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Old 08-01-22, 02:32 PM
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High Wood High Wood is offline
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It is cetainly a photograph taken to amuse someone but that seems to have been quite a common thing amongst territorial soldiers on their annual camp around the time of the Great War.

I have several group photographs where lads are improperly dressed or holding utensils and other objects for comic effect.

In this case, they appear to be middle aged men, well over 30 anyway, who, if they are in the Hong Kong Volunteer Corps, are probably guarding an installation somewhere.

My guess is that the uniforms and rifles are real and that these men are probably Volunteers just larking about for the camera before they go on duty having played a game of golf.

I don't know if the Hong Kong Volunteers only had access to weapons and uniforms in the drill hall, or kept them at home or at work when off duty, but it could be that they have finished a shift of guard duty and are larking about before taking the rest of the day off.

Either way, they do not look like battle hardened regular troops, but I would imagine that recruiting standards for Volunteer units were probably lowered during war time in the colonies, particularly if they wanted the ranks filled with European men, for guarding installations.
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