Help identify regiments etc. for these soldiers please.

[Leon47]

I wonder what information can be gleaned about the soldier in the attached images and what more information I might be able to find. I believe the soldier standing in the centre of JATImage 2 is the same person as shown in JATImage 1.

The images have been in our family for years but we don’t really know who the soldiers are.

I believe them to be of my paternal grandfather, born in Belfast in 1880, died in 1923 aged 43, of Pulmonary TB. The 1901 census shows him as a Linenlapper aged 20 and the 1911 census says shipyard labourer aged 30.

His death certificate, which I’ve just managed to locate and have ordered, says Army Pensioner. A family story suggests he suffered a gas attack during the war and had poor health thereafter. All addresses found in searches/certificates are in Belfast. I've also now found his birth certificate and have ordered that too.

My observations are:

Uniforms – likely the same soldiers/regiment in both photographs? - Caps look the same.

Soldier in Image 1 – what age? Collar badge? Rank Corporal, with service ribbon? How long likely to have been serving at that point? Grandfather would have been aged 33 in 1914. What might the ribbon be for? Breeches and whip – horse regiment perhaps?

Image 2. Seems like somewhere in Africa. Is the soldier in the middle the same man as in Image 1 but older? Possible campaign?

Any help would be appreciated and hints on how to get more information. For example, can I get service/pension records knowing my Grandfathers full name, place and date of birth and death, names of parents and maiden name of mother?

I have access to Ancestry.co.uk via the local library.

Thanks for any help.

Edit: I've just seen that, because I had to reduce the quality of the image to be able to post it, the resolution is poor. Here is a better resolution image of just the lapel badge on JATImage 1.

[Jebber]

I may be wrong but the collar dogs look very much like the Welsh Regiment.

You failed to mention your grandfather’s name, that would enable people to be of more help.

[Leon47]

Thanks.

The Welsh Regiment? That surprises me. Then again I've no idea how soldiers were allocated to regiments.

My Grandfathers name is John Alexander Todd.

[AllanUK]

My thoughts are that the soldier and the man in the middle of the second image are one and the same.

I agree with Jebber that the collar dogs look like the Welsh Regiment. He is wearing medal ribbons on his left breast, these look like WW1 ribbons which suggest that the image is post war.

[Andy J2022]

The Prince of Wales Feathers form the basis of around a dozen different regiments' badges, some infantry but also a number of yeomanry regiments, such as the Wiltshire Yeomanry (image below) and the 10th Imperial Yeomanry. The slouch hat in the top two pictures makes me think of the Second Boer War, in which case the Imperial Yeomanry would fit well.  This hat was only worn to a very limited extent during World War One, mainly in Africa and the Middle East I believe. Given that the man in the first picture is wearing medal ribbons, this reinforces my view that he may have taken part in the Boer war and the studio picture was taken closer to the First World War.

The Imperial Yeomanry were mounted infantry so the puttees evident in the photographs would be appropriate dress if they didn't have riding boots.

I would agree that the man in image one is probably the man in the centre of the second image.

[Jebber]

There is a John  A TODD  born Shankhill Belfast  1881 in the Imperial Yomenry in the  Boer War.

He attested aged 20 yrs, can’t make out the months. 26th February 1901.

He served 1 yr and 94 days.

Mother Maria TODD 6 Glenfern St. Belfast.

He was 6ft weight 161lbs, complexion fresh,  eyes grey, hair light brown. 2 distinguishing marks L but it doesn’t say where.

A Cpl when discharged.

[Andy J2022]

There's Trooper John Alexander Todd regimental number 302 who served in the 1st Imperial Light Horse in South Africa 1899 -1902. However the ILH capbadge was different, consisting of two crossed Colours, so if this is your man he must have subsequently joined another regiment which had the Prince of Wales feathers as a capbadge.
There's another candidate (the one Jebber has spotted): LCpl John A Todd 35493 serving in 74 (Dublin) Company 8 Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.

Lots of ifs here, but if he did serve in South Africa, I'd put money on him joining a British Yeomanry regiment prior the outbreak of World War one.

[Leon47]

Thank you very much for these replies. I'll need a while to have a think and understand the results. Lots of questions.

Where did you folks get that information? I'm grateful but I'd love to see them for myself (it's not just the results, its the search that's interesting for me).

Thanks again. I'll get back to you tomorrow.

[Andy J2022]

In my case it's FindMyPast