Can he be identified?

[Ralph J. Whitehead]

I am attaching a scan of a photo taken from the history of the 26th Reserve Division. It was taken on 17 July. This division covered the area from south of Serre to Ovillers. Any idea who the rather unhappy pilot is?

From what I can tell from the photo he is not a small man.

Ralph

Sorry for the quality, the reduction in size caused the poor quality.

[Dolphin]

Ralph

Not having the year included in the date of the photograph makes identification a touch harder than it might be. There's certainly a suggestion of either 1915 or 1916 in the photo, from the flying clothing worn by the British airman. If the man was shot down over the Somme front, then 1916 seems the more likely date.

According to The Sky Their Battlefield, no British aircraft were lost on 17 July 1916, something that makes identification difficult. Perhaps he was brought down earlier?

Regards

Gareth