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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: Sas2010 on Sunday 10 April 16 14:29 BST (UK)

Title: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: Sas2010 on Sunday 10 April 16 14:29 BST (UK)
Dear All ,

I have  an enquiry regarding my 2 x Great Grandfather , George Albert Evans  born in 1882 . We believe  he served in the Boer War . I have attached a copy of him circa 1900 , he is about 18/19 years old .

I would be grateful for any information , we are not sure what regiment he served in .

Have a  lovely day  :)
Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: km1971 on Sunday 10 April 16 17:10 BST (UK)
Not an army uniform. Could be Post Office or railway. Outside chance it is for merchant navy. What occupation did he give in 1901?

Boer War service records should be on Findmypast in series WO96 or 97.

Anyone landing in South Africa for the Boer War received a medal. Unfortunately the medal rolls (on Ancestry) only give forename initials in more than 90% of cases; and if he did not use his middle name you are chasing a very common name.

If you can find his record for WW1 it should give any previous service.

Ken

Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: philipsearching on Monday 11 April 16 12:59 BST (UK)
Not an army uniform. Could be Post Office or railway. Outside chance it is for merchant navy. What occupation did he give in 1901?

Boer War service records should be on Findmypast in series WO96 or 97.

Anyone landing in South Africa for the Boer War received a medal. Unfortunately the medal rolls (on Ancestry) only give forename initials in more than 90% of cases; and if he did not use his middle name you are chasing a very common name.

If you can find his record for WW1 it should give any previous service.

Ken

The pictures of post office employees of c1900 that I have seen show them in single-breasted jackets with collar numbers, so I don't think it's a post office uniform.

Super photo, but such a shame part of the cap is lost - I can't figure out what the emblem could be.  It might be crossed leaves (with an anchor between them?).

Philip
Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: jess5athome on Monday 11 April 16 13:12 BST (UK)
Hi, as said, it's not a army uniform, I'm tempted to say it could be for a shipping line.

Frank.
Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: philipsearching on Monday 11 April 16 13:26 BST (UK)
Hi, as said, it's not a army uniform, I'm tempted to say it could be for a shipping line.

Frank.

Something maritime does seem the likeliest possibility.
We really need to know if he turns up on the 1901 or 1911 census and what his occupation was.  Or the occupation given on his marriage record.
Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: macintosh on Tuesday 12 April 16 07:12 BST (UK)
I would agree with Frank on this, he looks to be a junior officer or cadet on a shipping line, I looked at P and O and although the badge is slightly different all other aspects of uniform and cap are similar, the photo circa 1900 would make him 18-20 years old, it is unlikely he would have achieved high rank at that age.
That is not to say he wasn't in South Africa, tens of thousands of troops were shipped by shipping companies

Such a shame the pic is so damaged, the experts on the photographic board may be able to repair some of the damage.

James
Title: Re: Military Uniform Enquiry
Post by: jess5athome on Thursday 14 April 16 12:37 BST (UK)
Hi  :) ,Doing just a quick search on the web, I would say that the portion of cap badge you can see does indeed point to a shipping company, below are just two links which show similar badges.

Frank.

http://www.williammurdoch.net/images/william_medica_large.jpg

And another,

http://www.biship.com/images/biofficer.jpg