Photo, likely Yorkshire, possible Home Guard?

Guys,

Can anyone place this photo or the unit concerned?

Regards,

Nick

 

The leather belts and gaiters and West Yorks cap badge certainly support your thinking.

 

Looks like Wells House, the old Ilkley College of Education. I think it was demolished and houses built on the site.

Mike

 

The white-moustached vet finally nails it as HG for me !

Any chance of readably zooming in on the arm patches of the vet apparently clutching a map case ?

Sorry to disagree Mike but I have trouble visualising Wells House in brick with a 45° bay window. The only non-square feature I can see, from a virtual Google drive around all 4 sides, is the N/valley-facing bow front but everything, even the old extensions & newer buildings, seems stone-faced - even if not with local gritstone.

Steve

 

Steve is quite right. I was picturing Craiglands anyway. This is on a similar position on a different road. I visit friends who live across the road from it.

Mike

 

Yes, I see Craiglands has a 45° front bay window but unfortunately wrong side in stone.

And I also see that Ilkley is an anagram of the thread title's likely - mere coincidence ... or is Nick perhaps psychic with fingers inaccurately guided by a friendly spirit ? Spooky if so ... and no, I'm not trying to take the wee while clutching at straws !

Talking of which, I'm now rather inclined to think that flat arch - \|/ in lieu of a lintel - suggests a shortage of stone ... so maybe more indicative of a big city centre in a county so well served by quarries ? But sadly I'm allergic to cities so have no ready suggestions !

Steve

 

Thanks so much for the comments, additional photos attached.

My feelings on location so far is either Selby or Drax. Read School looks a good possibility.

Looks to me like a typical Home Guard unit, with both the Pike and Jones characters in the photo.

Regards,

Nick

 

Better pictures

 

Thanks for the 5th picture as, with the eye of faith, I can read the square battalion patch as WR10 [10th West Riding (Selby) Bn] to agree with one of your theories.

As for Drax, unless I'm very much mistaken, that's in N Yorks [codes NRY1-13 with NRY10 = 10th North Riding (Scarborough) Bn] so very unlikely to be its Read School by my reading all told - esp. against this cap badge info:
"West Yorkshire Regiment West Riding 1-14, 18 Bns"
But do please feel free to share your reasons for shortlisting those in case they bear another interpretation.

OK, so let's now see what Selby has to offer by way of locations ...

Steve

PS: Take back what I said about Drax - looking at map, it may well have fallen within the Selby Bn's area !

 

There's no doubt that old sergeant arranged his sleeve so that it would show the three stripes. Well Done that Man ! I must say that with his long-distance stare, he looks quite handy. Has he got the full set of three WW1 medals ?

 

Love this. Fantastic detective work in play here.

The photo was found at the bottom of my Mother's Ottomun, now you know we are from Yorkshire, who else would have one of those!!!!! It is in a leather wallet marked Morocco but l do not see the Turkish link here. My Mother and Father came from Selby and Drax, both in the West Riding. What is this North and West Yorkshire nonsense? Hence the thoughts but l have no idea where this originates from. My Fathers elder brothers were in reserved occupations and maybe too old and my mothers brothers were either too young or in the Navy, but l cannot see any off them in the photo.

Thanks guys, further research through the local hisorical clubs required, l think.

BTW, what are the three WW1 medals for? Mr Moustache seems to have even more medals.

Regards,

Nick

 

I'd say from his moustache that the old boy had seen service prior to the Great War. We had a history of the 'tache thread somewhere.

Probably South Africa....or maybe he fought the fuzzy-wuzzies at Omdurman with Jonesy and Lord Kitchener !

 

Home Guard Battalions for 30 June 1944.

West Riding District, Doncaster Zone, Doncaster Sub-District, Pontefract Sector

10th West Riding (Selby), 47th West Riding (Goole), 48th West Riding (Pontefract), 49th West Riding (Pontefract)


Drax could be Selby or Goole same distance.

 

OK, had to 'borrow' this (unlinkable) photo showing Read School's frontage a very credible candidate ...
( c/o Old Draxonians Association | The Read School)
... with wall creeper gone and new windows fitted but the deep bay boasts the same flat arches, stone windowsills and even the side window evident behind the next-to-rightmost rear man in Nick's 1st photo -
the arches despite the school's roadside building having more usual stone lintels !
Steve

PS: Perhaps needless to say, you may save time by asking them directly - phone # & e-mail address at the bottom of the above-linked webpage

 

Steve,

The architecture looks pretty close, l had a hunch about Read School but could not see any pictures on their web site to support those thoughts so well done.

E Mail on its way to see what they can tell me.

Thanks Guys for all your help and l will keep you informed.

Regards,

Nick

 

If it's Read School, the young guy dead centre looks like Pete Chapman, who was married to my step-father's elder sister. He'd be about that age and lived in Newland/Drax. I'm heading over to Yorkshire mid-May and will ask my step-father.

 

Hi Nick,

Just spoke to my step-father on the phone. He confirmed that the Home Guard used to meet at Read School. It's probably not Peter Chapman in the photo as I stated, since he was born later than I thought. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until May before I can show the photo to him as he doesn't have a computer, but he might be able to put some names to faces then.

Regards,

Shaun

 

A few more bits & bobs:

• Relevant architectural details sadly in deep shade but giving a much better feel for the school scene is this still from their promotional video (5'57").
  Particularly note the conifer tree which was there, fairly tall but still immature back then, on the left of Nick's photo. And something else I've since noticed, amongst the wall creeper in it, is the straight line of that rainwater downpipe peeking through. What with Shaun's input, I'm pretty sure now that Nick's hunch was spot on
• The battalion's only apparent casualty - volunteer E Porter:
  1941-08-05 - CWGC - Casualty Details
  2014-02-26 - Selby District Churches & Wargraves Selby Cemetery (blog mention)
• Selby UDC's coronation Souvenir Booklet (e-book downloadable as PDF) is here presumably talking of the cadre version of the HG (Dec 1951 - Jul 1957) but chances are that Lt/Col Dubley & Capt Meek were part of the WW2 setup:
  

Steve