Originally Posted by Danny42C
Thank you for the picture of the Wound Stripes worn by your Great-Uncle Jack. But what about that marvellous old Captain seated in front of them - an absolute dead-ringer for Captain Square of "Dad's Army" - do we know anything about him ?
Looks like a "dug-out" from the Boer War (or earlier) ?
The RFC captain is my great-grandfather [the 3rd person is my RNAS Air Mechanic grandfather, on the left].
Dug-out indeed, and serving well before the Boer War[s] ... b. 1855, d. 1924.
* Originally
Scots Gds, Egypt Medal 1882 with Tel el Kebir bar as C/Sgt [Regtl No. 2972], later to 4th Bn.
Royal Fusiliers as RQMS and Sergeant Major [1889]. In 1903 commissioned QM (Hon Capt) 4th (V) Bn
Royal Fusiliers, retd 1907. Recalled to colours Aug 1914 as Temp QM & Hon Capt in Carmarthenshire Bn of
Welch Army Corps. Dec 1915 transferred to General List. Home Service in various Ordnance Depot appointments and on 19 Oct 1917 transferred to School of Military Aeronautics, Reading, as Equipment Officer 3rd Class,
RFC [= Capt]. Subsequently on 1 Apr 1918 transferred to
RAF, transferred to Unemployed List 31 Oct 1919 [oooh, my birth date!].
"As at 17 Nov 14 he had 22 years and 4 months previous service in the Regular Army [in non-commissioned ranks]", so I assume he joined somewhere around 1870. The numbers don't quite seem to add up from that statement, though.
* The above from Army Records, letter dated 10 Oct 1988. As you can see, I instigated some research on the family after coming into possession of that photo [and their medals] after my father died.