Saturday, November 30, 2013

Sepia Saturday: Allan Wyllie's moustache

Oh my goodness. It's the last day of November already. Sepia Saturday just snuck in with a theme photo for Movember, growing facial hair to raise awareness of mens health. He's sporting a fabulous moustache (or is it mustache or pair of moustaches?).


My grandad, Allan Wyllie never shaved off his moustache. I think he must have grown it from when he first had to shave because it's in every photo I have of him. He never used an electric shaver either. I lived with my grandparents for a year in 1965 and I remember him sharpening his razor on a leather strop he kept hanging on a cupboard with the mirror next to it, and lathering up. He was born in 1886 and died 1966 and was a farmer in Victoria.

Allan Wyllie
Dorothy Taylor and Allan Wyllie, 1916
Allan Wyllie
Allan (leaning on the car) with Dorothy and his Taylor in-laws, including his
 father-in-law Henry who also has a fabulous moustache.
Dorothy and Allan Wyllie
Now that I see all of the photos together I notice that Grandad looks very serious. He never was a man who smiled readily and openly, and his son, my dad, says that he was more likely to criticise than to praise. But I liked him.

And just for fun. This is a photo I found at a boot sale. I've no idea who it is or where it was taken but I like it very much.


13 comments:

  1. A handsome, handsome man, your Allan Wyllie!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A wonderful collection of family photographs and moustaches! I know it's not part of the theme, but I have to mention Dorothy's wedding dress (and veil & flowers) — absolutely lovely.

    Cheers,
    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your granddad's moustache certainly gave him a serious and distingushed looking air

    ReplyDelete
  4. A fine looking gentleman, your grandfather with his trim moustache. Too bad, in those old-tyme photographs, no one could smile. I'm sure the bride & groom were very happy, but you'd never know it from their formal portrait.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I completely missed "Movember" until I started going around looking at blogs. Guess it's because I don't watch TV.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like how he groomed his moustache upwards for his wedding photo when the previous photo had it 'down'.
    I wonder if it was a symbol of a smile and how happy he was?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Speaking as someone with a permanent beard, I can vouch for the sense of identity that comes from whiskers. Some of us never feel a desire to change that face in the mirror. The last photo is a great find.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your granddad was a good looking fellow and certainly liked his moustache. Fancy remembering him shaving with a razor and strop. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Grandad looks exactly like his mum!

    ReplyDelete
  10. A great collection of family photographs and the wedding one especially is lovely. Yes, your final photo find did make me smile - does he have a look of Charlie Chaplin? . .

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a handsome man! It's probably a good thing he never shaved. When you're used to how a person looks, it's hard to adjust. My girls for YEARS knew their dad only with a moustache. When he shaved it off, they screamed, and soon felt out in a fit of laughter.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love this collection of family photos. I am partial to moustaches on men anyway. And yes, it's often amusing to dig through a box of someone's cast-offs and make a find such as yours in that last photo.

    Dee

    ReplyDelete
  13. Re the final photo - I'm assuming that is a woman as I have similar photos of Mum and friends dressed up for a mock wedding and the girls dressed as men look very similar to that. Loved the car photo. When visitors were leaving it was often time for a photo by the car. And weren't men so proud of their moustaches and grooming them.

    ReplyDelete

I love to read your comments. Thankyou for your interest.

Lorraine

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...