| Images of Old Soldiers in their Life after Service |
| But we in it shall be remembered, We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he n'er so vile for this day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap, whilst any speaks that fought with us, apon St. Crispin's Day! from Henry V |
| India/Anglo-Boer War Veteran & Wife Post 1902 |
| 2nd Afghan War/Egyptian/Sudan War Veteran & Friend c. 1890 |
| Officer No. 244 Metropolitan Police Anglo-Boer War Veteran Post 1902 |
| Sergeant Corps of Commisionaires Egyptian/Sudan War Veteran c. 1880's |
| India Mutiny Veteran c. 1880 |
| India or Anglo-Zulu War Veteran and Family c. 1880s |
| Lifeboatman Egyptian/Sudan War Veteran c. 1890 |
| Crimean War/India Mutiny Veteran Malta c. 1890's |
| Jelinger Symons Royal Marine Light Infantry c. 1900's |
| Henry A. Moriarty KCB Royal Navy and wife. Christmas, 1888 |
| Gwalior Campaign/Crimean War Veteran Canada c. 1860's |
| Peachy Carnehan: Home to what? A porters uniform outside a restaurant and six penny tips from belching civilians for closing cab doors on their blowzy women? Daniel Dravot: Not for us thank you. Not after watching afghans come howling down out of the hills and taking battlefield command when all the officers bought it. Peachy Carnehan: Well said, brother Dravot from the John Huston film of the Rudyard Kipling story: The Man Who Would be King |
| Crimean War Veteran & Grand Daughter c. 1890's |
| Anglo-Boer War Veteran & Wife c. 1910 |
| Egyptian/ Sudan War Veteran & Family Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada c. 1900 |
| Yeoman Warder Kester Knight Tower of London c. 1890 |
| Sergeant Corps of Commisionaires Abyssinian War Veteran c. 1880's |
| Anglo-Boer War Veteran Highlander 1911 |
| Yeoman of the Guard Thomas Austin Tower of London c. 1895 |
| Yeoman of the Guard Herbert Winton Pamplin Tower of London c. 1908 |
| Anglo-Boer War Veteran & Wife c. 1910 |
| Anglo-Zulu War Veteran "P. C. Stephens" Leicester Police Constable 1908 |
| 16th Lancers Battle of Aliwal Veterans 1896 |
| Egyptian/Sudan War Veteran with 5 Clasp Egypt Medal c. 1880's |
| Matebele War/Anglo-Boer War Veteran c. 1905 |
| Chelsea Pensioner William Adams Former Private 50th Regiment of Foot Last Surviving Holder of the Gwalior Star Real Photo Post Card Wells - Photographer c. 1914 |
This Real Photo Postcard
was bought as a souvenir on
20 May 1915 or so states
the ink inscription on the
card's reverse side.
was bought as a souvenir on
20 May 1915 or so states
the ink inscription on the
card's reverse side.
| Second China War Veteran c. 1890 |
| Canadian Veteran? 1/6th Plate Tintype (Ferrotype) Unknown Photographer c. 1880s |
This "Man in Question" poses some
very interesting possibilities as to who
he may have been and where he may
have served.
Very little information regarding this
image is available other than that it is
a tintype image and that it was found
in upstate New York. That this man
was a veteran of at least one and
probably two of Queen Victoria's
campaigns is without question as
evidenced by the two campaign medals
he wears on his right breast (more
about this later) and the possibility
seems likely that he may have been
Canadian or had this portrait taken in
Canada sometime after arriving in
that country.
The supposition of the image being...
very interesting possibilities as to who
he may have been and where he may
have served.
Very little information regarding this
image is available other than that it is
a tintype image and that it was found
in upstate New York. That this man
was a veteran of at least one and
probably two of Queen Victoria's
campaigns is without question as
evidenced by the two campaign medals
he wears on his right breast (more
about this later) and the possibility
seems likely that he may have been
Canadian or had this portrait taken in
Canada sometime after arriving in
that country.
The supposition of the image being...
| Harry Myles Anglo-Boer War and Great War Veteran Worcestershire c. 1900 & c. 1940 |
| Anglo-Boer War Veteran Newcastle on Tyne Early 1900s |
| Fenian Raid/Red River Veteran c. 1914 |
| Commissionaire 2nd Afghan War/Anglo-Boer War Veteran Cabinet Photograph Edward G. Brewis - Photographer c. 1905 |
Having enrolled as member of the Corps of Commissionaires
after the expiration of his long service with the colours, this
unnamed former soldier had seen extensive active service
beginning in the late 1870s or early 1880s. He wears the medal
for the 2nd Afghan War with no clasps as well and the
Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps and the King's
South Africa Medal with its usual two clasps.
after the expiration of his long service with the colours, this
unnamed former soldier had seen extensive active service
beginning in the late 1870s or early 1880s. He wears the medal
for the 2nd Afghan War with no clasps as well and the
Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps and the King's
South Africa Medal with its usual two clasps.
| 2nd Afghan War/Egyptian War Veteran and Family c. 1900 |
| Old India Veteran c. 1890 |
| Bearded Veteran c. 1900s |
| Warder of His Majesty's Prisons Cabinet Photograph Unknown Photographer Early 1900s |
While there is nothing specifically in this
photograph that indicates this prison warder was
military veteran he certainly could have been -
he exhibits a certain military bearing in both his
pose and attitude. Additionally many a former
soldier would naturally have been attracted to
uniformed jobs with fire brigades, police forces
and as prison warders. In his book, Victorian
and Edwardian Prisons (Shire Books, 2006)
author Trevor May states: “Many warders were
used to harsh discipline, having come from a
military background. In 1893 for example, 66 per
cent of applications for subordinate posts in local
prisons came from men with a background in the
Army or Navy, and a roughly similar percentage of
those actually appointed were of the same origin.”
