Postcards

[FROGSMILE]

8 minutes ago, lucycutler said:

Yes they do have a resemblence.  Sadly no idea whatsoever who they were though 

 

I wonder how many of them survived.

 

From Long Long Trail:

 

1/1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment.

 

August 1914 : in Hereford. Part of the Welsh Border Brigade in the Welsh Division. Moved on mobilisation to Pembroke Dock but soon to Oswestry and by the end of the month was at Irchester and Rushden.  Moved on to Bury St Edmunds in December 1914.

24 April 1915 : transferred to North Wales Brigade in same Division. Moved to Bedford in May 1915.

13 May 1915 : formation became 158th Brigade in 53rd (Welsh) Division.

16 July 1915 : embarked at Devonport on SS Euripedes. There were 29 officers and 969 other ranks. On reaching Port Said the Bn was reduced to 25 officers and 750 ORs and these men went on to land at ‘C’ beach at Suvla Bay on Gallipoli at 7.20am on 9 August 1915. Their divisional artillery had been left behind in England under orders for France, and the Division had no other wheeled transport and no horses.

12 December 1915 : evacuated from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt.

1 June 1918 : left the Division and moved via Italy to France, landing at Taranto (Italy) on 22 June 1918.

30 June 1918 : moved to Proven and came under command of 102nd Brigade in 34th Division.  

 

For their part in the landing at Suvla Bay on 9 August 1915 the battalion was mentioned in despatches by General Sir Ian Hamilton. …….the 1st/1st Herefordshire, which attacked with impetuosity and courage between Hetman Chair and Kaslar Chair about Azmak Dere on the extreme right of his line.

Edited 28 April , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[lucycutler]

25 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

 

I wonder how many of them survived.

 

From Long Long Trail:

 

1/1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment.

 

August 1914 : in Hereford. Part of the Welsh Border Brigade in the Welsh Division. Moved on mobilisation to Pembroke Dock but soon to Oswestry and by the end of the month was at Irchester and Rushden.  Moved on to Bury St Edmunds in December 1914.

24 April 1915 : transferred to North Wales Brigade in same Division. Moved to Bedford in May 1915.

13 May 1915 : formation became 158th Brigade in 53rd (Welsh) Division.

16 July 1915 : embarked at Devonport on SS Euripedes. There were 29 officers and 969 other ranks. On reaching Port Said the Bn was reduced to 25 officers and 750 ORs and these men went on to land at ‘C’ beach at Suvla Bay on Gallipoli at 7.20am on 9 August 1915. Their divisional artillery had been left behind in England under orders for France, and the Division had no other wheeled transport and no horses.

12 December 1915 : evacuated from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt.

1 June 1918 : left the Division and moved via Italy to France, landing at Taranto (Italy) on 22 June 1918.

30 June 1918 : moved to Proven and came under command of 102nd Brigade in 34th Division.  

 

For their part in the landing at Suvla Bay on 9 August 1915 the battalion was mentioned in despatches by General Sir Ian Hamilton. …….the 1st/1st Herefordshire, which attacked with impetuosity and courage between Hetman Chair and Kaslar Chair about Azmak Dere on the extreme right of his line.

 

They could have been part of the batch that was transferred into the 11th Border Reg (Lonsdales) in 1916 along with my Great Uncle.  Coincidentaly, he did have a Brother-in-Law who went to Gallipoli with the 1/1st Herefords, came home and survived the War ok. Not in this picture though.

[Dave1418]

On 27/04/2020 at 14:59, FROGSMILE said:

