JohnSwan Posted 13 February , 2011 Share Posted 13 February , 2011 I have large number of postcards that my grandfather posted or sent back to his sweetheart, my grandmother to be, as part of this collection there are some which appear to part of a set of British Official Photographs all numbered, the ones I have are listed below. My grandfather has put some additional information on the back of some of the cards but I have not yet worked through them to transcribe this information (job for the week!). Does anyone have any of the rest of the set and or additional information about them as I would like to know more? I am also trying to find possible dates for the pictures so that I can tie them into his personal dairy that I have almost finished writing up. Number Title No. 115 Turkish Prisoners from Palestine. No. 140 General allenby talking to the allies Attaches at Jerusalem. No. 142 The Imperial Camel Corps entering Beersheba. No. 143 One of the 5 Wells of Beersheba as left by the Turks, Palestine. No. 154 Making a new Road, Palestine. No. 157 The Mosque of ludd, Palestine. No. 172 The main street after the British occupation. Jericho, Palestine. No. 180 Pontoon Bridge over the Jordan at El-Ghoranieh, Palestine. No .181 Camel Transport Crossing the Pontoon Bridge over the Jordan, Palestine. No. 182 Es Salt; Australian Mounted Troops in the Main Street, Palestine. No. 183 London Troops approaching Es Salt at down, Palestine. No. 184 A Scottish Battalion Marching Through Es Salt, Plaestine. No. 186 General View on the Way to Es Salt, Palestine. No. 189 H.R.H. The Duke of Connault Decorating Sir Edmund allenby at Jerusalem. No. 196 In the village of Ain Karim. The bell tower is that of the Monastery of St. John, Palestine. No. 208 The Dead Sea near Jerusalem, Palestine. No. 213 The Tombs of Judges near Jerusalem, Palestine. No. 230 Natives of Es Salt, Palestine. No. 238 Inspection of London Troops after capture of Talat Ed Dumm, Palestine. No. 239 Remains of a Turkish Motor lorry -Jerusalem - Jerico road Palestine. Regards, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liliasodell Posted 13 February , 2011 Share Posted 13 February , 2011 I have a few of these photos - from my grandfather, particularly the first ones in your list. They were mostly 1917. You should get a copy of 'The Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force Under the Command of General Sir Edmund H H Allenby' - originally printed in 1919, but now in reprint (and a considerably more affordable price!). This gives a near day-by-day account, including who was where when. Takes a bit of working out, but it should give you most of the exact dates you want. Will your photo collection and diary be available for others to see at some point? I'd love a look. Best of luck Eljo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSwan Posted 13 February , 2011 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2011 Thanks for the advice on the book I have ordered it. The plan is to make it available to a wider audience but it is taking quite a while to work throught the information and get it into order and as yet I am not sure how to go about it as there might even be enough for a book. The diaries have taken over a year to type up as the writing is so small and in pencil, I still have to go back and check bits I had to miss because I was learning how he formed some of his letters, joined words together and the spelling of lots of place names. I am able to put a spurt on at the moment as I am off work recovering from an operation so I have started on the postcard album which I had only ever looked at the pictures before but now discovering little nuggets of information written on the back. Most wern't posted as a card it would appear that he either kept them and brought them back as a collection or they were sent with a letter or by some other means. The difficulty is going to be connecting the cards to the date in the diary so that I can get them in context and I also need to fill in the gap from September 1914 when he signed up to the first diary 1916 and the the first few months of 1919 until he came home as there is no 1919 diary. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liliasodell Posted 13 February , 2011 Share Posted 13 February , 2011 Hi Martin Big project! You might be able to fill in some gaps if you can get hold of the regimental war diaries. Do you have his records, or did the Blitz get them? There are a few private diaries knocking around, which sometimes can help with what was going on if they shared the same theatres. What was your grandfather's regiment? Mine was in the Warwickshire Yeomanry, then moved on to the Royal Warwicks, and finally the RASC until July 1919.. Eljo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSwan Posted 13 February , 2011 Author Share Posted 13 February , 2011 Hi Eljo, He was a private in the 2/14th London Regiment (London Scottish) and was batman to Capt L Bowker, I have his personal records i.e. the paper work that he had personal diaries etc., as for official records, where might I try to find these? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 14 February , 2011 Share Posted 14 February , 2011 Most of the named places you will be able to tie in with their mentions in the Official History or, as Eljo suggests, 'The Advance of the EEF etc etc" if you want a preview of the latter before your copy arrives then it is available online here http://www.archive.org/details/briefrecordofadv00grearich The visit of the King's uncle, the Duke of Connaught, took place in the spring of 1918. He spent several days in Palestine and as well as the investiture in Jerusalem, he was able to visit the Jordan Valley during the Es Salt raid towards the end of March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liliasodell Posted 16 February , 2011 Share Posted 16 February , 2011 Hi Martin - sorry for the delay getting back to you - I got waylaid! Most of the genealogical websites hold military personnel documents. The records are kept at the National Archives, and are indexed online, and may be available for purchase through them (you'd probably have to identify where they're filed through the website, then request a quote for them to be sent to you). If you let me have his full name, date of birth, army number (if you have it), any other bits of personal info you have (eg place of birth, next of kin's name, any other regiments he served in ... quite a few people were moved around), I can take a quick look - see if there are any records (I have a sub. to a genealogical site) - might save you a bit of time. Eljo.. Hi Eljo, He was a private in the 2/14th London Regiment (London Scottish) and was batman to Capt L Bowker, I have his personal records i.e. the paper work that he had personal diaries etc., as for official records, where might I try to find these? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSwan Posted 21 February , 2011 Author Share Posted 21 February , 2011 Eljo, I have an Ancestry subscription and have got his medal card which is good to go with the medals, but have not found much else. The book about the advance has arrived and it is good to be able to see the links with what is described in the book and what my grandfather has written in his diary, so far I have only hada a quick look at a few dates but it looks like it was a good recomendation thank you. Just in case you can find any thing else, his full name was John Swan Thomson, born 04th Mar 1892 served in the 2/14th London Regiment (London Scottish) his service number was 510424 (there is another number but can't put my hand on it at the moment) he joined 2nd Sept 1914 Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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