Hi, Pvt Webb died in a parachute accident on 8/4/43. He is shown in the solo photo and on the right in the group. Can anybody help his granddaughter by identifying any of the other three paras in the group photo. I would guess that they are all from 9 Para thanks Richard edited by Owen: changed thread title to Pte as he's British not American
Hi Richard, I am no expert on airborne but I think the white lanyard on the bloke to the left of Webb indicates he is an Artilleryman. Shame the beret badges are indistinct, can you get a better version of the original photo? Sure some better informed airborne experts will be able to help you further. Good luck, Mike
Hello Richard, I'm sorry I can't help with the identity of the other paras, but I was curious about the beret badge. The group picture would have been taken when The 9th Battalion was still part of the 1st Airborne Division. It wasn't until 23 April 1943 that the 9th along with the 3rd Brigade was transferred to the 6th Airborne. That would have been two weeks after Pvt Webb's death by parachute accident. The core of the 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion came from the 10th Battalion of the Essex Regiment. Perhaps it's an Essex Regiment beret badge that is displayed in the photo. After joining the 6th Airborne the 9th must have adopted the winged British parachute regiment beret badge as that is what can been seen on the few photos I've come across.
