Happy Birthday Henry

Today is Henry's birthday.

Our granddad, George Henry Shiel, was a coal miner from Wallsend in north east England.  Up on the Tyne.  In the late 1920s he walked down south in search of work in the relatively newly opened Kentish collieries.  

He popped back up north briefly to marry our granny, and then they settled down south.  Never lost their accents though.

Here they are as newly weds.

He worked at Chislet colliery but the small pit village of Hersden nearby wasn't lively enough for our granny so they moved to the seaside resort of Ramsgate, which was still pretty buzzing in the 1930s.

By the time we knew him he wasn't in the best of health, he walked with a stick, but we understand in his day he was quite the dancer

And he very nearly shared a birthday with our mother, her's was yesterday.  Here they are on her wedding day.

Happy Birthday Grandad.  You worked hard all your life, we hope you'd be proud of what we're doing in your name.  Judging by the photos you liked a nice white shirt.