bantamforgot Posted 28 September , 2007 Share Posted 28 September , 2007 The picture of the soldier carrying the wounded soldier through a trench on 1st, July must be known to all ,has anyone made any claims to be related? He is still unknown. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaymen Posted 29 September , 2007 Share Posted 29 September , 2007 Colin I assume you mean this one. There have been threads on here over the years, this one in particular - have a good read http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...c=31759&hl= Glyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 29 September , 2007 Author Share Posted 29 September , 2007 Many thanks Glyn. As I was involved in researching Sgt. Woods some years ago & I think proved he was not the correct person in the shot I was interested, the soldier is still unknown & I doubt if he ever will be now. I read the thread you quoted , why did it come to an abrupt end, it wasn't capped or was it? I know many people are still claiming to be related but IWM are no nearer although some are more likely than in the past. Cheers. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaymen Posted 29 September , 2007 Share Posted 29 September , 2007 Colin Yes the thread did rather tail off without a significant ending. Think it gave most of us forum members at the time a rather large headache Although it was rather fascinating Don't ever see a definitive answer to the identification............ Glyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBI Posted 29 September , 2007 Share Posted 29 September , 2007 I met a very Old Lady in France many Years Ago who was convinced that the Man in the Film/Photo was Her Father one George Lamb,She could not offer any more Details.Maybe someone can trace this Soldier ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 29 September , 2007 Author Share Posted 29 September , 2007 Having just gone through the previous thread you gave me re. the "Trench" I can quite understand why it came to an abrupt end, it gave me a headache, Indian Mutiny ,differing pictures etc. etc. I know the research I went too when checking on a local claiment in Blackpool , Sgt. Woods. Maybe one day but wih a few million men out there during WW1 , there are bound to be some look alikes, I even found one looking like my father with a bunch of "disreputable" soldiers pulling MG carts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Elizabeth Stewart Posted 30 September , 2007 Share Posted 30 September , 2007 Having just gone through the previous thread you gave me re. the "Trench" I can quite understand why it came to an abrupt end, it gave me a headache, Indian Mutiny ,differing pictures etc. etc. I know the research I went too when checking on a local claiment in Blackpool , Sgt. Woods. Maybe one day but wih a few million men out there during WW1 , there are bound to be some look alikes, I even found one looking like my father with a bunch of "disreputable" soldiers pulling MG carts. Colin, Why the interest in this particular photograph? Did you think it could be one of your relatives??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 1 October , 2007 Author Share Posted 1 October , 2007 No Katie , no relative of mine, I became involved some years ago re. the Sgt. Woods episode being a resident of my home town, at about the same time I was researching my grandfathers death & became involved with the IWM & especially Mr Smithers. It became a sort of exercise & it was more or less proved that Sgt. Woods could not have been the soldier in question. It is a picture that has fascinated me since I first saw it & with my small involvement being a local matter , it would be a welcome resolution to the interest shown. He is still an unknown ! Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linden Posted 1 October , 2007 Share Posted 1 October , 2007 No Katie , no relative of mine, I became involved some years ago re. the Sgt. Woods episode being a resident of my home town, at about the same time I was researching my grandfathers death & became involved with the IWM & especially Mr Smithers. It became a sort of exercise & it was more or less proved that Sgt. Woods could not have been the soldier in question. It is a picture that has fascinated me since I first saw it & with my small involvement being a local matter , it would be a welcome resolution to the interest shown. He is still an unknown ! Colin The BBC series on The Great War opened with a photo of a man standing in a trench (I think he was smoking) looking at the camera . I seem to remember that there was a lot of correspondence in the Radio Times about who he was . I believe that this man was identified and that he came from Sheffield . I guess that in the mid '60's there would have still been people who knew him . Linden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootrock Posted 1 October , 2007 Share Posted 1 October , 2007 It was well known to the family of friends of mine that the man carrying a wounded comrade down a trench was called Stephen Bishop. Further research in the last year or so showed that Stephen Bishop was killed in 1915, so could not possibly be the man. I wonder how many other families claim him as a relative! Regards, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 1 October , 2007 Share Posted 1 October , 2007 As I was involved in researching Sgt. Woods some years ago & I think proved he was not the correct person in the shot I was interested, the soldier is still unknown & I doubt if he ever will be now. Colin, we have had many interesting dicsussions concerning the claimed or possible identity of this man. Sgt. Woods was named in an IWM booklet which accompanied the video version of the film in the 1980s. The booklet said that the museum had received a letter from his daughter, identifying him. Of course, there have been lots of people who have identified the soldier in a similar way - by looking at the photo and saying, "That's my Dad/Grandad/Uncle" etc. However, most of these claims can be discounted because they involve soldiers who were not in the right part of the battlefield at the time, or who were not in the same country at the time, or, as Martin has mentioned, had died before the picture was taken. But Sgt. Woods, if I remember correctly, was in a unit which would have placed him in the right place at the right time. But so were many thousands of others! How did you manage to disprove the claim that he was the man in the photo? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulsten Posted 1 October , 2007 Share Posted 1 October , 2007 Hmm, my father always said it was his father who knows Pte Harold Mayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 1 October , 2007 Author Share Posted 1 October , 2007 Hello Tom, Sgt. Woods was according to his unit history in the 11th. Div. which arrived in France early July (2nd) but were not assembled until mid July. According to a family member his mid. East service was never mentioned, nor did he ever make a pronouncement on the picture himself. The unit history is to say the least a little difficult to read but he apparently went to the 17th. W. Yorks in Sept.1916(35th. Div. ) Pictures of him taken , especially those later could not prove one way or another , although I do have one taken near to or at the end of the war. I might add that the lady who first claimed Sgt. Woods as her relative was not advised of the results of the enquiry, the IWM agreed with my thoughts.! As we all know individuals could & were attached etc. however according to the IWM there are still many more claims being presented, some more likely but at present he is still unknown. According to Mallins report the same man along with another rescued many more men that day, cause for a citation?? Many received one for much less, maybe we should be looking for a man who possibly received one? If you can make more sense of his unit history, I have it. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 1 October , 2007 Author Share Posted 1 October , 2007 Which unit was your grandfather in Wulsten? Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 1 October , 2007 Share Posted 1 October , 2007 Thanks, Colin, for such an interesting reply. I had read about the claim that the man in the picture was Sgt. woods but hadn't looked into it at all. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 1 October , 2007 Author Share Posted 1 October , 2007 Hi Tom, If ever you want sight of the Woods info.his records etc. let me know, it will have to be via normal e mail, too large for the forum . By the way I e mailed your site, no reply ? Cheers. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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