Uniform Identification

[victoriamarie]

Could anyone help me identify the military uniform in these wedding photos?

I am not sure who they are so I'm hoping the uniform could potentially help me place them. 

The only real guess I have for them is the woman is my great great grandmother and the man is her husband, but he would be not my great great grandfather. They were married in 1905 in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was a soldier in World War One but I'm not sure why he would be wearing his military uniform so much earlier than the war when he was a miner. 

[FROGSMILE]

9 minutes ago, victoriamarie said:

Could anyone help me identify the military uniform in these wedding photos?

I am not sure who they are so I'm hoping the uniform could potentially help me place them. 

The only real guess I have for them is the woman is my great great grandmother and the man is her husband, but he would be not my great great grandfather. They were married in 1905 in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was a soldier in World War One but I'm not sure why he would be wearing his military uniform so much earlier than the war when he was a miner. 

He is a junior officer (second lieutenant) of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC).  He has a vertical wound stripe on his left lower forearm and might perhaps have served in a different part of the Army previously.  He is notably more mature looking (older) than is usual for his rank.  It is not a prewar uniform, the MGC was not formed (did not exist) until 1916.

Edited 8 June , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[victoriamarie]

1 minute ago, FROGSMILE said:

He is a junior officer (second lieutenant) of the Machine Gun Corps.

Thank you! This is from the record of the man I was guessing at it being, does that rule him out?

[Michelle Young]

The record posted (please acknowledge source) show a man in the Labour Corps with the rank of private soldier, formerly West Yorkshire Regiment. The photos show an officer. Therefore, I’d conclude that they are not the same person. 

[FROGSMILE]

5 minutes ago, victoriamarie said:

Thank you! This is from the record of the man I was guessing at it being, does that rule him out?

No it cannot be the same man.  This document clearly refers to a Private (most junior and basic army rank) of the non-combatant Labour Corps, who were responsible for a huge range of manual and semi skilled labour jobs necessary to maintain an Army in the field.  They were often older men or with limited fitness and many had previously been wounded in other parts of the Army and upon reasonable recovery transferred.

Edited 8 June , 2023 by FROGSMILE

[victoriamarie]

8 minutes ago, Michelle Young said:

The record posted (please acknowledge source) show a man in the Labour Corps with the rank of private soldier, formerly West Yorkshire Regiment. The photos show an officer. Therefore, I’d conclude that they are not the same person. 

Thank you Michelle.

The source of the record is Ancestry https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1114&h=271251&tid=114166289&pid=112406402342&hid=1042388895773

[victoriamarie]

9 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

No it cannot be the same man.  This document clearly refers to a Private (most junior and basic army rank) of the non-combatant Labour Corps, who were responsible for a huge range of manual and semi skilled labour jobs necessary to maintain an Army in the field.  They were often older men or with limited fitness and many had previously been wounded in other parts of the Army and upon reasonable recovery transferred.

Thank you! I'll have to do some more digging. I'm not sure who else it could be!

[max7474]

No medal ribbons but a wound stripe would tie the date of this wedding to  to after July 1916-18.  By 1919 he would have had had the medal ribbons for his wartime service.

[stevenbecker]

Vic,

Sorry but the details you give on your GGM does not match the photo

Clearly if your GGM married in 1905 then this can not be her and her husband.

I notice a number of women, who married during the war used a sub to fill in for the man, who was at war.

The man maybe her father or a close relation?

Then again I show this man who enlisted unmarried now has a wife, it appear he married her in 1906, after some years went to Australia without her, he knowaged her in 1918?

PENTECOST    George Henry    5839    Spr    2 LH Sig Troop    14R to Eng Trg depot (Sig Sect) Tel el Kebir 4-16 tos 1 Div Sig Co 5-16 to 1 ADBD Etaples 5-16 to Eng Trg depot (Sig Sect) Tidworth UK 9-16 to RE advance base Abbeville 12-16 Tos 4 Div Sig Co 4-17 att (Power Buzz course) at 1 Anzac Wls school 4-17 rtn 7-17 WIA 18-10-17 gas mustard reported area shelled on Broodesinde Ridge at Passchendaele to AIF depot (3 com) Hurdcott UK 11-17 rtn 4 Div Sig Co 2-18 F&B Ex BCo/3Bn AN&MEF (91) Rabaul to Cpl 8-15 disch 31-12-15 relist married Agnes Smith at Battersea London UK 15-10-06 & 21-10-18 (British Royal Navy 11 years)
 

This of cause may have notting to do with your relation, but have you check her husband (your GGF) out 

What was his name, and other details, as he may have a WWI record some where

Still plenty to do

S.B

Edited 8 June , 2023 by stevenbecker

[victoriamarie]

22 hours ago, max7474 said:

No medal ribbons but a wound stripe would tie the date of this wedding to  to after July 1916-18.  By 1919 he would have had had the medal ribbons for his wartime service.

Thank you! Definitely helps to have a small window to search for

[victoriamarie]

19 hours ago, stevenbecker said:

Vic,

Sorry but the details you give on your GGM does not match the photo

Clearly if your GGM married in 1905 then this can not be her and her husband.

I notice a number of women, who married during the war used a sub to fill in for the man, who was at war.

The man maybe her father or a close relation?

Then again I show this man who enlisted unmarried now has a wife, it appear he married her in 1906, after some years went to Australia without her, he knowaged her in 1918?

PENTECOST    George Henry    5839    Spr    2 LH Sig Troop    14R to Eng Trg depot (Sig Sect) Tel el Kebir 4-16 tos 1 Div Sig Co 5-16 to 1 ADBD Etaples 5-16 to Eng Trg depot (Sig Sect) Tidworth UK 9-16 to RE advance base Abbeville 12-16 Tos 4 Div Sig Co 4-17 att (Power Buzz course) at 1 Anzac Wls school 4-17 rtn 7-17 WIA 18-10-17 gas mustard reported area shelled on Broodesinde Ridge at Passchendaele to AIF depot (3 com) Hurdcott UK 11-17 rtn 4 Div Sig Co 2-18 F&B Ex BCo/3Bn AN&MEF (91) Rabaul to Cpl 8-15 disch 31-12-15 relist married Agnes Smith at Battersea London UK 15-10-06 & 21-10-18 (British Royal Navy 11 years)
 

This of cause may have notting to do with your relation, but have you check her husband (your GGF) out 

What was his name, and other details, as he may have a WWI record some where

Still plenty to do

S.B

Hi Steven

Thank you. I have not been able to find any relations who married during the war. The man can't be my GGM's father as he died when she was very young, she had a step father but would have been nearly 70 when she got married. I'll have to keep digging. 

I will investigate my GGM's husband (he was not my great great grandfather, before they married she had an illegitimate child (my great grandmother) with an unknown man) and see if it could be anyone on his side. 

Thank you

Victoria