‘I Used Lockdown To Research A Mystery WW1 Photograph’

Deborah Flint wanted to discover the identities of two men pictured with her grandfather in a photo from the First World War. Her research led her on a winding trail to a series of astonishing discoveries. By Gail Dixon

The spring national lockdown was a unique time, and many of us found escapism in our favourite hobby. Deborah Flint was no exception, and she decided to explore a longtime mystery centred on a photo taken over 100 years ago.

My Brick Wall

I have always been captivated by a picture of my grandfather Captain John Cecil Timbey (known as Cecil) dating from the First World War. It was sent from France “with love” to his sister Elsie.

Mum was only nine years old when he passed away, and – at the age of 87 – remembers little about him, apart from the fact that he was a hard-working man who loved spending time with his family.

Pictured with Cecil are two men in uniform, identified only as “Capt Howett” and “Major Sharpe”. I have often wondered what happened to them. Did they survive the war? Did they marry and have children?

My Eureka Moment

I began searching for Captain Howett during lockdown, and had a lucky strike on a newspaper search. He was named in the London Gazette in July 1919, alongside my grandfather, in a list of servicemen mentioned in dispatches. Mum and I had no idea that Cecil had ever received that kind of honour.

The listing gave Captain Howett’s initials as “RS”, so I searched the military records on findmypast.co.uk and found Robert Stephen Howett serving

DEBORAH FLINT lives in Stockport, Cheshire. She is a retired teacher, and supported a blind student for many years as lieutenant acting captain in the Army Cycling Corps. The corps played a crucial role during the First World War in reconnaissance and communications.

Other online records revealed that Robert had been born in 1898 in Nottinghamshire, to Bob and Jane Howett. He married Olive, née Swinburn, was living with her in Nottinghamshire in the 1939 Register, and is listed serving with the Sherwood Foresters in 1941. It was a relief to discover that he survived both world wars – he died at the grand old age of 92, in 1991.

It was so rewarding to find Robert, and give him an identity and a life beyond the First World War. I haven’t been able to find out much about Major Sharpe, but I will keep looking!

Discovering the allusion to