Pre 1914 Medal Ribbon Identification

[alistair_m]

HI all,

Im looking for some assistance identifying the medal ribbon on the officer pictured below.

The image is taken from a group photograph of officers and non-uniformed individuals whom I believe to be the commanding officer and assistants from the Edinburgh University Battery. The photo, I believe was taken around 1912/13.

I am of the opinion that the officer shown is one Capt John Edwin Mackenzie, however, identification of his medal ribbon would serve to confirm this. From the records I have Mackenzie served with the Highland Artillery Volunteers in 1890 and the Bombay Light Horse in 1906-7. So Im assuming this ribbon would be from bewteen those dates - if it is indeed him.

If I can confirm that this is Mackenzie, then the rest of the individuals in the photograph will begin to fall into place.

Many thanks

[yellow]

It looks to me, like an over exposed medal for 1911. Which of the 1911 medals it is will have to be confirmed via medal rolls. The Indian Army connection has caused my indecision. I would not like to commit myself at this early stage.

[jay dubaya]

Could it be the 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal?

Jon

[gordon92]

Could it be the 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal?

Jon

Looks to me like the Delhi Durbar medal also. The powder blue background comes through as white and the red stripes as dark. The Delhi Durbar Program indicates that several brigades of RHA and RFA plus Mountain Batteries took part, thus, entirely consistent with the Royal Artillery badge on the original photo.

[yellow]

Now that I have the full story..........

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/1955/JR/jr9550003565

It is in my opinion the 1911 Coronation Medal. This gentleman was working in Scotland in 1911. If Richard sees this he should be able to find the roll entry for you.

[Old Owl]

I agree, this is either the 1911 Coronation Medal or 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal ribbon.

As the officer is quite clearly a Territorial officer, then this, I believe, will exclude the Delhi Durbar part of the equation.

Robert

[MBrockway]

I agree with 1911 Coronation Medal.

The strange tonal anomalies are almost certainly due to orthochromatic film, which makes bright yellows and reds appear nearly black, while blue tones appear much lighter than perceived in reality.

Modern panchromatic film started to appear from 1910, but did not come into general use until much later, well after the war.

Orthochromatic film is a serious trap for the uninitiated when it comes to interpreting medal ribbons and tartans.

Chris (4thgordons), myself and others did an extensive Topic in this the other year.

[alistair_m]

Thanks very much again for all the help with this topic. Having played around with some images of both 1911 Cornonation Medal and the Delhi Durbar, it looks more likely that the Coronation medal is the one, as far as I can work out.

Robert, you stated "As the officer is quite clearly a Territorial officer" - what detail is it that gives that away? I noticed that the collars on the uniforms are slightly different to what Ive seen before and did wonder why that would be...

Having suggested that John Edwin Mackenzie is the most likely candidate for this picture, Im now faced with another potential - one Captain Herbert Howden. Both seem to have been Officer Commanding the Edinburgh University OTC round about that time. The deciding factor seems to be when the picture was taken. Prior to 18th August 1912, Howden was a Captain and Mackenzie was a Lt. At that date, they were both promoted. As the individual in the picture is a Captain it seems to be a case of either/or....!

Ive attached the whole picture for interest..

Thanks again

Alistair

[yellow]

T badges on the collars, denoting Territorial Force.

[MBrockway]

Here's a link to that ancient topic where we experimented with reproducing the strange and surprising tones of orthochromatic film.

Read from this post onwards: Ortho vs colour vs panchromatic

And a similar experiment by Chris on the rendering of the yellow stripe in the Gordon tartan: Gordons kilt and tunic

Yellows and reds are particularly strange under orthochromatic film.