Sepia Saturday 191: The "Soup, Soap and Salvation" Brigade

The image prompt for Sepia Saturday this week is a cased daguerreotype of a man and two women, possibly taken in the 1850s or 1860s. Rather than giving another example of a similarly framed image, which I did a couple of months ago (Gem Tintypes, Preservers and Wing's Multiplying Camera), I went off in search of bonnets.


Unidentified woman and girls, c.1915-1935
Postcard portrait by unknown photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
This postcard portrait is from at least half a century later, but the woman's bonnet is surprisingly little changed in design. Comparison with a wonderful selection of late 19th century portraits at the Cabinet Card Gallery (here and here) confirmed my suspicion that the bonnet worn by the woman at centre indentifies her as being a supporter of the "soup, soap and salvation" brigade. I don't mean to be either flippant or derogatory; that is how founder William Booth himself described The Salvation Army's approach to meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the poor.



The tiny badge at her throat is just identifiable as The Salvation Army's well known red shield, still in use as their emblem in fundraising activities today. The New Zealand Salvation Army web site gives the following history of their distinctive uniform:

By 1880, a standardised Salvation Army navy blue serge uniform was introduced. Men wore high neck tunics with stiff collars over scarlet jerseys. Women wore long navy skirts and close fitting high neck tunics with white lace-edge collars. Catherine Booth chose black straw bonnets for the women to wear that were cheap, durable and protective. A band of black silk and strings formed the trimmings, and later a red band was added with 'Salvation Army' on it.

Uniforms have changed over the years to suit changing styles as well as culture and climate. Up until recently, women continued to wear a smaller version of the Victorian bonnet. Most countries around the world are now adopting the less-expensive felt bowler hat. An open-neck jacket also replaced the high-collar tunics.

I had hoped that developments in uniform styles might aid in dating the portrait sitting, but I don't think they've changed enough to narrow down the date range any more than one can with other aspects of the photograph.



The postcard format printed on the reverse, for example, is not marked with any photographer's studio, but is of a style commonly used by many studios from the mid-1910s until the early 1930s (see examples from Derbyshire photographers: Pollard Graham, Type 38, F. Holbrook, W.N. Statham and E.M. Treble).


Girl Guide uniforms 1910-1970, Lord Mayor's Show, Belfast, 15 May 1977
Image © and courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph
The two girls in the portrait are not junior Salvationists but, I believe, Girl Guides. According to Wikipedia:

Girls were attracted to Scouting from its inception in 1907 ... In 1909, Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, decided that girls should not be in the same organisation as the boys, and the Girl Guides were founded in the UK in 1910.

I was fortunate to find this photograph of a parade in which girl guides displayed a complete range of uniforms used between 1910 and 1970. Although there were, no doubt, innumerable regional variations the girls in the postcard portrait apopear to be dressed most similarly to the 1910 model. Geoff Caulton has a very interesting page on Girl Guide uniforms on his PhotoDetective web site, demonstrating several useful dating pointers which reinforce my feeling that our girls are from roughly 1910-1920ish.


Barbara Payne in Girl Guide uniform, c. 1943-1945
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The two decades between the World Wars saw a swift rise in the popularity of the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts. Princess Mary became President of the Association in 1920, and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret as a Guide and Brownie respectively in 1937, which must have enhanced the appeal of the organisation tremendously. Kodak Ltd even produced a Girl Guide Kodak camera from 1931 to 1935. This small portrait of my aunt pictures her in a later girl guide uniform from the mid-1940s. Unfortunately the image is not distinct enough for me to discern the design on the badge, which would indicate the name of her troop.


Millicent Lydia "Lissa" Grace, c. 1926
Postcard portrait by A.W. Woodmansee of Bold Lane, Derby
Image © & courtesy of Barry Muir
Lastly, I'd like to highlight another feature of the postcard portrait, even though it's not much use for dating purposes. Vignetting is the term used to describe the deliberate masking out of the margins of a photographic portrait, often leaving an oval-shaped frame with blurred edges around the central figure. This was used by studios from the earliest days of carte de visite prints in the 1860s, the borders usually being lighter than the photograph. From the late 1890s and early 1900s, a variation of this technique produced a dark horizontal band on the lower edge of the portrait, appearing in front of the subject, as in the mid-1920s portrait above. Use of this feature in studio portraits was most common throught the 1910s and 1920s, after which it just as suddenly faded from popularity.

