Uniform ID

[Tim]

This is my Great Grand Father, Thomas Michael BERRY, from Southend On Sea, Essex. I have stuff all details on his military service. All I have is this photo and the fact he survived the war.

The badge on the Pith helmet "appears" to be a Royal Engineers. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Does the Pith helmet indicate he was going to Egypt, Palestine etc?

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers,

Tim

[Graham Stewart]

Tim

There is a 109647 Sapper Thomas M. Berry in the MIC's, who was renumbered WR/289329. The badge certainly looks like the R.E.'s, but it's easier to tell with a x10 magnifyer. As he's wearing KD he's for service in either the Middle East or India. Is this the correct T.M.Berry?

Graham.

[Tim]

He was a carpenter & joiner by trade as was his father and all of his brothers.

There is another Sapper Thomas M. Berry 148960 in the MIC's.

There are also 4 Sapper Thomas Berry and 1 Corporal Thomas Berry (R.E.) in the MIC's.

So your guess is as good as mine Graham!

Excuse my ignorance, but KD stands for???

His daughter tells me she has photo of him with a camel. So I guess it's fair to assume he was in Egpyt.

[staffsreg]

He was a carpenter & joiner by trade as was his father and all of his brothers.

There is another Sapper Thomas M. Berry 148960 in the MIC's.

There are also 4 Sapper Thomas Berry and 1 Corporal Thomas Berry (R.E.) in the MIC's.

So your guess is as good as mine Graham!

Excuse my ignorance, but KD stands for???

His daughter tells me she has photo of him with a camel. So I guess it's fair to assume he was in Egpyt.

KD stands for Khaki Drill (his uniform)

Cheers, Ivan

[Graham Stewart]

Tim,

Reference "KD" it stands for Khaki Drill, and it's a lightweight cotton uniform worn in hot climates.

148960 is actually Thomas Molyneux Berry and he's got two cards, so you can discount him. I had another look at the MIC's and can still only find one other Thomas M. Berry as mentioned above. Are the others not just Thomas only??

Graham.

[Tim]

Thanks for that. Nice to know I can at least narrow it down a little. Yes the others are just Thomas Berry, but does that mean they had no middle name or just enlisted without giving their middle name?

I really hope 109647, WR/289329 is my GGF. It's a place for me to start.

Why would he be renumbered and does WR stand for anything in particular?

Cheers,

Tim

[Tim]

I've since found out that he worked on the railways in Egypt with RE.

So he could've been with either

115th, 116th, 265th, 266th, 270th, 272nd, 274th or 276th Railway Company

or

96th, 98th or 203rd Light Operating Railway Company

Now how to figure out which Coy he was with!

Cheers,

Tim

[Milner]

Thanks for that. Nice to know I can at least narrow it down a little. Yes the others are just Thomas Berry, but does that mean they had no middle name or just enlisted without giving their middle name?

I really hope 109647, WR/289329 is my GGF. It's a place for me to start.

Why would he be renumbered and does WR stand for anything in particular?

Cheers,

Tim

WR stands for Waterways and Railways

regards

Phil

[Tim]

Thank you Phil.

Looks like I've tracked him down.

Cheers,

Tim

[DrB]

Tim...from finate to infinate:

KD stands for khaki drill, a light weight cloth that was closely woven, and ilghter in color than the better known khaki of WWI. Both khaki cloths were used overseas during the colonial era and at the start of WWI.

KT, stands for khaki twill, which was likewise closely woven but somewhat darker than KD. (Look closely at a wool twill, it consists of small lines that resemble ski tracks) It was also worn on foreign stations as service wear. Neither were worn in Europe on the Western Front, except by most of the Indian Army units which found it to be unsubstantial and not warm enough.

Both khakis were used year round o'seas, the twill being the preferred one for colder months, although it was replaced by the better known and heavier khaki of WWI. The old KT just wasn't warm enough for winter wear, nor was it as hearty was the wartime khaki.

DrB