Alfred and Margaret's Children Barbara Stafford b 1904-1997.

Barbara Stafford 

Barbara was the second born, first daughter, of Alfred and Margaret Stafford. Unfortunately I don't have a baby photograph of Barbara. The earliest photograph I found was a really tiny, print on flimsy paper that was torn half way down, measuring 1 inch x 1 and three-quarter inches.  It is quite difficult to guess how old Barbara is in this picture as it shows what appears to be a very confident young lady. 

Barbara could be around 13 years old which would mean she would know her daddy (Alfred Stafford) had been seriously wounded twice in France in WW1, or, he may have just returned home, discharged because of the wounds he received. Therefore, this confidence could be mistaken, for a young girl having to grow up very quickly; seeing her mother hard pressed to support the family financially, and Barbara, as the eldest girl would have had to help in the home with her younger brother and sister. Life would have been hard for them all with the traumatic affects this terrible war caused.

Barbara original circa 1914

Barbara could be around 13 years old which would mean she would know her daddy (Alfred Stafford) had been seriously wounded twice in France in WW1, or, he may have just returned home, discharged because of the wounds he received. Therefore, this confidence could be mistaken, for a young girl having to grow up very quickly; seeing her mother hard pressed to support the family financially, and Barbara, as the eldest girl would have had to help in the home with her younger brother and sister. Life would have been hard for them all with the traumatic affects this terrible war caused.

Barbara Original

Barbara Restored with Sepia

Barbara Restored Less Sepia

Moving forward a few years around 1928 we have another studio photograph of a rather beautiful mature young woman.  Who says women in glasses aren't attractive; here Barbara is wearing pince-nez.

The 1929 "The Wall Street Crash"  was just around the corner, which devalued the £ leading to even more unemployment, which was endemic in the North East of England at this time. So this strong ambitious pit village lass scraped enough money together, (probably borrowing from family members), and enrolled on a Nanny training course in Sheffield, and what a story/experience that turned out to be.