References

The Salvation Army, from Wikipedia

Why we wear a uniform, from The Salvation Army in New Zealand, Fiji & Tonga Territory

Twenties and Thirties • Girl Guides on Geoff Caulton's PhotoDetective web pages.

History of Guiding, from the Girlguiding web page

Sepia Saturday 90: What did you do in the war, Grandpa?

This week's Sepia Saturday photo prompt is a cutely posed studio portrait of a young Princess, taken in Spain in 1916 when she was seven years old. Of course Spain remained neutral throughout the Great War, and visits to the studio may have continued unabated, even by ordinary folk. In Britain, however, the war had been going on for two years, times were tough, and many studios experienced reduced business, or were even closed due to the lack of customers.


Corporal Robert Hollis, Machine Gun Corps
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Fran Powles
Derby photographers were no exception, and it is informative to note that Pollard Graham shut eight of their branches in the Midlands - from Northampton to Burslem to Lincoln - between 1913 and 1916, leaving only the headquarters studio serving customers. Even after the war, it would be some time before business picked up sufficiently for the firms to contemplate expansion again, with their first post-war branch opening in 1920. Understandably, their clientele had changed too, with the majority of clients being uniformed soldiers about to head off to war. Postcards tended to be the predominantly used format. For most people there wasn't much spare cash around for the fancier mounts and frames.

Corporal Hollis of the Machine Gun Corps probably had this portrait taken on a visit home from the front, perhaps even after a period of recuperation, since he is sporting a wound stripe on his left sleeve.


The Brown family, Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham,
108A Friargate, Derby, 13 July 1917
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
While most portraits tended to be a single figure, or perhaps couple, I am fortunate enough to have a group portrait of my grandmother's family, the Browns, taken in the summer of 1917. The older two of her three brothers are dressed in uniform. Arthur was a Corporal/Sergeant Dispenser, RAMC, and served with the 57th North Midlands Field Ambulance Unit. He became a chemist after the war. I'm not sure what unit Frank served in, and the insignia on his lapels are not clear enough for me to make out. Ethel worked as an apprentice milliner before the war, but during the war both she and her mother Edith served in some medical capacity, probably at a hospital in Derby. Edith has what appears to be an RAMC badge pinned to the front of her dress, Ethel some other type which I've been unable to identify. Percy was still at school, while Fred Brown, at 47, was presumably too old to be called for active service.


Unidentified Royal Navy man, perhaps with his father
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Grace-Ellen Capier
This rather nice vignetted portrait shows an unidentified Royal Navy man seated with an older bearded gentleman who may be his father. I can't decide whether the single stripe on his left arm signifies that he holds the rank of "Able Seaman, Higher Grade," or whether it is a "Good Conduct" badge. Also just visible on his right sleeve is part of another badge. By comparison with Royal Navy Badges used during the First World War, it may be something like an Armourer's badge.


Thomas Frederick (Fred) Green, Royal Garrison Artillery
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Betty Bowler
A very young Fred who also visited Pollard Graham's studio, probably on the eve of his departure for the front, is wearing standard Great War issue uniform with an RGA (Royal Garrison Artillery) shoulder title. The Medal Index Cards show a Thomas F. Green, 189835, Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery, entitled to the Victory and British War Medals.


Unidentified young man, Army Ordnance Corps, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
Frederick J. Boyes was another Derby photographer who attended to portrait requirements of those dutiful young men during the Great War. The AOC shoulder title of this unidentified young man with his very neatly combed hair show that he served with the Army Ordnance Corps, which dealt "with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment."


Uncle Bill (Notts & Derby Regiment) and Auntie Hilda, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
This young man and his new bride (I presume from the prominently displayed wedding ring) are identified on the reverse only as Uncle Bill and Auntie Hilda, but he wears the shoulder titles of the Notts and Derbys Regiment, as well as a circular badge containing a red cross, similar to that of Arthur Brown, above, which may signify that he is some sort of medical orderly.


Charlotte and Alfred Horobin with their nieces, c.1915-1916
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Courtesy of Sally Jackson
Sally Jackson sent me this portrait of her grandparents Alfred Irvin Horobin and his wife Charlotte Louisa née Brady with their nieces, daughters of his half brother, Arthur Swinfield Newton and his wife Lillia née Tomlinson. Alfred is dressed in uniform, wears shoulder titles of the RFA (Royal Field Artillery), and has a crown on his sleeve, suggesting he was a warrant officer. His finely waxed moustache, not clearly visible in this image, is certainly in keeping with that rank - all he needs is a swagger stick - but I've been unable to find an appropriate Medal Index Card for him.


