1/10 Kings Liverpool(Scottish) - photos from Blackpool 1916

[davidbohl]

A contact of mine would like to know a bit more about these family photos which depict members of 1/10 Liverpool Scottish in Blackpool around May-July 1916. 

Sam can positively identify Arthur Reginald Kingsley #3943 (front row second from left, KIA later). They do not look like raw recruits to me. He thinks it may be "C" Coy.

Can any more names be put forward is this group please, any other information about their circumstances being there will be of great interest.

thanks

Dave

[mancpal]

The two men on the bed look to be wearing territorial shoulder titles, no idea if this helps, I did wonder if the annual camp may have been in the area.

Simon

[BillyH]

The 1/10th Bn were in France by November 1914, so could they be 2/10th or 3/10th Bn?

BillyH.

Edited 26 April by BillyH

[davidbohl]

I have found a cutting in the paper advertising a dance for the Liverpool Scottish in May 16, it might explain the "fancy dress" photo

From the BNA

 

[Allan1892]

His entry in the BWM & VM medal rolls shows that he was with the 1/10th Btn. His entry in the 1914/15 Star rolls shows that he disembarked (France and Flanders) on the 23rd January 1915. The newspaper cutting was from May 1916 therefore well after he went to France.

[Allan1892]

From the Liverpool Daily Post, 7th October 1916 (courtesy of Find My Past)

[davidbohl]

Thanks chaps, are the photos more likely to be summer 1915 or even 14

[davidbohl]

3 hours ago, mancpal said:

The two men on the bed look to be wearing territorial shoulder titles

The original photo, any more definition to see?

 

 

[mancpal]

Not I’m afraid in my case but then I am restricted to a small and ageing phone screen. Having just googled ‘WW1 Liverpool Scottish shoulder titles’ there are images which illustrate my thoughts. Also, on the ‘fancy dress’ photo, has the image been reversed as the bonnet badges are on the wrong side?

Simon

Edited 26 April by mancpal

[Allan1892]

10th Battalion a territorial force. Image of shoulder titles courtesy of internet public domain. To me, matches the image of the guys on the bed.

Edited 26 April by Allan1892

[davidbohl]

5 hours ago, BillyH said:

The 1/10th Bn were in France by November 1914, so could they be 2/10th or 3/10th Bn?

Just found his service record, he was sent home with the flu, probably getting back to fitness in Blackpool?

From Ancestry

 

 

[brianmorris547]

David

See this thread. It has lots of photos on the Liverpool Scottish in Blackpool. You may find it interesting.

Brian

https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/292428-having-a-lovely-time-in-blackpool-2nd-and-3rd-line-battalions-on-the-lancashire-riviera-1916-1916/#comment-3037799

 

[IRC Kevin]

57 Division (of whom 2/10th KLR were a constituent part) were billeted in Blackpool from 12 Nov 1914 until May 1915, when they moved to the Sevenoaks area before progressing to Canterbury in August 15.

[mancpal]

Kevin, 

I should have thought about this before your post! My Grandad was billeted just up the coast at Morecambe (Manchester Pals) for part of his early training before moving to other camps further South for further training no doubt in other aspects of becoming an “efficient soldier”. I understand Scarborough was another, North Wales had plenty of camps used for training .
I’ve never looked into it but I’d put my hat on it that such coastal regions were chosen because of the air quality away from the choking air of mill towns. Little did any of them realise they were on a path to even more poisonous air in F&F.

Simon

[IRC Kevin]

32 minutes ago, mancpal said:

Kevin, 

I should have thought about this before your post! My Grandad was billeted just up the coast at Morecambe (Manchester Pals) for part of his early training before moving to other camps further South for further training no doubt in other aspects of becoming an “efficient soldier”. I understand Scarborough was another, North Wales had plenty of camps used for training .
I’ve never looked into it but I’d put my hat on it that such coastal regions were chosen because of the air quality away from the choking air of mill towns. Little did any of them realise they were on a path to even more poisonous air in F&F.

