An invitation to come on an exciting voyage of discovery, understanding and remembering our lives together.
This is the journey of Olive Elenor Clarke (nee Downes), affectionately known as OL. and Alfred Kenneth Clarke, who almost without exception was know as Ken, and their siblings Glenn, Wayne and Pauline.
How they experienced the hardships during their early life a world war (WW1) raging as babies, then a Spanish influensa pandemic followed by an economic depression and another world war (WW2) breaking out shortly after their marriage.
Olive Elenor Clarke was the 6th of 7 children born to Annie & John Downes. John was 22 years older than Annie and was of poor health in later years leaving much of work around the house and caring for him to the younger children at home.
Alfred Kenneth Clarke was the eldest of three children born to Grace and Alfred Clarke, Alfred served in WW1, and after returning spent a number of years as a tram driver.
Early married live was a struggle with wartime rations of food, clothing and petrol were amongst items in very short supply. Items such children’s toys, household appliances and many other items were just about unprocurable.
After the war as things started to ease Ken arranged to have a 3 bedroom brick veneer house to be built for the family, a major task requiring hours of hunting and scavenging for many of the basic items required for construction of the house such as nails, bricks in fact almost all of the materials.
The house finally completed was on an estate already with concrete roads, set out long before the war, but without water or electricity so a water pipeline had to be constructed with the help a neighbour to bring water from a main a mile away, electricity was eventually provided by the electric company some 18 months after we moved in to the house.
And so the story continues;
Growing up
Mount Waverley
Mission Statement
Our mission is to include as many family photos as we can under each family member in order to complete a give