Frederick William Lomas of Derby, c.1914-1916
Postcard portrait by R. & R. Bull, Ashbourne
Image © and Courtesy of Derek Smith
Unfortunately this portrait of a fresh-faced Frederick William Lomas, taken by the Ashbourne firm of R. & R. Bull early during the war, is not clear enough for me to read his shoulder titles.


Unidentified man and woman, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by H. Hinge, Ashbourne
Image © and Courtesy of Ellen Oakley
Henry Hinge, also of Ashbourne, took this rather wooden - and now pretty battered - portrait of a non-commissioned officer, identified on the reverse only as "Gran's brother," and his presumed wife. He has sergeant's stripes on his lower sleeve, as well as two wound stripes, and is also holding a swagger stick, which makes me wonder whether he is a drill or staff sergeant. His shoulder titles are not visible, and I'm not familiar enough with regimental badges to recognise the one on his cap.


Louisa and Doris McAuslan at Green Hall Hospital
Postcard portraits by Frederick Holbrook, George St Studios, Belper
Images © and Courtesy of Robert Silverwood
Louisa McAuslan and her daughter Doris were working for the Red Cross at Green Hall Hospital in Belper during the war, when Belper photographer Frederick Holbrook visited and took these two fine portraits.


Frank Tomlinson, c.1914-1918
Panel print portrait by Seaman & Sons, Chesterfield
Image © and Courtesy of Phil Gregory
This less common format by Seaman & Sons of Chesterfield is often known as a panel print, although it is not too different from a postcard cut into three, and I have often seen them constructed in that manner. Phil Gregory's relative Frank Tomlinson obviously served in a Scots Regiment during the war, as evidenced by his Glengarry hat, but I have no further information about him.


Sergeant George Manning, Royal Field Artillery, c.1917
Mounted print by W.W. Winter, Derby
Image © and Courtesy of Christine Hibbert
Sergeant George Manning of the Royal Field Artillery paid a visit to the studio of W.W. Winter in Midland Road Derby "whilst at home on leave from the battlefields of Europe." The single bar on his lower left sleeve is a wound stripe, indicating that he had already been wounded in the line of duty.

Geoff Caulton's PhotoDetective web pages have some excellent descriptions and images of uniforms, badges, shoulder titles and other tips for identifying subjects on portraits from the Great War.

Roger Capewell has an extensive web site devoted to Military Images, including a comprehensive list of badges with images.

For questions about the Great War, both of a specific and more general nature, the Great War Forum is well worth trying. Chris Baker's The Long, Long Trail gives valuable advice on how track a particular soldier's service during the war, including an excellent article on how to interpret Medal Index Cards.

Buckeye Baby's Bombardier Bud and Philomena's Sweetheart Pin

Print of unidentified woman mounted in cardboard folder
by A Seaman & Sons
It's not often that I feature portraits on Photo-Sleuth from as late as the Second World War, but this reflects a paucity of such photographs in my own collection, rather than a lack of interest on my part. Mark Scanlon sent me scans of this portrait of a smartly dressed young woman taken at the studio of A. Seaman & Sons in the latter stages of the war. The print (60 x 80mm) is mounted in a cardboard folder (177 x 128mm, open) with a King George VI crown embossed on the left hand side, and the studio stamp with negative number (90301) on the reverse. Handwritten on the inside cover is the following message:

Not very good. but it serves its purpose - if you know what I mean!! - Happy landings Bud -

Backstamp from the studio of A Seaman & Sons
Sadly, although the name of the studio, the negative number and other text is visible, I can't quite make out the studio location, which I believe must be on the last line. Alfred Seaman's great-grand-daughter Anne Williams informs me that although her grandfather F.J. Seaman was operating the Chesterfield studio in the 1940s, it was under his own name, rather than the original title. She believes that probably the only branch which might have been still practising under the "A. Seaman & Sons" moniker at that time was the Scarborough studio, run by her uncle. It is perhaps worth noting that the stamped negative number is in a very similar style to that used on the reverse of a postcard portrait from the firm's Sheffield branch in 1936.


