Postcards

[CorporalPunishment]

43 minutes ago, Toby Brayley said:

 

 

He is wearing the SD cap introduced in 1905 but still has early accoutrements, Mk1 SMLE etc.  I would place this pre 1908... so c1905-1908. 

 

For this era and what I assume is a Regular Btn he still has a mix of "outdated" kit. 

 

regards

Toby

Thank you very much. Pete.

[taylov]

 

Found this tatty PC in a box of cards I'd bought in auction 20+ years ago and never got round to sorting.  Dated July 1918.  The names had been written in pencil on the reverse but 100 years of a hard life in postcard terms have made it very difficult to read.  Top row - Read, Bayber or Burber, and Davies (MM)  Bottom pair - Ivy and Page.

 

Any ideas on the cap badge?  My first thought was London Regiment, the cross seems too slender for RB or KRRC.

 

Tony

 

 

 

[wainfleet]

With that voided centre, I think it has to be the 9h Londons, QVR.

[CorporalPunishment]

The cap badges look to have the stringed bugle in the voided centre so they are either KRRC or 6th Londons. My money is on KRRC.

[Derek Black]

32 minutes ago, CorporalPunishment said:

The cap badges look to have the stringed bugle in the voided centre so they are either KRRC or 6th Londons. My money is on KRRC.

I reckon the void spaces look more like that of the KRRC too.

 

 

[MBrockway]

The cross arms look too bare to have the battle honours, so I'd go London Regt not KRRC.

 

6/LR, 9/LR and 11/LR all had voided centres with the strung bugle.

 

I'll see which of the names is in my KRRC database.

 

Mark

 

Edited 28 November , 2018 by MBrockway

[MBrockway]

At least 8 MMs awarded to 'DAVIES' or 'DAVIS' in the KRRC, one of whom also was awarded a Bar.

 

No 'IVY' in my KRRC database, but I do have an 'IVEY' two 'IVE' and several 'IVES'.

 

Unsurpriingly I have plenty of 'PAGE', 'READ' and 'BARBER', though no 'BURBER' nor 'BAYBER'.

 

Any chance you could scan the reverse so we can see the actual writing of these names?

 

I'd like to see the squiggles myself before digging any further

 

Mark

[MBrockway]

Lack of three-decker LR TF shoulder titles perhaps swings one back towards the 60th

[Derek Black]

27 minutes ago, MBrockway said:

The cross arms look too bare to have the battle honours, so I'd go London Regt not KRRC.

The men standing at centre and right have less glare on their badge and they do seem "busy", so possibly there is battle honours on them.

 

Derek

[MBrockway]

4 minutes ago, Derek Black said:

The men standing at centre and right have less glare on their badge and they do seem "busy", so possibly there is battle honours on them.

 

Derek

 

It's notoriously difficult to differentiate based on the battle honours alone unless the image is really crisp ... and it isn't here

 

I'm far from certain either way.

 

Lack of ST's is *probably* more common in the 60th than in the LR, but there's no red felt backing to the cap badge.

 

Shame the names are not more unusual.

Mark

 

Edited 28 November , 2018 by MBrockway

[CorporalPunishment]

37 minutes ago, MBrockway said:

The cross arms look too bare to have the battle honours, so I'd go London Regt not KRRC.

 

6/LR, 9/LR and 11/LR all had voided centres with the strung bugle.

 

I'll see which of the names is in my KRRC database.

 

Mark

 

9th Londons had Saint George and Dragon in the centre, not the stringed bugle. 11th Londons had a smaller badge than those in the photo.

[MBrockway]

33 minutes ago, CorporalPunishment said:

9th Londons had Saint George and Dragon in the centre, not the stringed bugle.

Ooops - rushing

 

It can sometimes be hard to tell whether St George or the bugle, but in this case it's definitely NOT St George - too symmetrical.  We can rule out the QVR.

 

 

Edited 28 November , 2018 by MBrockway

[taylov]

1 hour ago, MBrockway said:

Any chance you could scan the reverse so we can see the actual writing of these names?