photograph that indicates this prison warder was
military veteran he certainly could have been -
he exhibits a certain military bearing in both his
pose and attitude. Additionally many a former
soldier would naturally have been attracted to
uniformed jobs with fire brigades, police forces
and as prison warders. In his book, Victorian
and Edwardian Prisons (Shire Books, 2006)
author Trevor May states: “Many warders were
used to harsh discipline, having come from a
military background. In 1893 for example, 66 per
cent of applications for subordinate posts in local
prisons came from men with a background in the
Army or Navy, and a roughly similar percentage of
those actually appointed were of the same origin.”
| Well Dressed Boer War Veteran 1900s |
| Former Sergeant Charles Williams 2nd Battalion, the Rifle Brigade Real Photo Postcard Unknown Photographer c. 1917 |
Just how often are an soldier’s wartime experiences
so memorable that he ends up naming one of his
children after them? Probably not very, but this is in
fact the case with Sergeant No. 1499 Charles Williams
of the 2nd Battalion, the Rifle Brigade, pictured here
in bemedaled old age c. 1917.
Born on 19 January, 1836 in Dymock, Gloucestershire
to James William and his wife Anne, Williams
attested with the Rifle Brigade on 5 September 1855
and would see active service in both India and Africa
during his 19 years, 277 days of service with the
colours.
Williams’ service papers have not been found but a
summary of service as found in his discharge papers
helps recreate a snapshot of his years in active service.
so memorable that he ends up naming one of his
children after them? Probably not very, but this is in
fact the case with Sergeant No. 1499 Charles Williams
of the 2nd Battalion, the Rifle Brigade, pictured here
in bemedaled old age c. 1917.
Born on 19 January, 1836 in Dymock, Gloucestershire
to James William and his wife Anne, Williams
attested with the Rifle Brigade on 5 September 1855
and would see active service in both India and Africa
during his 19 years, 277 days of service with the
colours.
Williams’ service papers have not been found but a
summary of service as found in his discharge papers
helps recreate a snapshot of his years in active service.
| Salvation Army Soldier/India Veteran & Wife c. 1880s |
| Afghan and Egyptian War Veteran 1910s |
| Royal Mail Letter Carrier Boer War Veteran 1910s |
| Berwick-on-Tweed Mayor and Veteran c. 1900 |
| 2nd Class Master Gunner James Whittington 1907 |
| India and Afghanistan Veteran Cabinet Photograph Hudson & Co. Photographer c. 1890 |
This man's military pedigree is
not in question. He wears the 2nd
Anglo-Afghan War Medal with
two clasps, the Kabul to Kandahar
Star and the 1854 India General
Service Medal with a single clasp.
The clasps on his medals are
blurred just enough to prevent
them being read, though one of
the two on his Afghan War medal
is in all likelihood "Kandahar".
Neither his army unit or his name
are known and it may very well
stay that way, but the question
presently at hand is to what
organization did he belong to
when this photograph was taken?
not in question. He wears the 2nd
Anglo-Afghan War Medal with
two clasps, the Kabul to Kandahar
Star and the 1854 India General
Service Medal with a single clasp.
The clasps on his medals are
blurred just enough to prevent
them being read, though one of
the two on his Afghan War medal
is in all likelihood "Kandahar".
Neither his army unit or his name
are known and it may very well
stay that way, but the question
presently at hand is to what
organization did he belong to
when this photograph was taken?
| Sergeant Allan Kaye Royal Artillery c,1900 |
| Royal Mail Letter Carriers 1900s |
| Old Light Infantry Corporal Crimean War Veteran 1880s |
| India Mutiny Veteran wearing Regimental Badge c. 1890s |
| Military General Service Medal Recipient Half Cased 1/6th Plate Ambrotype Unknown Photographer c. 1850s |
Dating from the middle of the 19th
Century, this half cased 1/6th plate glass
ambrotype photograph appears to have
immortalized a recipient of the Military
General Service Medal (MGSM) – a
retroactive award created in 1847 and
presented to surviving veterans of the
Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
The medal that this rather pleasant, although
unfortunately unidentified gentleman is
wearing appears to have at least five clasps
which would seem to have made him a
veteran of Wellesley’s Peninsular War
against Napoleon in Spain (1807–1814).
This medal along with its maritime
counterpart, the Naval General Service
Medal (NGSM) were the first true campaign
medals issued by the British Crown. While
both the MGSM and the NGSM were very...
Century, this half cased 1/6th plate glass
ambrotype photograph appears to have
immortalized a recipient of the Military
General Service Medal (MGSM) – a
retroactive award created in 1847 and
presented to surviving veterans of the
Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
The medal that this rather pleasant, although
unfortunately unidentified gentleman is
wearing appears to have at least five clasps
which would seem to have made him a
veteran of Wellesley’s Peninsular War
against Napoleon in Spain (1807–1814).
This medal along with its maritime
counterpart, the Naval General Service
Medal (NGSM) were the first true campaign
medals issued by the British Crown. While
both the MGSM and the NGSM were very...
| John Wright India Veteran 1900s |