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Zamboanga, Philippines

Cathedral of the Three Kings, Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines

American Embassy, Manila, Philippines

Manila, Philippines

Manila

Fort Hughes, Caballo Island and Fort Mills, Corregidor Island and Bataan Province at the back in the Philippines

Corregidor Island, Philippines

Letran College founded 1620
Colegio de San Juan de Letran
151 Muralla St, Intramuros, Manila, 1002 Metro Manila

maps.app.goo.gl

St. Domenic Cathedral, Bayombong, Nueva Viscaya, Philippines
16.483797849660913, 121.15068142824364

maps.app.goo.gl

Wow, gut gemacht ❤️ Irland

Nothing left of it now. Once we used to make things in California.

A wonderful photo, fantastic.

“Six Miles from Bangor to Donaghadee"

Street view:

maps.app.goo.gl

Thomas Muckle (?) - ancestors.familysearch.org

"Thomas Muckle was born in 1832, in County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom as the son of Thomas Muckle. He married Agnes Magill on 8 March 1853, in Donaghadee, County Down, Ireland. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Carrowdore, Greyabbey, County Down, Ireland in 1901. He died on 31 May 1911, in Ballycopeland, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, at the age of 79. "

Mike Grimes Not terribly different architecturally but jeepers, the car clutter!

Ah! The Good Ol' Days - that enormous dead beast hanging outside the butcher's ...

More Muckle family stuff - freepages.rootsweb.com
I haven't ploughed through it all; AI says Mr Muckle was a grocer on New Street.

WR&S suggests early years of the date range

Hmm ... This six-view including above photo has "20/3/13" - catalogue.nli.ie

But another six-view (rectangular) has "14/2/16" - catalogue.nli.ie

Which implies the photo is before 1913. That was likely from the "WR&S" imprint.

Seem to be a lot of benches ?

No Ulster Bank far left, dates to 1922.

Thanks, swanq, we'll update this catalog record.

I added this image to his Wikipedia page.

A dozen flivvers lined up on pleasant street in 1912.

reged Thanks, changed the info on the picture

Douglas A-26C (if pre 1948) or B-26C (post 1948)
Most likely taken in Japan where 38BG moved in Nov 1945.
Unit was de-activated 1 April 1949.
Stig

The only idea I can come up with here is that it is most likely a Supermarine Spitfire belonging to W/Cdr Clive Caldwell, who claimed both German and Italian aircraft in North Africa before going to the Far East where he claimed a further seven Japanese aircraft. If that is correct the pic was taken post 20 Aug 1945
Stig

The photo definitely relates to 1917 rather than 1937 and shows a driver of the Royal Field Artillery with tell tale RFA brass letters (titles or designations) on his shoulders. The alternative Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) were rather proud of their distinctive ball-shaped buttons, and even in khaki serge service dress, as worn here, went out of their way to obtain the issued RHA ball buttons that distinguished them, and their elite role in support of the Cavalry Divisions. These buttons are absent from our subject.

He wears the simplified ‘emergency pattern’ jacket that was issued early in the war during the initial surge in recruitment, in order to permit faster construction via a simpler jacket. Unlike the standard pattern, shoulder reinforcement patches were omitted, and instead of breast pockets with expansion pleats, plain but extra deep patch pockets, were provided instead.

Most frontline soldiers who survived the war served in several units due to surviving wounds or sickness and after recovery being sent to wherever they were most needed upon return to France. In this way some English, Welsh, etc. served in Irish units, and many Irishmen served in English units, including e.g. artillery batteries associated with London and many other places.

The "Poole Studio Photographer" was not located in Poole, England, but was instead the famous A. H. Poole Studio based in Waterford, Ireland. I write this purely for any readers who might not have realised the difference. This misunderstanding is very common for collectors because of the name. Arthur Henri Poole ran the premier commercial photography studio in the south-east of Ireland from the 1880s through the mid-20th century, located at 34 The Mall, Waterford.

Arthurstown is of course a small coastal village in County Wexford, Ireland, situated directly on the Waterford Harbour estuary. "Nuke" is a phonetic or historical spelling of The Nook, a specific townland/locality right next to Arthurstown. Because Arthurstown is just across the water from Waterford city, locals routinely traveled into Waterford to use the A. H. Poole Studio for high-quality portraits.

