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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: 001uk on Saturday 11 September 10 17:33 BST (UK)

Title: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Saturday 11 September 10 17:33 BST (UK)
Hi,

I have a hugely important family photo which at best can be described as in grim condition.
Please can anyone improve it for me? I can submit a better scan if need be.
I'd be MOST grateful for any renovation.
Thank you in advance.

P.S.
I believe the photo is of a London Police football team. On the football is painted "K.P.F.C. 1911-12". If anyone can offer more info: where was the KP, any names of people I'd be very interested to know. Feel free to use this image!
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: still_looking on Saturday 11 September 10 18:54 BST (UK)
is it definitely KP not RP?

There is a Kiveton Park Football Club (formed 1892) but that's Sheffield not London and is connected with a colliery not with the police.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Saturday 11 September 10 19:17 BST (UK)
Hi,

Yes it's definitely K.P.
I have always been told that it is a police team but that's something passed down the family through the years (so it's quite possibly wrong)!

The chap to the right of the player wearing the striped shirt has a uniform on with a chain but no lapel badges...he could be anything, come to think of it, from a prison guard to a postman.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Cheryl16 on Saturday 11 September 10 19:59 BST (UK)
Could it be Kent Police? Maybe a team that was based on the London outskirts but in Kent.?
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: HeatherLynne on Saturday 11 September 10 20:06 BST (UK)
I googled 'KPFC 1911' and up came a posting on Cousin Connect - that may have been you, but if not it seems someone else is looking for this Police football team.

ETA -  love the little dog on the last lap on the right!
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Saturday 11 September 10 21:40 BST (UK)
Could it be Kent Police? Maybe a team that was based on the London outskirts but in Kent.?

Hi Cheryl16
Could be! I'll add it to my list.
Thanks for reply.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Saturday 11 September 10 21:45 BST (UK)
I googled 'KPFC 1911' and up came a posting on Cousin Connect - that may have been you, but if not it seems someone else is looking for this Police football team.

ETA -  love the little dog on the last lap on the right!


Hi HeatherLynne,
Yes it's my posting.
An own gaol...perhaps
Thanks for trying.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: kizmiaz on Saturday 11 September 10 22:33 BST (UK)
Possibly Kingston Police Football Club?
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Niksmum on Sunday 12 September 10 01:57 BST (UK)
Can you rescan with out compressing ?
Although you have scanned at a very high 1200dpi it appears to have been badly compressed and is very small physically (less then half an inch). This is making the facial features very hard to see so they can be restored.
If you had trouble resizing there is a very good tutorial here

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,372537.0.html

Irene
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Sunday 12 September 10 07:38 BST (UK)
Hello Irene,

Thank you very much for your reply and advice.

I'll have another go at scanning. I've inherited a much more advanced scanner than the one I previously used and haven't quite got to grips with it yet.
I'll check the link you kindly supplied.

PS Have attached a new scan at 496.5 KB and scanned at 1200 dpi. Hope this works. (Apparently this machine will scan up to 12800 !)
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Sunday 12 September 10 07:40 BST (UK)
Possibly Kingston Police Football Club?


Howdy kizmiaz

Thanks for your suggestion. All gratefully received.I'll add this to the list. We'll get there one day.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Craig M on Sunday 12 September 10 16:43 BST (UK)
The Metropolitan Police area is split up into Divisions which are known by letters.

When the Met was founded in 1829 K Division was West Ham and surrounding area. Over the years the boundary has changed. Can you associate the photo with an area? Perhaps your family lived in what was then the K District? It stretches some way today so don’t just think West Ham.

It’s just possible that each Division fielded a football team against the other Divisions. I would have thought it would have said ‘K Div PFC’ on the ball, but maybe that wouldn’t fit on.

The Metropolitan Police Athletic Association organises all the sporting activities and I suggest you contact them. They might just recognise or even still have that trophy. The inscriptions might just give you the names in the photo.

The Metropolitan Police Football Club wasn’t formed until 1919 to play against teams outside the Police, so that can’t be the Met team. Obviously Policemen played football before that, so if it’s a Met Police team then it’s something smaller and more local.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Sunday 12 September 10 19:17 BST (UK)
Hello Craig M

Thank you for your interesting reply. I have actually been in touch with the Metropolitan Police Athletic Association and they had no knowledge of the KPFC. Possibly it was a little early for their records.

The only other thing I know about the card is that one of the players was more than likely on patrol in the Abbey Road area of London NW6 (where my grandmother was in service).

Having looked at the map I now see Kilburn was just a short distance away. Could it be Kilburn Police FC or Kilburn Park? I fancy the former.

IF that's so all I need now are the names of the chaps in the photo!

