Which WW1 army records stipulate D.O.B's? I have 5 people with the same name in different units and no D.O.B's and so cannot match an ancestor!

[Matlock1418]

19 minutes ago, D Pritchard said:

- I note that man on left has one stripe. Assuming Arthur was in the RASC H/324519 could this have been his rank in the RASC?

Can't answer your specific question but an observation:

Substantive rank would have been Private but with an appointment to Lance-Corporal [with it's entitlement to a single chevron/stripe - with or without pay at that grade] - thus it is not always clear from partial documentary records that he might have had a stripe up.  Such photos can be a god-send.

:-) M

Edited 7 August , 2021 by Matlock1418

[D Pritchard]

@Matlock1418 thanks for that. For a lay person, the army can be quite complicated at times!🙂

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

I think this photograph may be a composite, so it may not br a true representation of who could have been present at any particular time.

My suspicions were raised by the hand just to the right of the elderly gentleman's head.

It should belong to the sergeant behind. It's not connected to a forearm, but not only that, the hand appears to superimpose the shoulder area of the young civilian man.

And what is the shadow that obscures the lady's right forearm, from which her right hand appears?

Edited 7 August , 2021 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr

[Matlock1418]

7 minutes ago, D Pritchard said:

the army can be quite complicated at times!

Lance-Corporal appointments were often quite temporary - appointed by their CO according to needs [though likely a trial before further promotion - many go busted back to private for an offence.  Sometimes several times in their service!  Others lost the appointment/stripe if they changed units as they will have had a new CO, and commonly had to get up to speed there first.

The next substantive rank up was Corporal with two chevrons/stripes.

LCpl is now a rank in the Army, but it was not back in the GW 

:-) M

[PRC]

On 02/08/2021 at 23:32, PRC said:

So if I've read you correctly the five contenders for Arthur are :-

1) Corporal M/324519 Arthur Wakley, Army Service Corps. Victory Medal and British War Medal only, so didn't enter a Theatre of War until on or after the 1st January 1916.

 looks like 1 would be a much stronger candidate than 5.

 

1 hour ago, D Pritchard said:

- I note that man on left has one stripe. Assuming Arthur was in the RASC H/324519 could this have been his rank in the RASC?

- I note that Tom William Gould Wakley is the eldest - born in 1887. Arthur is born in 1894. There is an age gap of 7 years. Looking at the two remaining men, I would say the one on back row on the right is Tom and the younger looking one on the left is Arthur??

Still doesn't seem to be a stronger candidate for Arthur Wakley than the Army Service Corps man. (Royal came later). As the highest rank he held during the Great War period was Corporal, then very likely he would have been a Lance-Corporal at some point in his military career.

Cheers,
Peter

[D Pritchard]

@Matlock1418 thank you for explaining.

 

[D Pritchard]

@Dai Bach y Sowldiwr 😃 I have never noticed that before! You have taught me something. I didn't know they did composites in the early 1900's but it seems they did! I did run it through one of those AI apps to colour it. The colours don't always come up as true, but I find it can bring up detail on clothing that normally isn't noticeable on b&w.

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

1 hour ago, D Pritchard said:

@Dai Bach y Sowldiwr 😃 I have never noticed that before! You have taught me something. I didn't know they did composites in the early 1900's but it seems they did! I did run it through one of those AI apps to colour it. The colours don't always come up as true, but I find it can bring up detail on clothing that normally isn't noticeable on b&w.

This is just my suspicion having only seen the colorized version.

If you have the original photo, it would be worthwhile rescanning at the highest resolution  possible so we can look at certain parts of this image, in particular those two areas I have mentioned, also the outlines of all the subjects.

Yes, composite photos have been around since photographs themselves and were common during the Great War as it enabled the creation of groups that would otherwise would be impossible because of death, absence on military duty etc. It can often throw a big spanner in the works with dating photographs.

[D Pritchard]

@PRC thank you Peter.

[D Pritchard]

@Dai Bach y Sowldiwr yes, it did cross my mind how they were all there for their mother's funeral when in the middle of a world war ... but then I read of another ancestor who was granted compassionate leave for a funeral. Yes, I can see how it can throw a spanner in the works with uniform identification etc. I'm afraid I don't have the original image, only a copy of the black and white image that I colourised. Thanks for the insight, something to bear in mind in future with war photos... Have certainly learnt a lot on this forum.

[Michelle Young]

You can see the mourning button on two of the soldiers, they covered a button with black cloth. Doubtless the other one has but I can't see as he is wearing a bandolier.

Michelle 

[D Pritchard]

Thanks Michelle, didn't know they covered buttons with a black cloth. It's almost more visible on the black and white image.