Hello all, thank you so much for all your comments and restores and colourings, which are fantastic.
And thank you for pointing out the blooming obvious which is that the chairs and curtains match and the pictures were obviously taken at the same time!
These are my great grandfather and great grandmother, and are definitely the same people as in the earlier group I posted. I know this definitely.
On the back of the individual man, who is indeed in police uniform, there is a handwritten inscription which says "John James Pay, on his retirement from the Metropolitan Police June 12th 1910 aftr 25 years service"
And on the back of the individual woman, it simply says "Victoria Adelaide Pay to her son Morris 1910".
So, if the pictures were taken at the same time, I think the date is firm at 1910 - I have other evidence of his date of retirement, and presumably the occasion would be important enough to have a photograph taken. I know from my father (grandson of the people pictured) who was also the son of a policeman (the gormless looking boy at the front of the group photo), that there was a huge focus on the retirement date....................and the pension!!!
Both John James and Victoria Adelaide were 45 years old in these pictures - ie 15 or so years older than the group photo with the children. Victoria Adelaide died three years later.
I am fascinated by your comments about the necklace (or whatever it is), please have some more guesses! Do you think the belt buckle is any more significant?
I don't know that Victoria Adelaide had any interests outside the family - she had 12 children, 3 of whom pre-deceased her - and had had her last child in January 1909, just 18 months ahead of this picture. I think it's unlikely she was either a nurse or member of any organisation which would have given her an award. Looking after the house - certainly not rich enough for servants - would have been enough.
Thank you all so much for your interest!
I only wish I still had the necklace.