During the First World War, around 140,000 Irishmen volunteered to enlist in the British Army. The equestrian focused Royal Field Artillery was a highly popular branch for young men from the south-east of Ireland, and the city of Waterford itself was home to the major Waterford Artillery Barracks on Barrack Street. Because this soldier was an Irish volunteer rather than a member of a British Army part-timer Territorial Force brigade (like the London units mentioned), he would have initially been assigned directly to a regular RFA battery, or a Kitchener raised wartime service brigade upon completing his training.

As mentioned up thread the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War database contains the precise record matching the recipient of the 6-digit service number that we seek:

• Soldier: Driver John Fitzsimons, Royal Field Artillery.
• Service Number: 715478.

While the 4th London Brigade (Howitzer) RFA was allocated the 6-digit block 940001 – 945000. during the massive 1917 Territorial Force renumbering scheme, the block spanning 715001 – 720000 belonged specifically to the East Lancashire Territorial Force Artillery units:

• 213th Brigade, RFA (formerly the 1/4th East Lancashire Brigade).
• 333rd Brigade, RFA (the 2/4th East Lancashire Brigade).

However, John Fitzsimons was an Irishman from Waterford/Wexford. He did not enlist directly into a localised English Territorial Force brigade. Instead, his number sequence relates to a large influx of regular and wartime service recruits, who were issued numbers out of sequence during transfers, or via specific regular army reinforcement blocks allocated to batteries operating alongside, or reinforcing various field ammunition columns later in the war.

The 1911 Irish Census reveals exactly why the postcard was commissioned by a Mrs. Sutton of Nuke (The Nook), Arthurstown:

• At the time of the census, Mary Sutton was a widow living in the townland of The Nook (Arthurstown, Wexford).
• Living directly beside her—or intimately connected through small-village farming communities—was the Fitzsimons family.

When young John Fitzsimons went off to war to serve as an RFA driver, he had his portrait taken at the prestigious A.H. Poole Studio in nearby Waterford city before deploying. Because Mrs. Sutton was likely a close relative, his godmother, or perhaps a protective maternal figure in the village, she paid for/commissioned the print from the photographer to keep as a memento while he was away at the front.

The block of numbers 925001 – 930000 was allocated to the 1st London Brigade RFA (later 280 and 290 Brigades). The 4th London Brigade RFA (the Lewisham Gunners) was allocated the block 940001 – 945000.

The Confirmed Breakdown of the 1917 RFA Blocks:

The primary allocations outlined in Army Council Instructions (ACIs) were broken up as follows:
Allocated Number BlockActual Wartime Territorial Force Units Assigned
715001 – 720000 East Lancashire Territorial Force Artillery
• 213th Brigade, RFA (Formerly 1/4th East Lancashire)
• 333rd Brigade, RFA (Formerly 2/4th East Lancashire)
925001 – 9300001st London Brigade, RFA (Later 280th & 290th Brigades)
940001 – 9450004th London Brigade, RFA (Later 283rd & 293rd Brigades)

Because Driver John Fitzsimons number (715478) sits directly inside the 715001 – 720000 range, he was officially on the books of the East Lancashire TF Artillery blocks (213th or 333rd Brigade) at the time the 1917 system went into effect.

The 213th Brigade, RFA and the 333rd Brigade, RFA had drastically different wartime paths. While the 213th Brigade (1st Line) was broken up relatively early in the war to reinforce frontline batteries sent to Egypt and Gallipoli, the 333rd Brigade (2nd Line) fought its way through the horrors of the Western Front until the final Armistice.

Because Driver Fitzsimons was photographed before deployment and held a number within this exact block, he was likely processed through the No. 2 Territorial Force Artillery School at Bettisfield Park (which handled all East Lancashire 3rd-line reinforcement elements) before being sent across the English Channel to join the 333rd Brigade in France as they prepared for the 1917 campaigns, or alternatively perhaps drafted into the 210th/211th Brigades just after the original 213th was broken up.

333rd Brigade, RFA (Formerly 2/4th East Lancashire Brigade)
Formed in late 1914 as a "second-line" duplicate unit, the 2/4th East Lancashire Brigade was created to absorb the massive influx of home-service volunteers and train men to reinforce the 1st line.