Click to enlarge
The photograph was amongst the war papers of Mark's father William Morgan (Bud) Scanlon, who served as a B-17 bombardier in the 401 bomb group, 613 bomb squad, flying 30 missions out of Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom between August 1944 and April 1945. Mark says, "He obviously knew this woman, and she him! ... I regret not getting into this research years ago when dad would have been able to provide the actual story. Bud died 9 Sept 84, much too young at 61."

The woman's clothing and hairstyle fit well with the "Wartime look" as described by Geoff Caulton on his excellent PhotoDetective web site. Her "lifted" hairstyle, pinned at the back, and arched eyebrows - plucked and shaped, no doubt - were typical fashion for the period.



Image of Bombardier Badge © and courtesy of Iain Williams
At first, seeing the "winged" badge on her lapel, I wondered whether the woman was a member of some branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF), but this page demonstrates that the badges worn by members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) were quite different. Besides, she is probably wearing civilian clothing, rather than a uniform. Further investigation, and comparison with this display of Aviation Wings from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and a fine collection of America Aviator Wings presented by Iain Williams, identified the badge as that of a Bombardier in the United States Air Force (USAF). A further selection can be found on Bob Schwartz's web site Aviation Wings and Badges of World War II.


Letterhead, Lt. William M. Scanlon & "Buckeye Baby"
The natural conclusion is that Bud gave his Bombardier's badge to this woung woman prior to his departure, I suppose therefore making it a "sweetheart pin." Mark writes further:

I code-named the mystery woman Phylis because my dad mentioned someone with that name in a letter he wrote home on 15 October 1944. At least I think it's Phylis, the actual word is hard to make out. The letter includes a request of his sister to send him some 'films' to give to Phylis who can't seem to obtain any. Dad goes on to say he hasn't received his 'cheesecake' from her yet! This passage lends credence to Phylis being a local. And she may be our mystery gal.

View Larger Map
My own interpretation of the writing in the letter is that the name is written as "Philo," which may be short for Philomena. Philomena wasn't that common a name - at least compared with Phyllis or its variants - but there were still well over a thousand Philomenas married in England between 1945 and 1955. Only nine of these married in Northamptonshire, and one in the registration district of Kettering, which includes Weldon and Corby, the closest towns to the former air force base at Deenethorpe. Of course, she may not have been from that area at all!


Mark sent me this engaging snap of his dad - from his uniform, what I presume is his bomber jacket, and the star on the aircraft fuselage, clearly taken while he was in service. He is also shown along with the rest of the crew of "Buckeye Baby," piloted by 2nd Lt. William A. Shackleford, in a group photograph on the web site of the 401st Bombardment Group Association (shown below).


Crew of "Buckeye Baby" (2nd Lt. William A. Shackleford), 613th Bomb Squadron - Bud Scanlon at front right
Image © and courtesy of 401st Bombardment Group Association
For the moment at least, the identity of Bud's presumed sweetheart must remain a mystery, but perhaps she went on to marry and have children. Perhaps also one day someone will stumble across this page and recognise her from the portrait, a credit to whichever member of the Seaman family was running that particular studio at the end of the war. Many thanks for Mark for sharing the photographs, ephemera and story.

Another WW II military group by W.W. Winter

RFJ of Scotland recently sent me a scan of another W.W. Winter military group photograph, shown below. Although the photograph was from a family collection, he knows of no connection with Derby, so the identity of the subjects and the origin of the photo are something of a mystery. Investigations with both the Derby Local Studies Library and W.W. Winter Ltd. drew blanks.


The group appears to be army and of roughly Second World War vintage. The two commissioned officers with swagger sticks seated in the middle of the front row are a Lieutenant (left) and a Captain (right).


Enlargements of their cap badges unfortunately do not reveal a great deal, although it does not seem likely that they are Sherwood Foresters, the local Derbyshire regiment.

RAF Volunteer Reserve at Derby, 1939 (Update)

Some great strides have been made on researching the background of the RAF Voluteer Reserve group photograph by Derby studio W.W. Winter, featured in an earlier post.

Peter Kirk and Peter Felix of the Derbyshire Historical Aviation Society have confirmed that the DHAS was involved in setting up the Alan Feary display at the Derby Industrial Museum about 25 years ago by providing the models and artefacts on display. Peter Felix believes he has a copy of the same photograph and is looking for it - if he's anything like me, it's probably stored somewhere "safe." Peter Kirk has made some observations about the photograph, which are very welcome - he guessed correctly that I am by no means an "aviation man."