 

I'd like to see the squiggles myself before digging any further

 

Mark

 

Mark, 

 

Have tried to get a image but failed with both scanner and camera. The names have been printed in very feint pencil on the rear of the card and are almost impossibly to see as they are, let alone copy.

 

Tony

[MBrockway]

2 minutes ago, taylov said:

 

Mark, 

 

Have tried to get a image but failed with both scanner and camera. The names have been printed in very feint pencil on the rear of the card and are almost impossibly to see as they are, let alone copy.

 

Tony

 

OK Tony - thanks for trying anyway.  I'll push on with checking for the names you've given, but it'll be a day or so before I get time.

 

Looks all bar one is carrying the SBR Haversack with the metal stud on the shoulder sling that engages with the leather tab to shorten the sling to the Alert position, so that would give a date later than August 1916.  It also means the photo is likely to have been taken in theatre.

 

I think the PH Helmet satchel had three buttons to shorten the sling and was much more rudimentary.

[Derek Black]

3 hours ago, taylov said:

 

Mark, 

 

Have tried to get a image but failed with both scanner and camera. The names have been printed in very feint pencil on the rear of the card and are almost impossibly to see as they are, let alone copy.

 

Tony

Stick it in the scanner and post the resultant image.
Others may be able to manipulate the image to make the faded lettering more clear.

[Gardenerbill]

31 minutes ago, Derek Black said:

Stick it in the scanner and post the resultant image.
Others may be able to manipulate the image to make the faded lettering more clear.

Sometimes creating a negative version in photoshop works, as Derek says there are pals who can do that sort of thing.

[MBrockway]

14 hours ago, taylov said:

Top row - Read, Bayber or Burber, and Davies (MM)  Bottom pair - Ivy and Page.

Tony

 

 

Assuming the 8 MMs and 1 MM Bar to KRRC DAVIS or DAVIES is a complete list (which is by no means certain - it was built from the MM lists in the 1916, 1917 and 1918 KRRC Chronicles, which are not always 100% reliable), then three are to Riflemen rather than NCOs/WOs ...

 

R/900 Rfn Sidney Victor DAVIES, 11/KRRC.  Born Shrewsbury, enlisted Birmingham. DOW 17 Sep 1916

R/37196 Rfn Frank E DAVIES, 2/KRRC. From Eltham.  Enlisted 25 Jan 1917, Discharged 31 Jan 1919 due to Wounds, with SWB.

R/37896 Rfn Joseph C DAVIS. On BWM&VM roll as 12/KRRC, but his MM MIC gives 13/KRRC and a Rfn J DAVIS is listed as MM recipient in 13/KRRC in the 1918 KRRC Chronicle.

6789

I then tried to cross reference these three against the other names in an attempt to identify a battalion in common.

 

This rapidly became a huge task - there are 65 x PAGE in my database and 59 x READ.  READ has L/Cpl stripes up, but that's a rather volatile appointment, so I didn't feel justified in narrowing down the READs by rank.

 

I have no BAYBER nor BURBER, but plenty (x 48) of BARBER and some other minor variations that could conceivably fit faint and indistinct writing that looks like BAYBER.

 

I have no IVY, but there is 54298 Rfn Reginald J. IVEY, 16/KRRC - no real help matching against DAVIS/DAVIES from 2/KRRC, 11/KRRC or 13/KRRC.

 

Since four of the five are carrying SBRs, they are likely to be in theatre, so, as together simultaneously, also likely to be in the same battalion.  I have considered a replenishment draft at the IBD, but an MM holder would then need to be a returning wounded and he has no wound stripe up.  Our approximate 'earliest' date of August 1916 based on the SBRs, would also be about the time that Wound Stripes began to appear, though I'm sure retrospective distribution went on well into the autumn, so one could just about make a case.

 

I'm not sure whether it is practicable to take this further without further clues - is there anything else visible on the reverse?

 

Mark

 

 

[Toby Brayley]

Fusiliers on a route march.  Hooked Quillons and converted GS Haversacks in use on the 08 Web Equipment, pre-war or early war. 

[FROGSMILE]

They have the look of Territorials to my eyes.  That might also explain the obsolescent items of equipment.

