How Edwardian photo albums found in a Worthing attic were identified, a tale of mystery and intrigue

Christine Elson was given five Edwardian photo albums among boxes of items belonging to her late brother, and set about investigating the story behind them.

She discovered they belonged to the former owner of a house in Worthing where her brother had lived, and said they were probably left in the attic when the house was cleared.

With the help of a local historian in Worthing, Christine was able to trace the original owner of the photo albums and return them to her granddaughter.

Christine tells the story of discovery: "Two tatty boxes were dumped in my hallway in September 2022 for me to browse the contents and dispose of as I felt fit. The timing wasn't ideal due to a pending move, however, so I promptly shoved them under a table, with the thought, out of sight out of mind!

"The boxes resided on the back seat of my car long after the move, as they were filthy dirty and had a very unpleasant odour, one of the old cardboard boxes having been squirreled away for several decades in a dark dingy attic.

"On delving into one, several weeks later, I was immediately transported back 55 years, maybe more. My brother's stamp albums, old coins, a brown book on birds which was awarded to him for the best brass rubbing done at Lyminster Church, two paperbacks full of dirty rugby songs, a complete Bayko set, joke catalogue, poster for Radio Caroline and a brown leather briefcase full of computer printouts relating to his first job with Lloyds Bank were among some of the many familiar items unearthed, and, curiously, five Edwardian photo albums, concealed under two tea towels, that were not.

"Over the course of a couple of months, I talked to friends regarding my find, including my nephew, who had offloaded them on to me and indicated that left to his own devises, they would have ended up in the recycling bin.

"A Bygone Littlehampton member recommended I contact Leigh Lawson, a family historian living in Worthing, whom I knew of but could not contact. Having coffee with a friend, she mentioned, in passing, that a lady she was giving singing lessons to knew me – it turned out to be Leigh, and it’s from here my investigations started to gain pace.

"Lorna Haynes was fascinated by the wealthy Edwardians, their expensive outfits, flamboyant hats and travels to exotic places like Mount Pilatus, Pontresina, the Morteratsch Glacier and the lakes of Interlaken and Geneva, to name but a few. She offered to liaise with Leigh Lawson, the historian, so I offloaded the dirty albums into her capable hands.

"I was soon to receive a text message from Leigh, indicating the photo albums to be interesting, however, she hadn’t spotted many clues as to who may have owned them, other than one name, Eva Castelli, and mentioned some of the photos were of poor quality.

"She suggested I offer them to an antiques shop in Lewes, as they might possibly be purchased by an enthusiast of Edwardian memorabilia. I wasn’t keen and mentioned there were photographs taken in Putney, Wimbledon, Eastbourne, East Sussex, Ireland and abroad.

"I thought of contacting local newspapers, local history clubs, libraries or museums. This gave pause for thought and, before long, I received a message indicating a breakthrough by way of a 21st birthday invitation to Trocadero restaurant in London.

"I was advised it was a short straw but worth hanging on to. A coffee morning was soon arranged between the three of us to discuss any progress. We were all keen to continue and discover who the albums belonged to and if any family members were still alive, and for me to find out how they came to be amongst my brother’s processions.

"Quite by coincidence, I stumbled on an old photo of a house in Lansdowne Road, Worthing, which was purchased by my late brother from an elderly lady’s beneficiaries. It seemed very feasible that the albums had been stashed away in the attic and left behind when cleared of her belongings.

"Many conversations and messages circulated between the three of us, rather like Chinese whispers, regarding the property in Lansdowne Road. Unbeknown to me, it was assumed by the others to be the one in Littlehampton, where we had all grown up, but this puzzled Leigh, as she didn’t feel a wealthy family would have resided there – how right she was.

"During our second coffee morning together, it was revealed that, through Ancestry, Leigh had traced Eva’s great-grandson, who lives in Minorca. He replied straight away and gave her the email address of Eva’s grand-daughter, Janet, in northern England, who also answered immediately.

"Janet was delighted to learn of the find and very keen to meet us and collect the albums during a trip to Worthing later in the year. Our researcher was now hooked on finding more information and burned the midnight oil, as one clue led to another. Putting some of the photos through her computer and enhancing the detail added to her desire to keep delving. She admitted having become very attached to the photo albums and not ready to part with them yet.

"There was one last get-together before we were to meet Janet and finally hand over the family heirlooms. We started by chatting through Eva’s comprehensive timeline, painstakingly compiled by Leigh over the course of several months.

"She discovered Eva had married Jules Houdret and they lived in Wimbledon, but years after his death, she moved to a nursing home in Mill Road, Worthing, adjacent to Lansdowne Road, which slotted into place.

"We were on the verge of resigning ourselves to not having evidence of her living in Lansdowne Road, Worthing, and being content at having traced a couple of close family members, when Leigh told us, in passing, she had just discovered that Eva had lived in St Lawrence Avenue, Worthing, with her son Denis, who she outlived by two years.

"My brother lived in that road for a short period, so while I tried to contact my sister-in-law to find out the number of the property, we were all hopeful the jigsaw puzzle might finally be completed.

"When I finally got through, she was unable to decipher what I was saying, as she was in a noisy venue. The suspense was mounting and more coffee was made and consumed in anticipation of news.

"I eventually received a call giving us the answer we were all hoping for. Our researcher went home, back to the drawing board, and soon discovered that my sister-in-law and her first husband had lived in the same house in St Lawrence Avenue as Eva and her son.

"The albums must have been boxed and stored in the loft, and when the house was sold, they were left behind. Then, no-one noticing the contents, they were taken by my brother when they in turn moved. They were transferred to the loft of their new house and there they remained until finally seeing the light of day for our researching to begin.

"Eva Castelli Houdret is buried at Durrington Cemetery, Findon Road, Worthing, next to her son. My sincere thanks to researcher Leigh Lawson and Lorna Haynes for their enthusiasm, help and patience. "

Eveline Norah Maria Castelli was born on April 23, 1883, in Turkey, in Constantinople, now Istanbul. Known as Eva, she was married to Jules Cornelius Houdret and had two children. She died on July 27, 1973, and is buried in Worthing alongside her son, Denis Charles Houdret, who died on January 29, 1971.

What's next for Christine? She said: "I recently called into a large charity shop in Littlehampton, which gave me the opportunity to have a quick look round. In amongst various expensive items, locked inside a glass cabinet, I was drawn to an old, opened Edwardian family photo album and couldn't resist having a look.

"While browsing the lovely collection of pictures, the assistant said the person who brought in the album didn’t think there would be any family alive. I remained silent and pondered my next move, thinking to myself, I wonder if I…?"