Object and Memory - more inspiration for a new series

 

These little old shoes were discovered at the back of a wardrobe when clearing out my Mother's house when she moved into residential care.

They are what were known as 'clogs' made with wooden soles, leather uppers, and metal horseshoe like grips on the bottom.

Clogs were commonly worn by working people in the 19th and early 20th century. Often shared between siblings and certainly passed down as valuable objects with multiple wearers.

So who wore these little shoes? 

Unfortunately my Mother's memory has gone and she cannot provide the answer.

Here she is, Jean Kennedy aged about three, and wearing a pair of clogs. But not the same design as the ones found.
 

The clogs are stuffed with newspaper so I hoped that might provide a date. But the paper is a copy of the Newcastle Journal from 1971  (the Sports section) so is a much later addition.

So might they have belonged to my Dad? I found an old photograph of him, Ian Famelton, aged about three, and again wearing clogs.

But not the same design.

So how can I find out? The generation of clogs wearers is disappearing fast. Who can I talk to?  

More research required but there is a story, or maybe more than one, to be told here.