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Author Topic: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?  (Read 2232 times)

Offline kob3203

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Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« on: Thursday 07 October 21 03:20 BST (UK) »
No restoration required.

No idea who the three chaps are.

We're mainly trying to identify where this photo was taken, and the unusual clothing would seem to be a major clue - if only we could tell where it was from !
Most roots researched back to the early/mid 1800s. Years noted as 'pre' refer to my direct ancestors, although I'm interested in any relatives:
Mitchelstown, Co.Cork: CORBETT (pre1935), SWEENEY  (pre1935), CUSACK? (pre1894), KEYS? (pre1894)
Mallow, Co.Cork: BROWNE (1895-1935)
Caher, Co.Tipp: BROWNE (pre1895), PURTELL(pre1895)
Cashel, Co.Tipp: FANNING (pre1886)
Llanelly, Carms: GRIFFITHS (pre1934), REYNOLDS (pre1901), WILLIAMS (pre1934)
Ton Pentre, Glams: LEWIS (pre1901)

Offline kob3203

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 07 October 21 10:37 BST (UK) »
While waiting for the post to be approved I think I've found the answer using a combination of educated guesswork, luck, and google  :) - but I'll wait a day or so to see if anybody else comes up with something.
Most roots researched back to the early/mid 1800s. Years noted as 'pre' refer to my direct ancestors, although I'm interested in any relatives:
Mitchelstown, Co.Cork: CORBETT (pre1935), SWEENEY  (pre1935), CUSACK? (pre1894), KEYS? (pre1894)
Mallow, Co.Cork: BROWNE (1895-1935)
Caher, Co.Tipp: BROWNE (pre1895), PURTELL(pre1895)
Cashel, Co.Tipp: FANNING (pre1886)
Llanelly, Carms: GRIFFITHS (pre1934), REYNOLDS (pre1901), WILLIAMS (pre1934)
Ton Pentre, Glams: LEWIS (pre1901)

Offline Skoosh

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 07 October 21 11:25 BST (UK) »
Maybe Serbia?

Skoosh.

Offline brigidmac

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 07 October 21 12:19 BST (UK) »
My thought was Greece
Roberts,Fellman.Macdermid smith jones,Bloch,Irvine,Hallis Stevenson

Offline raonull4

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 07 October 21 16:28 BST (UK) »
Balkans war 1912

Offline John915

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 07 October 21 18:54 BST (UK) »
Good evening,

The men on the left and right are wearing British army battledress. The one in the middle is in dress that could be around the Balkan region. So I would go with that as the most likely.

John915
Stephens, Fuller, Tedham, Bennett, Ransome (Sussex)
Rider (Fulham)
Stephens (Somerset)
Kentfield (Essex)

Offline kob3203

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #6 on: Friday 08 October 21 17:40 BST (UK) »
It's encouraging that everybody so far has pointed at the Balkans, which matches the conclusion I'd come to - he was probably a Serbian partisan.

I was googling images for various WWI British mounted units (I've posted another part of this photo as a separate topic - Can anybody throw any light on this unidentified mounted (WWI?) soldier) when I noticed a photo including a chap in a vaguely similar shirt, hat and waistcoat
 (I've attached a crop of that photo for comparison). The photo's the fifth one down on this page - http://www.levantineheritage.com/salonicamap.htm with the title "Some of the Comitadjis who worked for the British in the Struma Valley". So I googled comitadji (anti-Ottoman partisans in the Balkans) and Struma Valley (the Struma is a river in Bulgaria and Greece) and found a photo from the Library Of Congress (with no known restrictions on publication) of Serbian comitadji prisoners, from which I've also attached a crop for comparison.

I've also attached the chap from the original photo. I think that's fairly conclusive, don't you ?
Most roots researched back to the early/mid 1800s. Years noted as 'pre' refer to my direct ancestors, although I'm interested in any relatives:
Mitchelstown, Co.Cork: CORBETT (pre1935), SWEENEY  (pre1935), CUSACK? (pre1894), KEYS? (pre1894)
Mallow, Co.Cork: BROWNE (1895-1935)
Caher, Co.Tipp: BROWNE (pre1895), PURTELL(pre1895)
Cashel, Co.Tipp: FANNING (pre1886)
Llanelly, Carms: GRIFFITHS (pre1934), REYNOLDS (pre1901), WILLIAMS (pre1934)
Ton Pentre, Glams: LEWIS (pre1901)

Offline kob3203

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #7 on: Friday 08 October 21 17:55 BST (UK) »
I'd already started a separate topic to try and identify the regiment of the horseman (who's been cropped out of the picture I posted here) - Can anybody throw any light on this unidentified mounted (WWI?) soldier ?

I think that we can now be fairly sure that this photo was taken during the Salonika Campaign
Most roots researched back to the early/mid 1800s. Years noted as 'pre' refer to my direct ancestors, although I'm interested in any relatives:
Mitchelstown, Co.Cork: CORBETT (pre1935), SWEENEY  (pre1935), CUSACK? (pre1894), KEYS? (pre1894)
Mallow, Co.Cork: BROWNE (1895-1935)
Caher, Co.Tipp: BROWNE (pre1895), PURTELL(pre1895)
Cashel, Co.Tipp: FANNING (pre1886)
Llanelly, Carms: GRIFFITHS (pre1934), REYNOLDS (pre1901), WILLIAMS (pre1934)
Ton Pentre, Glams: LEWIS (pre1901)

Offline John915

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Re: Unusual, perhaps ethnic/regional clothing in a WWI photo - where was it taken?
« Reply #8 on: Friday 08 October 21 18:25 BST (UK) »
Good evening,

If the link works ok these are the yeomanry units at Salonica.

https://salonikacampaignsociety.org.uk/bsf/army-headquarters/mounted-brigades/

John915
Stephens, Fuller, Tedham, Bennett, Ransome (Sussex)
Rider (Fulham)
Stephens (Somerset)
Kentfield (Essex)
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