Julius Sladden & granddaughter

Studio portrait of Julius Sladden (1847-1928) with his first grandchild, Dorothy Mary Sladden (1915-1995). Dorothy was born on 12th August 1915, the eldest of three children of Arthur Francis Savory Sladden, a doctor who was serving with the RAMC in France, and his wife, Mary Christabel (née Williams).

This photo was taken at about the end of November 1916 and sent as Christmas presents. George Sladden (Dorothy’s uncle and godfather) wrote on 20th December 1916: “Many thanks for the photograph of you and your granddaughter. What a sturdy little girl she looks. Grown quite out of my knowledge. How the world slips away while the war drags on!”

One copy of this photograph may be seen at Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service (reference: 705:1037/9520/22/i/6). Another copy of the photo belongs to Eric Rose which was passed on to him by his mother, Doris Winifred Rose (née Jelfs), the youngest daughter of Fanny Caroline Jelfs who had been nurse to Arthur and some of his siblings in the 1890s.