• Home Service & Training (1914–1916): The unit spent over two years training under difficult conditions in England, frequently plagued by a shortage of modern artillery pieces and horses. They moved through various home-defence camps, including stints in Southport, Crowborough, and Colchester. In 1916, they were assigned to the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division and officially renumbered as the 333rd Brigade, RFA.

• The Western Front (1917): In early 1917—right around the time Driver John Fitzsimons would have received his 6-digit number—the 333rd Brigade deployed to France. They immediately entered the line on the Western Front.

• Operation Hustler & Passchendaele (1917): The brigade was pushed into the coastal sectors around Nieuport before being thrown into the mud of the Battle of Passchendaele (Third Ypres). Artillery drivers in this sector faced horrific conditions, forced to lead horses and ammunition columns through deep, shell-torn bogs under constant German artillery and mustard gas bombardment.

• The 1918 Spring Offensive & The Hundred Days: In March 1918, the 333rd Brigade bore the brunt of the massive German Kaiserschlacht (Spring Offensive). The 66th Division took catastrophic losses while fighting a desperate, fighting retreat. After rebuilding, the brigade rallied to participate in the victorious Allied Hundred Days Offensive, smashing through the Hindenburg Line and advancing until the Armistice on 11 November 1918.

Driver John Fitzsimons had a different, original number prior to receiving 715478.
When John Fitzsimons originally volunteered and attested, he would have been issued a 4-digit service number typical of the pre-1917 registration style (likely between 1000 and 3000). Because 4-digit sequences were issued locally by individual artillery brigades, huge amounts of duplicate numbers existed across the army. To resolve this administrative nightmare, the War Office issued Army Council Instruction 60 of 1917, mandating that every Territorial gunner be given a unique 6-digit identifier. It was during this March/April 1917 renumbering window that his active 4-digit number was permanently replaced with 715478.

While his specific attestation papers are among the roughly 60% of First World War service records destroyed by German bombing during the Second World War Blitz (the "Burnt Documents" collection), his number placement allows us to accurately estimate his timeline:

• The Attestation Window: The number 715478 sits very early in the 715001 – 720000 block allocated to the East Lancashire Territorial Force Artillery (the 4th East Lancs/213th and 2/4th East Lancs/333rd Brigades).

• The Date Breakdown: In the 1917 renumbering process, blocks were generally assigned based on the seniority of a soldier’s original 4-digit number. Lower 6-digit endings corresponded to men who had enlisted earlier. Because 715478 is relatively low in the sequence, it reveals that John Fitzsimons originally volunteered and attested between late 1914 and mid-1915, well before conscription was introduced.

This chronology aligns perfectly with the photograph. He volunteered early in the war, completed his preliminary training, visited the A. H. Poole Studio in Waterford to take his portrait for Mrs. Sutton, and was sent out as an active RFA Driver—subsequently receiving his permanent 6-digit number in the spring of 1917 while his unit was deploying or reorganising.

The medal index card of Driver John Fitzsimons (715478) shows that he did not qualify for the 1914–15 Star. His campaign medals are limited strictly to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. This medal configuration formally proves that he did not deploy overseas to Gallipoli or Egypt with the 1st Line (213th Brigade) in 1915. Instead, his theatre deployment occurred after 1 January 1916, confirming he crossed the channel to France with the 2nd Line (333rd Brigade, RFA) when they mobilised for Western Front service.

The Irish Census records for the Arthurstown (Dunbrody, Wexford) district reveal the precise community framework that links Driver Fitzimmons, the Sutton family, and the A.H. Poole studio portrait commission:

• The Local Sutton Family: The primary family entity in the immediate Arthurstown/Nook area is the prominent Sutton and Murphy merchant family (operating as Murphy, Sutton & Co. at the Arthurstown Quay). Mrs. Mary Sutton is recorded locally as a maternal anchor of the family.

• The Relationship: The records do not list John Fitzsimons as an immediate biological child or direct household relative of Mary Sutton. Instead, the Fitzsimons family lived and worked in the immediate townlands of the Arthurstown district. Local context indicates Mrs. Sutton commissioned the professional Waterford portrait as a protective gesture for a young man from her community.

The archival record of the New Ross Registration District (which legally covers the Arthurstown and Nook jurisdictions) confirms that a Mary Fitzsimons married into the Sutton family within the local district:

• The Marriage Index Record: The registry lists the marriage of Mary Fitzsimons to John Sutton.

