Help identifying uniforms.

[abby85]

Hi,

I have a photo of my great-great-great grandad (man in the middle) and would love to find out a bit more about him. Can anyone help me identify his uniform / badge?

The thing is, he was two month shy of his 44th birthday at the start of the war so would have been considered too old for any kind of service. He lived in south Northumberland if that's any help.

Also, can anyone identify the uniforms of the other two men?

Thanks in advance, Abby

[jim1]

Possibly Manchester Volunteer Batt. He's wearing the 1908 pattern tunic however the man next to him is wearing the 1916 economy tunic so sometime after that.
The man on the left is from a Scottish Batt. but the cap badge is too indistinct.
What's his name ?

[abby85]

Hello, thanks for your reply. His name was Joseph Stephen Bower, he was born in October 1869.

I've tried searching on Ancestry for anything military related but don't seem to be getting any results.

He was born in Northumberland and lived his whole life there so I assumed he would have been attached to a battalion closer to home, or would he not have had any control over this?

Does the fact that he's wearing an earlier uniform mean anything?

Thanks again for your help,

Abby

[John915]

Good afternoon,

I will go with  jim, Manchester regt but General Service Corps is also a possibility. Man on right of picture same regt. Other man Scottish but badge too indistinct.

The fact that your man has an earlier jacket just means he  has been in longer when they were issued.

John915

[jess5athome]

My vote goes with the General Service Corps, the badge looks to have the "Voids" on it.

http://britishmilitarybadges.e2ecdn.co.uk/Products/0abteyet5663533.jpg?w=547&h=547&quality=85&scale=canvas

Frank.

[jim1]

I'll go along with GS Corps. Not much out there about them.

[abby85]

Thanks for all your help, I have a starting point now.

I've Googled General Service Corp and information is scant, although I found a post on another forum where someone said they read that the GSC contained home guard and volunteers.

When trying to find his military records, I can't find any relating to 'General Service Corp' - did men in the GSC even have records if they were home guard or volunteers?

[jim1]

Every serviceman had a record, unfortunately about 70% were destroyed in the Blitz.

[John915]

Good evening,

General Service Corps was a war service only unit operating as a holding regt. It consisted of men, often specialists in a field who were waiting to be allocated to a regt. As such they mostly existed in the UK and did not serve on the front line.

There is not much to find about them because men went on to other regts to fight and win medals or MiDs etc.

John915