Hello everyone.I would like to share a photo album,I picked up from my local oxfam shop fairly recently.
No names to be found anywhere but an interest in guns suggests the phographer was maybe a gunner.
The other none military pics,show Bombay,India and places in Italy,all places i think he was posted to.
I think they are very interesting,especially the fact our troops are there now.
I would be interested in the ship in camo.

Click to view attachmentAlso this;

Anti aircraft gun on railway truck 1918,mesopatamia

60 pdr 157 battery 1918 mesopatamia.
would be very interested in identifying this unit.

Captured turkish gun[7.7cms]

You lucky person. What a find.

Is that a Q-ship in the first photo?

I don't know anything about ships[not much about anything else either!!]I was hoping one of the wizz kids on ships might identify it ,theres people out there who really know their stuff.
I was chuffed to find the album,it had been overlooked in a corner with the grand price of £1.99!
I keep on going back,but no follow ups yet.
I bet the owner had an interesting life,from the pictures.
regards,paul.

Frog
Well done on your find & thanks for letting us see the images.

These are very interesting pictures & I hope that experts will comment on them.

Please keep looking for more!

Harry

Two of the photos are of Babylon including the lion

You lucky chap ! Excellent pictures !

The Official History doesn't include much about 157th (Heavy) Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery but here goes.

The battery was part of 7th (Indian) Division Group and it did indeed arrive in Basra from India in July 1916. At some time it received caterpillar tractors to pull its four 60 pdrs. and took part in the February 1917 recapture of Kut. In November 1917 it took part in the action at Daur.

In April 1918 the artillery was reorganised and 157th Battery was part of 101st Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, serving in the advance up the Tigris with the 17th Divisional Group. Its last action appears to have been at Sharqat at the end of October 1918 just prior to the armistice with Turkey.

Sorry, nothing else to report other than similar feelings of envy at your find!

Cheers,


Jim

The AA gun is one of 10 1pdr pompoms deployed to Mes. 5 sections each of two guns were mounted on railway trucks to cover supply trains on the LoC.

Source: Routledge, History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery - Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-1955, Brassey's 1994.

Mike

Thanks to everyone for the info.Its a shame i could find no name on the album,but my gut feeling was it was taken by an officer in the artillery.
the album also shows non military scenes of india[bombay]a bear at a zoo a snake charmer.also scenes in italy abou 1918.I'll post some later if i can.
Thanks again to everyone,Paul.

This picture has no caption but was next to one i identified as in Italy.
Can anyone identify the military gents nationality?

This is captioned tight rope walker bombay 1919,so the unit returned to India after mesopotamia.

boats on banks of tigris baghdad 1918

Restaurant signboard Basra 1918

What fabulous photographs .
That wasn't Lawrence of Arabia , was it ?

My great grandfather was in the 157th in Mesopotamia. These pictures are fabulous.

A trial to have a better view on pic 1...
Click to view attachment

Curious boat... nice coatings
TD60

The ship might be the Cawdor Castle, have a look on google images. I know it was used as a troop ship by the 1st/5th Hampshire Regiment to get to India in 1914.

Great photos

Can't help with the ship's name but I did pick up some interesting info from an old Purnell's magazine special on WW1 warships that mentions dazzle-painting.

Efforts to camoflage ships in a way that made them invisible suffered due to the superstructure still being silhouetted against the skyline when targeted by U-boats. Rather than trying to make the ships invisible marine artist Norman Wilkinson suggested they be made so conspicuous as to create an optical illusion that would distort their size, course and speed and confound a U-boat attack run.

The admiralty progressed Wilkinson's idea by also painting large areas of contrasting colour over the superstructure that further broke up the ship's form and outline.

The dazzle patterns were designed at the Royal Accademy in Piccadily whilst special dazzle officers oversaw the actual painting of the ships in harbour.

By late 1917 the admiralty adopted the scheme as standard for the mercantile marine and also some warships.

ET

Have you tried ore friends at the Royal Navy section of this forum? They have some brilliant experts. You never know you might get the answer you want.

Martin

fantastic photos, was the 17th division referred to the 17th Indian Division? Have some pics from 6th LAMB attached to the 17th from my wifes grandfather John William Flower who was in mesopotamia in armoured cars

Frog;

Re: the Italian (?) scene a few posts back, the military type is almost certainly Italian.

Additionally, I have seen photos of a similar or the same large building and large square before it, taken just after the city, a fairly large one taken I believe in the November 1917 Ionzo attack, with lots of German troops, equipment, etc. in front of the building. But possibly it was standard Italian monumental architecture of the period found in many cities.

Bob Lembke




Post # 13.

Bob