Wildfires: Cambridgeshire archive saves couple's wedding album

An American couple whose 1960s wedding album was destroyed by wildfire have rediscovered their photos in archives held by an English council.

Chris and Lindy Date, who married in Cambridgeshire in 1963, lost their home when fires swept through California in August 2020.

Mr Date, who contacted Cambridgeshire's libraries service, said he was "pleased and amazed" they had been found.

The council had been given the archive by a photographic company in the 1980s.

It said it was a "heart-warming" story in difficult times.

Mr Date said he met his future wife, who lived in Landbeach, while he was an undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge.

The pair, who have lived in the US state since the 1970s, married on 20 July 1963 in the village church.

They held their wedding reception in the garden of Lindy's mother's house and many of the photographs were taken there, by Lettice Ramsey from Ramsey and Muspratt.

When wildfires ravaged California in August 2020, among the possessions they lost was their wedding photograph album, featuring pictures from the reception.

Wondering if the original negatives still existed, Mr Date decided to make a "long-shot request".

"Ramsey and Muspratt, was quite famous in Cambridge at the time, taking portrait pictures of many of the city's best-known names," he said.

"I did some online research and found that [the company] had donated their negatives to the Cambridgeshire Collection in the 1980s."

He said he contacted the council's libraries service "more in hope than expectation" to ask whether they still had the negatives.

Officers from Cambridgeshire County Council's local studies team, which maintains a large collection of archived material from across the county, looked into the archives and soon discovered the negatives.

"They responded quickly to say they had photos which they believed were ours and sent three for me to check," Mr Date said.

"I was so pleased and amazed to see them."

Councillor Steve Criswell, chair of the communities and partnerships committee, said: "At a time when many people are struggling it is heart-warming to hear stories like this.

"We have a dedicated libraries and local studies team who are committed to helping the public, no matter how seemingly difficult their queries might be."

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