On Image 1 there are five pilots, hence the ‘wings’ and probably the adjutant is the wingless one. Further, I’m pretty sure the sergeant pilot on the left is Feary, but will have to confirm or otherwise. One of the others might be the CFI (chief flying instructor) Roy Harben who wrote the classic manual on flying instruction. The [ranks of the] four officers are from left to right Flight Lieutenant, Flight Lieutenant, Wing Commander and Flight Lieutenant.

All the personnel are RAF; all NCOs and other ranks all wear a rearward-facing (don’t know why!) eagle on a black patch on their upper sleeves; those with three stripes are sergeants; those with the lower black patch (a two-blade propeller) are Leading Aircraftmen; those with no patch are Aircraftmen 1st Class and 2nd Class. Surprisingly I can’t see a single two-striper (corporal) in the whole bunch! A number of these may have been trainee pilots. The civvies may be civvy employees or new recruits.

The HQ of the VR during the War was at Broadway and we think that is where the photo was taken – I’ll try to get a bit more detail as it is something we have not really looked at, our attention being taken mainly by the airfield at Burnaston which was licensed from September 1938.

An almost certain identification of the location of the photograph has come from Nigel Aspdin, after a visit to the Derby Local Studies Library ...

I [copied] a page from a book "Derbyshire Fighter Aces of WW2" by B. M. Marsden ... He was one of the pair that set up the display at the Industrial Museum ... It does say that they "studied ... at the RAFVR centre at Highfields." ... Then with the mention of Broadway - If Peter Kirk is correct I think it could only be Highfield or The Leylands. Broadway was a section of Derby Ring Road, a new road set out in the 1930s, but which passed (probably partly through the grounds of) The Leylands. That too has been developed, in the 1950s, but as an area of retirement homes, and the whole building estate is now listed (Leylands Conservation Area) ... One way or another I think we are getting quite close to the answer of the location.

... where he found the houses referred to on a contemporary Ordnance Survey map ...


Ordnance Survey Map of area around Highfield & Leyland houses, 1938
Image © Derby Local Studies Library and courtesy of Nigel Aspdin

What I had forgotten (or never knew) is that Highfields is a large house north of Leylands. I have always known it as St Philomena's Convent, which is what it was (or still is maybe) although in the last 4 years pretty well all the park around the house has been intensively developed with housing. So you will see the houses Leylands and Highfields, adjacent on the attached OS maps ... I am putting my cash on Highfields now, the entrance is indeed off Broadway.

... and some energetic cycling in pursuit of a big enough lawn, hedge of the right colour, trees of suitable size, etc. The following arrived a few hours later:

I think I won my bet. I am pretty sure its Highfields. The camera would have been on the door step or east of the door step of the house, facing SSE to SSW approx. I am not sure that a photographer would choose to shoot into the southern light, but I guess Winters knew how to cope with sun etc.

You will see from my stitched panorama (above, click on image to see larger version), taken from approximately where Winter's man may have stood, that there is a well trimmed laurel hedge. This I think accords with the taller shaggier hedge in the group photo. I think that at some stage the lawn could have stretched further to the left than it does now.

There is the steel stump of a flag pole base, of M.O.D. quality, and the top of the old pole someone appears to have found and leant up in the wood. If the pole was there at the time of the group photo it would have laid flat parallel with the rows of chairs etc.

As for the trees in the background I really cannot claim to positively identify any particular tree. There is quite a lot of sycamore which will be post war self set trees. But as you know I have been obsessed with the tiny bit of cedar that just appears in the group photo as a horizontal branch. I felt that it was quite distinctive. It is indeed there, and is one tree that is not likely to have changed radically in the 70 years. It is hard to spot on my photo, but if you take one good step to the left of Jesus in the yew bush you are in front of a trunk of a sycamore, and if you take one more step you are in the front of the cedar trunk, which is set further back in the wood. Some of the other trees in the wood are tall yews, and I see tall yews in the group photo. The Highfields site has many Scots Pine elsewhere, and I think I do see Scots Pine in the group photo, albeit none still in that particular area now. The whole feel and depth of the wood feels right to me.

SSW facade of Highfield House
Image © and courtesy of Nigel Aspdin

You remember that Frank Scarratt usually got his bike in his photos? I now think he actually did it by mistake.

