Coming across old family photos can be a genealogy goldmine. Unfortunately though, so many of these pictures can’t be identified because there are no names written on the backs and people who might know anything are long gone. But, sometimes we can follow the breadcrumbs and make a pretty good guess as to who the person in the photograph is. Such was the case of this photograph that was in an album belonging to my great grandmother Arabella (Mitchell) Mills. Another family member has a framed, colourized version of the same picture. So, clearly this individual held some importance to our family at some point.
The photo of this unknown soldier was taken by Fred Bremner, a Scottish photographer known for his portraiture work in British India in the late 1800s. But, that’s the only information I had. I shared the photo on a Facebook group specializing in identifying British miliary uniforms, and the consensus was that this gentleman was a gunner in the Royal Artillery circa 1890. A little bit more information, but still no idea who this could be. I put the photo aside and turned my genealogy research elsewhere.
Then, last weekend I went down the shaky leaf rabbit hole on Ancestry. Sometimes these hints can be really helpful. I got a hint while researching my great grandfather’s family in Liverpool, England. Very little was known about them because he died in the First World War. My own grandad never met his father as he had gone off to war before my grandad was born.
There was a hint for my great grandfather’s brother Frederick. Apparently, he served in the military. I was able to fetch his entire military service records from Find My Past (as an aside, I also discovered that you can purchase individial records on FMP instead of having to take out an expensive subscription).
Anyway, it turns out that Frederick Arthur Mills (my great-great uncle) was a gunner in the Royal Artillery. He served twelve years in the Royal Artillery from 1887 to 1899 – and most of that time he was stationed in India! The evidence suggests that the unknown soldier is most likely my great grandfather’s brother Frederick Arthur Mills.
Frederick Arthur Mills was the oldest son of Frederick Deaton Luscombe Mills and Alice Lyon and was born 28 April 1866 in Liverpool . He married Elizabeth Winrow in 1895, a few months after returning to England from India. I need to do further research on whether or not they had a family of their own. But, for now it’s nice to put a name to a face.
