DCLI Officer

[max7474]

Any ideas? I think it must be pre 1918 as he was in France in 1914 and there is no medal ribbon - is this right? He was commissioned from the ranks.

[max7474]

medal card info

[tocemma]

medal card info

The date might be later than you think. In isolation it would be easy to put an early date to the photo. He has several early features ie cuff rank and the Officers version of the winter Service Dress Cap. I have some photgraphs dated to late 1918 of Major F A Waugh MC of the 8th Lincolnshire Regiment, wearing an almost identical rig. Not every Officer sported the latest 'styles' and some units stuck rigidly to the cuff rank and Sam Browne formal look until the end of the war.

His medal card tell us otherwise. It seems he was commisioned in March 1917, the picture most probably is a portrait taken at the time of his commisioning, as his uniform and accessories look quite new, the Sam Browne particularly so. He also has no overseas chevrons which he, as an Old Contemptible, would clearly have been entitled too another factor which points to a pre early 1918 date. My guess is sometime around March 1917 when he was commisioned. I Don't think the 1914 or 14/15 star ribbon, which I believe was the first to be worn, was being issued or worn until much later.

Regards

Tocemma

[max7474]

Thanks. he was a pre-war regular but I suspect that he ended up as an Officer in a Service Bn. There is a strong possibility that after being in France up to 1916, he went to Salonika.