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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: westdale on Thursday 05 May 16 19:13 BST (UK)
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Any ideas on a name for the regiment etc ?
This is some sort of volunteer uniform ( family information ).
I thought at one time it was local to Gainsborough Lincolnshire ca 1914.
Now I have a suspicion it might be earlier Cheshire.
The wearer was born in 1879.
Thanks in advance!
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Do you have (or have you seen) the original photo? If so, is there a photographer's name?
Is it possible to get a higher resolution scan of the belt buckle?
My gut feeling is late Victorian/Edwardian (but there are uniform experts on here who would be able to offer a more accurate date range)
The emblem on the belt buckle might possibly be a grenade, or a disc surmounted by Prince of Wales feathers, but I can't see it clearly.
Philip
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Hi, does anyone think there is a resemblance to the 3rd photograph down on the link.
Frank.
http://www.archhistory.co.uk/taca/forgottenfaces.html
I'm especially looking at the belt buckle.
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It certainly has the right feel, and encourages me to think of the earlier date. Can't, I think, do much about clarity of buttons and belt. It is possible, if this is Cheshire volunteers, that the uniform is light blue. The Yeomanry wore light blue and cream I think. The symbol on the arm puzzles me too.
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here is a go at the buckle ... lion's head or grenade ?
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can we have a name and date and place of birth , may be worth a scan through army records or censuses for him and his rgt .
regards
trevor
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Herbert Townsend Dalton, Born Northwich 1879.
Worked for Brunner Mond (later called ICI) Northwich - I include that in case there was a works volunteer section?
Of interest, but not great relevance, his grandfather Peter Carter was in the Cheshire Yeomanry and on the 'wrong' side at Peterloo - dragged off his horse and escaped over garden walls.
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Clutching at straws ( and the pun is intentional ), does anyone else think that the cheshire badge, which I have just found, matches the belt in the original picture ?
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Tunic is standard infantry 1881 to 1900 - jam pot cuffs. I have seen the arm badge before but cannot remember where. Facings (collar and cuffs) look white, but could be buff of Cheshire regiment. Lincolnshire's are white.
If he was a Volunteer you will only find his record on Findmypast if he served in the Boer War. Volunteers formed Volunteer Companies in Regular battalions. Worth looking on Ancestry WW1/pension files as they will give previous service.
Ken
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The lozenge badge on his arm is a Volunteer Battalion badge for efficiency I think. This confirms the Volunteer ID. The cap is very much turn of the century and mactches the dates for the tunic.
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Splendid. Many thanks to all for your input :)
Given the date, this is Northwich, Cheshire.
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Good afternoon,
The belt looks to have the Prince of Wales feathers in the centre not the corn sheave of the volunteers.
The Cheshires being the 22nd foot had 2 battalions so were not amalgamated under the Cardwell reforms. Their badge centre was an acorn and oak leaves.
But they gained more battalions in 1881 one of which was the 1st Cheshire light infantry militia and their badge centre was the Prince of Wales feathers. Militia were part time volunteers who normally only served within the UK but could sign up for foreign service if needed.
John915
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Militia were not volunteers but signed up for periods of the year with the militia Bn as paid emplyment. The lozenge is a VB and not a militia badge.
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You're both right. Militia and Regulars were volunteers (small v). But the tunic is not Militia as they retained some braid work around the cuff.
The 22nd Rifle Volunteer Corps were raised in Northwich. They became part of 3rd Volunteer Battalion in the late 1880s. Cheshire miltary museum provide a research service that may be able to tell you the uniform of the 3rd VBs.
Ken
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Again, many thanks.