Hi - I absolutely love the picture of your grandfather + friend. Were you able to find out anything else about his time with the BEF since you last posted on him?
I realize it has been a while, but I have been researching the Sportsman's Battalions, and other records of that time indicate that he would have enlisted with the 30th Battalion Royal Fusiliers sometime in early October 1915 (SPTS/4097 - George Percy Garnett, for example, enlisted October 5th). The 30th was a reserve unit for the 23rd and 24th Battalions.
Your grandfather was probably in training for about 5-6 months in England (Romford, Leamington, and Oxford), then went over to France some time in spring of 1916, was transferred to the 23rd Battalion, and most likely spent about a month "At Base" in Etaples before going "Up The Line".
The photo could have been taken in 1917 or 1918. I say this because his colleague is wearing a "good conduct" chevron on his left arm and the general consensus I have seen is that this was given after two years of service. Of course, his colleague might have enlisted in 1914, but let's say for the sake of argument they enlisted at the same time, then it is probably 1918.
My cousin Fergus Mackain (SPTS/4299 - enlisted November 2nd) drew a series of postcards about his experiences in the 30th and then the 23rd. You can see them here:
Fergus Mackain's Wartime Sketches. The website with my research on the Sportsman's Battalion can be found here:
Sportsman's Gazette.
Quite why they are dressed differently (one smarter than the other) is almost impossible to tell. Perhaps it was a humorous form of role reversal, or just reflects what was going on at the time the photo was taken. Have a look at the cards in the "
Out on Rest" series - there are various levels of smartness displayed!
Hopefully this is useful in some way!
I have found a photo of Granddad in WW1! He is the one standing,it seems strange he is so casual when the man next to him is so very tidy(granddad was usually so pristine in his dress). I have no idea who the man with him is. I presume the photo was taken in France because it is in the form of a postcard with French writing on the reverse. There is no message or address so it wasn't posted. I thought Granddad had destroyed all the photos etc. I found this while I was sorting through my mum's belongings, also with this photo was a letter from granddad's sister Alice on the occasion of my mum's 21st. She recalled how granddad had celebrated his 21st in wartime and had asked for a razor!She had sent him one "big enough to frighten the Germans! I think I can remember my granddad showing it to me when I was little.
Regards
LInda