My birth in 1942 was undoubtedly an accident. My dad was then 55 and my mum 45, and the only other child of their marriage was my brother Stanley (then a Spitfire pilot in the RAF), who was aged 21. My dad also had a son from his first marriage, my half-brother Arthur, then aged 31, an officer in the Merchant Navy, who was at the time dodging U-boats up and down the American Eastern Seaboard. With parents who'd been born in the 19th century it's hardly surprising that I haven't many photos of earlier generations but here are a few. As this is a site devoted to the Blacketts my mother and her family are shown first, with links to my father's and and my families following. I've gone into a bit of detail in case my immediate family are interested in this ancient history.
My mother, Julia nee Blackett, and her family
(NB. For a transcript of me talking in 1988 with my mum about her family memories please click here.)
My mum was born in Butterknowle, Co. Durham in 1897, the youngest of six children ( a 7th, also Julia, had died 6 years earlier). Her parents were Robert William Blackett, a miner, and Elizabeth Kavanagh, who, despite what she stoutly maintained, was a Roman Catholic, born in Belfast, who was nine years older than her husband. (The Kavanaghs were a musical family and in view of my connections to the music business I've said a bit more about them in My Irish (Kavanagh) family.)
Robert William Blackett, known to me as Granda Blackett, was the only grandparent I knew, the other three having died well before I was born. Towards the end of his life he lived with his daughter, my Auntie Stella, her husband, and her elder brother my uncle Bob, in Faverdale, Darlington, Co. Durham. My mum and I visited regularly and also lived there for a few months in (I think) 1950 and I can fondly remember the smell of Granda Blackett's strong pipe tobacco in the modest house.
Robert William Blackett had gone to America in the 1880s to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania, but returned to England after a few years. (My paternal grandfather did likewise, though as far as I know they didn't know each other at the time.) Towards the turn of the century Robert William Blackett became a publican and owned two pubs in Staindrop, Co. Durham (where my mum grew up). One, the Waterloo, which was managed by my uncle Thomas Bertie "Bert" Blackett, is now cottages, but the other, The Wheatsheaf, which Granda Blackett managed himself, is still a successful pub.
In 2010, after the Sockburn book launch, a large party of Blackett descendants drove over to The Wheatsheaf for drinks and a chat. Here are a couple of photos of the pub, taken more than 100 years apart.
Second from the right in the photo above is my cousin Elizabeth Hannah "Nancy" Hetherington, eldest daughter of my Uncle Bert. After my mum's death in 1998 Nancy came to be regarded as the "doyenne" of our branch of the Blacketts. She died in 2019, a few weeks short of her 100th birthday. In 2004 she and her daughter Jane organised a Blackett family reunion in Sunderland and the attendees are shown in the photo below.
The Kavanagh musical ability passed down to my mum, who played the piano in the Staindrop String Band around the time of World War I when the regular pianist was away. She recalled playing at the servants' ball at Raby Castle for Lord and Lady Barnard and when I visited the castle in 2004 the Erard piano that she'd played (which I'd seen in an old photo) was still there, although not in use as there was a more modern Yamaha grand on the stage.
Mum subsequently played the piano in the silent cinema for a while (and many years later taught me the difficult technique of watching the screen and instantly inventing something suitable, when I had to provide the music for a silent film about an engineering company). She also taught the piano until she was 91. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 1997 and died a few months later.
My father's family (please click here)
My family
(For images and some details of my family please see the page in my music site by clicking here)
You’ll find more photos at my music website page (where you can also listen to a few musical efforts), plus a few videos on YouTube, and more information on my son Pete in his Wikipedia page. And why not take a look at my Amazon author’s page ?