Thanks again
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: allfulcher on Sunday 12 September 10 19:21 BST (UK)
Hi,
   Regarding restoring the photo. I will do my best for you but give me a couple of days.

Allfulcher
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Sunday 12 September 10 19:24 BST (UK)
Thank you Allfulcher.very kind of you.
I'm sure it would take me a couple of years!
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Cheryl16 on Sunday 12 September 10 21:39 BST (UK)
I have just had an idea... if you know that one of the people in the picture was on patrol in the Abbey Road area, have you thought about getting in touch with the local paper and asking them to run an " who is this?" article. They crop up in our local paper fairly regularly. Someone might see who can help.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: salmynka on Sunday 12 September 10 21:40 BST (UK)
thats a good idea, our local paper does that too  :)
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Emjaybee on Sunday 12 September 10 21:45 BST (UK)
Sorry just a mock up toshow willing
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Monday 13 September 10 07:30 BST (UK)
Hello Emjaybee
Might be a mock up to you but it's amazing to me!! A big thank you. I can imagine it must have taken a lot of work.
I appreciate your efforts~thanks again
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Monday 13 September 10 07:37 BST (UK)
Cheryl16 that's a BRILLIANT idea! Thank you....I shall seek out the appropriate newspaper and submit a photo. I understand a couple of restorers are working on the image so once a suitable one comes along I'll be on the case ASAP.
Thanks again.

I have just had an idea... if you know that one of the people in the picture was on patrol in the Abbey Road area, have you thought about getting in touch with the local paper and asking them to run an " who is this?" article. They crop up in our local paper fairly regularly. Someone might see who can help.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: D_ on Monday 13 September 10 17:22 BST (UK)
Hi,

Deleted previous restore, I've made a couple of tweaks.  Finals attached.

Cheers, David.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: 001uk on Tuesday 14 September 10 07:22 BST (UK)
Hello David,
Amazing results. I cannot believe the difference and that it's all possible. Thank you very much for your work which has made a grotty specimen of family history into something we can now relish and work from.
I'm most grateful.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: PhotoRepair on Tuesday 05 October 10 15:55 BST (UK)
 :) Just to let you know that i dont normally have time for this sort of thing as it keeps me busy during my day job restoring old photos but this one caught my eye and I am working on it. Here is where I am at so far. I am working a little bit a time between jobs.

Image link removed, image no longer available

This is just the low res version and the finished version should be available soon, Ill let you have it when im done!

Kind Regards

Neil Rhodes

Hello David,
Amazing results. I cannot believe the difference and that it's all possible. Thank you very much for your work which has made a grotty specimen of family history into something we can now relish and work from.
I'm most grateful.
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: terry h on Sunday 15 May 11 16:02 BST (UK)
 ..
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: PhotoRepair on Sunday 15 May 11 16:20 BST (UK)
001UK very sorry but during the time here and my last post I had some computer trouble and have lost the restore! Hope you can use what i did so far.

Terry Hastie - If I have a photo thats a passport photo thats 1 inch square but really god quality and I can scan at your recommended 300dpi but it want it reproduced to 10x8? how does that work?
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: terry h on Sunday 15 May 11 16:40 BST (UK)
This photo of mine is 2" by 1 1/2" ( I just went and measured it) scanned at 300 and the restores printed out just dandy at a MUCH large size.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,386160.0.html

Terry

Pity you lost the restore ;)
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Niksmum on Sunday 15 May 11 17:41 BST (UK)
Thank you for bringing this back to the top  :D

It may take a while but I'll have a go. This is the type of challenge I enjoy. Don't know why I never came back to it



Irene


Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: jc26red on Sunday 15 May 11 17:59 BST (UK)
agree Irene, I know I got around half way through this one but then moved and am no longer in the same place as my pc with all my old work on...
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Rhyn Williams on Sunday 15 May 11 18:56 BST (UK)
hey Im in the middle of restoring the image.... further note, Im sorry for the message I sent earlier on
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Rhyn Williams on Monday 16 May 11 03:41 BST (UK)
A very low res version of what I did, hope you like it
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Niksmum on Monday 16 May 11 17:46 BST (UK)
my one


Irene

(I didn't see any hats  ???)
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Rhyn Williams on Monday 16 May 11 23:27 BST (UK)
I saw some parts that may have possibly be hats, they would have warn hats like that at that time
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: terry h on Tuesday 17 May 11 09:31 BST (UK)
Nice piece of work Irene :)

Can't see hats either...and don't think a football team would have worn them...even then ??? :-\

Terry
Title: Re: HELP PLEASE! Really grim photo needs restoring
Post by: Rhyn Williams on Tuesday 17 May 11 14:37 BST (UK)
of course they would have, but it shouldnt really matter if they were wearing them or not