Formal regimental(?) photograph, taken in Belfast? Location identified as Carrickfergus Castle

Discussion in 'General' started by kenripper, Jul 24, 2020.

  1. kenripper

    kenripper Member

    This photograph had been with my mother for years. She wasn't able to tell us anything about it before she died a couple of years ago. Is there enough here to identify a regiment, a date, a location, an officer that may give me a starting point to find out more about it? The three best cap badges in the photo I have copied, increased in size and placed on the cobbles. I would be most grateful for any clues.
     

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  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  3. kenripper

    kenripper Member

    Thanks Owen. It's big field, but it's a start.
     
  4. JDKR

    JDKR Member

    Despite the label bottom right, the building doesn't look very Belfast to me. Looks more like a Scottish building. Intriguing.
     
  5. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Most wear "Battledress, Serge", but a few have "1940 Pattern" which was introduced in June 1942 and would have been longer to actually get made and through the supply chain, so its after that - all wear FS caps, which in general tend to be early/mid war changing to GS Caps late 1943 onward (but the change wasn't immediate) - the feel I get is 1943 maybe creeping into 1944.

    I'd agree with Owen that it looks like RASC - some have visible sleeve insignia (front row 4/5/6 from right for instance) if its possible to get a better scan of any of those details it may help
     
  6. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    The photographer was based in Belfast, so not necessarily a Belfast location.
    Although neither of these it reminds me slightly of Castle Ward and Enniskillen.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2020
  7. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Is it taken inside Carrickfergus Castle ?
    Can't quite get the exact view.
    Stock Photo - Carrickfergus Castle

    Aerial view better.
    Shows the gateway like in the B&W photo.
    2020-07-24 22.27.27.jpg
     

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    Last edited: Jul 24, 2020
    Tony56, JDKR, dbf and 2 others like this.
  8. Alex1975uk

    Alex1975uk Well-Known Member

    I’ll have to google but maybe Hilsbrough castle/fort?
     
  9. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jul 24, 2020
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  10. kenripper

    kenripper Member

    I'm sorry chaps, I've been involved with my siblings and many cousins over the weekend trying to find somebody we knew in the photo. Although the family are divided on whether this is correct, only one option has been offered. The suggestion is that my uncle Sidney John Bullion (1915-1994) is sat on the cobbles in the front row, 16th from the left. I only ever met him late in life and not very often. He had no children and he seems to have all but disappeared from the family consciousness already, nobody of his generation remains to help us out; he was my mother's brother and she died at the age of 96 a couple of years ago. I've annotated the image accordingly. He was a plumber & fitter in the 1939 register and went on to work at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston after the war. His profile is not at odds with being in the RASC in 1943/4.

    The resolution on the photo isn't great and I've not managed to come up with any better views of cap badges etc.

    The fact that you've managed to work out not only where it was taken but also a potential date is astonishing and amazing. I always post on this forum with expectations that you'll come up with something but this is very special. I have a starting point that I didn't think I'd ever get to. Thank you so much chaps. If I get any closer to a proper identification, I'll post back on here.

    I've offered the hard copy of the photo, along with your comments and observations to the National Army Museum but so far they've not taken me up on this. I've got all the digital images I need but the photo should be preserved and being lost in the family is not the best place for it.
    Belfast01.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    Owen likes this.
  11. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Not that it's really needed as confirmation, but from the 100s of photos of the castle on TripAdvisor site:
    same roofline, etc.
    carrickfergus-castle-2.jpg

    earlier photo, also taken looking towards castle entrance.
    looking-down.jpg
     
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  12. kenripper

    kenripper Member

    Thank you everyone. A belated response I know, but there has been some progress. I was unable to positively identify any one person in the photo but the unit, place and date were invaluable information. Looking for a permanent home for it, I asked both the Army Museum and the Logistics Museum if they'd like the photo but both declined. I have found a permanent home for it - in the archives of Carrickfergus Museum! Thanks again for your help, the photo has a future and somebody responsible to look after it.
     
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  13. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Last edited: Oct 30, 2023
    kenripper likes this.
  14. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Last edited: Oct 30, 2023
  15. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    kenripper, Re your comment: "the photo should be preserved and being lost in the family is not the best place for it".
    Have you considered your County Archives, or alternatively, the archives near to where the photo was taken.
    Once established you might consider the successors to the unit in the photo.
    National Museums are not easy to visit unless you live in London.
    Northern Ireland might be more appreciative.
     
  16. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Did you not see this in his last post?

     
  17. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Came back after lunch & missed it Owen.
     

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