This wonderful family photo is sadly the only one I have of my father (Clive Cann) during his childhood. He is pictured right, with his two brothers Cyril (always known as Wally) & younger brother Terence (known as Terry) on either side of their mother, Gertrude Maud. (I always remember this photo being on display on the wall of my grandad's flat in Chiswick - thank you to Terry for sending me this copy).
My father was born on 13th July 1932 at Chiswick & Ealing Maternity Hospital. The boys all lived with their parents Cyril & Gertie (whose maiden name was Cardew) at the family's butcher's shop at 103 Devonshire Road - the business being passed down to my father's father by his grandfather. The boys would take turns on Saturdays helping their father out in the shop, & making deliveries to local houses by a bicycle with a huge basket attached to the front.
My father attended the Central Boys' School, Chiswick, & later the County School for Boys, also in Chiswick - where he was made Form Captain, & excelled at Maths. On leaving school he was conscripted to the RAF, & then on demob successfully studied to become a chartered accountant.
Clive's cousin Arthur James (son of Gertie's sister, Grace) adds some more to the story:
"There are cousins & cousins - my mother, Minnie Grace, was the favourite sister of Gertrude. They each had 9 siblings &, apart from a couple of subsequent deaths, they were the youngest by a long chalk. Gertie was not much more than a year older than Grace, & they were extremely close. Clive was 3 weeks older than me, but we were more or less brought up as twins, & we looked more or less alike too. Together one could easily tell which one was which, but separately it was a different matter. It was very useful for our mothers in that we could use the same season tickets, for example, without question. As an aside, my daughter Pauline worked for a time in the 80s in an old people's home in Chiswick - the old folks for whom she was caring all insisted on calling her Miss Cann, so much for the family likeness!
Let me explain that I will use our parents Christian names in preference to Mum, Aunt, Dad, Uncle, & so on.
Grace died of breast cancer in 1942 & for a long time, until my father, Arthur Edwin, remarried, I lived at 103 Devonshire Road - & it was easier for all concerned to call my Uncle Cyril 'Dad' rather than Uncle, & Gertie 'Mum' instead of Aunty.
I went off to do my National Service in 1950 and then for a long time did not see Clive but still visited [his father] Cyril, who by this time was a widower - Gertie having died, also of breast cancer, in 1949. Then on demob from the forces we both entered the world of employment, me in commerce with Unilever, & Clive into accountancy."
During (& before) my father's childhood, the Cann family also owned a farm - Chivery Farm - near Wendover in Hertfordshire. I had a feeling my father was sent to live there during the war, & attended a junior school in nearby Chesham. This seems to be confirmed by Arthur:
"I remember Clive going down to Chivery for a time, but don't remember when or why. Thoughts that arise are it may have been due to the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, or perhaps the arrival of Terrence Anthony, Terry to us. The government of the day was very keen that all young children should be evacuated from London... I do remember that Clive caught scarlet fever down at the farm from drinking milk straight from the cows! By the way, Chivery is a town in the Chilterns & was home to Grandfather Cann & Aunty Trixy [Beatrice Cann], younger sister I think to Cyril & brothers Arthur, Frank, & Bill."
As already mentioned, Clive was conscripted into the RAF to conduct his 2 years' National Service (which was mandatory for all males in the post-war years, up until about 1959 I think). He joined on October 17th 1951, becoming AC2 Cann 3134647 - & can be see in the above group standing at the front (6th from left).
Here's Clive again with the chaps from his squadron outside their hut! (He's 2nd left in the 2nd row). During his time, he was posted at RAF Creden Hill, Hereford; RAF Coltishill, near Norwich; RAF Hednesford, Staffs; RAF Padgate, near Warrington & RAF Acklington, near Morpeth. It's unclear at which of these bases the above photo was taken, unfortunately. He has, however, named all the chaps on the back of the picture, as follows:
Top row: D.M. Hoare; Ted Campden; John Beavis; Terry Smith; M.C. Fadzean; M Reeve.
Middle: Mike Adams; Me(!); Mike French; Hugh Reynolds; Alf Burlinson; John Mair; Colin Valentine.
Front: Gordon Nicholls; Peter Starkey; Mike Hoare; Corporal Jackson; Doug Chamberlain; Collin Robertson; Roy Dye.
 103 Devonshire Road, Chiswick, London.
This was the site of the family's butcher's shop (as mentioned earlier), & of course where my father & his 2 brothers grew up. This photo was taken in 2006 - you can just see Sam standing by the wall!
My grandfather kept the shop going until 1979, when he was forced to close due to new (& more stringent) health regulations for such premises - & by this time was way past retirement age in any case. It had remarkably remained virtually unchanged in the post-war years, & still had sawdust on the floor instead of tiling... it was like a real time-capsule! This was a traditional local butchers though - my grandad was on first-name terms with his many customers - in contrast to the faceless supermarket chains where most people buy their meat today.
