She's wearing her brother's gas mask from WW2. I think she was younger than I am now when this photo was taken, and for me it reveals a whole new side to Nan. She was once young and did things that weren't completely serious all the time. There was a time where she didn't have nine kids. There was a time where she didn't have a tea-towel over her shoulder and fed my brother and I buttered toast on Saturdays.
She was a person before she was Nan.