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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Badge/unit i.d wanted


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Posted

Hello,and thanks for looking.

The attatched picture is meant to be a chap called Doug Bolwell,lived in Corsham,Wilts, then moved later to Pill, near Bristol.

He married a distant relative.

Can anyone identify the regiment so i can trace his military career?

Many thanks as usual,

Paul.

post-16679-1224179130.jpg

Posted

Hello,

To me, it look like East Surrey regiment.

Regards

David

Posted

Can only find one Douglas Bolwell on the MICs who served as a Pte. with the SLI and Ox & Bucks LI, the badge is neither of these regiments. He's evidently served overseas and being wounded, (note the wound stripe). Badge looks like Cheshires, there doesn't appear to be a crown on top. Any chance of a closer look frogturn?

Jon

Posted

Only one Douglas Bolwell on Ancestry MICs served as 20596 Somerset Light Inf and 30498 Ox and Bucks. Also 11 pages of burnt service records with an address in Pill he was 20 and a bit years old. Ralph.

Posted

Looks like it could be the man then Ralph B)

Jon

Posted

<------ Not East Surreys.

I agree with Cheshires.

Posted

Scroll is too long for East Surrey - it curves more at the ends and finishes on the points of the star at the sides for ES.

Posted
Posted

Pals,

As luck would have it, I've just been looking at a similar Q in another topic, so these pics were all close to hand ...

Ox & Bucks LI ..................................... Somerset LI .................................... Cheshires

post-20192-1224345143.jpg - post-20192-1224345166.jpg - post-20192-1224345204.jpg

'Zoom in' of Paul's original (sorry about quality!)

post-20192-1224345972.jpg

Cheshires is definitely the closest of the these three, but I wouldn't stake the house on it :D

HTH

Cheers,

Mark

Posted

I'd say Worcester. I think the "Firm" scroll stans out at the bottom of the lowest point of the star.

Posted

OK Pals,

Speaking personally, I can't see a light infantry/rifles strung bugle in our badge, so if we're agreed that the photo shows a Garter Star with a scroll underneath, and here's the original as a reminder ...

post-20192-1224351124.jpg

then these are the most obvious candidates ...

East Surreys ............. Cheshires ....................... Worcestershire Regt ........... Bedfords & Herts ....... Royal Sussex Regt

post-20192-1224350285.jpg-post-20192-1224350469.jpg-post-20192-1224350306.jpg-post-20192-1224350499.jpg-post-20192-1224350887.jpg

I agree with the early posts that we can eliminate the East Surreys as the arc of the scroll is too flat and the scroll ends don't come up far enough to meet the points of the star.

The Royal Sussex can be eliminated because the Rousillon Plume is missing (as far as we can tell) and the badge is too wide anyway.

The Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire can go as there's no sign of the maltese cross.

That leaves the Cheshires and the Worcestershires. Very hard to be certain, but I think the right hand end of the scroll in our badge seems to be that tiny bit flatter, and there's a hint of the square "Firm" motto box on the bottom point of the Star - both of which make me now inclined to go along with Mr Broomfield and plump for the Worcesters :rolleyes: Good call Steven!

Whatever we pick, the Garter Star and scroll is nowhere near either the OBLI or the SLI, but we clearly have a strong ID from the MIC and Ancestry Service Records of our Douglas Bolwell with connections to Pill near Bristol being Douglas Bolwell 20596 Somerset LI and later 30498 Ox & Bucks LI with same.

The man in the photo is definitely not wearing a cap badge of either OBLI or SLI, so I'd say there's a strong chance the photo is not of Douglas Boldwell :huh:

What's everyone else think?

Cheers,

Mark

Posted

Ok Mark.Since you put it like that,i go with Worcesters.It was fun guessing.

Mike

Posted

It does indeed look very like the badge of the Worcestershire Regt at that time.

post-599-1224359414.jpg

Posted

Is there a "Slightly smug smile" smiley?

Posted
Ok Mark.Since you put it like that,i go with Worcesters.It was fun guessing.

Mike

Certainly was, Mike!

But we've still got a conundrum: a photo of a man in the Worcesters, and medals and Service Records for a man in the Ox & Bucks and the Somerset LI ... with a connection to Pill that seems too unlikely to be mere coincidence!

I spent some time trying to connect anyone called Bolwell (& quite a few likely typos/misspellings) with the Worcesters, but got nowhere :mellow:

Paul - how certain are you that this photo is definitely Douglas Bolwell? And do you know of another relative who served in the Worcestershire Regiment?

Cheers,

Mark

Posted
The attatched picture is meant to be a chap called Doug Bolwell

Probably not our man then.

Steven, you can't be smug with legs like that :P The ends of the scrolls are quite distinctive and looking at the above pics I have to agree that.....errrr.....errrr.....your right

Jon

Posted

He looks pretty relaxed in photo,maybe he was " 'avin a laff ".Possibly wearing a mates cap,so that in 90 yrs time guys like us could get into a lather trying to figure it out.

Mike.

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