Now and then I have a photograph that I just want to share, and this is one of those times.

I found this photo of Doctor Allan Elliott Randell in my dad’s collection – which has to be one of the coolest photos don’t you agree? He’s here in his De Dion car (note the little crank handle on the front) … anyway as he’s not a direct line ancestor I knew very little about him, so I headed to Trove, and found his death details and obituary.

Trove Tuesday is here yet again. First up for those who many be new to my blog, here’s a super quick explanation of what Trove Tuesday is. Here in Australia we have the most wonderful resource in the world called “Trove”, created by the National Library of Australia. This is home to millions of records which are being put online, part of which is the historical digitised newspapers. As a way of showcasing what they have, and telling the world of our wonderful finds, Amy from the Branches Leaves and Pollen blog started doing Trove Tuesday, and since then Aussie geneabloggers have made embraced it and Tuesday has simply become Trove Tuesday.

Now on to my story about rain, football and the police. Saturday 28th August 1926 was an exciting day for many, including my great uncle, Uncle Pete. In 1926 he was 12 years old, living at ‘Salem Glen’ at Gumeracha, and loved his football. August the 28th was the grand final for

Both my maternal and paternal grandparents were married during World War Two. That was nothing unusual, in fact probably every family has ancestors that were married during that era. They married before the man was sent off overseas or elsewhere for training, or they married when he came home on leave.

This post is about my maternal grandparents Cecil Hannaford and Evelyn Randell. Both grew up in the Adelaide Hills, Cec (as he was known) was an orchardist at Cudlee Creek, and Evelyn grew up at Gumeracha on the family farm, so no doubt knew each other through being in neighbouring towns.

While my grandma, Evelyn was a brilliant diary keeper, sadly 1941, the year she got married, is one year that doesn’t seem to have survived. So without her words to tell me what her wedding

Anyone who is even a semi-regular browser on Trove, will know the amazing stuff you can find. Articles, adverts, stories and photographs, as well as the family notices … and every one is an aid to someones research.

I’ve been focussing on my Randell family from Gumeracha recently, finding out more about what they did. [Note: Gumeracha, for those who may not know, is a tiny town in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia]. Anyway while browsing the old newspapers on Trove, I found something astonishing, and it actually creates a whole heap of questions.

Right there in an article titled DESTITUTE BOARD was my emigrant ancestor William Beavis Randell, appealing to the destitute board on behalf of Mrs Richard Chambers, to give her supplies.