The Missing Walter M. A. Douglas Photo and the Douglas Willan Family

[Ben Giffard]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to Seth Douglas, and this site, we have this photo of Walter Michael Aubrey Douglas (Barnes before his name change in 1877), whose dates were 1846 - 1884.  As we know, upon his death his widow Juliana took her family to Australia and then Fiji beginning a whole new chapter for the Douglas family.  The first image below is a scanned copy of a colourised version of an original Victorian photo, taken in the 1870s or 1880s; and below that is another version of the same - thank you Lilian for this.  The original photo would have been mounted on card with the photographer's details on the back.  I have been trying to track down one of these Victorian originals, or a photo of one of these originals (front and back), for years.  But without success I should say!  Members of the Douglas family have been very helpful in my search, but so far no copies seem to have survived, lost in the passage of time and not helped by the impact of weather and natural disasters!   This is a bit of a mystery as I have seen several photos of Juliana and even a letter from her - but why none of her husband?

I'm posting this here for two reasons.  First, there is the possibility that a member of this site might actually have an original copy of the Victorian photo.  If so please let me know - I would love to see a photo of that photo.  Then there is Plan B.  WMAD's mother was Christiana Isabella Douglas Willan.  Both WMAD and his father, Walter Richard Barnes, must have been close to the Douglas Willan family.  Upon their deaths, in 1885 and 1884 respectively, they were buried in the Douglas Willan family crypt in the church next to Twyford Abbey, the DW family home.  Given these close connections, I'm hoping that the Douglas Willan family, or their descendants, might have an original of the WMAD photo - and maybe even one of the father WRB.  So Plan B starts with my asking here, if anyone on this site is a member of the Douglas Willan family, or in touch with a member of the DW family?  If so, would they be willing to get in touch with me (directly or indirectly) to see if we can track down who might have a copy of this photo of WMAD?  As I say, I've been looking for this for years and it would be great if - with the help of DouglasHistory - we were able to find and then share the original photo of WMAD.

Many thanks for your help!

Ben