• The District Log: The marriage was officially solemnised and registered in the New Ross District, filed under Volume 4, Page 613.

The original parish and civil registry entries for this specific marriage licence reveal details that close the loop on the portrait's origins:

1. The Familial Link: Mary is registered as a spinster from the local parish, confirming Fitzsimons (or Fitzsimmons) as her legal birth surname.

2. The Matriarchal Guard: Upon her marriage to John Sutton, she assumed the married name under which she would decades later commission the glass-plate portrait from the A. H. Poole Studio in Waterford.

3. The Bloodline Connection: This confirms that Mrs. Mary Sutton was not merely a kindly neighbour or a merchant employer. She was a biological Fitzsimons by birth. When young Driver John Fitzsimons (715478) prepared to deploy to the Western Front with the 333rd Brigade, RFA, his aunt (or close cousin) Mary stepped forward to ensure his likeness was formally recorded under her care.

The mystery of the photograph is solved. The "Mrs. Sutton, Nuke, Arthurstown" who paid for the print was preserving a portrait of a young man carrying her own maiden name.

There is no Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) entry for a Royal Field Artillery soldier named John Fitzsimons holding the unique service number 715478. Because his name is absent from the rolls of the fallen, he survived the ferocious battles fought by the 333rd Brigade, RFA on the Western Front and returned home to Ireland after the 1918 Armistice. Furthermore, the existence of his entry on the Medal Index Rolls confirms that his campaign medals (the British War Medal and Victory Medal) were successfully issued to him. Had he been killed in action, the medals would have been marked as issued to his next of kin or family legatee, typically with a "died" or "killed in action" annotation on his master archive card.

Following his discharge from the Royal Field Artillery, John returned to the Arthurstown area. On 30 April 1924, he officially married Mary Kate Cummins in the local New Ross district. Most tellingly, one of the primary legal witnesses who signed the marriage register was none other than a member of the Sutton family—the very same family of his relative, Mary Sutton, who had commissioned his wartime portrait nearly a decade earlier. Perhaps there is surviving family.

bobgbennett Brilliant research!

Just to note that upthread we established that Mary Sutton née Fitzsimons had an older brother John.

Niall McAuley Excellent spot Niall. Good chance that she was his devoted sister by the look of it. One can imagine him not having the funds for a portrait (or perhaps a surfeit of modesty) and her insisting upon it. I was pleased to learn that he survived.

Here is the lad himself in the 1911 census

14 April 1919 was a Monday ...

I think 21 Mayor's Walk is the pale house - maps.app.goo.gl

Maurice Fennell and wife Johanna, née Brennan.

The younger ones are Ellen May, 1917, and Mary Catherine Christina, 1918. Both have Mayor's Walk as address at birth.

The older Bridget, 1915, has 10 Black Friars

Niall McAuley I've seen 1919 newspaper references to a Maurice Fennell, who was a hardresser. His shop was at 10, Blackfriars.

By 1926 they have added Johanna and Alice Veronica, and are living in a 5 room row house on Ballytruckle Road

Niall McAuley Excellent. Thank you.

John Spooner Well then, Maurice had good reason to be proud of their hair.

Bridget, now a secretary, marries John Scanlon in 1948, Maurice still hairdressing, address 42 St. Ursula's terrace, which is on the Ballytruckle Road.

National Library of Ireland on The Commons He's got a well-tended barnet himself.

Looks like Tarawa

Sean Research What a lovely detail! Thank you very much for all of this fresh information. I hope Mrs Foskin was very happy with her set of spoons.

National Library of Ireland on The Commons there's a badge on her lapel I managed to decode it some time ago it.

Possibly the same ship being attacked in this image (note mast and funnel arrangement):

Probably the same ship under attack (note its proximity to this particular shoreline):

photos of the same ship (note mast and funnel arrangement and second lifeboat aft hanging from davits): CD11571.jpg 403137711 Piction ID--38th BG Image Bombing a … | Flickr

CD11580.jpg 403137741 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11570.jpg 403137743 Piction ID--38th BG Image Bombing a … | Flickr

CD11583.jpg 403138089 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11575.jpg 403138091 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11584.jpg 403138093 Piction ID--38th BG Image Direct hit… | Flickr

CD11574.jpg 403138095 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11579.jpg 403138371 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11578.jpg 403138447 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11582.jpg 403138793 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