I think the point that I was trying to make is that in the early stages of the war wrist watches were not common for  other ranks, this is a fact well recorded in the numismatic world and you can read much about it in various sources.  Apparently it was the purchase by officers of wrist watches that began the vogue for them, not least because they left both hands free when reading the time in a way that pocket watches did not.  One can easily visualise in one’s mind the junior officer getting ready to go ‘over the top’ with one hand on the ladder ready to depart the trench, a pistol in the other hand, and perhaps infantry whistle held between pursed lips, whilst at the same time observing his wrist watch and counting down the seconds towards zero hour. Something clearly not possible with a pocket watch, so it’s easily apparent why the wrist watch became popular.  The size of the Army increased exponentially over the succeeding years, and demand for wrist watches increased, as did supply to match it and, as time went on, mass production made such watches cheaper and within the reach of soldiers, especially those of the middle classes who flocked to the colours initially and who were then conscripted too.  Classes of men who could afford such things in the way that the largely working class Tommy of 1914 could not.  Added to that came the well paid Australian and Canadian troops, who added to the demand for what was clearly the most practical timepiece in the operational conditions that confronted them.  There is thus considerable nuance when considering this subject, and to say that the basic fact that wrist watches were not initially affordable has been “squashed” is overstating the situation.  It was a movable feast, and as with other technologies like, e.g. the machine gun, the situation in 1918 was nothing like that of 1914.  It is this that I was referring to in my initial comment.

 True and progressing on from the above

As a stop gap numerous pocket watches were place into custom made leather watch holders to be worn on the wrist, these came in a variety of sizes from the 1” to the standard large pocket watch size. There was also the conversion of pocket watches by have loops soldered to the sides and are identified by the position of the winder which sat at 12 o’clock and not 3 o’clock on the standard wrist watch that we now know

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, lucycutler said:

 

They could have been part of the batch that was transferred into the 11th Border Reg (Lonsdales) in 1916 along with my Great Uncle.  

 

That seems entirely conceivable, so many drafts were redirected from the Infantry Base Depots to wherever they were most needed, regardless of their original cap badge.

[FROGSMILE]

54 minutes ago, Dave1418 said:

 True and progressing on from the above

As a stop gap numerous pocket watches were place into custom made leather watch holders to be worn on the wrist, these came in a variety of sizes from the 1” to the standard large pocket watch size. There was also the conversion of pocket watches by have loops soldered to the sides and are identified by the position of the winder which sat at 12 o’clock and not 3 o’clock on the standard wrist watch that we now know

 

Yes, that is also a significant point Dave.

Edited 28 April , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[lucycutler]

3 hours ago, Buffnut453 said:

 

Yeah...small world.  Here's a pic of my relative, George Gamble (I've posted it before but it's one of my favourite family photos...so I'm sharing it again!  ).  He's a first cousin twice removed, so not a particularly close relative.  However, his family lived (literally) across the street from my Great-Grandma.  She was George's aunt.  George went to Salonika in November 1915, was commissioned in the summer of 1917 and died on 24 Sep 1917 of wounds sustained in action the night before.  

 

 

Lovely picture Buffnut.  Very smart chap!

[GWF1967]

5 hours ago, Buffnut453 said:

 

Yeah...small world.  Here's a pic of my relative, George Gamble.  

 

Hi Buffnut. Any idea what the armband he is wearing is for?

[Buffnut453]

4 minutes ago, GWF1967 said:

Hi Buffnut. Any idea what the armband he is wearing is for?

 

Not a clue, I'm afraid.  I thought it might be for a funeral but I can't find any relatives who died in the right timeframe.  The photo dates from the period 27 June to 12 August 1917 (based on his commissioning date and his arrival in France).  The image was taken while George was home on leave (the photographer's embossed stamp is visible in the bottom right corner, showing it was taken in his home town).    

[GWF1967]

5 minutes ago, Buffnut453 said:

 

Not a clue, I'm afraid.  I thought it might be for a funeral but I can't find any relatives who died in the right timeframe.  The photo dates from the period 27 June to 12 August 1917 (based on his commissioning date and his arrival in France).  The image was taken while George was home on leave (the photographer's embossed stamp is visible in the bottom right corner, showing it was taken in his home town).    

Thanks, I noticed the photographer’s stamp whilst looking at the texture of the armband. 

[kenf48]

It need not necessarily be for a family member, it may have been a comrade..  Officers were allowed to wear a black crepe armband as a sign of personal mourning, other ranks wore a small square of black crepe around the second button of their tunic.

