Help with date (from Uniform)

[BobtheBee]

 Hi,

This photograph was taken in Norwich around WW1. The lady 3rd from left (b.1862) had 4 sons, one of whom (not the soldier in the photo) served in the Norfolk Regiment & was killed in 1917, & is buried in Gaza. The 2nd oldest is seated front left & was b.1886. Her youngest b.1901 was a daughter, and could be the girl on the right.


Bob.

[manmack]

bob,i cant find anything in the picture to date it,have these folks been to a funeral or memorial service,not one person is smiling not even the two youngsters,three of the men appear to be wearing medallions,the man at the front looks cross shaped,the lad in uniform is a royal artilleryman and hes been in at least 12 years,sorry its not much help,do you think they may have been to mass for the lad who was killed,mack

[Rod In Sussex]

Bob,

I would place the date as the early 1920s. This is based on the style of the mens shirt collars (ie a mixture of up, down and long) and the length of the womans skirts. As only one man is in uniform I am certain that this is after 1918. From what Mack says about the soldier, with his 12 years service chevrons on the sleeve, he is probably a regular soldier still serving after the end of the war, when the conscripts had been discharged.

Hope this helps,

Rod

[manmack]

rod,i agree,its not long after the war,mack

[BobtheBee]

Hi,

Thanks for your input. I agree there does not seem to be much jollity in the air, and as you say wondered about this being a gathering to mark the death of CJ Nelson killed November 2nd, 1917.

That would explain the distinct lack of smiles, although having said that I have a wedding photograph taken in 1904, when out of 18 participants, only one is wearing anything like a smile. Is the dress sombre enough for a wake or memorial, and it doesn't look too cold out there.

1922 would be a significant date for the head of the family (Lucilla), when she would be  60. I've also searched the marriage indexes from 1917 to 1921 for a wedding of Lilian (Rose) Nelson of Norwich, and found nothing.

So there are still 2 dates 1917/18 or early 1920's possibly 1922.

Bob.

[Rod In Sussex]

This is almost certainly not a funeral. At that date the woman would have been in black and the men would have had black arm bands. As mentioned before, if this was 1917 then most of the men would not have been home at once and they would all have been in uniform.

The lack of smiles is due to some extent to the type of photography. These were early "box browning" type cameras and while people did not need to stay still for several minutes as with the early glass plate pictures, they still need to stay still. As such most pictures do not show people smiling.

I would therefor go for 1922.   

Rod

[manmack]

i think you can be safe with the 1920/22 date,its not 1917,why couldnt our ancestors write on the backof their pics,we still do the same today,so in 80 years or so,nobody will know whos in the pics,ime ok because the police kindly named all mine,and they even seem to have given me a catalogue number, ;)mack

[manmack]

bob,have you had problems finding CJs records,i cant find him in the medal rolls,was CJ a royal employee before the war,mack

[BobtheBee]

Thanks Rod & Mack, I'll settle for 1922 and a possible birthday celebration of the old girl.

As for CJ Nelson, he is listed by the CWGC as a private, service no 240630, in the Norfolk Regiment, 1st/5th Bn. buried in Gaza Cemetery, killed 2/22/1917, the son of Mrs Lucilla Nelson, 7, Minns court, Magdalen St., Norwich. Unfortunately, I don't know his occupation before the war.

Bob.