Unknown soldier, London Rifle Brigade.
I imagine from the size of the photograph, the once ornate frame and the amount of effort put into the hand colouring of the image, that this lad didn't return from the war.
The frame is in a sorry state having been stored in a damp conditions in an old West Midlands public house that was recently cleared. The house clearance man suggested the he might have been part of the publican's family, but I think that this is unlikely for a London Territorial. The framed photograph was probably bought to retro gentrify the pub, which was a common practice back in the early 1980s. The pub that I used to haunt suddenly had bookshelves stuffed with old volumes, fishing tackle and Edwardian ginger beer bottles to make it look like an 'authentic' public house rather than the awful juke box, one armed bandit and three lagers on tap pub that it was. But I digress.
I have removed the photograph from the frame and sadly, there are no clues as to who had the photograph framed.
|