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10/20/2020 | Press release | Archived content

GEORGIA LOVE SHARES HEART-WARMING STORY ABOUT HER GRANDMOTHER FOR NATIONAL GRANDPARENTS DAY Oct 20, 2020

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TV personality Georgia Love and family history website Ancestry encourage Australians to share the unique stories behind their family photographs in a virtual campaign

20 October 2020, Sydney Australia: Ahead of National Grandparents Day on Sunday 25th October, one of Australia's favourite media personalities Georgia Love has opened up about the special relationship she has with her grandmother through the lens of an old photograph, to celebrate the role that grandparents play in our lives.

After uncovering a deeper understanding of her family history through Ancestry, the global leader in family history, Georgia is using her experience to launch a heart-warming campaign, #BehindThePhoto. The campaign calls on Australians to share an old photo of one of their grandparents on Instagram and tell the story behind the picture.

The initiative was launched to shine a light on the lives of our grandparents and help Australians maintain family bonds that may have been challenged during COVID-19, as recent research shows that grandparents are feeling less connected to their families than ever.1

For Georgia Love the campaign is close to her heart as her grandmother, Thora, plays a special role in Georgia's life. Thora has always been Georgia's role model and best friend, but since Georgia tragically lost her mum to cancer in 2016, she has played an even more important role. Sadly, Georgia hasn't been able to see Thora in the last few months due to COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne. Georgia now wants to pay tribute to her grandmother by sharing an image that tells the life of Thora to mark Grandparents Day.

'My Nana is one of strongest and best women I know. She's always been my best friend, but when my mum, her daughter, passed away we became inseparable. The photo I am sharing for Grandparents Day is of my Nana, Thora and my 'Dah', Tony, on their wedding day in 1952. I absolutely love how stylish they are and how happy they both look. But it is the story of how they met I really love.

'Nana was strong and independent from the get-go, going against all social norms at the time when she decided to go on a six-month holiday from Perth to Melbourne. But she never came back - she got a secretarial job at one of Melbourne's top advertising agencies, Claude Mooney, where my grandpa was her boss. She was dating someone else at the time and when Dah found out that her date had once left her waiting on the steps of the Town Hall, he said 'Any man who makes a beautiful woman wait is an idiot, come on a date with me instead'. And the rest is history. The two became a 'Mad Men'-style advertising power couple and were madly in love until the day my Dah passed away. I have to say; hearing Nana's life story is as exciting to me as the stories of any TV show.

'This year has been beyond tough, and it saddens me to know that some people - myself included - haven't seen their family for months. It is so important that we find ways to stay connected, and this is why I'm thrilled to be part of the #BehindThePhoto campaign. I've learnt so much about my Nana's fascinating life when I uncovered the story behind this photo, and it made me feel even closer to her.' Love said.

Brad Argent, Family History Expert at Ancestry says that the art of sharing family stories has been used throughout history to bond and strengthen family connections. He says:

'Photographs are a slice of time, a moment in history captured forever. Photographs of our grandparents and other ancestors provide us with a window into their lives, and trigger memories that bring the past into the present.

'Whether we are separated from our family by geography, time, or circumstance, photographs give us a way to connect with our family. With our #BehindThePhoto campaign, this Grandparents Day we are encouraging everyone to share the story behind a photo of their grandparents with the hope that it will remind us all we are still part of something much bigger.'

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