Regiment Identification

[AllenRSmith]

Would anyone be able to identify the regiment from this photo / cap.

All i know is that it is William Hedley, born 04-051894 in Montrose and died 27-11-1946 in Dundee

thanks 

Allen 

[FROGSMILE]

25 minutes ago, AllenRSmith said:

Would anyone be able to identify the regiment from this photo / cap.

All i know is that it is William Hedley, born 04-051894 in Montrose and died 27-11-1946 in Dundee

thanks 

Allen 

Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) I believe.  They were the first regiment to wear a cut feather hackle in the newly issued drab khaki Tam-o-Shanter (in red) and what appears to be a short, two letter shoulder title also fits.  He’s also wearing the emergency simplified jacket with its large but plain patch pockets on the chest that was especially common in the first half of that war.  I’d date the photo to 1915-16.

Edited 10 April , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[Gunner 87]

16 minutes ago, AllenRSmith said:

Would anyone be able to identify the regiment from this photo / cap.

All i know is that it is William Hedley, born 04-051894 in Montrose and died 27-11-1946 in Dundee

thanks 

Allen 

Hello.

There is a Lance Corporal William Hedley, 12638 6th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, listed at Ancestry. I think that uniform may match the regiment. 

Edit. Looking at @FROGSMILE comment I could well be incorrect. 

There is also a Lance Corporal William Hedley, 4014, Black Watch. Qualified for the 1914-1915 Star in France on the 01/10/15. Killed in action 02/09/18.

Edited 10 April , 2023 by Gunner 87

[FROGSMILE]

10 minutes ago, Gunner 87 said:

Hello.

There is a Lance Corporal William Hedley, 12638 6th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, listed at Ancestry. I think that uniform may match the regiment. 

The KOSB most commonly wore a bonnet badge Mat and I know of no KOSB battalion that wore a hackle, including the 6th.  If it is that man I suspect he moved (was posted) between regiments via an infantry base depot.

Your second man seems more likely.

Edited 10 April , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[Tawhiri]

16 minutes ago, Gunner 87 said:

There is a Lance Corporal William Hedley, 12638 6th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, listed at Ancestry. I think that uniform may match the regiment. 

The medal index card for this particular William Hedley states that he was killed in action on 19 July 1916, so it can't be him.

There are two further possibilities for a William Hedley serving with the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), One who served exclusively with the Black Watch with the following service numbers - S/12889, 5736, and 267669, the second with service in the Army Service Corps (service number R4/068625), the York and Lancaster Regiment (51548), and finally with the Black Watch (S/43678).

This of course doesn't include all the W Hedleys who may have served with the Black Watch, which would expand the range of possibilities considerably.

Edited 10 April , 2023 by Tawhiri

[Gunner 87]

1 minute ago, Tawhiri said:

The medal index card for this particular William Hedley states that he was killed in action on 19 July 1916, so it can't be him.

Hi Tawhiri. Yes, you're correct. The second soldier was born Montrose and probably a more likely candidate.

Private William Hedley, 345950, 1/4 RH, previously Corporal, 4014 4/5 RH. Killed in action 09/09/18. 

[FROGSMILE]

Just now, Gunner 87 said:

Hi Tawhiri. Yes, you're correct. The second soldier was born Montrose and probably a more likely candidate.

Private William Hedley, 345950, 1/4 RH, previously Corporal, 4014 4/5 RH. Killed in action 09/09/18. 

The OP seems to think that his subject survived WW1 and died in 1946?

[AllenRSmith]

All, 

thank you for the information, give m somewhere to start looking. 

The Private William Hedley, 345950, 1/4 RH, previously Corporal, 4014 4/5 RH. Killed in action 09/09/18. was a cousin through marriage 

[Tawhiri]

See my edited post above, there are at least two other obvious possibilities for a William Hedley serving with the Black Watch in the medal index cards, with no indication that either of them were killed in action.

Sorry, replying to Frogsmile's last comment

Edited 10 April , 2023 by Tawhiri

[FROGSMILE]

10 minutes ago, Tawhiri said:

See my edited post above, there are at least two other obvious possibilities for a William Hedley serving with the Black Watch in the medal index cards, with no indication that either of them were killed in action.

Sorry, replying to Frogsmile's last comment

 

Yes it seems to be a common name around those parts.  Another thing to throw in the mix, although not a show stopper by any means, is that I’d expect to see a Territorial in the first two years of the war to be more commonly wearing a multi tier shoulder title.  However, once in France they seem to have dropped out of use relatively quickly.

Edited 10 April , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[Clayton wearn]

On 10/04/2023 at 15:09, AllenRSmith said:

Would anyone be able to identify the regiment from this photo / cap.

All i know is that it is William Hedley, born 04-051894 in Montrose and died 27-11-1946 in Dundee

thanks 

Allen 

Hi. It's black watch. They did not wear a cap badge on the tam o shanter just a red hackle

[AllenRSmith]

thanks everyone for there help, what i now know is that

William lived with his grand parents William and Martha Hedley at Morton Muir Guthrie.

He enlisted in April 1916, went to the front August and his grandfather was notified in the first wekes of October he was wounded and in hospital (Courier 10-10-16) and Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin Reveiw 13-10-1916)

[AllenRSmith]

On 10/04/2023 at 15:34, Tawhiri said:

The medal index card for this particular William Hedley states that he was killed in action on 19 July 1916, so it can't be him.

There are two further possibilities for a William Hedley serving with the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), One who served exclusively with the Black Watch with the following service numbers - S/12889, 5736, and 267669, the second with service in the Army Service Corps (service number R4/068625), the York and Lancaster Regiment (51548), and finally with the Black Watch (S/43678).

This of course doesn't include all the W Hedleys who may have served with the Black Watch, which would expand the range of possibilities considerably.

I have traced him on a casualty list from May 1918, and he is the William Hedley with service numbers S/12889, 5736, and 267669. Now to understand what they mean.

thanks