British sisters Eleane Reed and Chris Connor visited Höfdi House in Reykjavík yesterday, where their parents had lived and worked in the1940s.
George and Minnie Piddington worked as driver and housekeeper for the British Embassy, which was housed in Höfdi from 1938 until 1952, Morgunbladid reports.
At the occasion, Reed and Connor gave the City of Reykjavík 20 photographs that had been taken while their parents lived in Iceland.
City councilor and head of the Cultural Board of Reykjavík, Júlíus Vífill Ingvarsson, told Morgunbladid that the photographs had great cultural value, as not many photographs of Höfdi House from that period exist.
The photographs show, among other things, the staff of the British Embassy. They will be stored in Reykjavík Museum and the Photography Museum of Reykjavík and used for research.
Ingvarsson said that some of the photographs might be put on display in Höfdi House in the future. The walls of the building’s upper floor are decorated with pictures and text associated with Höfdi’s history.
Reed and Connor have never been to Iceland before, but had always dreamt of visiting this northern country that had been home to their parents.
The Piddington’s, who passed away a few years ago, had spoken highly of Iceland to their daughters, describing the unique natural phenomena, the geysirs and the northern lights.
Höfdi House is most famous for housing the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in 1986. To read about the summit’s anniversary last month, click here.