As you can see, it looks virtually unrecognizable now as to how I remembered it. There used to be a large overhanging canopy along the shopfront displaying the name W Cann & Sons, & a big shop window to display the wares (I guess there would have been big joints of meat hanging outside at one time too). In my time, the other shop to the left (with the white painted frontage) was a bakery, & the shop to the right I think was a launderette. As you can see, it has now been converted into office space.
 8 Frederick's Place, Old Jewry, London.
This was where my father worked, right up until his death in 1973, as a chartered accountant for Mann, Judd & Co. He started here as an apprentice during his lengthy accountancy studies - & upon graduation continued to progress with the company. He must have worked here then for about 20 years.
The building is located off a side-road off 'Poultry' - very near the Bank of England, & a short walk from St Paul's. 'Bank' tube station is just across the way - so presumably this was where he would have caught the train to each day (in later years off course having set off on the main-line from Maidenhead to Paddington).
Funnily enough, I'd never seen this building until 2006 when I undertook another 'tragical history tour' with Sam! It was great to see where he'd worked all those years. It is now the HQ of British Linen Advisers Ltd - Mann Judd & Co having long been swallowed up within the Touche Ross organization. In a nice gesture, they continued to send my mother a Christmas hamper each year.
 
These 2 photos above show the interior of Frederick's Place as it is now, & were kindly sent to me in May 2007 by Rob Holman. He found my site whilst doing a Google-search on the building, where he works:
Rob: "I have worked within 7/8 Fred's for about 2 months on & off, & am
interested in the history of the building & the surroundings. It's very
quiet inside, yet everything is on the doorstep - pubs, restaurants, shops etc. I started off working on the 2nd floor, but due to company expansion, we
are now on the 1st... I hope they give you some idea of the opulence of the interior of the building."
Thanks very much for that, Rob - you are a star man!
 55 Gower Street, London.
The significant thing about this building is that it is the place where my father met my mother! He visited the offices in his capacity as a chartered accountant for Mann Judd & co... & the rest is history, as they say. I've gone into this story in more detail on the page:
http://www.stevecann.co.uk/mumsphotobiographypart1.htm
under 'Rutland Court Years'.
My mother worked here (from the late 50s to 1964) - the building being the offices of the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs. It's directly opposite RADA, & a short walk from Goodge Street tube (just around the corner).
 And here they are together! My mum's colleague at NFYFC, Jim Preece:
"We were a faily close-knit bunch of colleagues in those days & often, after office hours, would adjourn to a local coffee house for half an hour or so. We had a very likeable and friendly auditor visit us one year... his name was Clive Cann. The audit usually lasted a week, maybe two, I don't remember. Long enough to get to like and admire him.
Anyway, it became obvious that Christine 1 was smitten so, after a bit of discussion with Christine 2 (that's how we addressed them), I invited Clive to join us for coffee in the evenings... & things worked out very well."
AndChristine 2 was Christine Gorman, who worked alongside my mother & Jim.
 Here's my father parked outside my mum's flat at Rutland Court, Wesy Acton, with his brand new car - a cream coloured Austin A40 (with a sky blue roof) registration 811 BJB. He bought it at the end of May 1962, 2 weeks after passing his driving test!
 And here are the happy couple on their wedding day - September 28th, 1963. They were married at Our Lady of Lourdes church, Acton, & a reception was held at the flat at Rutland Court, where this photo was taken. They then left for a honeymoon in Ilfracombe, Devon.
 Here's my father pictured in 1967 with myself (in the pushchair) & Maurice. I have a feeling this photo was taken by my mum in Chiswick Park - just a short walk from the shop in Devonshire Road. For many years, my grandad also ran another butcher's shop (alongside his other business) adjacent to the park in Edensor Road.
It looks as though he's embraced fatherhood well! He used to refer to us back in those days as his 'little monsters'... I'm sure he didn't mean it really!! He was nearly always smartly attired like this with his collar, tie & sports jacket.
 Here's a photo taken the same year as above, showing myself, my dad & Maurice in the back garden at 9 Shirley Road - plus my dad's father, Cyril, who had paid us a visit during the summer. He was of course still working at the butcher's shop in Chiswick at this time. I don't have many photos of my dad & grandad together, so it's quite nice to have this one. My grandad never seemed to age - I can only ever really remember him looking exactly like he does in this photo!
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Christine: "My father, Henri Bonemeyer, was born on 3rd June 1884. The lady is his mother, Alberta Bonemeijer (or Bonemeyer) née Massman (French origin)."
This card-mounted photo shows Christine's father in 1907, aged 23. There's certainly no mistaking the facial resemblance between my mother & her father, as this portrait clearly shows. 
