downingstreet

From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website:

Name:WILLIAMS, JOHN PHELPS
Initials:J P
Nationality:United Kingdom
Rank:Gunner
Regiment/Service:Royal Field Artillery
Unit Text:"B" Bty. 108th Bde.
Age:18
Date of Death:22/04/1917
Service No:180009
Additional information:Son of Clarence G. and Emily Williams, of 100, Victoria Avenue, Newport, Mon.
Casualty Type:Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:II. P. 15.
Cemetery:MAROC BRITISH CEMETERY, GRENAY

OMG he's only a boy. So sad. Hero.

Just a baby really.So sad.RIP.

Historydevotee Thank you for all your great work on this photo and many others in this set, we really appreciate it. This is exactly what we hoped people might do, so we are very grateful.

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Thank you again.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. If you have a spare minute, please light a light to help us remember those who died in the First World War, at www.1914.org/wall/

The crowd is not IN Downing Street. Downing Street is the narrow lane off to the left.

Wystan, Thanks for the heads up. It looks to be the corner of Downing Street and Whitehall, so we will amend the record to better reflect the location.

Hi, Thanks for adding your photo.

Thanks for adding your picture to the 'CANNON ROW THEN & NOW' Group.

Something interesting is happening out of frame on the right.

I was going to suggest that it was during the hunger strike by Terence McSwiney but that was in 1920. There were other hunger strikes but of course you had Barrett, O'Connor, McKelvey and Mellowes executed in November 1922? Could it have been a vigil for them? It looks not unlike Government buildings today but why do you think that it is not London???

Swordscookie Is it very unscientific and unprofessional to say "just a feeling"??

I'd like to suggest that this was in fact taken on Prince's Street North, in Dublin.......(that's the one that goes down by the side of the GPO on the way into what is now the entrance to Arnott's multi-storey car park). The pillars look the same but there aren't as many of them nowadays, perhaps a by-product of the extensive damage caused to the building?

I'm in two minds. The heavy showing of patriotic symbols (flags in hand, harp pins on lapels, etc) make me think this is in the UK somewhere. I know this sounds a bit backwards, but I don't think that a crowd in Ireland would've felt the need to wear their colours quite so loudly. On the other-hand, if this was taken during the Civil War, then it's probably a vigil for Anti-treaty hungerstrikers. Possibly outside a prison. Maybe Mountjoy if it's for one/other of the MacSwiney sisters.