The Great British summer holiday in Edwardian Britain: Fascinating vintage photographs from 1900 to 1910 show families at the seaside and playing golf as they enjoy the more relaxed side of life

• John Thomson, 43, from Bath, Somerset, discovered 400 pictures on glass plate negatives and rolls of film
• The boxes of pictures were being thrown away, but keen photographer Mr Thomson saved them in his loft
• He had them developed three years ago and then was able to track down one of the families seen in the set
• Fletcher family – made up of banker Sidney, wife Annie and sons Dennis and Geoffrey – are seen posing for a jolly group photo 

These photos of Edwardian families enjoying their summer holidays have been revealed for the first time in a century after they were saved from the tip.

John Thomson, 43, from Bath, Somerset, discovered the 400 pictures on glass plate negatives and rolls of film when he was working in a second-hand book shop 12 years ago.

The boxes of pictures were being thrown away, but keen photographer Mr Thomson saved them in his loft for nine years before finally having them developed three years ago.

Remarkably, he was then able to use the name of the village on the side of the box of pictures – Yapton, in Sussex – to eventually identify the some of the people in the images.

The Fletcher family – made up of wealthy banker Sidney, his wife Annie and their two sons Dennis and Geoffrey – are seen posing for a jolly group photo.   

These photos of an Edwardian family enjoying their summer holidays from 1900-1910 have been revealed for the first time in a century after they were saved from the tip. Pictured: The Fletcher family – Sidney Fletcher with his wife Annie and sons Dennis and Geoffrey

John Thomson, 43, from Bath, Somerset, discovered the 400 pictures on glass plate negatives and rolls of film when he was working in a second-hand book shop. Mr Thomson used the name of the village – Yapton, in Sussex – on the side of the box that he found the pictures in to identify the Fletcher family. Pictured: Dennis and Geoffrey Fletcher

The neglected glass negatives were destined to be thrown away before Mr Thomson rescued them and then developed them himself

Civil servant Mr Thomson found the images 12 years ago and initially stashed them in his loft, until he found them again three years ago while renovating his home.

Mr Thomson, 43, has long had a passion for photography

Mr Thomson started processing the pictures using his smartphone and online software, and shared them on Twitter.

With the help of some internet detectives, he was able to date them to when King Edwardian VII was on the throne – between 1901 and 1910.

Unlike many portrait photographs from the period, these snaps show a more relaxed side of life.

The black and white images show a wealthy family enjoying themselves playing golf, at the coast, and on a variety of European holidays.

But Mr Thomson said it was the photo of young children playing with their pet dog that touched him the most.

He said: ‘I’ve always done film photography since I was little. I even had a dark room in my bedroom.

‘It’s always been a passion and that’s why I felt sorry for them being chucked away.

‘You’d think people from the Edwardian times would be quite restrained and formal. 

‘But they’re just normal family photos of people messing around and kids having a great time.

Civil servant Mr Thomson found the images 12 years ago and initially stashed them in his loft, until he found them again three years ago while renovating his home. Pictured: Annie Fletcher with one of her sons

Young man Dennis Fletcher is seen dressed in a shirt, tie and jacket as he poses for a photo in 1910. Both Dennis and Geoffrey survived the first world war, but Dennis sadly died in an air accident in World War Two. His brother became a farmer in Somerset, which Mr Thomson thinks is how the photos ended up there. After some more sleuthing, Mr Thomson tracked down Sidney Fletcher’s great granddaughters, Tracey and Amanda Congdon, and was able to share the snapshots of their ancestry

Woman and horse, possibly Annie Fletcher, circa 1910. Mr Thomson said: ‘The history group ran a story about the photos in their quarterly magazine and the great-granddaughters discovered it by chance when researching their family history. They got in contact with the group who got in touch with me’

This man is seen dressed in smart suit, waistcoat and hat as he plays a round of golf. Mr Thomson said: ‘The pictures are a snapshot of Britain before the war started. A few years later it would have been mayhem’

‘The pictures are a snapshot of Britain before the war started. A few years later it would have been mayhem.’

Thanks to a name of a village on the side of a box of pictures, Mr Thomson began to track down the mystery family.

He said: ‘The village was Yapton, West Sussex, and that was the key to everything.’

Eventually, he identified the people in the pictures as the Fletcher family. 

Both Dennis and Geoffrey survived the first world war, but Dennis sadly died in an air accident in World War Two. 

Geoffrey became a farmer in Somerset, which Mr Thomson thinks is how the photos ended up there.

 This photo shows 14 children from an unidentified family dressed in smart summer outfits as they pose for a group photograph

Among the other images in the collection is this photo of three nurses dressed in their smart white uniforms

Another photo shows a man enjoying a pipe while lying on deck chair. He is seen wearing a cap, waistcoat, trousers and jacket

This image of an unidentified street shows the Union Jack flying above shops advertising their wares 

Mr Thomson said: ‘I’ve always done film photography since I was little. I even had a dark room in my bedroom.’ Pictured: Children playing at the seaside in St Valery, on the Normandy coast in northern France

The photography enthusiast added: ‘It’s always been a passion and that’s why I felt sorry for them being chucked away.’ Pictured: A little girl walks through undergrowth as her dress catches on nearby plants

This image shows an unidentified town in the Edwardian era. Men are seen dressed in suits, hats and long coats, while a trio of women seen in the foreground also have their heads covered 

Another image shows two small children standing with palm trees surrounding them. Next to them is a woman holding a small child in her arms

Ready, set, go: Pupils compete in an egg and spoon race during Sports Day at Holyrood school, in Bognor, West Sussex, in 1910

A man with a long beard and apron watches over a small child as she plays with his broom in what appears to be a garden

Mr Thomson said it was the photo of young children playing with their pet dog that touched him the most. Pictured: The pet Jack Russell is seen sitting on its hind legs as two small boys play croquet with their mother

Mr Thomson was then contacted by Sidney Fletcher’s great granddaughters, Tracey and Amanda Congdon, after he posted his images online.

After he found out that some were taken in Yapton, a local history group in the village ran a story about them, which the Congdons saw. The pair then contacted Mr Thomson.    

Mr Thomson said: ‘The local history group ran a story about the photos in their quarterly magazine and the great-granddaughters discovered it by chance when researching their family history. 

‘They got in contact with the group who got in touch with me.’

He added: ‘They’re over the moon. The pictures were forgotten about, but I’m really happy that they can be saved, thanks to modern technology like smartphones.’

Mr Thomson still has another box of photos to uncover, which he hopes will fill in the final gaps of the Fletcher family’s story.

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