Langport area- naval cadets info needed

[NooshieW]

Hi everyone,
We have a cache of family photos sent to us from a relative, most of which are unidentified. One photo is of a young sailor (cadet), who we think may be our grandfather. However, we cannot pin down the date of the photo.It looks Edwardian. It has a Langport Somerset photographers stamp in the corner and is in pristine condition. The boy looks to be around 12 and has a traditional sailor outfit with a hat bearing HMS only. I thought that may mean it was a wartime photo, but our grandfather was killed in WW1.
If anyone knows when there were naval cadets in the Langport area or any info at all relating to this I would be most grateful.
Kind Regards
Nooshie
K

[KGarrad]

Who were the photographers? Using their history, we may be able to pin down dates.

Maybe he wasn't a cadet - just a boy wearing a facsimile uniform, to emulate his heroes?
I would have thought a cadet uniform would have something after "HMS"?

[NooshieW]

Hi and thank for replying. I have terrible eyesight,but the photographer is E. Bennett I believe. However there are a couple of letters in front of that, that I cannot read.
Regards
Nooshie

[djm297]

If it helps at all, there is a photographer, Edward E Bennett listed in the 1911 census at The Hill , Langport, which supports the time frame .

Regards
 DJM

[NooshieW]

Yes it helps thanks was he on the 1901 census too?

[djm297]

HI!

Yes he is on the 1901 census, at the same address.


DJM

[NooshieW]

Thanks for that, could a kind person also check the 1891 census. Our granddad was born in 1886 so by my calculation if the photo is him it would be taken in 1898/9 ish. Would photographers had impressed marks on the photos in that era? I always think of later photos having that sort of identification mark and earlier ones a written photographers name in the corner ,but I am no expert by any means!!
Thanks

[djm297]

HI!

Edward Bennett not in Langport in the 1891 census, and have checked people living at The Hill, Langport, and there are no other photographers there. Some of the family photographs I have from the same sort of date have printed details of the photographer on.

I live quite near Langport, and would be surprised if there was a Naval cadet Unit there...it is a small inland market town..! Hope this helps!

DJM