Many thanks to Peter Kirk and Peter Felix for their investigations, and to Nigel Aspdin, for going the extra mile on this one. We are still hoping to identify at least some of the individuals in this picture, and I will report on any further progress in due course.

Post Script - a response from Peter Kirk:

The location is indeed Highfield. We confirmed this after PF found his picture, upon which we had noted the location some years ago ... Intriguingly, Pete’s photo is different to yours. Although the background trees are identical, the group is not! There are slightly fewer people on it, and seated centrally from left to right are Feary (it is him), the supposed adjutant, and two other unidentified sergeant pilots, one of whom is on your photo.

Regrettably, we have so far only been able to identify one other man – Sidney Bradley, a wireless operator/air gunner who was killed on 19 Nov 1940 when his Hudson crashed in bad weather returning from an anti-submarine patrol. In your pic he is the tall man with the moustache fourth from left in the back row of your pic section 5. In ours, he is seventh from the left on the back row.

Peter also has an enlargement of Bradley which we’d assumed came from his picture but on close examination it didn’t, and what’s more I can’t positively tie it up with yours either ... it appears that although the two long leafy fronds behind his lef shoulder look the same on each, the rest of the foliage doesn’t match. Hence I am 99% certain that there is yet another version of the photo.

Peter Felix's photo is shown below (at right) next to an enlargement of the relevant section of my photo for comparative purposes.


Sidney Bradley, an RAF wireless operator/air gunner (d. 1940)
I've changed my mind several times along the way, but I've eventually decided that I think they are different prints made from the same original negative. There are just too many similarities in the vegetation behind Sidney Bradley for it to be a second photograph. I think the differences that are apparent may have been produced by (a) differences in the exposure times of the prints, and/or (b) specks of dirt on the negative when the second print was made. If the print was made a good time afterwards, the negative may have suffered a little in storage.

RAF Volunteer Reserve at Derby, 1939

This large mounted print of a group of mostly young men in uniform was also a recent eBay find, and was purchased from the same person as the postcard described in a previous blog post, Derby School O.T.C., July 1938. Unfortunately, the vendor was unable to provide any information on the subjects or the provenance of the photograph.


The photograph measures 372 x 140 mm with a 3 mm margin, and is mounted on 2mm thick, plain white card with a brown reverse, measuring 451 x 230 mm. The print is annotated, probably on the original negative, "W.W. WINTER. PHOTO. DERBY." Written in pencil on the reverse is, "Derby School OTC 1935ish." However, I am not confident that the writing is contemporary with the photograph, and as will be explained in more detail below, have decided that the identification is very dubious.

Due to the size of the photograph, it has been scanned in sections. Clicking on the photo above will show a more detailed version which has the scanned areas marked out, from 1 to 8. I should point that the groups are purely arbitrary, created for scanning convenience only. lick on the images below for detailed individual scans as well.


Image 1 - Central seated group of six officers and NCOs
Five of these men have winged badges above their left breast pockets, suggesting that they are in the Air Force. The three in the centre with peaked caps also have medal strips. The two men on the outside of the group have three stripes on each upper sleeve.


Image 2 - Extreme left group of 30 men & one woman
Of the 31 people in this group, twenty are in uniform. Most of those appear to have a winged badge on their left and right upper sleeves, and several also have one, two or three stripes. In addition, there are nine young men, two older men, and a young woman, all dressed in civilian clothes.


Image 3 - Upper left group of 43 men
All except two of these men are in uniform; a couple appear to have stripes and wings on their sleeves, but most do not.


Image 4 - Lower left group of 31 men
All of these are in uniform; those seated on the chairs, in the middle row, all have wings and stripes, as do some of those seated on the ground and standing. A couple of those in the front row, suh as those on the extreme left and extreme right, look particularly young, perhaps between 16 and 18.


Image 5 - Upper central group of 47 men
A mixed group of men, all in uniform, showing quite a range in height, although most appear to be in their early to mid-20s.


Image 6 - Upper right group of 41 men
A similar group to that in the previous group, although four of them are in civvies.


Image 7 - Lower central group of 33 men
A similar group to that shown in Image 4, it includes mostly men with rank in the middle row, and one or two younger men seated on the ground.


Image 8 - Extreme right group of 19 men
The last group includes 17 uniformed young men, and two older men in civilian clothes.

