Can you tell me anything about these three men in uniform?

QWe have inherited an old photo album containing many lovely family photographs. Unfortunately, none of them has been labelled, so we have only been able to positively identify a few of them. It was originally a Christmas gift to one of my great aunts in 1902, but she came from a very large family!

Among the photos are three showing young men in uniform. If you are able to identify the uniforms, it may help me to work out who they are.

Ann Brick

Adate of 1902 seems reasonable, provided we accept that some of the photographs might predate the album – if only by a few years. It’s also possible that the pictures might be of friends rather than family.

All of the photographs appear to have been taken in a professional studio with the usual backdrops and prop furniture. The only picture giving a clue as to location is the second, a carte de visite produced by Edward Spiller of Landport, Portsmouth. This city was mainly known for its naval connections, but also had a military garrison, and a good living could be made from photographing servicemen. Edward Spiller appears as a photographer at 107 Laker Road in the 1891 census, but he died (from accidental poisoning) in 1895. His daughter tried to carry on the business, although she doesn’t seem to have succeeded. This photograph, at least, appears to be older than the album and, of course, the subject could have been based in Portsmouth on duty, rather than having been a local. The photographs are in a possible chronological order, and the third image is certainly the most recent. This man is most likely to have served in the First World War. Phil Tomaselli

1 1 DRESS SLEEVES ‘Shoulder of mutton’ sleeves were popular between about 1892 and 1905, getting more puffed until about 1900, then thinner again. This probably dates from the earlier period. UNIFORM The dark trousers with paler tunic (blue and scarlet) with a 2 COLLAR 3 similar pill-box cap and fusils (old fashioned grenades) on the collar mark this soldier as a member of the Royal Artillery, probably in the mid-1890s. The collar number marks this man as a policeman. In addition, the coat is too long for him to have been a soldier. CAP 4 4 HELMET 5 Although police helmets resembled some Army ones, this example is too tall and pointed to be a soldier’s helmet. The badge might be identifiable, although there were dozens of forces in 1900. Peaked khaki caps are 6 post-1905. The badge has the intertwined letters A, S and C, which means that this soldier is in the Army Service Corps. UNIFORM Khaki for everyday wear came in after the Boer War, and the triangular cuff pattern (which went during the First World War) says prewar.