On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:03:47 +0100, Michael A Lonsdale <mail@michaellonsdale.co.uk> wrote: >Over the weekend we had a sort through my brother-in-law's late father's >effects and found these three badges. >Obviously one is the Machine Gun Corps and the other two The Kings >Regiment, but neither of the soldiers in Photos 1 and 2 appear to be in >the Kings Regiment. >A few people have said that photo 3 is the MGC... I don't think that there can be any doubt that the cap badge worn by the chap in Photo No 3 is that of the Machine Gun Corps. The design of crossed machine guns surmounted by a crown means that it is a very distinctive badge - so much so that Tom and Peter identified it from the low-resolution photo. Since you have helpfully provided a high-resolution version, you will clearly see that it matches up *very* nicely with the sample at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270132354219 >but he is wearing the >wrong things i.e. spurs. I mentioned this to my B-in-L and he tells me >that family history says that Thomas was on horse back when he was >killed. Three men on horse back went over the brow of a hill, Thomas was >in the middle. He was hit by a shell that took him out, but the other >two were untouched . Some thoughts... The cap badge in Photo No 3 tells us that the wearer was a member of the Machine Gun Corps. Thomas was a Corporal in the MGC when his DCM was Gazetted, and is recorded as being a Sergeant in the MGC by the CWGC, yet the man in the photo appears to be a Private. The man in the photo therefore might not be Thomas at all. Perhaps it was a photo of Thomas's best friend, who gave him the photo as a keepsake. Or perhaps it is of one of his brothers, who may also have served in the MGC. As regards spurs, they might well indicate that the person in Photo No 3 (whoever it is) rode a horse, but as Tom has said, they also might be just a prop - something to impress wives and girlfriends back home, just like canes which also regularly feature in studio photos of soldiers. Even if the spurs are real, that doesn't stop debar him from being in the MGC, which was divided into several branches. Although the largest was the MGC (Infantry), there was also the MGC (Cavalry) - see http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=320541 which is an entry for a LCpl in the MGC (Cavalry). Like the Labour Corps, the MGC was a wartime creation, and a very large number of its members were transferred in from other regiments and corps. It is therefore likely that a member of the MGC had previously served with another regiment/corps. Soldiers Died in the Great War gives the following information about Thomas, and confirms that he previously served with the King's (Liverpool Regiment): 57929 Sergt. Thomas BALDWIN, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). Killed in Action 18/10/1918 in France & Flanders. Born in Burscough, Lancs; Enlisted at Scaforth; Resided at Burscough. Additional Text: FORMERLY 41587, LIVERPOOL REGT. D.C.M. The Liverpool Regiment badges in your collection may therefore belong to Thomas, rather than his brothers. Note that the SDIGW entry states that Thomas was in the MGC (Infantry). The MGC badge in the collection looks as though it has been modified by the later addition of an enamelled scroll. The MGC badge was generally secured to the cap by means of a vertical post at the back, but this badge has no post. Instead, it looks as though it has a horizontal pin (like a safety pin), so I reckon the cap badge had been converted to a brooch, perhaps as a "sweetheart brooch", or maybe something to wear on civilian clothes to reunions. In summary, Photo No 3 is of a Private in the MGC. The spurs may be a prop, or the wearer may have been in the MGC (Cavalry). It may well be that this is not Thomas. You really need to find his Service Record, which should answer many of your questions. You seem to be in the UK, so you could perhaps go to the National Archives Kew to search through the microfilms of the Burnt and Unburnt Documents. If you can't do that, then you could ask a friend or hire a researcher to check for you, or order the microfilms through the LDS. Recently Ancestry has started to make some WW1 Service Records available on-line, and although they have only done surnames A and B of the Unburnt Documents, Baldwin falls nicely into that category. The index is at <http://content.ancestry.co.uk/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=1114&ti=5538&r=5538&o_xid=30351&o_lid=30351&o_xt=26845&offerid=0%3a7935%3a0> and if you do a search for... Birth Parish = Burscough ...you will get just one record - a certain Thomas Baldwin! Although his estimated year of birth is 1895 rather than 1890, this shouldn't dissuade you from downloading the images to see what you can find out about this chap who has the same name and same place of birth as your relative. Forrest -- Forrest Anderson, Edinburgh, Scotland. E-mail: forrest@military-researcher.com Website: www.military-researcher.com Forrestdale Research - Military Genealogical Researcher