 

Ken 

[GWF1967]

12 hours ago, kenf48 said:

It need not necessarily be for a family member, it may have been a comrade..  Officers were allowed to wear a black crepe armband as a sign of personal mourning, other ranks wore a small square of black crepe around the second button of their tunic.

 

Ken 

Thanks Ken. I have several postcards showing mourning buttons, but I’d never seen an officers armband before. 

[lucycutler]

Here's some interesting photos of a friend's relative.  Pte Sydney Walter Barrett,19121 Royal Irish Fusiliers & 95099 King's Liverpool Regiment.  As the pictures show, Sydney lost his right eye.  In the photo of him in his uniform wearing glasses, a 'false eye' has been painted on the inside of the spectacle lens.  Apparently Sydney hated this as he felt that it gave him an odd appearance, preferring instead to use the eye patch.  Note also the wound stripes on his (and a friend's) sleeve.  A good example of soldiers transferring them to their civilian clothing. 

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

Superb images!  That’s the first time I’ve seen a photo of wound stripes on civilian clothes.  Thank you for posting.

[lucycutler]

3 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

Superb images!  That’s the first time I’ve seen a photo of wound stripes on civilian clothes.  Thank you for posting.

I read a comment somewhere else on the GWF about the wearing of wound stripes on civilian clothes.  Obviously they were very proud of having done their bit!

It's a pleasure to give something back to the Forum after all the help I've received. 

[FROGSMILE]

14 minutes ago, lucycutler said:

I read a comment somewhere else on the GWF about the wearing of wound stripes on civilian clothes.  Obviously they were very proud of having done their bit!

It's a pleasure to give something back to the Forum after all the help I've received. 

 

I love seeing photos from family archives that throw light on matters that you don't see in the average military history and that have often not been seen outside that family before.  There are many bad aspects of the internet, but this seems to me a useful reminder that there are some wonderful benefits too.

[lucycutler]

6 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

 

  There are many bad aspects of the internet, but this seems to me a useful reminder that there are some wonderful benefits too.

   

[RNCVR]

Lucy, 

Very nice photos, have never have seen a false eye painted on spectacles!!  Amazing it sure fooled me! 

I had to look at photo twice to get it, I thought he still had both eyes intact & wondered why he was wearing two wound stripes!

 

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Jools mckenna]

I can see why he preferred the eye patch tho!

[RNCVR]

I think it is amazing he survived, with the surgery of those times!

 

Thanks,

Bryan

[mark holden]

I can also see his medal ribbon, British War Medal I think, worn on the waistcoat.

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, RNCVR said:

Lucy, 

Very nice photos, have never have seen a false eye painted on spectacles!!  Amazing it sure fooled me! 

I had to look at photo twice to get it, I thought he still had both eyes intact & wondered why he was wearing two wound stripes!

 

Thanks,

Bryan

 

 

You might find interesting the details of a leading artist involved in creating such prosthetics here:

 

1.  https://wednesdayswomen.com/anna-coleman-ladd-repairing-wwis-broken-faces/

 

2.  https://www.boredpanda.com/face-portrait-masks-world-war-anna-coleman-ladd/

 

3.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01wq86d

Edited 29 April , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[lucycutler]

51 minutes ago, mark holden said:

I can also see his medal ribbon, British War Medal I think, worn on the waistcoat.

In the last photo I think both men are wearing the ribbon 

[RNCVR]

1 hour ago, mark holden said:

I can also see his medal ribbon, British War Medal I think, worn on the waistcoat.

 

 

& he would have the Victory ribbon also but hidden by his coat.

Agree, both appear to be wearing ribbons.

Edited 29 April , 2020 by RNCVR

[RNCVR]

Thanks for posting the prosthetic links Froggie, will certainly check them out.

 

Best wishes!

Bryan

[FROGSMILE]

5 minutes ago, RNCVR said:

Thanks for posting the prosthetic links Froggie, will certainly check them out.

 

Best wishes!

Bryan

Like you, at first I had not realised that artists were involved in such work.  
 

Best wishes to you too.

Edited 29 April , 2020 by FROGSMILE