Help With Identity Comparison of William Wilson

[Ruskie]

I took the liberty of asking Ken, one of the Armed Forces experts about these pictures. The following is part of his reply:

There is a big problem here in that we do not know the time difference. People are talking about WW2, but that is most definitely when the last photograph was NOT taken, as during WW2 the tallies on the men's hats switched to just HMS. The ship name was not shown for the duration.


I would say the chap you have identified in the last photo is definitely younger than 55 years old. I would put him in his 30s at the oldest.

[Treetotal]

If the second photo is earlier than originally thought then it still could be him as he wouldn't have been 55...and more likely to be in his 30s.
I still think it's the same man.
Carol

[Ruskie]

If the second photo is earlier than originally thought then it still could be him as he wouldn't have been 55...and more likely to be in his 30s.
Carol

Yes, I think that was what Ken meant regarding not knowing the time difference. We would need to fathom the minimum and maximum time difference that there could be between photos to get some sort of timeline ....

I still think it's the same man.
Carol

Even with the sticky out short ears in one photo and the long flat ears in the other? 

[debiwinters]

Yes, it looks the same to me....he also has the same cleft, the indent on the chin..which hit the nail on the head for me.

[Elizajb]

Hi All,

Thanks again for your input. Debi I am referring to the man on the left, the one whose chin we cannot see, sorry if I haven't made that more clear.

I have a bit of a problem (of my own making I might add) now Ruskie. I have had the photo for a while, having saved it from a website "just in case" probably a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I broke a cardinal rule and did not make a note of where I got it from, or bookmark the website, neither of which would trip me up these days.

I've spent some time over the past few hours trying to find it and where I may have picked it up from, but have had no luck.

I know the photo was taken on board a ship called the Prince David, which I think might have been a merchant ship commandeered for WW2 and is probably why I thought the photo was taken in WW2. The fact that I didn't save the source is a real nuisance but I am feeling doubtful of his identity because of the length of the ears as you pointed out Ruskie.

I'm probably just going round and round in circles in asking chatters to try and identify a man I don't know, at a time I can't be sure of, in a service I know nothing about. However, it has helped me clarify some things I hadn't thought of so thankyou all for that.

Regards Eliza.

[Treetotal]

Aw never mind Eliza...It was worth a shot anyway...it could have worked out for you....you don't know where it could have led.
Carol

[Rudolf H B]

Canadian National Steamship
CNSS Prince David (1930 - 1939)
HMCS Prince David (F89)
Armed Merchant Cruiser (1940 - 1943)
Landing Ship Infantry Medium (1943 - 1945)

see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Prince_David_(F89)

Best regards
Rudolf

[Elizajb]

Thanks Carol - it was worth a shot as you say. It has made me think a bit more laterally and everyone has answered my original question, that is, to give opinions on whether the faces in the photos could possibly, or not, be a match so thanks all for having a go.

It does appear the Prince David was a passenger ship prior to 1940, thanks for the link Rudolf, that's very interesting.

Regards Eliza.

[Ruskie]

Interesting search Eliza - and a variety of opinions as you would expect.

Unsure if it has already been suggested on this thread (apologies if so) ....

Presumably you know that William served in both WW1 and WW2? Is there anything further you are looking for regarding William? For example are you hoping to find evidence of his service in WW2? Or were you just wondering if that was him in the photo?

If you need specific information about his service, it might be worth a new thread on the Armed Forces board (providing a link to this thread as there may be some cross over).

Best of luck with the search.