Hi All! Military question here!

[historylover24]

So, most of my family has served in the Canadian Armed Forces, I just recently found a relative through investigating and digging on the internet, a lady whom happens to be my grandfathers 2nd cousin. She gave me a picture of my grandfathers great grandpa. My third great grandpa. He was born 1848-1938. I do not know which war or if he served during a war at all. Can anyone tell me anything about this picture? rank? unit? Canadian or British army? Thanks!

[MaxD]

There is the suggestion of the ribbons of a glengarry discernible behind his neck on (his) right hand side so something Scottish/Canadian Scottish?

Do you have a name for him?

maxD

[jbml]

Born 1848 ... looks in his 30s in the photo ... so at a guess I'd say this was a photo taken before he shipped out to serve in the first Boer War.

[historylover24]

Hi thanks for the response.

His name was Jehu (John) Augustus Webb, born in Noel, Kingsport Nova Scotia in 1848.

My family also thought that too, that he might have been in the Boer War. If he was, how would I go about findining more information on him? think a service record might still exist from that time?

Any other guesses?

Thanks!

[MaxD]

The headdress is a bit of a puzzle although I can persuade myself that it looks a lot like some of the Google images resulting from a search "canada volunteer militia".  There was a semi unofficial Canadian contingent in the Sudan in 1885 and then, as jbml suggests, more officially in the South African War which looks about the right period for this chap.

I think too that over time, the pic has become reversed in that his tunic buttons are the wrong (ladies') side of the piping.  That would mean that the left side of his headdress as we look at it was actually the right side (is everyone keeping up?) and the marks are his headdress badge.  Someone more expert than I might be able to identify it?  The remainder of the uniform has features unfortunately common to many of the time - the tunic is a lighter colour than the trousers - red perhaps - and the Austrian knot on the sleeve was also pretty common.

Just seen your latest post - I'll have a look.
maxD

[josey]

There are some payrolls from Canadian militia on ancestry.

There is a John A Webb (private in 1871, corporal in 1898) in the 78th Highlanders Colchester, Hants & Pictou signing for pay for annual camps. No age or regimental number, sadly.

PS worth asking a moderator to move to the Armed Forces board?

[historylover24]

Oh Really? that might be him then. I will have to look more into it. Thanks Josey.

I will have to also contact some more family members to see if they happen to know what unit he was in (I doubt they will know though).

So he might have been a volunteer militia? So can anyone also tell me what type of picture it is? is it a tin plate type?

[MaxD]

Beat me to it Josey.  The 78th Highlanders Colchester Hants and Pictou were apparently (thanks Google) a Nova Scotia outfit, the forerunners of the 1st Bn Nova Scotia Highlanders.  the name of the camp at which the drills were mounted sometimes have NS showing that they were in the province.  Now to check whether the unit sent anyone to the Boer War! The Canadian Anglo Boer War museum may know.

maxD

[josey]

1873 - camp was in Windsor; 1897 in Aldershot (both are the NS versions, of course  ).