “Jack” Henry Canton was born in 1919:

And their younger son Norman William Canton was born on November 20, 1920:

Weren't they just the cutest little fuzzy heads, like their daddy! In fact, I actually found a newspaper article mentioning Norman winning the 3rd prize in a Baby Competition at the Scotch Fair in Narrandera in November 1922:

Source: Trove

In 1930 I find the family in Mudgee, Robertson, the boys’s father listed as a salesman; according to a newspaper clipping from 1923, Mr. Canton was an auctioneer.

Both Jack and Norman were avid athletes. Jack seems to have played excellent cricket, tennis and hockey. And Norman was a very good tennis player. Their names were in the local newspaper Mudgee Guardian in connection with matches held and prizes won all through the 1930s to 1950s. The readers were even kept informed about any injuries the two suffered or operations they underwent.

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Both Jack and Norman were enlisted during WWII. Jack returned in 1941, and Norman stayed with the Royal Navy until 1948, he was in war service at sea until 1942. Whenever the boys visited home and parrents, the local newspaper made a mention of it:

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Upon return, Jack worked as a porter at railway stations in Dunedoo and Mudgee.

Source: Trouve

Source: Trouve

Jack married Willa Margaret Knight in 1944 in Katoomba, New South Wales. Of course, the loal newspaper reported about the happy day.

Source: Trouve

As already mentioned, Norman was an excellent tennis player. The local newspaper mentions his wins in 1936 and 1941. Norman joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1938 and served till 1948. Another local newspaper article mentions that he and Carl Hughes won the Navy doubles in 1939. In June 1941, Norman was on leave at home “from a strenuous time at sea”, as reported by the local newspaper.

Source: Trouve

Norman married to Tomima Canton. In 1958 I find Norman and Tomima in Warrawong, Werriwa, Norman listed as labourer. His parents William and Violet were listed on the same page, living at Lake Heights. In 1963, Norman and Tomima are in Warrawong, Norman now listed as a waterside worker. In 1968, I find Norman in Oak Flats, Macarthur, working as a patrol officer.

I don’t know if either of the couple had any children. Norman died on January 4th, 1979 and was buried at the New Wales Garden of Remembrance in Rookwood.

Source: Trouve

Jack passed away on January 30, 1997 in Wollongong, New South Wales.

But what about their Auntie Vida, the woman this photo was dedicated to? She was the youngest sibling of the boys’ father William, born in 1902. So she was only 9 years old when her big brother William left England to start a new life in Australia. Vida stayed behind with their brother Oswald, mother Emily and father Henry Canton, who was a dentist in London. Aunt Vida married Harry King in 1923. Harry was a dental assistant and 20 years older than Vida. The couple did not have any children. In 1939, Vida was in government service, working as an examiner in government work.

I wonder if the boys ever met their Auntie or if this photo was all she had of them! I hope to reunite the photo with the family!