Simon

I suspect the north western units chose places like Blackpool and Morecambe because of the multitude of (now empty due to the war) boarding houses, as billeting an entire division was far from easy. Both 57 (and 55 Division who headed south to carry out pre-overseas deployment railways guard prior to 57's move) had huge problems finding enough houses to billet their men down south. 57 Division ended up at Aldershot before eventually going to France in 1917.

[mancpal]

Kevin, 

thanks for your response, the logic of which I can’t fault. My thinking was that to do physical training in smog probably wouldn’t have improved a persons fitness a great deal. 
The accommodation subject you highlight could well be the reason my mother was evacuated to Blackpool during WW2.

Simon

[davidbohl]

1 hour ago, IRC Kevin said:

I suspect the north western units chose places like Blackpool and Morecambe because of the multitude of (now empty due to the war) boarding houses, as billeting an entire division was far from easy. Both 57 (and 55 Division who headed south to carry out pre-overseas deployment railways guard prior to 57's move) had huge problems finding enough houses to billet their men down south. 57 Division ended up at Aldershot before eventually going to France in 1917.

Thanks guys, a brilliant expansion of this topic now

So we have Arthur Reginald "Rex" Kingsley joins up on the 5th Nov 1914  in Liverpool, then off to war in on the 23rd of Jan 1915, fights for his life, then contracts flu and sent home on the 7th Aug 1915. He recuperates for a while and has hi-jinks in Blackpool with the Liverpool Scottish Territorials in the early summer of 1916 because 'the powers that be' thought it was cheap to house the troops in empty boarding houses in the fresh air on the Lancashire coast.( please add anything to my summary for his biography !)

thanks

Dave

 

  

[davidbohl]

3 hours ago, brianmorris547 said:

See this thread. It has lots of photos on the Liverpool Scottish in Blackpool. You may find it interesting.

Brian, I think I have found the same digs for my photo and the one in your thread, very distinctive pillars

 

[brianmorris547]

6 hours ago, davidbohl said:

Brian, I think I have found the same digs for my photo and the one in your thread, very distinctive pillars

 

David

More likely to be on Albert Rd. I will have a patrol tomorrow.

Brian

[davidbohl]

3 hours ago, brianmorris547 said:

I will have a patrol tomorrow

Thanks for that, hope the wind drops, it's perishing down the Mersey.

Perhaps the photo of them cross-dressing will define the back of the properties? 

[BillyH]

Dave,  I presume you may already have this clip from the Birkenhead News on 7th October 1916? (bigger version available). He doesn't look very much like the image of him in the group shot though.

BillyH,

[davidbohl]

1 hour ago, BillyH said:

Dave,  I presume you may already have this clip from the Birkenhead News on 7th October 1916? (bigger version available). He doesn't look very much like the image of him in the group shot though.

Thanks again BillyH, I never thought to look, you just go with the family's directives at first and I agree with you about the clash of photos.

 

 

Edited 27 April by davidbohl

[brianmorris547]

David

I had a walk around Albert Rd, Blackpool today and I think that the location is on Hull Rd or Vance Rd, which are in the same area. The alleyway looks like it could be between Hull Rd and Albert Rd or Hull Rd and Vance Rd. I found some identical gate posts with matching door surrounds on Hull Rd. I will investigate further to see if there are any more.

Brian

[davidbohl]

20 minutes ago, brianmorris547 said:

I had a walk around Albert Rd, Blackpool today

Thanks Brian, I'll have a look on google maps and check the roof structures, hope you enjoyed the fresh air

Dave

edit: looks spot on in google maps

 

 

Edited 28 April by davidbohl

[brianmorris547]

David

The only places I found identical gate posts and door surrounds were on the north side of Vance Rd (Coronation St end) and the north side of Hull Rd (Coronation St end). Neither had four steps going up to the front door but of course there have been lots of changes to the properties. My money would be on Hull Rd with the alley between Hull Rd and Albert Rd. I am aware that the picture may be a mirror image because of the cap badges, but I think it would have been taken from the Coronation St end.

Picture of 40 Hull Rd. N B the stud on top of the gate post.

Brian

 

Edited 29 April by brianmorris547