Two days of remembrance and charity that are long forgotten
Queen Alexandra, the wife and Consort of King Edward VII, was Danish and in 1912 she organised a charity to help the poor, undernourished and those living in poverty in London.
Inspired by a priest in her native Denmark selling roses to raise money for those in need, Queen Alexandra brought the idea back to the UK.
Real roses were substituted for silk ones, and Rose Day was created in which funds raised from the sale of these roses would be distributed to support Londoners in poverty and to access healthcare.
In 1919 the money collected was the equivalent of nearly £2m today.
In the photograph we see Royal Marines outside the guardhouse at Eastney Barracks selling the roses.
The marine on the left with the bugle and plenty of swank was named Jefferys.
You will notice the flag appears to be transparent. This was caused by the flag being waved and the long time exposure on the camera shutter gave it a ghostly appearance.
The charity exists to this day giving support to those in need, giving out Rose Vouchers for fruit, vegetables and groceries.
The patron of the charity today is Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy.
‘Sunny’ Jim Callaghan was born into poverty at 38, Funtington Road, Copnor, Portsmouth, on March 27, 1912.
His father, a petty officer in the Royal Navy, died when Jim was nine.
From those humble beginnings he rose to hold the four highest positions in the British government; Chancellor of the Exchequer (19641967), home secretary (1967-1970), foreign secretary (1974-1976) and prime minister (1976-1979), the only man to do so.
He was educated at Portsmouth Northern Secondary School and on not attending university he once said: ‘A lot of people say I'm not clever at all, I'm quite prepared to accept that – except that I became prime minister and they didn't, all these clever people.’ Brilliant.
In the photograph we see prime minister Callaghan with his wife Audrey about to board the Royal Yacht Britannia for the 1977 fleet review at Spithead.
In the years after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 there were always remembrance services held at Portsmouth Cenotaph. It was called Jutland Day and held on May 31.
However, after the Second
World War the day seems to have been lost.
In the photograph, for which I do not have a year, we see the Jutland Remembrance Day perhaps in the mid-1930s.
Next year, October 19, it will be 100 years since the unveiling of the cenotaph so I am hoping there will be extra events to commemorate the occasion.