The RAMC in the Watford Area in 1914

Heather has kindly supplies a picture, taken by Harry Cull, of Watford, which used to adorn her grandfather's desk. He was Pte Vincent Lamb - and may be the man behind the horse's head.

More WW1 and other pictures by Harry Cull

Derbyshire Territorials at Watford - August 1914-April 1916

PC by Harry Cull of Derbyshire Territorials

Military

Watford

In updating the Harry Cull page I discovered an excellent web site dealing with the Derbyshire Regiment in the Great War.. In addition to the above picture by Harry Cull it had three other pictures of the 2/6th Battalion who arrived in Watford on 9th August 1915 and initially camped in Cassiobury Park, later moving into billets. There is a picture of them shortly after their arrival taken by Beckley, of 33 Mildred Avenue, Watford.  There are 3 three other pictures in Watford before you come to the above picture by Cull which is probably of the Derbyshire Scheme Men who came to Watford in January 1916. The Derbyshires left Watford. The Battalion, along with the rest of the 178th Brigade left for Ireland on 26th April, 1916.

Information to help me identify which units were based where in Hertfordshire always welcome

Tug of War - are they Watford Footballers??

Tug of War - but who are they?

This post card was produced by Harry Cull, of 169 St Albans Road, Watford, probably shortly after the end of the First World War. The tuggers all have very distinctive matching shirts, with a "Z" in a shield, suggesting that they are part of a local football. The building in the distance on the right has a distinctive shape - so may be a clue to the location. Finally the distinctive numbering may be a clue and other cards from the same event might have the same numbering system. If I has more examples with similar numbering it should be possible to narrow the likely date and perhaps even identify the event  and the names of the teams competing in the tug of war.

Football

See other post cards

taken by Harry Cull, 

or of Hertfordshire football teams.

The London Scottish go into Battle ... but the response is poor

The London Scottish in Action

Military

In December Valerie kindly sent me a digital scan of a picture of some soldiers of the London Scottish Regiment, taken by Harry Cull of Watford.  I was delighted as it all help to document the period when the Territorial Force was based in Hertfordshire for training during the First World War, as many of the official records have not been preserved. In addition the local newspapers (from 1915 onwards) were heavily censored to ensure they did not publish news of identifiable troops posted in the area. For instance we have many pictures of troops in Britton's Camp but all we know is that it was in the St Albans Area. Officially approved cards of the action often take the form of propaganda  - celebrating the undoubted heroism  and failing to mention the pain.

Much of the detailed surviving information about which units were billeted in Hertfordshire (when and where) undoubtedly rests in the post cards taken of the troops at the time, and other cards and letters, almost all of which are in the hands of the families, who kept them, often as a memory of someone who never came home. But when the family owners die such small paper items often end up being destroyed or orphaned in house clearance sales, because they relate to people the executors never knew.

So when I  updated the London Scottish page I suggested that over Christmas readers might look to see if they had any old post cards which could help build a better picture of what was going on in Hertfordshire during the First World War. The response was. to put it mildly, disappointing. While there is still eighteen months to the remembering the outbreak of the First World War I would like to have identified a lot more units / locations / dates before then.

O.K. I know that most of you are researching further back in time - but you also have a duty to ensure that information in your family's possession is not lost, but put on record so that it can available to future generations researching their long dead ancestors.  So why not share it - by ensuring it is available now to others researching their First World War ancestors ...

London Scottish Regiment

Watford Fete 1914 - Another Cull Post Card

Fete Day, Cassiobury Park, Watford, 1914

I have updated the page for Henry Robert Cull of Watford, who is best know for his many photographs of troops during the First World War. The new post card provides some useful additional dating evidence about his earliest photographs.

Previously we had a card, taken in the summer of 1912,  numbered 65, and then one in September 1914, when he had started taking pictures at a much faster rate because of the extra First World War related photographs. The new card is almost certainly taken in summer 1914 (it should be possible to get the exact date of the fete from the Watford Observer) and is numbered  247 - which suggests that he was only averaging about 2 such photographs a week, and suggest that cards numbered in the 100s were probably taken in circa 1913, and his earliest cards were probably towards the end of 1911.

Another WW1 post card - Middlesex Regiment, by Cull of Watford

Five of these soldiers have the Middlesex regiment cap badge and a large version of the picture, which should make it easier to recognize any of the men, can be seen on the Later Troops at Watford page. I have not yet been able to pin down an exact date for when the regiment troops were based in the area. The message on the back suggests they were about to leave the area and go to "the seaside." The writer also asks his wife to sent fifteen shillings to he can make up deficiencies in his kit.

One of the soldiers had a different cap badge which I have not been able to identify.

The photographer was Harry Cull, of Watford, and the number 9162, which is the highest reference number I have found for him.

More WW1 Army pictures by Cull of Watford

Hilary has kindly provided a picture of the Hampshire Regimental Band  at Watford in the summer of 1915. 

I have added a picture of some London Scottish soldiers - who may be some of those who were the first territorials at the front and were slaughtered. (with quotes from the London Gunners come to Town). 

There are also two pictures which may date from 1916, representing the City of London Rifles and Middlesex regiments, including one portrait of a single unidentified soldier. I have also moved the pictures of the Isle of Wight Rifles to another page.

It is now possible to draft an initial time line for Harry Cull's First World War photographs - but if you have any additional photographs of troops in Hertfordshire, especially where the unit, place, date and/or Hertfordshire photographer is known let me know as every little helps to improve the time line of which troops were based where in Hertfordshire,  and when.

Isle of Wight Rifles at Watford, Summer 1915

Following the posting of some military post cards by Harry Cull of Watford a few days ago Geoff, of the Isle of Wight Family History Society has kindly provided scans of four further post cards of the Isle of Wight Rifles. They arrived in Watford on May 20th 1915, and the above picture shows them marching out of the entrances gates of Cassiobury Park. 

This post card shows "A" Company marching along St Albans Road, Watford at the end of July, 1915, on their way to see action at Gallopoli,

One of the shops on the other side of the road is No 169, the shop of Harry Cull.

See here for other photographs of the Isle of Wight Rifles. Please tell me or the IOW Family History Society if you can identify any of the soldiers after clicking to enlarge the images.
I am always interested in details of any cards which allow the military units stationed in Hertfordshire to be dated and identified.

Harry Cull of Watford, World War One Photographer

Harry Cull was a picture framer in Watford, who also produced post cards of groups of people - both before and after the First World War, but particularly of troops from the 2nd London Division of Territorials who took up war stations in the St Albans area in August 1914, and also of the successor troops once the first wave had gone to the front. See Harry Cull, Photographer, Watford.

Because they are real photographs it is possible to enlarge the images to get a clear view of the individual faces and often identify the cap badges. In addition many of the cards carry a negative number (undoubtedly for re-order purposes) and this means that it is possible to reconstruct a date sequence linked to the troop movements in the area.

I've produced high resolution images in the hope that some readers will be able to identify individual shown in the pictures. In addition there is a request for help. If you know of any post cards (or other photographs) by Harry Cull which are numbered, or where the date or troop units are known (possibly from enlargement of the cap badges) I would be very interested to receive details so that I can produce a more accurate date schedule.