Leeds Army/Civilian unit - any ideas?

[Flakdodger]

This piccie comes from a chum who would like to identify the unit - and date.
Females outnumber the soldiers (there is one uniformed female - 2nd row to the left, holding the dog). The ladies appear to be clad for admin duties, rather than the munitions factory.
The wallpaper merchants in the background [S M Bryde] were identified as being at Hanover Square., London. This was possibly a Registered Office.
However, further digging has unearthed the site as the grounds of The Mill Hill Unitarian Chapel, Park Road, Leeds.
The group are sited between the Chapel and Royal Exchange House, with Basinghall Street behind them (and Bryde's on the far side of Basinghall Street).
My thoughts are that these folk might be Military Post - the General Post Office being across the other side of City Square.
Any ideas?
Dave

[winston]

HI

This is not military help but have you considered submitting your photo to this website of images in and around the Leeds area

http://www.leodis.net/


Wendy

[scrimnet]

Well....I don't think it is a Postal thingy mate...

The post was handled by the Royal Engineers, and although I can make out around x4 different cap badges, I can't see the semblance of a RE one...

Thoughts...

As it is the centre of town, was there a YMCA building hard by, where the women (and the civvy chaps) were volunteers, and this was a clear space near by to take a photograph?

An War Comforts group with an amount of the soldiers provided for...

Factory volunteers who returned,  and the workers / WAGS left behind...

I would say that this pic is no earlier than late 1917...

Is the company still extant?

[mmm45]

Have posted link on Yorkshire Indexers..theres a wealth of knowledge about Leeds stuff on there.

Ady

[Flakdodger]

Wendy, Scrim and Ady,
thanks for your guidance.
Wendy, I have just been looking at leodis.net, which is mind blowing (and plenty of photos of the City Square area). I will suggest to my mate that submitting the piccie to them would be a capital idea.
Scrimmers, Ah, date no earlier than late 1917. YMCA will be checked out.
I thought, too, that it was a convenient space for a photo, yet City square is more open.
Googling Bryde's brings up Scandinavian web sites, so maybe they operate out of that region now.
Ady, thank you for your kindness in posting a link on Yorkshire Indexers.
Cheers to you all,
Dave

[scrimnet]

Wendy, Scrim and Ady,
thanks for your guidance.
Wendy, I have just been looking at leodis.net, which is mind blowing (and plenty of photos of the City Square area). I will suggest to my mate that submitting the piccie to them would be a capital idea.
Scrimmers, Ah, date no earlier than late 1917. YMCA will be checked out.
I thought, too, that it was a convenient space for a photo, yet City square is more open.
Googling Bryde's brings up Scandinavian web sites, so maybe they operate out of that region now.
Ady, thank you for your kindness in posting a link on Yorkshire Indexers.
Cheers to you all,
Dave

City Sq may be more open, but what about the traffic???

Anyway, that is why I went for the last thought of the "Workers Return"...Perhaps a compare and contrast of the x2 most senior officers in the middle might show a likeness to the company bosses??

Might well still be the returning workers theory....

Or on leave of course!

[Flakdodger]

I'm still hung up on the typical military heirachy of the placement layout in the group. If it is a returning workers photo, the company certainly has a preponderance of sergeants...
Oh, I forgot to say thanks for the observation that RE ran the forces postal service. 
Dave

[scrimnet]

I'm still hung up on the typical military heirachy of the placement layout in the group. If it is a returning workers photo, the company certainly has a preponderance of sergeants...
Oh, I forgot to say thanks for the observation that RE ran the forces postal service. 
Dave

With all those women at that place, I would expect that they needed  a good slack handful of supervisory chaps to keep them in order and to stop them gossiping...

Supervisory roles at work, would lead to supervisory role in the army...Anyway perhaps they were just good at their job!

[Flakdodger]

With all those women at that place, I would expect that they needed a good slack handful of supervisory chaps to keep them in order and to stop them gossiping...

My word, I won't tell the thought Police, lets hope no-one else does.