chaz Posted 16 February Share Posted 16 February Looking through a few pictures on a cousins family tree I noticed my Aunts father pictured in uniform. Name Harry Merrett , I am only presuming WW1 he was born 1881 and died 1956 , born near Devizes , Wilts. Thats all I have. There are a few options on Ancestry. can anyone identify regiment so I can look for any military history on him , born 1881, I suppose its possible its Boer War or Territorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorporalPunishment Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February 2 hours ago, chaz said: Looking through a few pictures on a cousins family tree I noticed my Aunts father pictured in uniform. Name Harry Merrett , I am only presuming WW1 he was born 1881 and died 1956 , born near Devizes , Wilts. Thats all I have. There are a few options on Ancestry. can anyone identify regiment so I can look for any military history on him , born 1881, I suppose its possible its Boer War or Territorial. Gloucestershire Regiment. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February (edited) 10 hours ago, chaz said: Looking through a few pictures on a cousins family tree I noticed my Aunts father pictured in uniform. Name Harry Merrett , I am only presuming WW1 he was born 1881 and died 1956 , born near Devizes , Wilts. Thats all I have. There are a few options on Ancestry. can anyone identify regiment so I can look for any military history on him , born 1881, I suppose its possible its Boer War or Territorial. The jacket he wears is the simplified emergency pattern that had deeper than usual breast pockets without expanding pleats, and no shoulder reinforcement. It was an expedient policy early in WW1 when the factories needed to speed up production and equip the surge in numbers of recruits. It confirms the image as from WW1. The photo is distorted, with large head and shoulders and much smaller hands and lower body. I’m not sure if that’s been caused by a particular type of lens, or photographic manipulation. Note in particular that his stick does not reach the ground. Edited 17 February by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan1892 Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February 13 hours ago, chaz said: he was born 1881 and died 1956 , born near Devizes There was a Henry Merrett enlisted into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1900 -- he declared that he was 19 years and 1 month of age and born near the town of Devizes. (image courtesy of Find My Past) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan1892 Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February As stated on the attestation in previous post above, he then joined the 17th Lancers on the 24th December 1900 (image courtesy of Find My Past) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan1892 Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February If this is your man, the Lancers record shows that his father was called Thomas; his mother was Annie and his siblings were Albert and Annie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February (edited) 2 hours ago, Allan1892 said: If this is your man, the Lancers record shows that his father was called Thomas; his mother was Annie and his siblings were Albert and Annie It seems quite likely that he might be our man Allan, and the uniform in the photo confirms that he must’ve served during WW1. I agree with Pete’s suggestion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, in the sense that the shadowing around the cap badge caused by reflected light matches that regiment’s badge in relation to its width and the prominent head of the Sphinx at the top. Another badge that I think might fit in terms of dimensions and surrounding shadow, is the General Service Corps badge as a tentative suggestion. If a later period in the war, that would suggest perhaps the Labour Corps, or the Volunteer Force regiments that emerged from the Volunteer Training Corps, both of which wore that badge. These two corps were also natural billets for older veterans with Boer War service. Edited 17 February by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorporalPunishment Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February 26 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said: It seems quite likely that he might be our man Allan, and the uniform in the photo confirms that he must’ve served during WW1. I agree with Pete’s suggestion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, in the sense that the shadowing around the cap badge caused by reflected light matches that regiment’s badge in relation to its width and the prominent head of the Sphinx at the top. Another badge that I think might fit in terms of dimensions and surrounding shadow, is the General Service Corps badge as a tentative suggestion. If a later period in the war, that would suggest perhaps the Labour Corps, or the Volunteer Force regiments that emerged from the Volunteer Training Corps, both of which wore that badge. These two corps were also natural billets for older veterans with Boer War service. With regard to the cap badge being that of the Gloucestershire Regiment, it was not a suggestion, it was a statement of fact. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan1892 Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February 2 hours ago, CorporalPunishment said: With regard to the cap badge being that of the Gloucestershire Regiment, it was not a suggestion, it was a statement of fact. I'm haven't disputed that, I found and posted what might be the man that the OP is looking for and that he had previous service to his WW1 service -- if the OP can confirm or not by the parish of birth and the names of the father; mother and siblings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorporalPunishment Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February 40 minutes ago, Allan1892 said: I'm haven't disputed that, I found and posted what might be the man that the OP is looking for and that he had previous service to his WW1 service -- if the OP can confirm or not by the parish of birth and the names of the father; mother and siblings. I think you may have got your wires crossed, my last post was not aimed at you. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 17 February Author Share Posted 17 February sorry, just finished a 12 hour shift, then a couple of hours before bed and back again tomorrow... As far as I can find off Ancestry Father was Thomas , mother was Eliza he had a brother Albert and two sisters Ann and Florence. From All Cannings, near Devizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 17 February Share Posted 17 February (edited) 11 hours ago, chaz said: sorry, just finished a 12 hour shift, then a couple of hours before bed and back again tomorrow... As far as I can find off Ancestry Father was Thomas , mother was Eliza he had a brother Albert and two sisters Ann and Florence. From All Cannings, near Devizes. That seems to confirm the identity of the ex cavalryman. As a former Boer War veteran born in the 1880s he was already quite mature at the outbreak of WW1 and it’s possible that that he didn’t serve overseas and so might not have a medal roll and associated index card. If his service record was also among those destroyed by WW2 aerial bombing then it’s likely to be very difficult to trace details of any wartime service unfortunately. Edited 18 February by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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