Unidentified regiment help request

[Guest]

I am researching family history and found a stack of old photos amongst an old aunt’s possessions when she passed away several years ago.  Unfortunately there were no names to the relatives in the photos and I would like to identify the regiment in this pic so I could eventually identify who this man could be.  I know I had two descendants who were cousins of my aunt.  One descendant was in the “Army Reserves” (I think he enlisted in Belfast 1897) the other descendant was in the RAF reinforcement wing(He died at Blandford Military Hospital in 1918) I am hoping someone on here could help.

[sotonmate]

A fair chance this is Northumberland Fusiliers, a bit too flat a flame on top to be Royal Fusiliers.

[FROGSMILE]

He is wearing the plain (unadorned) fuzed grenade of the Grenadier Guards (GG), but without a GG shoulder titles, or buttons, which is not usual.

Edited 13 November , 2019 by FROGSMILE

[Dave66]

Hard to see but there’s something on the very top of his sleeve.

[FROGSMILE]

5 minutes ago, Dave66 said:

Hard to see but there’s something on the very top of his sleeve.

 

Well spotted Dave!  It’s a Grenadier Guards cloth shoulder title.

Edited 13 November , 2019 by FROGSMILE

[JOVE23]

does he have the victory medal ribbon?

[FROGSMILE]

3 hours ago, JOVE23 said:

does he have the victory medal ribbon?

I think it’s a 1914/15 Star Ribbon.

Edited 14 November , 2019 by FROGSMILE

[Guest]

Thanks for this.  My relative who was in the Army Reserve moved to Wales after he married.  This certainly narrows it down and allows me to search for him in the medal records now I know what regiment he might have been in.

[Sepoy]

On 14/11/2019 at 08:21, FROGSMILE said:

I think it’s a 1914/15 Star Ribbon.

Or 1914 Star

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, Sepoy said:

Or 1914 Star

 
I meant either, or, Sepoy. Perhaps I’ve used the wrong terminology?

 

Edit:  I assume you mean those who served Aug to Nov received the 1914 star and those Dec 1914 to end 15 received the 1915-15 star.  The ribbon was of course the same, but with a rosette added to the ribbon (alone) for those who served Aug to Nov?

Edited 17 November , 2019 by FROGSMILE

[Sepoy]

On 17/11/2019 at 21:01, FROGSMILE said:

 
I meant either, or, Sepoy. Perhaps I’ve used the wrong terminology?

 

Edit:  I assume you mean those who served Aug to Nov received the 1914 star and those Dec 1914 to end 15 received the 1915-15 star.  The ribbon was of course the same, but with a rosette added to the ribbon (alone) for those who served Aug to Nov?

The 1914 Star was instituted during November, 1917 with the ribbon being issued for wear shortly afterwards. The 1914 - 15 Star was not instituted until December, 1918 with the ribbon issued for wear during 1919.

The "4th Aug - 22nd Nov 1914" sew-on clasp, for the 1914 Star, was not instituted until October, 1919, to mark out those who had been under fire or operated within the range of German mobile artillery. The silver rosette was issued to indicate that the recipient had received a date clasp. The clasps had to be claimed by those entitled with many not bothering.

The British War Medal was instituted during July, 1919, with the Victory Medal being instituted in September, 1919. It is not unusual just to see the ribbons for the 1914 or 1914-15 Stars and British War Medals being worn. (The British War Medal could be issued by itself, but the Stars could not be issued without the British War Medal and later the Victory Medal. The Victory Medal could not be issued separately but as a pair with the British War Medal, or trio with a Star and British War Medal.

Knowing that the "Allied" Victory Medal was to be issued, some ribbon manufacturers guessed what the ribbon would look like, producing a ribbon made up of the colours of the Allied Flags. One WW1 Veteran told me that this was retailed just prior to the London Victory Parade in 1919.  I bet the manufacturers were a little unhappy when the rainbow ribbon was adopted for the Victory Medal

Accordingly, the medal ribbons can be a useful aid in dating photographs.

[Sepoy]

Here are a couple of scans of ribbon bars to illustrate the "guessed" pattern of Victory Medal ribbon against the issued watered rainbow ribbon.

[FROGSMILE]

That’s a very interesting history, Sepoy. I did not know about the ‘guessing’ of ribbon design by prospective manufacturer’s trying to get ahead.

For the benefit of the original inquirer, I merely wished to say that the ribbon shown on the photo could, by appearance alone, be from either of the two medals.

Edited 20 November , 2019 by FROGSMILE