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I'm trying to find service records for James William King, born about 1875 in Southampton, who joined the Royal Engineers at about 16. He was eventually posted to Hong Kong where he married Ellen Harriet Thomson. Her father had also been with the Royal Engineers, but passed away along her mother about 1901, I believe in a cholera outbreak. James William King and his wife had four sons, but he died in Hong Kong in 1912 at just 37. His widow raised the boys as best as she could. She worked at Wiseman's Restaurant in HK and also had help from her own brothers and sisters while they lived in HK. I did get some records for Ellen's father ( one of my great grandfathers ) from Fold3 but I think someone sent it to me. I looked at Fold3 and I can't see how one could tell if records are there or not.

I know this section is for photos mainly, but I hope maybe there's also some art historians around. This painting was given to my mother, about 1965, by someone ( I'm assuming a family member  bt don't know who)  in England. She was told it was her grandfather, and therefore my great grandfather, William Leyland Hunter. She had it shipped home to Canada and had it reframed. The painting is oil, and I assumed it was on canvas, but because the surface was hard to the touch, I figured it had been backed to protect it. I've recently come to question whether or not it is William Leyland Hunter who died in 1894 in London or maybe his father who died in 1882.
So, I removed the paper on the back side of the frame to see what was underneath and it appears to be Masonite board, which was commonly used for paintings in the 1930s and 40s ( Masonite having been patented in 1924 in the USA ) If so, then the painting is much newer and brings into question, who the person actually is, and who painted it? I've not removed the painting from the frame at this point, but on close examination of the painted surface, one can detect what looks like canvas weave beneath the paint. There's also a couple of small chips in the painting that seem to reveal a weave under the paint.
  William Leyland Hunter died broke at the age of 49 so it's unlikely h'd have commissioned a portrait of himself and the portrait looks like and older gentleman, but men aged more in that era. There's also a possibility that the painting may have been done in the USA by his niece's husband Harry Valentine Shellard. They lived in New York and New Jersey from about 1917 until 1936. The panting could also have been of her father, Edmund Southam Hunter ( one of William Leyland's brothers ) I'll attach a photo of the painting and maybe if I can, a close-up of the chipped part. Any ideas would be appreciated. My goal is to find out if it's truly my great grandfather.

This stamp is on the back of a photo dated Sept 24, 1945. It looks like Clarence Studios and the lower line is Birmingham. I'm stumped on the word before Birmingham if anyone knows. Also does anyone have info on this photo studio

I'm hoping someone can tell me how I might find the rest of this record? It appears to be maybe the last page of his record at the end of his service. I have his son's record and it's about 11 pages and lists all his postings as well as his wife and children, with dates  and places of birth. His number looks to be #5079 from what I can make out. I believe he retired and died in England, about 1912, but his service record could give important details of his life's movements. He enlisted about 1857 according to this page and served until 1878. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Brian Beesley

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