Military - photo. Does anyone know this WW1 regiment please?

[emjsw]

Hi there,

William T Cosby  b.1879 in Leighton Buzzard, moved to Kidlington in Oxfordshire in the mid 1880s. We know he was in France in WW1 and was court martialled at some point for shooting a French civilian who had killed a child (I can't find a record for this).
We can't work out what regiment he was in and I wondered if someone might be able to help by looking at his uniform please (if you click on the image there is also a man in uniform standing to the right).
He is the man on the horse.

Thank you and best wishes,
Emma

[ShaunJ]

William T Cosby was a driver in the Royal Engineers. 209085

[emjsw]

William T Cosby was a driver in the Royal Engineers. 209085

Wow thank you very much. He was a sand and whiting dealer but after the war worked on cars so maybe that explains the job change. He was a skilled horse man and horse dealer as well. He was 1/2 Roma. Forgive my ignorance but could anyone join the royal engineers or did you have to be an engineer if some sort? He was not hence the question. Or were people on horse back known as drivers. Sorry if these questions are a bit stupid but I don't know much about the military!
Thanks for getting in touch

[ShaunJ]

The Royal Engineers certainly had mounted drivers (just like the Royal Horse Artillery) who would be involved in moving heavy equipment with teams of horses. 

[emjsw]

The Royal Engineers certainly had mounted drivers (just like the Royal Horse Artillery) who would be involved in moving heavy equipment with teams of horses.

Ahh I see, thank you very much for explaining. Do you happen to know where I might be able to find details of where he went and what he did please (I have been looking but there are so many subdivisions I am not sure where to start).
Also as he was disaplined for trying to save a child by shooting a civilian would there be a record? I heard many of the documents were destroyed in ww2. Maybe I should check French newspapers but I don't know the name of the village where it happened.
Sorry to ask you so many questions but you seem to be very knowledgeable about the military.
All the best.

[ShaunJ]

Sorry can't help. His army records seem not to have survived and there is very little information to be gleaned from the medal roll or medal index card.

[emjsw]

Sorry can't help. His army records seem not to have survived and there is very little information to be gleaned from the medal roll or medal index card.

OK no problem, thank you very much for getting back to me and for finding his service number. All the best.