Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 (edited) Hi all This is a photo of Christopher Flynn that recently surfaced. He was one of the seven Flynn brothers from Ballina who served and returned from the Great War. We believe he was a Connaught RangerCan anyone tell us anything about this uniform please? I note the armband and the square patch. Also the stripe on the trousers. thanks very much anthony Edited 4 July , 2022 by Anthony466 errors in info. Wrong brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 Was he a pow? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 (edited) CORRECTION. Yes he was Pow in Limberg, Giessen and Meschede camps. anthony Edited 4 July , 2022 by Anthony466 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 The reason I ask is the armband and trouser stripe are both features of pow uniform, being sewn in so they couldn’t be removed. Is there a photographers name? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 It was taken on The Falls Road, Belfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 (edited) Correction, this is Christopher Flynn, not Thomas. He was a Pow in Giessen, Meschede, Limburg camps. Army number 9859 Edited 4 July , 2022 by Anthony466 added info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 Given the photographers address it seems unlikely to be connected to being a POW uniform unless this is what he arrived home wearing and subsequently had his portrait taken. I don’t recall seeing a portrait before which features woolly gloves. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 This was our hypothesis also. But i do not know whether they were returned to Belfast or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 I couldn’t say whether there was any direct repatriation to Belfast. My grandad was a pow in the far north of Germany and returned via Sweden to either Leith or Hull. Given that prisoners from any particular camp were a varied bunch (geographically )I think it’s likely they arrived wearing pretty much what they left camp in, were processed and sent on to their favoured destination (home at last). I can honestly say I’ve never considered what attire a returning prisoner would wear but the more I think about it it seems unlikely the army would re-equip them with new uniform when soon after they would retained as classZ or demobbed entirely. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 Anthony, forgive me if you already know this but camps listed on a pow index card do not always indicate where he was imprisoned . Geissen, Limburg, Dulmen, Gustrow are just a few of the large camps which acted as a ‘postal address’ for the countless prisoners. Many captives were held behind German lines as forced Labour whilst registered to a camp they’d likely never heard of. Another feature of the large camp was to assess the prisoners and send them to a satellite camp where they abilities could be best utilised whether that be farming, mining or whatever else. Of the camps you mention Limburg stands out a little given your mans regiment and nationality. I don’t recall when but at some point Roger Casement addressed the Irish prisoners at Limburg in an attempt to recruit them to the Republican movement to fight the British on Irish soil. The accounts I have read suggest it wasn’t a successful strategy. I don’t know how many Irish catholics enlisted but I’d guess they were far more Unionists (Carsons UVF etc) so it’s no shock this recruitment drive got nowhere. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 We have postcards from Chris showing these addresses so we assumed he was in these camps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acknown Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 4 hours ago, mancpal said: the armband and trouser stripe are both features of pow uniform, being sewn in so they couldn’t be removed In 1915, when early prisoners' uniforms had worn out, the Red Cross provided dark blue serge coats, trousers and overcoats as well as shirts, underwear and socks. These did not always get to the POWs in badly administered camps. The blue uniforms could be converted to civilian clothes for escapers, so the Germans had sleeves and trouser legs ripped open and brightly coloured cloth was sewn into the new seams. For my money, Flynn is wearing such a uniform and it is reasonable to assume that he was wearing it when repatriated, but it seems to have been tidied up quite a bit before the photo. The armband seems another POW embellishment, see: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/first-world-war/scottish-prisoners-of-war-1914-1918 and: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C284576 but I don't know its function. Perhaps it denoted a POW appointment such as Chef de Barraque (hut senior). The patch may have been a specific camp or group marker. I propose that the gloves were a personal ornamentation; adding a bit of style. Acknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 4 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 4 July , 2022 We know he received parcels from Ireland with socks and boots and other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 4 July , 2022 Share Posted 4 July , 2022 (edited) As Acknown and Mancpal have said the uniform in the OP photo is typical of POW in 1914-15 in particular and if you search within the forum using the term “POW uniform” you will find lots of similar images for comparison. See: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/289560-german-postcard-of-british-pow-is-this-unusual/#comment-2996202 Edited 4 July , 2022 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony466 Posted 5 July , 2022 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2022 Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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