14 replies to this topic

[Gary Samson]

Someone on the Kent Family History Society mailing list recently asked for any information on this soldier.  Unfortunately, there's not very much photographic detail to help identify this man's unit but knowing the wealth of Pals' expertise there may be something here that will help with further research.  The soldier's name is George Henry Backhouse who, according to the KFHS member, was born 23 March 1900.  There are two collar badges visible but neither are very clear.  Is there anything about the style of uniform, the buttoning or any aspect of this photograph that might help to identify this soldier's regiment?

Many thanks

Gary

Attached Files

•  GHBackhouse.jpg   0bytes   0 downloads

[Chris Noble]

Any chance of a zoom in Gary?
Chris.

[Malcolm]

Something strange about the collar ' image '
It would appear to be an ' animal ' but it is facing right and all badges of this type face left. Of course I could be completely off.
The neg could have been printed wrong way round of course.
Can you do a scan of the collar area at high resolution?

Aye
Malcolm

[Pete Wood]

The neg could have been printed wrong way round of course.

I think Malcolm is right. Aren't the buttons the wrong way round?

[Malcolm]

Garth,
I think RT and I are right. I think this is correct.
Aye
Malcolm

Attached Files

•  garthsflipped.jpg   0bytes   0 downloads

[CROONAERT]

Aren't the buttons the wrong way round?

They certainly are!

dave.

[Malcolm]

Maybe
Queen's Royal West Surrey
Royal Lincolnshire
Buffs
Royal Berkshire
3rd Hussars
Queen's Own Hussars

Obviously not Western Front, possibly  Mespot, Africa, Salonika, India or the Med.
Check the main website for any of the above deployed to these areas.
Aye
Malcolm

[Gary Samson]

Many thanks for all the comments so far.  Well spotted that the image had been reversed at some point.  I must admit I missed that completely although something was niggling me about the buttoning.  Anyway, I've asked for a enlarged scan of the collar area in the hope that it will provide enough extra information for a positive ident on the collar badges.  

I can't quite discern your animal, Malcolm.  You haven't been tippling the Pals '37 single malt, have you?  This creature wouldn't have perhaps a very long nose, large ears, a penchant for buns, and be of a decidedly pinkish hue, would it?  Only joking!  

Gary

[Malcolm]

D**n , found out again. Only for medicinal purposes of course.
Could be the pascal lamb of the Queen's Royal West Surreys.

blob on the left with a blob off-set underneath. Could also be a sphynx of the Gloucestershire.
A close up scan should give the answer.


Off to walk the dog in the wind and rain.  Ho-hum. I'll watch out for heffalumps, pink or otherwise.
Aye
Malcolm

[Ian Bowbrick]

There is a small clue in the shoulder title, which is just visible. The lettering is straight rather than on an arc, which would discount the Queens Regt. It looks like the Buffs to me.
Ian

[Pete Wood]

Does this help a bit...??

Attached Files

•  post_23_1065655417.jpg   0bytes   0 downloads

[Malcolm]

I'm sure it's one of these two.
Aye
Malcolm

Attached Files

•  buffsurrey.jpg   0bytes   0 downloads

[Gary Samson]

I've had an email back from the chap whose grandfather this is and he tells me, an all too common tale I suspect, that the photo was lent to him by an aunt some years ago, she has since passed away and it has subsequently been lost.  So, regrettably no further scans.  This soldier was a local lad so the Buffs would be a good hunch.  I'll pass on all your comments and suggest that it might be worth ploughing through WO364/WO363 for the pension/service records of all the George Henry Backhouses.  Armed with additional information about where his grandfather lived, who his parents were, and so on, he might just strike lucky.

Thanks again, guys, your help much appreciated again.

Gary

[Gary Samson]

I'm sure it's one of these two.

Malcolm,

You'll no doubt have noticed that I've unashamedly purloined, 'alf-inched or otherwise nicked the Buffs image you posted in response to my recent uniform query and am now using it as a (temporary) avatar.  Honestly, are there no depths to which some people will sink? Just out of interest, where did you source this image of the Buffs cap badge?  Is it from Kipling & King?

Gary

[Malcolm]

The image is from A Companion to the British Army 1660 - 1983 by David Ascoli.
I also almost put an image from Twenty Years After which has twelve pages of cap badges from The Great War.
Makes a nice avatar.
Aye
Malcolm