Fellow sleuther Nigel Aspdin and I have discussed this photograph at some considerable length over a period of several weeks and, after a couple of dead ends, Nigel made a breakthrough yesterday.

As the photo appeared to include mostly airmen and, since it had the W.W. Winter mark, was obviously taken within 25 miles or so of Derby, it occurred to us that the group might have something to do with the Rolls-Royce aero engine factory. A quick google search turned up several records of RAF men who were sent to Rolls Royce for training purposes. For example, "... proceeded to Rolls-Royce School Derby for Merlin Engine Course," and "... has gone to Rolls-Royce, Derby, for a two-weeks course on the handling of Griffon engines."

"There cannot be many places that housed so many airmen near Derby ... They all look like ground crew, it looks like a school photo. Look at any operational aircrew photo, formal or not - it was in front of a Nissen hut with a plane in the background ... I am going down town shortly, I will call in at the Industrial Museum, they have loads of Rolls-Royce exhibits.."

Nigel did indeed visit the Museum of Industry & History in Derby, originally at the Free Library, but now relocated to the Old Silk Mill. "I was faced with the huge static aero engine displays I remember as a child ... I had a chat with the man on the desk, then wandered in, it all looked unpromising that there would be anything about Rolls-Royce training RAF personnel. At the far end was a display about a Sergeant Pilot Alan Feary. I went to read it ... and suddenly I saw your photo!! The caption ... 'RAF VR Derby 1939.' The display had been put together by a Barry Marsden and a David Drake-Feary of Derbyshire Historical Aviation Society [some 25 years ago.] It was not exactly clear how the photo related to Sgt Pilot Alan Feary, but by implication Feary came through the Derby RAF VR ... and was in 609 Squadron when killed."

So now we know that the group is from the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and the picture was taken some time in 1939. Presumably a botanical fundi could tell us what time of year it was from the state of the vegetation. It may also be possible to find out where it was taken. If you have any further information or ideas about the photograph, or can identify any of the 250 odd people in it, please email me.

Many thanks to Nigel for going the extra mile, literally, on this one.

See later post for update.

Derby School O.T.C., July 1938

A postcard photo recently came into my possession which shows a group of uniformed men arranged for a formal group portrait. It is captioned, "Derby School O.T.C. July, 1939," and is presumably of instructors and cadets of the Officer Training Corps at Derby School, just before the Second World War.


According to this Wikipedia article, Derby School is a very old institution which has "had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries." In 1863, the school moved to St. Helen's House in King Street, Derby, which had been owned by Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper, and over the next 25 years, "was expanded from a local grammar school into a nationally known public school ... The school was greatly expanded with 'B'-block being added in 1901 ... During World War II, the school was evacuated to Overton Hall, Ashover, a village near Matlock," although it returned to St. Helen's House after the end of the war. The image below is a recent picture of "B" Block, St Helen's House, and it is clear that it is was infront of this building that the cadets sat for the portrait.


"B" Block, St. Helen's House, Derby in 2007, from Wikipedia
Are there any readers out there who might be able to identify any of the men in this picture. Please email me if you would like a high resolution version of the image.

Another flaming grenade to identify

Nigel Aspdin found this postcard photograph in the papers of either his paternal grandmother or great aunt. They were both married by 1916, and Nigel considers it unlikely that they would have dated a private. He has assumed, therefore, that the soldier was unrelated to his family, and wondered whether we could find out anything more about the postcard, studio, or subject.


The photograph is in a postcard format, with "The Empire Studio" (location unfortunately unknown) blind-stamped at lower right, and has the handwritten inscription, "With love, Arnold - July '16." The cap badge is, once again, a flaming grenade. Perhaps the experts could point to a regiment once more, please?


Harry Needham responds unequivocally:

Now here is one we can work with! Look at THAT spade shape, and how the bottom of the flames droop close to the grenade. Quite a coincidence, but here's another Royal Fusiliers cap badge.

Nigel found some images of the cap badges for many English Regiments, in the form of cigarette cards, on the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. These display very clearly the differences to which George and Harry have referred in previous posts.



The reverse of the postcard unfortunately gives few clues as to the identity of the subject, or the studio at which the portrait was taken:


However, the stamp box design gives a clue to the publisher of the postcard stock.


CYKO is listed by Ron Playle on his web site "Real Photo Post Cards" as having operated from 1904 until the 1920s. He also shows some variation in stamp box design, which is consistent with the date inscribed, and that suggested by the uniform.