Uniform/great coat???

[Jen~Ealogy]

Great uncle Harry appears to be wearing some type of uniform/great coat, can anyone identify it for me please?
He was born in 1889, so may well have served in WW1 but not sure.

[hughar]

Harry will have been age 21 at the time of the 1911 census, so does his occupation on that give any clues?

The collar and tie, the single-breasted top-coat, and the absence of any insignia suggests that he is not wearing any form of military uniform. The different coloured facings on the lapels of the top coat suggest it is more likely to be some form of livery uniform from a stately home or business.

The top coat seems to have a high collar and is worn over what looks like another fairly substantial high-buttoned jacket. This suggests his occupation has him working outdoors, possibly as a coachman, hunt servant, groom or similar.

[Jen~Ealogy]

Thank you Hughar, that's very interesting, I will see if I can find him on the 1911 census, I didn't think it was a uniform of any of the forces, and I've never seen anything like it before.

[Just Barbara]

I think he could be wearing hospital blues, this was worn by wounded soldiers in ww1.............

[Jen~Ealogy]

Really Barbara.....oh, this is getting confusing now........I can't find any trace of him on the 1911. He was 10 on the 1901 census. Don't know where to look for him now then...:conf:

[Just Barbara]

Absent voters in ww1?

[Jen~Ealogy]

Exactly what I was thinking Barbara, if he had served, I won't get him. So still won't know his real occupation/service uniform etc.....
Ah well, it was worth a try.

[hughar]

Just Barbara seems to be right about 'Hospital Blues'. A Google Image search for that term finds several similar images.

[don.t]

white shirt, red tie, Blue (dyed) army uniform with yellow lapels would be the colouration of the clothing that he is wearing. Have you found a medal card for him as this may have the SWB notification on it.

don

[Jen~Ealogy]

Thanks hughar & Don, No I haven't got a medal card Don, I've never had to search for one before. I've heard others speak of them but I don't know where to look for them.:conf:

[don.t]

Jen, you can find the index's on the national archives site. Search for the
WW1 Campaign Medals section when the relevant page comes up place his name into the search area shown and press "search". Within a few minutes a new page will open showing any results with the name given. It is then a matter of getting the correct one (more so if both first and last names are common i.e. John Smith if he had a middle name sometimes that helps in the search).

don

[Elaine ..Spain]

You can also search for medal cards on Ancestry
Search British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 - Ancestry.co.uk

[Jen~Ealogy]

Thank you Don & Elaine, I will see if I can turn him up...fingers crossed.

Forgot to ask....what exactly are medal cards please?

[Night Owl]

This link is useful when researching WW1 soldiers. There is a section that explains about medal cards. Also about the Silver War Badge.

Researching a soldier of the British Army of 1914-1918

It may also be worth looking to see if there is an army pension record. Do you have Ancestry?

[Jen~Ealogy]

Yes I do Jackie, thanks for the link.

[Just Barbara]

Jen, the medal cards were issued to every soldier who was awarded a medal, they usually have other snippets of useful info, like his number, regiment etc, also the campaign medals show where or when he fought.

[Jen~Ealogy]

Thanks Barbara, sound useful to have for information.