Raymond Parker – September 1975 to February 1981

Our little boy is growing up! I am guessing Raymond would have been around 16 in the first two strips. He is rapidly putting on weight as we see him age. Too many hamburgers and hot chips, eh Ray?

I don’t think this moustache suits him at all!

Could he really be only 18 or 19 in this 1977 photo? I think he must be. If he was around 18 months or even two years old in the very first photo in December 1961, then we could be reasonably certain he was born in 1959. To me he looks old for his age.

So the mo is a no-no on its own but I do like the beard. Not sure about the quiff but that has never been a favourite of mine in men’s hairstyling.

Ugh, that mo is back, but not for long, as he goes all rock ‘n’ roll with those sunnies and then he turns 1950s country squire in the last strip!

I’m almost finished showing you the pictures I have of Ray. There is one more post to come. I love this series for the changes in his face over time but I have barely touched on what he is wearing or his expressions, which have their own stories to tell. I will leave that to you this time.

As with all the photos I buy, I wonder why they have escaped their homes and ended up for sale online. Individual photos are not such a mystery, as they were often given to relatives or traded with friends. Later generations could easily be left looking at dozens of photos of people they have never met or even heard of. Why not sell them off? But when a large series, like this, ends up alone in the world, I feel there must be a tragedy in their past. In the happiest of circumstances Ray should certainly still be alive and his dad would also have a reasonable chance to still be living. But if his father was the custodian of these images and then passed away, why did Ray not value them? Had he a falling out with his father, so wasn’t there when he died, and wasn’t involved in the tidying up of his estate? Did Ray die at a very young age, so when his father passed, there was no one close enough left to want the collection? So many questions!

I suppose there might be a tiny chance that someone who knew Ray Parker and his dad might stumble across these photos and be able to fill in the blanks. Lets hope so.