Uniform Identification

[googie2]

Please could someone identify the Soldiers uniform.  Arthur Harries

He is standing with his 2 brothers who served on HMS Glowworm.

Thank you in advanced

[alan o]

Interesting photo.

So he has a tropical uniform on so is overseas somewhere hot.  The belt is a 1937 pattern belt so must date to 1938 onwards.  He is an infantry man.  The uniform is his best parade one and would be used mainly in peacetime but could be 1939 as he was a Regular soldier.

The cords and tassels are for a bugler or drummer - not sure which.

The inverted chevrons are Good Conduct stripes so 2 means he has 6 years of good conduct service.

The rifles are for marksmanship.  The badge with the wreath is unclear but could well be for proficiency in a machine gun.  An LG would be Lewis Gun for example.  This ties in nicely with the pipes and drums connection as the machine gun platoons in infantry battalions for the Pipes and Drums as a dual role.

The collar badges are too small.  Could you enlarge them as that might tell you which battalion he was in.

Any clues to date or location?  It looks to be peacetime but could be early war years.

[alan o]

If it is Glowworn then it must be pre 1940.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Glowworm_(H92)

Possibly Gibraltar 1938-39?  In 1939 the Infantry on the Rock were 1st Bn. Welsh Guards, 2nd. The King’s Regiment (Liverpool) and the 2nd Bn. The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert’s).  I do not think he is Welsh Guards as the collar badge is not their leek. 

Prior to that the 2nd Bn. The Royal Norfolk Regiment and the
1st Bn. The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry were there in 1937.

Or may be Malta?  The Glowworm had moved to the Maltese end of the Med in 1938-9 and was doing escort duties there.  In 1939 Malta's garrison was a single infantry brigade; comprising the 2nd Battalion the Devonshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, 1st Battalion the Dorsetshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion the Royal Irish Fusiliers.

[alan o]

Where was the family from?

Harries is a very Welsh surname but no obvious welsh regiment candidates as he is not  a Guardsman.

[googie2]

Arthur Harris ----- Mother live in Wyke Regis Dorset.

[alan o]

Well if the photo is 1938/9 and he has 6 years of adult service then the earliest enlistment date would be 1932/3.  That in turn suggests a DOB of 1914 or earlier.


No obvious Dorset family birth on Free BMD which is a shame.

[alan o]

Arthur Harris ----- Mother live in Wyke Regis Dorset.

Harris or Harries which is the name in post 1?

If it is Harris the this is him b.1907?

[alan o]

or this one in 1912 which would place him at 27 in the photo which looks right?

[alan o]

If it seems likely that it is Malta in 1939 and he joined a regiment local to his home town then either the Devonshires or Dorsetshires had a battalion on the island when HMS Glowworm was operating out of Valletta.  However neither regiments' collar badges is a good match for the one in your photo.

It might be blurred or he may have joined another regiment.

This is the Dorset's.