Author Topic: Mystery photo in need of a better look!  (Read 39967 times)

Offline O1dgobbo

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #225 on: Monday 10 March 08 19:58 GMT (UK) »
Hi All

The boy looks a lot like the airman but they cannot be the same person unless we are looking at actors on a film set.  The airman has no medal ribbons but is wearing what we think is the uniform of the RNAS.  The uniforms and decorations point to the period shortly after 1918 (we seem to be saying 1922).  Because of his uniform the airman must have enlisted in the RNAS before 1918 but did not see active service (no decorations).  The boy would have been 10 in 1918 and even in those days would surely not have been enlisted.

What do we know about the Ivins family - was there an older brother who could be the airman?

Good luck

Gobbo
Aberdeenshire - Chalmers, Crocker, Dalrymple, Kelman
Fife - Co?per, Dun, Jackson
NE England - Harland, Hasted, Heaviside, Longridge, Thompson
SE England - Drawbridge, Hall, Hayward, Howard, Newell, Seward, Slade, Smith

Offline Flakdodger

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #226 on: Monday 10 March 08 23:26 GMT (UK) »
Hi all.
just popped back to the thread and there is a LOT to catch up on.
Gizzus a few minutes and I will be back.
Cheers
Dave
The only free cheese is in a mousetrap

Offline Flakdodger

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #227 on: Monday 10 March 08 23:55 GMT (UK) »
Right oh,
Gobbo, thanks for holding the fort. I am a complete dunce with medal ribbons and have had to be guided by my RAF list chums, especially as in a black and white photo it is almost impossible to discern whether we have here a DFC or an AFC.
The first candidate had an MC AFC and DFC and a Met posting. Perfect, except that family contact ruled that candidate out.
Work is underway on candidate number two who is a MC DFC and a Met posting has just been confirmed.
As you say, it ought not to be too difficult - and from a list of 52 possibles we are working on four.
The specialist archive approached has been the RAF Museum. Sorry to say, Susan and PaulaToo, contact with Innsworth and IWM will be non-runners.
At RAF Personnel Records it is a cold blooded next-of-kin-and-pay-your-money exercise. The IWM photo collection does have a card index (their on-line photo collection is an angel on a pin head) and they are too busy to respond to a general photo request like ours. A pity.
Piestains, after my private messages, I am intrigued to see the photo of William Ivins and his resemblance to "Mikhail Gorbachev" - and he is also standing in front of a brick wall. Aaaaaaaarg!.
Gobbo is spot on regarding the photo, we are sure is early 1920s and William would be too young to be in that photo. But an older brother could be food for thought.
And so to bed.
Dave
The only free cheese is in a mousetrap

Offline PaulaToo

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #228 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 00:03 GMT (UK) »
That's Ok by me, Dave, if they don't do, they don't do....rotten lot!
Bartlett/Henley on Thames
Caponhurst/Buckinghamshire and?
Denchfield/North Marston/Bucks
Webb/Winchester
Mathias/Pembroke/Pembroke Dock
John/Pembroke/Pembroke Dock
Smith/Portsmouth/Portsea
Purchas/Bucks and?
Olliffe/Bucks


Offline mudge

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #229 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 00:27 GMT (UK) »
Hi
I used to live in a house numbered 229, and keep seeing this number cropping up.  So I couldn't resist taking this 229th slot
What's the largest numbers of replies / resposes on this site  ???  Does anyone know  ???
Mudge 

Offline piestains

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #230 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 00:48 GMT (UK) »
Had a feeling William was too young.  He had three older brothers, but none look remotely like him.   Victor died in 1916, and the other Fred is my great grandfather!  leaves just one Alfred...no resemblance.

Dave, no luck on my part.....I'm a bit of an amateur!


Offline Rabbit B

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #231 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 09:56 GMT (UK) »
Hi Everyone,

Has anyone tried asking the people who run this site if they have any information on a picture like this!  have you considered posting the picture there http://www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk/index.html 

You might get someone who knows or knew one of the men in the photo!  Another avenue perhaps?

Rabbit B  ;D
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Offline O1dgobbo

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #232 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 11:32 GMT (UK) »
Hi All

I am not so sure that Alfred is not the airman.  I can remember that in my twenties when I started full time work and did not partake in sport twice a week that I put on several stone quite quickly and my face became fatter.  The airman's posting may be quite a cushy number and perhaps with little exercise and too much pie and beer slim Alfred has indeed turned into plump airman.  There are differences in the eye shading but this may just be the difference between a good snapshot, taken in bright light and the more carefully lit professional group photo (the shadows of all the peaked caps do not obscure the facial details - with the snap lighting the shadows from the peaks would have been much heavier.

So how old was Alfred and what else if anything do we know of him?

Good luck

Gobbo
Aberdeenshire - Chalmers, Crocker, Dalrymple, Kelman
Fife - Co?per, Dun, Jackson
NE England - Harland, Hasted, Heaviside, Longridge, Thompson
SE England - Drawbridge, Hall, Hayward, Howard, Newell, Seward, Slade, Smith

Offline Rabbit B

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Re: Mystery photo in need of a better look!
« Reply #233 on: Tuesday 11 March 08 13:07 GMT (UK) »
Hiya Gobbo,

Consider this:- Eyes slanted all wrong, lips too thin. Chin is similar, but not the same, ears look wrong to me!

One looks either Russian, Polish or Ukrainian, the other English.  I am sticking to my guns here

Rabbit B

Conning/London
Wareham/Winchester
Hart/Cambridgeshire
Burns/Byrne/Liverpool and Ireland
Nibbs/London
Brealey/Staffordshire
Melbourn/Melbourne/Cambridgeshire
Hoyle/Liverpool
Relf/Sussex