Photos from an album

[DavidOwen]

I recently purchased at auction an item catalogued as "A Victorian Photo Album" (paid far too much for it!) and included amongst the photos were these. I have scanned them as a group for ease of association but also have each photo as an individual. The album itself was in such a dreadful condition it had to be disposed of. 

There were no annotations on the album pages and the rear of these photos are blank except for the two soldiers together which is a carte postale (blank).

I am not expecting a great deal of info to come from this as the laptop and scanner don't seem to want to play with each other except via the basic Windows scan app so I cannot manipulate resolution etc. (I have tried downloading the HP software on more than one occasion without success).

The questions arising are:

Is the same man featured in the pre-ww1 photos and the contemporary one/s?

There is a very faint annotation on the photo of the sergeant and his lady (bottom right corner) but even with a loupe I am struggling to make anything of it, any ideas?

The sergeant has what appears to be a badge above his stripes, it may be a grenade motif?

Other than that just enjoy the photos for what they are.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

The man in the top image right, the leftimage and bottom image seem to be the same man. I'm not sure he's the older man in the right hand image.

[FROGSMILE]

Quite a mixture spanning period between 2nd Boer War and WW1.

Two signallers at top training as signallers at annual summer camp are wearing Mills Equipment company canvas bandoliers introduced to the British Army during the 2nd Boer War.

Soldier with lady is a Sapper Royal Engineers wearing drab service dress.

Signaller far left appears to be from a Volunteer Force fusilier battalion, probably of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), or if after 1908, one of four fusilier battalions of the London Regiment, Territorial Force. 

Bottom centre City of London Engineer Volunteers in walking out dress.  This man appears to be possibly the same man as in fusilier uniform (unless a brother) and also the right hand man of the two signallers at camp.

NB.  The group photo below shows the London Engineer Volunteers wearing the pillbox cap replaced by the Brodrick in your photo in around 1905. 

 

 

Edited 10 March , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[DavidOwen]

Thank you both, very helpful and interesting.

Sadly I doubt we will ever get to identifying anyone. The album does contain many different people and photography studios from as far afield as Paris, Dublin and I believe Algiers.

Only 1 photo has a pencilled name on the back, that being of a young lady named "Edie" who may or may not be the lady above.

[FROGSMILE]

12 minutes ago, DavidOwen said:

Thank you both, very helpful and interesting.

Sadly I doubt we will ever get to identifying anyone. The album does contain many different people and photography studios from as far afield as Paris, Dublin and I believe Algiers.

Only 1 photo has a pencilled name on the back, that being of a young lady named "Edie" who may or may not be the lady above.

I’m glad to help David.  Looking again I would make a small correction that the fusilier is from a Militia battalion of the Royal Fusiliers rather than a Volunteer battalion**.  Looking at his apparent youthfulness and the fact that he appears to have later appeared in Royal Engineers uniform, it suggests to me that he was a Militia recruit who after his 6-months training opted to leave the militia and join the Engineer Volunteers instead.

**volunteers had an Austrian knot of thin braid decorating their cuffs, whereas the militias were plain and unadorned. 

Edited 10 March , 2023 by FROGSMILE