[taylov]

14 hours ago, MBrockway said:

 

Assuming the 8 MMs and 1 MM Bar to KRRC DAVIS or DAVIES is a complete list (which is by no means certain - it was built from the MM lists in the 1916, 1917 and 1918 KRRC Chronicles, which are not always 100% reliable), then three are to Riflemen rather than NCOs/WOs ...

 

R/900 Rfn Sidney Victor DAVIES, 11/KRRC.  Born Shrewsbury, enlisted Birmingham. DOW 17 Sep 1916

R/37196 Rfn Frank E DAVIES, 2/KRRC. From Eltham.  Enlisted 25 Jan 1917, Discharged 31 Jan 1919 due to Wounds, with SWB.

R/37896 Rfn Joseph C DAVIS. On BWM&VM roll as 12/KRRC, but his MM MIC gives 13/KRRC and a Rfn J DAVIS is listed as MM recipient in 13/KRRC in the 1918 KRRC Chronicle.

6789

I then tried to cross reference these three against the other names in an attempt to identify a battalion in common.

 

This rapidly became a huge task - there are 65 x PAGE in my database and 59 x READ.  READ has L/Cpl stripes up, but that's a rather volatile appointment, so I didn't feel justified in narrowing down the READs by rank.

 

I have no BAYBER nor BURBER, but plenty (x 48) of BARBER and some other minor variations that could conceivably fit faint and indistinct writing that looks like BAYBER.

 

I have no IVY, but there is 54298 Rfn Reginald J. IVEY, 16/KRRC - no real help matching against DAVIS/DAVIES from 2/KRRC, 11/KRRC or 13/KRRC.

 

Since four of the five are carrying SBRs, they are likely to be in theatre, so, as together simultaneously, also likely to be in the same battalion.  I have considered a replenishment draft at the IBD, but an MM holder would then need to be a returning wounded and he has no wound stripe up.  Our approximate 'earliest' date of August 1916 based on the SBRs, would also be about the time that Wound Stripes began to appear, though I'm sure retrospective distribution went on well into the autumn, so one could just about make a case.

 

I'm not sure whether it is practicable to take this further without further clues - is there anything else visible on the reverse?

 

Mark

 

 

Mark et al,

 

Many, many thanks for all your help.  I'm going to try and play around with various filters to see if I can get a useable image of the reverse of the card.

 

In the meantime here's a less than glorious image of WW1.   In this case we have a definite name - Laurence Slater of Coney Lane, Keighley is the "gentleman" with the knife at bottom left. Sadly no location, but a super scene in "Life in the A.S.C."

[GWF1967]

38 minutes ago, taylov said:

Mark et al,

 

Many, many thanks for all your help.  I'm going to try and play around with various filters to see if I can get a useable image of the reverse of the card.

 

In the meantime here's a less than glorious image of WW1.   In this case we have a definite name - Laurence Slater of Coney Lane, Keighley is the "gentleman" with the knife at bottom left. Sadly no location, but a super scene in "Life in the A.S.C."

Super indeed. 

[Jools mckenna]

Studio photos of crewmen of the SMS Westfalen in Wilhelmshaven.

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, taylov said:

Mark et al,

 

Many, many thanks for all your help.  I'm going to try and play around with various filters to see if I can get a useable image of the reverse of the card.

 

In the meantime here's a less than glorious image of WW1.   In this case we have a definite name - Laurence Slater of Coney Lane, Keighley is the "gentleman" with the knife at bottom left. Sadly no location, but a super scene in "Life in the A.S.C."

 

Slater must have been a ASC Butcher going by the confident manner he has with that joint of ham and a carving knife.  Some iconic rations in the middle, plum and apple jam, corned (‘bully’) beef and margarine.  I can’t make out what the wooden object is at far right.

[Muerrisch]

1 hour ago, Jools mckenna said:

Studio photos of crewmen of the SMS Westfalen in Wilhelmshaven.

What rank is the second man please?

[Jools mckenna]

1 minute ago, Muerrisch said:

What rank is the second man please?

No idea