Which regiment did this man belong to?

[alan o]

Probably but if he was slow buying a RAF uniform it could well be in 1919.  It is possible that he had this portrait phot taken of himself upon commissioning but that is speculation on my part.  A trawl through the London gazette on line should find that date.

[alan o]

How long was observer training?  He has completed that so depending on exactly when he left the Yorks plus the course length would give you a not-before date. 

[peterstarling]

I've just had another look at his RAF record which has a note saying that he was promoted to Temp. 2nd Lt on 29 Oct 1918.
It also records his Observer training from the 7 - 24 Aug 1918 and then working as an observer at Eastchurch from 24 Aug 1918.
He left the RAF on 13 Apr 1919.
So what can we conclude from all of this about the date of the photo?

[peterstarling]

It now looks to me that this photo was taken after the 29 Oct 1918 but before the 13 Apr 1919 (possibly in Nov 1918, just after he was commissioned).

[alan o]

That appears correct to me.

[John915]

Good evening,

If that is the 1914/1915 star ribbon he has, then it has to be after Dec 1918. This narrows it down to early 1919.

John915

[alan o]

John,

While the medals were not made until post war the ribbons were worn in 1918.  There is a very moving account in the book 1918 about the sight of 2 soldiers lying dead in the autumn of 1918 both with the 1914 Star medal ribbons on their tunics. 

Alan

[John915]

Good evening,

Alan,

That was the 1914 star which had a rosette on it's ribbon. He wasn't eligible for that as he landed in france in 1915.

The 1914/1915 star wasn't authorised until Dec 1918 so the ribbon would not have been available before then.

John915

[catharris]

This is my Great Grandfather (my Father's maternal Grandfather)!    Robert Wilkinson moved to New Zealand with his wife Henrietta and their two children.  They had two more children in New Zealand including my grandmother (passed away in 1997).  Thank you to all who have posted information as I knew very little about his career in the Army (although other family members may know more). We received correspondence this weekend of new family connections which is incredible!