Bann Rowing Club, 1942

I'm snowed under with projects right now, so this place is getting ignored for the moment.  Aside from looking after my mum after her recent fall the garden is taking up a lot of my time right now.  We had a big clear-out last year, when a dozen or so old and diseased trees got felled.  That required a major clear-up and a large part of the garden had been neglected until recently, when I finally got round to sorting it out.  So for the last month or so I've been cutting, strimming, raking, bagging up weeds and dead grass and taking everything to the Council facility for recycling/composting, which fortunately isn't far away.  

The other thing requiring my attention right now is the pending visit of a relative from the East Coast of the US, which is happening in a couple of weeks.  She's a descendent of my grandfather's brother and I told the story of her father some time ago in this post. It took me quite a few years to find her, after many hours on genealogy websites and a lot of good fortune.  Her father spent his teenage years here in Coleraine and my relative is keen to see the area and learn more about his upbringing.  One of the things I did a while back is visit the microfiche records of the local paper in the library and I found his name mentioned in connection with the local Rowing Club.  The Bann Rowing Club is well-known across the UK and Ireland - although it's small, it has had phenomenal success over the years and has trained several Olympic rowers, including Alan Campbell who won bronze in the single sculls in London 2012.  

Anyway, I made contact with the current Club Captain and after a bit of searching he came across this photograph, taken in the Club's Centenary Year in 1942:

Unfortunately it sustained some water damage over the years but I was able to borrow it and after a high-res scan and a bit of Photoshopping it looks a little better:

The importance of this photograph is that my relative's father is in it - he's the Cox, seated front row centre.   He'd have been about 17 years old then. The year after (1943) he enlisted in the US Army and after the war returned to his native Philadelphia.  Mind you, given how slightly built he was I can't imagine him in full Army fatigues carrying heavy backpacks and military equipment but I guess in 1943 anyone who showed up was welcomed with open arms.

So the plan is to get this photograph printed, mounted and framed and then ask the Club Captain to present it to my relative on her visit.  I think that will be a memorable day for her.