Identifying WW1 post cards of soldiers in Hertfordshire.

The Military

Before Christmas I posted Something for you to do over Christmas to raise money for charity - the idea being to try and identify more soldiers who were in Hertfordshire from old post cards and other pictures. I report on three responses below.

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8th London (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery

The First is a post card showing soldiers grouped round a howitzer. Fiona tells me that the officer standing behind the gun is Eustace Nugent Fitz-George de Radcliffe Cooper. This confirms that the picture shows the unit which was based at Apsley, Hemel Hempstead between August 1914 and March 1915. As a result I have posted an old newspaper report from 1914 which mentions several soldiers who were members of the Brigade. Because a number of names are on record it should be possible to identify further officers and men who are in the picture - but I put this up as a challenge for visitors to this site.

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2/14th Battalion, London Scottish at North Mimms

Peter has kindly provided five digital images of the London Scottish on a musketry course at North Mimms in August 1915, Information on the back of one of the post cards allows the soldiers to be identified as part of the second line battalion, the first line battalion having been one of the first battalions to see action in October 1914. While there is not definite evidence it seems likely that the musketry course involved shooting on the Chalk Hill Firing Range..

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Jon has suggested that this picture of the Imperial Service Division at St Albans shows them on parade on the former St Albans School playing fields at Belmont Hill. The large house in the middle background with multiple chimneys would therefore be Torrington House - close to the site of Holywell House owned by the Marlboroughs/Spencers well into the 1800s. It would have been close to the White Hart HQ.

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Donate Here

I am still interested in any further information on troops who were based in Hertfordshire in the 1914-1919 period - and as promised in the earlier post I have made a donation of £20 to support the Mentally ill in Hertfordshire.

8th London (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery at Apsley in 1914/5

The Military

When I was writing the book The London Gunners come to Town I looked in vain for pictures of known soldiers of known units who were stationed in Hemel Hempstead in 1914/5 as part of the 2nd London Division. Well, I'm not quite there yet. This picture was taken by L. L. Christmas, of St Albans, almost certainly early in 1915 and the gun looks very much like a 6 inch howitzer. Unfortunately I can't name any of the clearly identifiable men. (Can you help?)

And who had such weapons in the area at the time. Why the 8th London (Howitzer) Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery - who were based at Apsley, including Shendish. And my research into the book  included many details of what the Brigade was doing between August 1914 and March 1915, when they sailed for France. 

Click here for larger images and extracts from the London Gunners listing their officers and describing what the Brigade was doing while training.