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My father had two cousins who were, I believe, a few years older than he was. Their father and my paternal grandfather were close friends, and went on cycling holidays together. The family lived in London. I have a few photos showing my father's cousins. Unfortunately, I know very little about my father's cousins beyond names and where they fit into the family tree. My grandfather was a keen amateur photographer so we have some early family snapshots and not just studio portraits. His snapshots thus provide a good idea about how boys' in father's generation were dressed.
Beach holidays were popular in Britain beginning in the late-19th century. Trains made that possible. Britains could get to the beaches very easily. And there were beach resorts all along the coast. The photographs I believe were taken at a family beach holiday to Southend-on-Sea. It is located on the Thames estuary in Essex, about 36 miles east of London. Train services at the time would have taken about an hour and a quarter - they were only accelerated in 1911.
We have a family group at Southend-on-Sea, The snapshot was taken about 1900. This shows the two boys in sailor-suits. Notice the boys are wearing broad-brimmed sailor hats. I am not sure to what extent these hats and sailor suits are connected with beach resort wear. One of the boys is clearly wearing shorts. This is the era that we see a transition between knee pants and shorts. It is often difficult to tell the difference. A closeup detail shows that he is wearing plimsolls (or similar) with long socks, dark shorts, and the sailor-style top. Long socks is a British term for what what HBC often calls knee socks. Long socks refers to turn-over-top knee socks. I get the impression that these clothes were for very informal occasions. And their uncle taking a snapshot didn't count as very formal!
This is another of my grandfather's snapshots from Southend-on-Sea. As far as I can tell, it was from the same holiday. It shows the boys with their mother on the promenade. She is pushing a pram, probably containg a younger sibling. Here they are more formally dressed, with knickers, dark stockings, and caps.
On a rather different occasion, we find the family in Regent's Park. This of course is one of the best-loved London parks.
The London Zoo which is a children's favorite is located here. Regent's Park is located in central London. Thus most children would not have visited the park on their own. Visits would have been family outings like the one pictured here. Presumably it was Sunday. The boys are dressed much as they were on the prom at Southend, watching a cart-horse parade in Regent's Park in London. Judging by the way everyone is wrapped up, it wasn't all that warm. The trees (not shown in this cropped photo) are in leaf, so it's not actually during the winter.
