Photo of Mozart's Wife

[Drusilla1S]

Have you seen this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/515720 0.stm

Has any such revelation ever made you feel closer to history?

[Tatty Rollox]

...... well, here on the left at http://tinyurl.com/lscza is Constanze Weber (formerly Mozart). The photograph was taken in 1840 when Constanze was 78. Mozart died in 1791 aged 36 and Constanze 29. Saying the obvious, she married again. .........

[DaSwede]

Yes, right now. Thanks Drusilla1S, I liked that.

[Maud]

I look back now and I seem to have passed through history. My paternal grandfather, who I knew well, was born in 1852. He was in the Boer War and I have his Sam Brown. Both of my parents were born in 1893. My father was in the army in WWI and WWII and I have his badges from both I sat in a plane that raced for the Schneider Cup. I flew from Brooklands. I saw Crystal Palace burning. I also saw King George V and Queen Mary. I sang with many others "Hark! The Herald Angels sing/Mrs Simpson stole our King". My mother had Spanish Flu in 1918 which nearly killed her and contributed to her death later. I saw Amy Johnson and Bill Mollison, and saw the Hindenburg. I went through the London Blitz, did 3 years in the services, did V 1 spotting and was in London when the first V 2 dropped. I was spoken to by Mr Churchill. I met and spoke with Traudl Jung many times. I met and spoke with Richard Nixon, Jane Fonda and Princess Margaret. And now I am treated like an idiot.

[noxlumos]

That's so cool Drusilla, just showed it to my kids who are half way through "Sacred and Profane" by David Weiss as this months literary offering, so very interesting to them.

[noxlumos]

Never heard anything so beautifully and eloquently put Maud.Some people value the experiences of the older generation but it's tragic when young people believe they invented living.There are living history forums where personal recollectons of all sorts are recorded and kept for posterity.Some of my wife's older relatives survived the Concentration Camps and have left their stories for future generations and I think it's a vitally important thing that we preserve our older people's memories of great events and daily living alike.You're obvioously not an idiot and people sould have the courtesy not to treat you as one.

[Drusilla1S]

Thank you all for your answers. I'm so glad we're never too old to say, 'Wow!'

A special thanks to Maud for one of the most interesting contributions I've ever seen on AB. I remember talking to an elder friend of my grandparents many years ago about the burning of Crystal Palace. It was probably one of my first 'Wow!' moments as a child.

[Drusilla1S]

Maud, have you ever considered talking with these people about your experiences? I think you have an extremely valuable contribution to make to the oral history of our country.

http://www.ohs.org.uk/

Best wishes.

[shaneystar2]

That is a wonderful story Maud and a great link Drusilla.
Unfortunately in this day and age older people are brushed aside a lot of the time as being of no consequence and having nothing to offer..which is completely untrue of course.
An aunt of mine died last year at the great age of 101 ..she still had all her faculties,lived on her own, and I used to love hearing her talk about the world and how it was when she was young and looking at all the photographs and diaries she kept.
We can all learn about the middle ages and the Romans from books etc but nothing beats history told to you by a living person as proven by that wonderful man Henry Allingham.
Good luck Maud,keep posting on AB... and thank you Drusilla

[jay90]

wow thanks for that drussila x

[mike b]

There was a newspaper feature (D.Mail?) a few years back about the living person with the earliest-born grandparent - I think they got back to the 1790s...

[mattfox]

It's all very interesting to keep these links with the past alive. It doesn't even have to be with famous people in history! I was wondering through a local cemetary last weekend and found a grave that mention the address of the gentleman when he died in 1790. During the week I went and found the property mentioned - a tiny little house in a small back road. I wonder how many other people know where he lived, like I do. I also wonder if anyone will find out about me in 300 years time??!

[jno]

that was great, wasn't it Drusilla