Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 According to Bateman's, the soldier is John. Only the soldier in the photograph is very clearly not an Irish Guards subaltern serving at Regimental Duty (which is what John was). So who is he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Taylor Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 I know RK had lots of guests to stay over time; many would be army officers. These included officers of his son's regiment so he could find out more about what happened to his son. It might be a wide cast unless there are dates. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 The man pictured isn't a Guardsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizmeRD Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Possibly George Louis St. Claire Bambridge who later married Elsie Kipling (pictured on the left) - his mother is pictured in the centre of the group. He started off in the Middlesex Regiment before transferring to the Irish Guards. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 (edited) Useful lead, thank you. Having seen a photograph of him in 1924 I don't think it is him. Edited 28 December , 2019 by Gareth Davies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Is this him, next to John? Points to note: he looks like him; but he’s a Guardsman; I don’t know his name anyway. https://alondonfamily.com/tag/george-bambridge/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 I agree with Gareth - here's a link to the 1924 picture of him; he looks older as well as having very different features.http://lafayette.org.uk/bam9242.html Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Hi All, The soldier on the right with his arm around John is a guardsman and looks like George Bambridge to me. This photo is from the same publication. 1 hour ago, Uncle George said: Is this him, next to John? Points to note: he looks like him; but he’s a Guardsman; I don’t know his name anyway. https://alondonfamily.com/tag/george-bambridge/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acknown Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 General comment. The officer in the photo is wearing gorget patches, indicating that he was on the general staff and/or a senior officer. If formally a IG officer, would he wear a 'normal' service dress once appointed/promoted to the staff? Acknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Hi Thanks Acknown, you've just answered my next question. Regards Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acknown Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 For what it's worth, I don't think he's Bambridge or any of the other officers shown above, and he looks to be at least in his 30s. Acknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 3 hours ago, KizmeRD said: Possibly George Louis St. Claire Bambridge who later married Elsie Kipling (pictured on the left) - his mother is pictured in the centre of the group. He started off in the Middlesex Regiment before transferring to the Irish Guards. Michael Hi All Confused.... George's mother, Ada Henrietta Baddeley died on 6th November, 1896, Brighton, Sussex. George was 4 yrs old at the time. ??? So who is the older female...looking Regards Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 (edited) Hi All Could it possibly be Elsie Kipling's brother John He certainly looks older than 18 in this picture and obviously Elsie is much younger in the OP than when she married in 1924. Regards Barry Edited 28 December , 2019 by The Inspector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 (edited) Hi Again Caroline Starr Balestier and her husband Rudyard Kipling. Regards Barry Edited 28 December , 2019 by The Inspector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KizmeRD Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Just seen the original photo online in the national trust collection, it says that the older lady is Mrs RK,and the young officr is John (Jack). http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/761463 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Yes, as stated in the OP. But the NT are wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 (edited) The officer in the OP doesn't in any way resemble John Kipling in any photos that I have seen. In those shots where he is in uniform (with or without glasses) John Kipling seems quite chubby. The man in the OP has a long thin face. Additionally, this man has his hair parted on his right. The pre-war shots of John Kipling, in 1913 and 1914 has his hair parted on his left. Plus , of course, the officer in the OP is much older than 18 17. (2nd Bn Irish Guards landed in France August 17th 1915, so IF the officer in the OP is JK, then he would have to have been photographed before departure, at which time he would have been only 17). Edited 28 December , 2019 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 He is absolutely not JK. As (I think) I said in my OP. 1 hour ago, The Inspector said: Hi All Could it possibly be Elsie Kipling's brother John He certainly looks older than 18 in this picture and obviously Elsie is much younger in the OP than when she married in 1924. Regards Barry What? Are you suggesting that it's the JK that I ruled out in my OP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire22 Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 It’s not JK does it look that he has been wounded around the left eye, as the area around seems to stick out. did Elsie Kipling have a boyfriend around the time of the Great War, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 6 minutes ago, Cheshire22 said: does it look that he has been wounded around the left eye, as the area around seems to stick out. I don't think so, but it looks strange. Probably only a very prominent bony left eye brow. I was beginning to wonder if the image had been doctored... His face looks much crisper than the others, although the others are all in shade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 27 minutes ago, Cheshire22 said: It’s not JK I know. As I have said several times. I am not at all interested in who it is not. What I would love to know is who it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 1 hour ago, KizmeRD said: Just seen the original photo online in the national trust collection, it says that the older lady is Mrs RK,and the young officr is John (Jack). http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/761463 Hi All, Gareth, Hadn't seen the NT photo. before posting. Searched all the family trees on Ancestry and identified the 3 other individuals. In your opinion what uniform is the soldier wearing, or is there insufficient detail to identify a regt.? Can I ask why you are so sure the NT are wrong? I would love to find out who it is. Elsie and the ?soldier certainly have very similar facial features...looking Regards Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 28 December , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Did you read my OP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 The officer in the OP has an insignia on his shirt collar. Something crossed - rifles? swords? Pick and shovel? I don't know. They don't look like anything an Irish Guards 2nd Lt should have on his shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inspector Posted 28 December , 2019 Share Posted 28 December , 2019 Hi Gareth Yes, as I am not a military expert in any way I am merely asking for the benefit of your knowledge. I understand that John was a Lieutenant when he went into battle even though his promotion had not been officially announced as it appears his father had friends in high places. Would he be entitled to wear the uniform in the OP? Regards Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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