What does this picture reveal about this man’s military service?
QI found this photo among my late aunt’s things. There is no indication of who it could be, but I wondered if it was her father because I know he was in the Army before he married her mother. Can you give me any information about the man in the picture?
Robert James
AThis is a studio photograph of a private in the 4th Hussars, taken around 1910 or 1911 in Colchester. He’s already served at least two years, and is a qualified marksman. He’s seen no active service as he wears no medals, but only a few men from 4th Hussars served in the Boer War, attached to other units – and he looks too young. A newspaper search indicates that the 4th Hussars arrived in Colchester on 20 December 1909 and moved to Ireland in October 1911, so it must have been taken during that period.
Enlistment in 1910 was for 12 years – part as serving soldier, part as reservist (called up in wartime) – so it’s highly likely that he served in the First World War in a Hussar regiment. Since you think he might be a relative, you might be able to find his Medal Index Card
by searching The National Archives’ (TNA’s)
website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ help-with-your-research/research-guides/ british-army-medal-index-cards-1914-1920 supplying his name and Hussars as the corps. The result doesn’t give the Hussars regiment, but it should appear on the card itself (downloadable from TNA for a fee or on ancestry.co.uk and indexed on findmypast. co.uk). As an additional clue, he probably received a 1914 Star, as the regiment went to France in September that year.
Phil Tomaselli
1JACKET This typical post-1861 Hussars jacket is all blue with six loops across the front. The collar and cuffs are also blue.
2 CAP This is the service dress peaked cap, introduced in 1905 and standard wear in all regiments by 1907.
3 BADGE Under magnification, the badge is circular with a crown above, scroll below and lettering (“IV”) – the badge of the 4th (Queen’s Own) Hussars.
4 CHEVRONS On the soldier’s left arm, there’s an inverted chevron: a Good Conduct Stripe awarded for two years’ good behaviour. Above this are two crossed rifles, which indicate that he’s a trained marksman. After the Boer War, British cavalry were trained to also fight as infantry.
5 SPURS He’s wearing spurs, a clear indication he rides a horse.
6 PHOTOGRAPHER JE Stutter appears in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses, but only in the 1911 one is he a photographer. So the photo was taken in that decade, making searching (for example, newspapers) simpler.