Guest Dorothyp Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Could someone please give me some idea of when this photo was taken and possibly identify the regiment from the badges - a tall order as they are not very clear. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I have no idea where to start. INMAN_William.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fuller Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Hi dorothyp Welcome to the forum! Sorry I cant help (its not a Beds Infantry Uniform, that much I can say!!!). Do you have anything on the man that you could post here please? Relative? Name, etc? Youll be surprised what info people have on this amazing forum! Good luck to you Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dorothyp Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Thank you Steve. Yes, I do know a little about the soldier. He is one of my great uncles, but I am not sure if he is William James Inman or Charles Ernest Inman. William was born in Aston, Birmingham in 1880 and Charles in Solihull, Birmingham in 1882. I have a postcard sent by William from Madrid in 1915, where he changed his name to Walter Hitson and appears to have possibly deserted and ended up in Argentina. I don't know what happened to Charles, who seems to have been known as Ernest. I think this photo is of William, but it would have been taken long before 1915, as he looks no more than twenty to me. Is there a register of deserters? As the photo is taken in Belfast I presume his regiment was in Ireland at the time and would seem to have been in France in 1915 if he sent a postcard from Madrid. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment and hope this is in the right place. Many thanks, Dorothy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 It looks like the pre-war walking out dress of the South Staffordshire Regiment (the collar badges are a Stafford Knot). To put it a little too simply... 'walking out' dress is 'Sunday best' with a side hat (on the table) and his swagger cane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 The Collar badges appear to be those of the North Staffordshire Regiment,with the PoW Feathers in the Centre{South staffs is a Thin Plain Knot}of the 1895 ~ 1902 Variety[Top in Picture,#252;the Post 1902 Variety is below] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 27 August , 2004 Share Posted 27 August , 2004 There is only 1 x Charles E Inman in the Medal Index Cards at the National Arcives which may be searched on line. 1. Pte 18084 Pte Charles E Inman of the South Staffordshire Regiment later 418082 of the Labour Corps. This seems to coincide with the photograph. I am unsure if the South Staffs had a battalion in Belfast at some stage before the war but this is possible. He looks very young so may even be around the turn of the century. There are 5 x William J Inman's: 1. G19829 Pte William J Ingram of the Middlesex Regiment. 2. 5107 WO Class II William J Ingram of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. 3. 1894 Pte William J Ingram of the Border Regiment later 27766 of the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry. 4. 7800 Spr William J Inman of the Royal Engineers. 5. 134969 Gnr William J Inman of the Royal Field Artillery. If one of them did desert this may be reflected on the Medal Index Card or in the Medal Rolls. They can be downloaded for 3.50. Perhaps he was not even in the military and headed off before the war to escape enlisting? Regards Tim D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dorothyp Posted 27 August , 2004 Share Posted 27 August , 2004 Thank you all so much!!!! I've had this photo for ten years and couldn't find anyone to help identify the badges, even though I tried numerous people. I'm so glad I contacted the Imperial War Museum, as a very kind lady there gave me a list of sites, which brought me to this one and after one day I have an answer. Wow! Now I'm not sure it is William, seems more likely to be Charles! Tim, what is meant by the Labour Corps? If William was the deserter would he even be listed as receiving a medal? I will have a look in the Medal Index cards at the national Archives as you suggest. Thank you all once again.. You've made my day! When I read on the info from the War Museum and it said only a few records survived through the second World War, I thought I had Buckley's ( an Australian saying meaning no chance at all) of finding out anything. Many thanks, Dorothy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackblue Posted 28 August , 2004 Share Posted 28 August , 2004 Hi Dorothy, The Labour Corps was a corps that was formed to do a lot of the manual labour such as building roads etc. I don't know much about them but some on the forum do. Men from the infantry often ended up there after they had been wounded and medically downgraded. Have a look at the following link. http://www.1914-1918.net/labour.htm As far as Medal Index Cards go I am not sure if they were actually completed for deserters. Again someone else should be able to help in this respect. I think I recall reading of instances on the forum in which they have been completed but notated 'Forfieted - Deserter' or something similar. Perhaps if you put two new posts in the relevant sections the experts will pick them up. Regards Tim D PS. Sorry...typed Ingram by mistake a few times in my original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBettsMCDCM Posted 30 August , 2004 Share Posted 30 August , 2004 The Collar badges appear to be those of the North Staffordshire Regiment,with the PoW Feathers in the Centre{South staffs is a Thin Plain Knot}of the 1895 ~ 1902 Variety[Top in Picture,#252;the Post 1902 Variety is below] The badge in your picture doesnt appear to be South Staffordshire Regiment which is as below,ie not having any central device {being the POWs Feathers}on the knot Possibly he had served with them around the time of the Photograph{Boer War/1890s~1910s ?,which the Uniform suggests}Have you searched for Papers/Medal Roll details of that era? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morval Ross Posted 6 September , 2004 Share Posted 6 September , 2004 Hi Dorothy, Welcome to the forum, hope you find it as interesting and fun as I do. Regards Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 6 September , 2004 Share Posted 6 September , 2004 As far as Medal Index Cards go I am not sure if they were actually completed for deserters. Again someone else should be able to help in this respect. I think I recall reading of instances on the forum in which they have been completed but notated 'Forfieted - Deserter' or something similar. Providing a soldier served overseas there was a medal index card for him. If he deserted and was declared a deserter by a board, this is recorded on the MIC and also on the medal roll, which also gives the date when he was declared a deserter. You will also find MICs for men shot at dawn - these are anotated 'Forfeit - Deserter'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Lewis Posted 6 September , 2004 Share Posted 6 September , 2004 1st Btn South Staffordshire Regiment were in Ireland Nov 1904-Nov 1906 but I tend to agree with HarryBetts it looks like the badge of the North Staffs Rgt. Regards Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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