Could this member of the Home Guard be my uncle?

QI found this photograph among my mother’s possessions when she died in 1997. Her brother-in-law, Harold William Masterman, served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, and his rank at the end of the war was U/P/L/Bdr. He may have later entered the Home Guard as a lieutenant in Glasgow in 1941.

Is it possible to identify the cap badge, medal ribbons or rank? Did the Home Guard use First World War cap badges from their previous service, and would a trooper in the First World War become a Home Guard officer in the Second? Peter Foxton

AThis photo, probably taken informally in a studio, shows an officer in a Home Guard battalion of the Highland Light Infantry (HLI), a Glasgow-based regiment. He’s a lieutenant and has seen service abroad in the First World War. The Home Guard was formed in May 1940 following a radio broadcast by the secretary of state for war, Anthony Eden.

Many Home Guard units were created from volunteers in factories and large works and they often elected their own officers, who were formally commissioned into Army ranks on 1 February 1941. It wasn’t necessary for someone to have been an officer before to be a Home Guard officer, so it’s likely the man is Harold William Masterman. A glance at the earliest Home Guard lists shows HW Masterman in 5th HLI, and later ones that he ended the war as a Glasgow District communications officer. Some Home Guard units kept War Diaries, or wrote unit histories. Many are at The National Archives ( nationalarchives.gov.uk) in WO199; I can’t find one for the 5th HLI, but there are other files on the district that might mention him. Phil Tomaselli

1ELEPHANT BADGE

This is the Highlands Light Infantry badge. The cap badge has a central hunting horn – the Light Infantry emblem – with the letters “HLI”. Beneath is an elephant with the word “Assaye” (a battle honour). The background is a St Andrew’s Cross.

2AN OFFICER’S TIE 3PIP, PIP

He’s clearly an officer, because his battledress is open at the neck and he’s wearing a tie.

Rank insignia are clearly visible on his left shoulder. A combination of crowns and pips shows the rank; one pip above another signifies he’s a lieutenant.

4TELLTALE RIBBONS

The left medal ribbon has a broad orange central band with white and black stripes and a blue border on either side. This is the British War Medal. Next to it is the rainbow ribbon of the Victory Medal.

5DAD’S ARMY

A cloth badge marks him as Home Guard – without it, he might pass as a regular soldier.