An old photograph has prompted a teacher to try to trace the descendants of a group of Dockyard employees who worked with her ancestors.

Betty Ann Townsell came across the black and white picture that shows her great-grandfather, Albert Cann, and his son, Crofton Cann, when she visited a friend’s house over the Christmas period.

The picture is thought to date back to the 1920s and features a group of staff who worked in the store houses of the Victualling Yard.

Ms Townsell visited the exact spot where the photo was shot this week and is now appealing for help to identify the other individuals in the shot.

“It was such an exciting feeling to stand in the same spot,” Ms Townsell said. “For many years I had kept a cropped picture in my family album that just showed Albert Cann and his son.

“But when I visited a friend’s house over Christmas and saw the full picture, it made me wonder how many other people had relatives in the photograph.

“I felt it would be really interesting just to find out who the other people are in the photo and whether other families in Bermuda still have this photo on their wall.

“I have been looking into my family’s genealogy for some time now and I know that my great-grandfather, Albert, was a foreman at the stores.

“His son, Clifton, worked up at Dockyard in his teenage years, too.”

Ms Townsell contacted the National Museum’s director, Dr Edward Harris, to find out more about the old image, and approached The Royal Gazette to help trace other descendants of the group.

Dr Harris said: “Thanks to the pattern behind the men in the picture, we can identify the exact spot where this photograph was taken.

“At the time the old store houses were used to hold all the necessary supplies for ships coming into Bermuda. It was quite a typical tradition for these kind of group shots to be taken in those days.

“What is also interesting is the diversity of ethnic backgrounds in the photo — it shows the willingness of the Royal Navy to recruit from all sectors of the community.

“This practice continued all the way until 1951 when Dockyard was closed down and the apprentices were taken back to the UK to continue and finish their work.”

If you know the identity of any of the men or boys in the picture, e-mail sjones@royalgazette.com