Large framed photo

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

This is a link to the card in post #25

Wm. Hunt RFC 113946

[BFBSM]

I have looked at the 1939 Register on FindMyPast, and found one William Hunt living with his wife Constance in Salford, Manchester, at 26 Penelope Road, birth date 29 October 1900. Using these details I have found a Service Record, also on FindMyPast, for said William Hunt, same birth date, service number 155332, enlisted 3 October, 1917 at the age of 16 344/365 for the duration of the war, the service record shows his occupation as an Iron Turner. Father is shown as John Hunt of 33 Clyde(?) Street, Lawer Broughton(?).

 

Mark

[Andrew Upton]

5 hours ago, Steven Broomfield said:

 

So is the Norfolk-style jacket a pukka RAF uniform?

 

Yes - part of the 1918/1919 changes. The buttoned/belted section at the waist is very distinctive to it.

[Steven Broomfield]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Upton said:

 

Yes - part of the 1918/1919 changes. The buttoned/belted section at the waist is very distinctive to it.

 

Didn't know that. Thanks

On ‎19‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 12:11, wjones74 said:

I recall my dad telling me that he was told that chap , (who was extremely tall as you can see in the pic) ,  was from the Netherlands !

 

So given he was RFC/RAF, one assumes he was the Flying Dutchman.

[wjones74]

6 hours ago, BFBSM said:

I have looked at the 1939 Register on FindMyPast, and found one William Hunt living with his wife Constance in Salford, Manchester, at 26 Penelope Road, birth date 29 October 1900. Using these details I have found a Service Record, also on FindMyPast, for said William Hunt, same birth date, service number 155332, enlisted 3 October, 1917 at the age of 16 344/365 for the duration of the war, the service record shows his occupation as an Iron Turner. Father is shown as John Hunt of 33 Clyde(?) Street, Lawer Broughton(?).

 

Mark

Do you mean this 26 Penelope rd!,, wow thank you so much Mark and to you all for the superb info , I only happened to get my dad's birth cert this afternoon as I'm sadly taking over his affairs due to illness and can finally give him the details of his father's service etc. You are gentlemen ! 

[MBrockway]

On 19/06/2017 at 18:03, Old Owl said:

The front left looks like the BWM ribbon again <snip>

The photo dates from sometime prior to April 1918 as the rear right appears to be still wearing the RFC shoulder flash.

I am prepared to be proved wrong on all points, but this is purely my own opinion.

 

Robert

Not entirely relevant to the man in question, but front left also has dark buttons.  My first impression was a rifles button as I *thought* I could see a faint hint of the rifles strung bugle, so suggesting he could be a recent transferee originally from KRR or Rifle Brigade.  However after much eye strain, I think they're too rounded, so are probably the leather "football" buttons, which would be more typical for an RFC man.

 

I tend to agree with Andrew about the BWM ribbon pointing to a date later than Apr 1918.

 

Like Robert, purely my own opinion and prepared to be shot down

 

Mark

[Andrew Upton]

7 hours ago, MBrockway said:

Not entirely relevant to the man in question, but front left also has dark buttons.  My first impression was a rifles button as I *thought* I could see a faint hint of the rifles strung bugle, so suggesting he could be a recent transferee originally from KRR or Rifle Brigade.  However after much eye strain, I think they're too rounded, so are probably the leather "football" buttons, which would be more typical for an RFC man.

 

I tend to agree with Andrew about the BWM ribbon pointing to a date later than Apr 1918.

 

Pressed leather RAF pattern buttons were used on these early RAF specific uniforms alongside the gilt metal equivalent - seeing a mix of the two styles is not uncommon. I presume the 1918 is a typo as well for 1919... 

[MBrockway]

1 hour ago, Andrew Upton said:

 

Pressed leather RAF pattern buttons were used on these early RAF specific uniforms alongside the gilt metal equivalent - seeing a mix of the two styles is not uncommon. I presume the 1918 is a typo as well for 1919... 

Thanks for the info on the RAF buttons.  Useful addition to the various other buttons that can be mistaken for rifles buttons, though there should be plenty of other clues with RAF personnel.  I'll try to get round to updating this into the rifles buttons topic

 

Re 1918, no typo - I was disagreeing with Robert/Old Owl's "sometime prior to April 1918" date back in Post #16, viz

Quote

The photo dates from sometime prior to April 1918 as the rear right appears to be still wearing the RFC shoulder flash

 

As you say, clearly it must be 1919 or later due to the BWM & VM ribbons up.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Andrew Upton]

14 hours ago, MBrockway said:

Thanks for the info on the RAF buttons.  Useful addition to the various other buttons that can be mistaken for rifles buttons, though there should be plenty of other clues with RAF personnel.  I'll try to get round to updating this into the rifles buttons topic

 

Re 1918, no typo - I was disagreeing with Robert/Old Owl's "sometime prior to April 1918" date back in Post #16, viz

 

As you say, clearly it must be 1919 or later due to the BWM & VM ribbons up.

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

My apologies on the typo then - it is actually the total lack of VM ribbons versus the presence of some BWM ribbons that would tend to tie the date down to mid/late 1919 quite nicely.

 

On the buttons, I am not surprised the leather version RAF buttons are little known, as even the gilt version adopted in 1918 by the RAF (copying the earlier RNAS button) is relatively scarce today. Pressed leather GS buttons which were relatively common in the period by comparison do not wear well in use or easily survive the subsequent passage of time and are rather uncommon as a result, and consequently their RAF equivalent is a rare survivor. Luckily for me, a car-boot find quite a few years ago yielded the following example pictured top-right for the princely sum of £1 (and a huge bag of buttons including GS and KRRC buttons to boot...)  :

 

https://postimg.org/image/9xnxjs8nz/

 

 

 

 

Edited 21 June , 2017 by Andrew Upton

[MBrockway]

Excellent images Andrew - I'll definitely link these into the rifles buttons topic.  Much appreciated.

Mark