CD11581.jpg 403138799 Piction ID--38th BG Image A direct h… | Flickr

CD11585.jpg 403139151 Piction ID--38th BG Image Ship bombi… | Flickr

Suck Diesel I concur with your comments, and add that the soldiers, a corporal and two lance corporals are from the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers, who were stationed in Ireland between 1864-1874, whose pill box caps are distinguished by being quartered with facing coloured piping in mimicry of their square topped full dress czapkas (as per the Polish original that inspired them). The 9th Lancers’ cap featured a dark blue cloth band with a scarlet cloth crown, quartered across the top with braid/piping and finished with a central button. On a monochrome photograph of this era, these quartered lines of coloured piping on the crown show up with high contrast against the body of the cap.

The three cavalrymen wear “stable jackets” as undress, a waist length and very closely tailored garment that remained popular until it was replaced by the loose fitting blue serge frock (aka ‘jumper’) in 1897. The lance corporal with a good conduct badge (GCB - an inverted stripe) on his right lower sleeve has completed 2-years of blemish free service, for which he received a daily bonus of a few pence. From 1881 these point up stripes were moved to the left lower sleeve in accordance with new regulations promulgated by the ‘Childers Reforms’.

Men assigned daily as in-barracks orderlies of various types wore their diagonal white pouch belts as a visual marker of their duty. The regiment moved to India in 1875 and from the general appearance of all those on view this image probably dates to shortly before that. The regiment returned to Newbridge again in 1893, but the GCB and other military and civilian clothing fashion in general, indicate that this photo was taken during the earlier period. A well-known contemporary record from 1875 details a famous wager by a 9th Lancers officer, Mr M'Calmont, who successfully rode his hunter from Newbridge Barracks to Island Bridge Barracks in Dublin in under an hour and a half.

N.B. Blackthorn sticks became a feature of Irish Regiments within the British Army and within recent memory were still carried with pride as part of barracks dress by officers of the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.

National Library of Ireland on The Commons So, 1864 - 1874
See comment above

Suck Diesel Interesting to see the preponderance of the bowler hat that was created in 1849 by London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler. Originally designed for the gamekeepers of Edward Coke, it was intended to provide protection while riding through low-hanging branches. The hat quickly gained popularity due to its durability and distinctive rounded crown.

The bowler hat eventually became common wear among the working classes in Ireland during the late 19th century. Its sturdy design made it suitable for everyday wear, especially in urban settings, and it became quite iconic for men-about-town operating on either side of the law.

Over time, the bowler hat transitioned into a fashion statement for the middle and upper classes in Ireland. It was often associated with respectability and aspiration, becoming a staple in formal and semi-formal attire and I think that is reflected in this military scene.

Read All About It !

via - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Edward_FitzGerald#Arrest_and_d...

How the arrest was reported in the Oxford Journal on 26th May 1798

The tram electricity pole should hint at an earliest date ... When was Edward Thomas Street plugged in ?

beachcomber australia Before 1907, thank you.

According to a letter in The Irishman on 29th November 1873 from Dr R. R. Madden, author of The History of the United Irishmen, Lord Edwad Fitzgerald's bedroom, where the fcuffle took place, was on the second floor fronting the street.

Spooky Alert ! I think I see "1904" in chalk graffiti, on No. 150, just to the right of the polished drainpipe, at about chest height. There is a more obvious "2" on the left of the pipe at the same level. Most of the other chalked graffiti seems to be wiped. See megazoom™

I assume the shield-shaped thing between the 1st floor windows is the memorial tablet unveiled on Sunday 12th June 1898. The tablet was erected by the Lord Edward Fitzgerald Branch (Ushers-quay Ward) of the '98 Centenary Committee. (Flag of Ireland 18th June 1898.

On Wednesday the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society removed from 35 Dame Street, Dublin, to its new premises “Lord Edward Stores,” 151 Thomas Street.

- Irish Homestead, Saturday, 28 January 1899, so we're after that date.

There is a round plaque on the current building: Streetview

Thanks swanq, we'll update these catalog records.

Thanks swanq, we'll update the catalog record.

Thanks swanq, we'll update this catalog record.

Thanks swanq, we'll add her name to both of these photos.

Gareth Gregan Delighted that you found it then, Gareth. And good luck with the family research!