Old Soldiers say that they never forget the face of the Sergeant Major.......

............but they forgot this one.

Photograph is of a 1st Commando Brigade CSM taken in Neustadt Germany. Parent regiment is the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment.

The commando enthusiasts will tell you that photos of commando warrant officers are hard to find due to the fact that there were more Captains per commando than Warrant Officers! Most of these chaps I`m told were real characters and men with oustanding leadership qualities who would not be easy to forget. I bet if 'Ozzy' Osbourne was still here he would be able to ID this man straight away!

I`ll be honest and say that I`m not confident in anyone being able to ID him, I gave Stephane a go and no luck

Hi,

The only Bedfs and Herts Commandos I have at that rank is:

5946830 CSM Gimbert J (No 3 Commando)
5948937 CSM Leech J (No 3 & 7 Commando) MM
6687605 RQMS Kelsey (No 1 Commando)
5946789 RQMS Watkins S (No 3 & 4 Commando)

I now have a list of Bedfs and Herts that served with the Commandos and currently seeking pictures of members and information to put a display board together.

Regards,

Craig

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 23/01/2011 19:59:43

Hi Craig

Picture of CSM Leech MM and bar ( front dead centre) is on this link:

http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/Commando+Gatherings+pre+CVA/Queen+_amp_+Commandos+2.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

Picture of CSM Gimbert ( front row extreme right) on this link:

http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/3/No+3+Cdo+Sgt_s_Mess.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 28/01/2011 16:06:52

Having looked at the group photo with CSM Curly Gimbert I was struck by the likeness to the un-named CSM in the doorway.

I decided to see how alike the faces really are.
I scaled them to the same size, tried to match contrast and 'brightness', then tilted CSM Curly Gimbert's face to the same angle as the other face.

Curly's mop of hair was a little distracting so I then 'issued' him with the same beret - this was the only 'alteration' I made to the original portrait.

We can never be sure, but I'm convinced that the CSM stood in the doorway is CSM Curly Gimbert.

The deep set eyes - the same.
The angle of the eyes - the same.
The distance between the eyes - the same.
The length & breadth of the nose - the same.
the shape of the forehead - the same.
The height of the ears (in relation to the eyes) - the same.
The dimples and creases around the mouth - the same.
The shape of the jaw - the same.
The chin - the same.

The moustache - different...

Of course, I am not able to state that this is definitely CSM Curly Gimbert.

Nick