WWI new photographs found, do you know these men?

**armchair_jihad** · 23-05-2009, 15:27

A treasure trove of First World War photographs was discovered recently in France. Published here for the first time, they show British soldiers on their way to the Somme. But who took them? And who were these Tommies marching off to die?

The place, according to a jokingly chalked board, is "somewhere in France". The time is the winter of 1915 and the spring and summer of 1916.

**Pteranadon** · 24-05-2009, 08:28

You need to contact Tommy's Cafe in Pozieres in France. The owner has developed the photos and plans to9 display them. Its a good idea for him and visitors.

**seaweed** · 24-05-2009, 09:00

Can anyone blow up the black bloke's picture to read his cap badge? I'm wondering if he was part of the British West Indies Regiment of which 11 battalions served in WW1. To a large extent each bn was recruited from a different island or group of islands. On one occasion 3 BWIR tps won MMs for dealing with a fire at an ammunition depot. Later they were all moved to Taranto as L o C tps.

**BoomShackerLacker** · 24-05-2009, 21:21

Haunting imagery. Tx for posting.

**Stretcher_Fetcher** · 24-05-2009, 23:37

I tried blowing it up, but the image from the website doesn't have the quality for proper enhancement. Just looking at the general shape of things it doesn't look much like the WIR cap badge, which is oval as opposed to what looks to be a circle over a bar. Someone else on the independent website started to complain about the photo resolution as well until things descended into an anti-Haig pissing contest.

**tropper66** · 24-05-2009, 23:39

Originally Posted by Stretcher_Fetcher

I tried blowing it up, but the image from the website doesn't have the quality for proper enhancement. Just looking at the general shape of things it doesn't look much like the WIR cap badge, which is oval as opposed to what looks to be a circle over a bar. Someone else on the independent website started to complain about the photo resolution as well until things descended into an anti-Haig pissing contest.

You always get all the nutters on the Indy, It's one of my favorite sites to wind up dick heads

**basso** · 25-05-2009, 02:53

Fascinating set of pictures, I have reached No 130 and will have a look at the rest in a day or so.

Winter has arrived early with lots of rain and the wind from the South and I had every intention of doing some general clearing up of the property, but once I had clicked onto this thread, the morning was gone before I knew it.

My regimental badge recognition skills are almost now non existent but I saw the Service Corps and the Royal Engineers, I think the medics but that may be auto suggestion due to their armbands. Some Jocks with fine belligerent bearing and Royal Artillery. The majority, I am ashamed to say, go unsung by me. Some fine looking women in there too, so life would not have been all mud and blood.

Something that caught my attention was the fact that our forefathers were as Creative with their SD caps as their descendants are with the modern beret.

Thanks for posting them.

**Goldbricker** · 25-05-2009, 02:54

Originally Posted by tropper66

Originally Posted by Stretcher_Fetcher

I tried blowing it up, but the image from the website doesn't have the quality for proper enhancement. Just looking at the general shape of things it doesn't look much like the WIR cap badge, which is oval as opposed to what looks to be a circle over a bar. Someone else on the independent website started to complain about the photo resolution as well until things descended into an anti-Haig pissing contest.

You always get all the nutters on the Indy, It's one of my favorite sites to wind up dick heads

Amazing Pictures, and your right on the Comments.

I'm still trying to figure out how Haig transforms into Deliberate Demolition of the World Trade Center.

**rampant** · 25-05-2009, 04:00

Originally Posted by Goldbricker

Originally Posted by tropper66

Originally Posted by Stretcher_Fetcher

I tried blowing it up, but the image from the website doesn't have the quality for proper enhancement. Just looking at the general shape of things it doesn't look much like the WIR cap badge, which is oval as opposed to what looks to be a circle over a bar. Someone else on the independent website started to complain about the photo resolution as well until things descended into an anti-Haig pissing contest.

You always get all the nutters on the Indy, It's one of my favorite sites to wind up dick heads

Amazing Pictures, and your right on the Comments.

