Can anybody identify this soldier's uniform please

[Phylly8]

Hello, can anybody identify the uniform this soldier is wearing please. If I can get some info regarding his uniform it may help me to work out who he is. I would appreciate any help I can get,

thank you

Phyl

[ATNOMIS]

Hi

Medal ribbon attached looks like AFGHANISTAN MEDAL 1878-80.

Great Picture.

Cheers

Atnomis

[bigronhartley]

Hello Phyl,

At the risk of being shot down in flames ! Possibly L Cpl Royal Engineers.

Regards

Ron

[Michael Johnson]

I'd say Royal Artillery. The pillbox band looks approximatley what yellow would come out to in a photo, and I have seen photographs of rank being worn on the pillbox.

[CT-Guards]

Engineers for me.

L/Cpl in home service frock coat.

[Phylly8]

Thank you for your responses. I have another photo of a group of soldiers who look like they are wearing the same uniform. Will this help with identification?

[Michael Johnson]

Well it depends on what device this is over the stripes. If it is a cannon, then they are Royal Artillery. If it's a grenade, then Royal Engineers.

[Phylly8]

Thanks Michael, can't make it out myself. Will see if I can play around with the photo a bit more.

[Phylly8]

Thank you Atnomis, that has given me some hope and somewhere to start looking. I think it may be my Great Grandfather Francis Andrews b1854 New Windsor. His father (also Francis Andrews) was a soldier (not sure what regiment etc) when he was married in 1842 and he was b1821 Wolverhampton. My Granny told me some stories of someone who had been to India etc and I was never sure who it was but it must have been her father. He was missing from the 1881 census but I have found him on all the others. The first photo I attached here was taken in Plymouth (It's also on a playing card with that info on the back) and I wondered how he had met my Great Grandmother who was born in Cornwall and was in Devon 1881 and had their first child 1890 in Cornwall. I had wondered about the ribbon on the photo and you have helped me out as I know nothing at all about soldiers and the army. Thank you again for pointing the way, at least now I know who he was and what campaign he was in and for dating the pic for me.

[Muerrisch]

second photo is pre-1881 in that GC badges are right cuff.

By the way, neither RA nor RA had lance-corporals.

One chevron was either RA bombardier, or RE second corporal, both full ranks, not lance ranks.

[Phylly8]

Thank you Grumpy, I will look out for either Bombardier or second corporal when I've worked out whether he's RA or RE,

[Muerrisch]

for what it is worth, looks like cannon and large crown over chevrons so RA. I think it is favourite, pre 1881.

[Michael Johnson]

Maybe this is why it doesn't look like a simple cannon:

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http...%26tbs%3Disch:1

[Phylly8]

Thanks to both Michael and Grumpy for your info. The picture of the badge helps. So it looks like he may be in the RA,

Thank you again,

[Muerrisch]

The link is to a very modern artefact, part of a 'we can do anything you can do better' which spread like a rash in recent years.

I think you will find the sergeant's badge is a Victoria crown over an ornate gun [always called the gun badge] complete with chain, handspike etc.