Is This Otto Rafael Winter?
Do you have an ancestor or two that you are totally fascinated by? And by that I mean you spend ten times as much time on just that one person, than you do for whole other branches. Well I do. I have two of them in fact, and great grandpa Otto Rafael Winter is one of them.
I have written before about Otto Winter (see the links below), though not for a while as I’ve not done much research on him for quite some time, but I have recently come across a ‘new-to-me’ photo which I think may be him.
Anyway back to my fascination and a little intro: So why him? Well possibly because he’s from Finland for a start, as opposed the most of the rest of my ancestors who were largely from the UK, so researching him has been quite different. But also because there’s so few photos of him, and he wasn’t a diary-keeper, he’s always seemed a bit of a mystery. So I’ve had to piece what I know of him from records, as well as my grandma’s memories. Otto was the third of six children, but the first son. As I find seeing a chart easier to read, than writing who was who, and where they fit in, I’ve included a little chart to show the family details.
He left his home in Helsinki, Finland when he was young and made a life for himself working on cargo ships around the world as it was a way to avoid to joining the Russian Army which was compulsory for all young men at the time. He jumped ship at least twice, once in England and the second one being in Queensland, Australia. From there he moved to Sydney, then on to Adelaide where he met Irene Daley and they got married, and had five children.
This is the very, very condensed version of his life as I could write a whole heap more about great grandpa Winter (who sometimes seemed to be called Otto, and other times Rafael, and while in the Australian Army ‘George’), but the purpose of this post is to show you the three photos that I have of him, together with a fourth that I “THINK” is him. So I’m really asking what do you think, is it “Is this Otto Rafael Winter?”
IS THIS OTTO RAFAEL WINTER?
This is the photo I don’t know if it is Otto or not. If it is, it’s likely to be taken late 1800s, early 1900s, and he’d be in his late teens-early 20s
Otto joined the Australian Army in 1916 (age about 36)
Otto Winter spent the last few years of his life at the TPI (a home for the Total and Permanently Incapacitated ex-servicemen). This photo was taken there, about 1957 (age about 77)
taken at the TPI again, Otto Winter (on the right) with Ted Coles. Taken 26 June 1957
(age 77)
My previous posts about Otto Rafael Winter:
Anzac Day Blog Challenge: He Was Proud to be Australian
Family History Through the Alphabet Challenge: F is for Finland and Football
5 Responses to “Is This Otto Rafael Winter?”
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Hi!
This early photo does look like Otto Winter, I always focus on the eyes…they never seem to change.
Good luck with your quest 🙂
I think it’s him too. The eyelids are the clue for me.
Picasa recognises faces as they age. Have you tried running the photos through that to see if it matches the first photo with the rest?
Good luck!
There is a kind of ‘flick’ to the top of the left ear that seems constant too
The black and white photo is my great grandfather Otto George Winter who married Irene Daly.
His mother Mavis was my grandmother, her brother was Harold Winter, sisters Betty, Valda and ?? sorry, it has slipped my memory. What history do you have for me about my great grandfather? Dad has his service medals from the Australian Army
Lee-Anne Bennett (nee Marks)
Who are you? and Where are you? I live in Gawler and am Mavis Woolford’s (Marks nee Winter) Grand-daughter. I have other photos of Irene standing ironing in her apron.
reiki3@adam.com.au
facebook – Lee-Anne Bennett