We lost our dad, James Albert Pearson on the 10th April 2023.

I built this gallery to showcase my late dads photos, ‘A Lifetime of Photography’ He always had a camera on hand…

Born in Woolwich, South East London on the 23rd January 1926 to James and Ellen Pearson, James (junior) or Jim as he was affectionately known was the second of four children. Ida, Joyce and David being his brother and sisters.

In 1943, he was drawn by a ballot to be sent down the mines as one of 48,000 “Bevin Boys” to assist with the national coal shortage, and was sent to Craghead Colliery in County Durham. He was always a proud Trade Unionist and the “Big Meeting” in Durham City was always close to his heart, travelling back many times to the event.

The Bevin Boys were not officially recognised as being of national importance for many years. The Bevin Boys Association was formed in 1989 and they were officially granted the honour of parading in the Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph in London, and proudly marched at the Cenotaph over fifteen times, receiving a medal at Downing Street in 2008 from the Prime Minister in recognition of his service during the war.

Returning from Durham in 1947, he worked for Maples & Co in Tottenham Court Rd and worked on many high end buildings and palaces. He certainly understood the realities of a working life and he was never afraid of a bit of hard graft and he appeared to add value to everything that he did, and the quality of his workmanship was second to none.

His many hobbies and passions though was electronics he was an inventor and a lover of technology. He was an intelligent and knowledgable man whose home was full off resistors and transistors… things that made him very happy indeed. He built crystal radio sets, and built his very own television set as well as a television camera. He took an interest in early computers and had an amateur radio set up that GCHQ would be proud of.

He loved photography and the family are lucky enough to have thousands of photos to chronicle the lives of each and every family member, and the reason for me building this website/Gallery.

One of the images Jim took was of a London Taxi Cabs famous yet mysterious green shelter. Jim presented it to the taxi drivers and started to tell his life story to them. Well, taxi drivers being the fabulous people they are, invited him to become a beneficiary of an amazing charity, the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. He was humbled and delighted to be taken on numerous veterans trips around the UK and across to Europe by the Black Cab drivers. True recognition of his time serving his country when real people generously say thank you.

Above everything else though, our Dad, James Albert Pearson was a loving, generous and proud husband and father who was inspirational in his care and devotion to his family. He passionately maintained the family traditions and loved to keep abreast of the achievements of each and every family member as he saw his grand and great grandchildren as a highlight of his life.

Jim was a man of principle and compassion who was loved, admired and respected by all those who crossed his path for he treated all people equally with dignity and fairness. Jim’s greatness should not be measured in terms of fame and wealth but in strength of heart and spirit and it is that generous spirit that should never be forgotten.

James Albert Pearson, Jim, was a decent, inquisitive, caring and gentle man. A true gentleman who will be dearly missed.