I'm still trying to figure out how Haig transforms into Deliberate Demolition of the World Trade Center.

You're still trying to work it out? That comments thread went for a louie and no mistake.

WTF

My god there was plenty use of the emotional telescope of hindsight as well. Jeesh!

**toxic_avenger** · 25-05-2009, 04:08

Fascinating. Thanks for posting these!

**Pteranadon** · 25-05-2009, 08:38

Originally Posted by seaweed

Can anyone blow up the black bloke's picture to read his cap badge? I'm wondering if he was part of the British West Indies Regiment of which 11 battalions served in WW1. To a large extent each bn was recruited from a different island or group of islands. On one occasion 3 BWIR tps won MMs for dealing with a fire at an ammunition depot. Later they were all moved to Taranto as L o C tps.

According to the article in the Independent he is a British black bloke not a West Indian and all three are RGA gunners. There were tens of thousands of black people in the UK in the early part of the C20th, mainly living in sea ports. Some of these soerved as soldiers, of which Walter Tull is one of the best known. There is an account in Peter Hart's "1918" about a gallant action by some Lancashire Fusiliers and the eye witness mentions in passing that the stretcher bearer that rescued someone under fire was "the only black man in the battalion". I don't think they made that much of a fuss about the subject.

I understand that the BWI provide labour for the gun positions in 1917 but not at the Somme, where they were used as pioneers.

**Busterdog** · 25-05-2009, 22:01

The 2008 edition of The Borderers Chronicle (regimental magazine of the King's Own Scottish Borderers) Museum Notes recorded the acquisition of the (WW1) war time diary of Pte Arthur Roberts who enlisted into 3KOSB and first saw action at Pilckem Ridge, the first engagement of 3rd Ypres (Passchendaele). Roberts served the remainder of the war with the Royal Scots Fusiliers.

Throughout his time on the Western Front Arthur recorded his experiences in a notebook which he later copied and illustrated with his own water colour drawings and photographs. After the war he wrote a book of reminiscences based on the diary which give a vivid account of the horrors of the trenches - and a candid picture of the compensations to be found away from the front line (perhaps Arthur visited the 'cafe' in the photographs).

The diary and reminiscences were recently discovered in the attic of a house in Glasgow.
Arthur Roberts was a black man and a proud and brave Borderer.

XXV

**Ord_Sgt** · 28-05-2009, 14:44

Well spotted aj - I was a bit slow off the mark - by a few days ;)

**4(T)** · 28-05-2009, 19:58

Looks like most of the photos were taken at an Estaminet - possibly the cafe owners did souvenir photos as a sideline.

Guess the period is 1914-15: the guys are mostly in floppy hats and sheepskins. One chap has a Long Lee Enfield - which means he's probably from a TA Regiment - and these went out of European service by about the end of 1916.

The troops mostly look quite fresh, but there are one or two poor souls with a real thousand-yard stare....

**basso** · 01-06-2009, 01:58

Originally Posted by Busterdog

The 2008 edition of The Borderers Chronicle (regimental magazine of the King's Own Scottish Borderers) Museum Notes recorded the acquisition of the (WW1) war time diary of Pte Arthur Roberts who enlisted into 3KOSB and first saw action at Pilckem Ridge, the first engagement of 3rd Ypres (Passchendaele). Roberts served the remainder of the war with the Royal Scots Fusiliers.

Throughout his time on the Western Front Arthur recorded his experiences in a notebook which he later copied and illustrated with his own water colour drawings and photographs. After the war he wrote a book of reminiscences based on the diary which give a vivid account of the horrors of the trenches - and a candid picture of the compensations to be found away from the front line (perhaps Arthur visited the 'cafe' in the photographs).

The diary and reminiscences were recently discovered in the attic of a house in Glasgow.
Arthur Roberts was a black man and a proud and brave Borderer.

XXV

That is an interesting post Busterdog. If the book was published, it would be well out of print and difficult to trace a copy now. I would love to read it though. Can you give me any more clues? Or perhaps a link to your regimental magazine? They may be able to point me in the right direction.