name suggestions

i have recently scanned another picture from my dads collection it is
4 No 5 commandoes at Sha tau kok on the chinese border in January 1946

Fron the back of the photo i am able to identify 3 of them but i can not work out the name of the chap on the end , I have attached the writing on the back of the picture which i have enhanced as much as possible and would welcome suggestions as to what it reads ..my thought was Pte Taft.

any thoughts welcomed

Steve Silvester

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 07/03/2009 06:03:58

Hi,

I have tried inverting the image so that the background is black and the writing is white and used a hi band sharpening filter and that is the best I can do.

Regards

Cheers Rick

i had tried all of that, its the writing which is the problem. Taft was my best guess but to be honest all the other names have " before them representing pte and i can just make out the 2 for the last name which means the name is longer than taft ...it reads as something like Phitast

but i have never heard of such a name and can find no reference to it

al the best

steve

Sorry to appear dim - is it the second name down on the list?

It looks like T*NTON ?

Steve,

I did the photo editing bit too and, like Pete. also came up with T*nton/J*nton, or T*ntch/J*ntch as the second name down!

I have Hutch as the bottom name which, together with your dad, would make him a common factor with your first group shot.

I have compared both photos and, if my theory is right, Hutch on the second photo (bare-chest, slouch hat and pipe) strongly resembles the guy on the first photo that you have labelled Pte Keogh (Trilby, tie).

Is it possible that the first photo has been labelled the wrong way around?

Nick

hi ...it would be plausible except on the original group pic it states the names are from the right

but i am still repairing other shots ,,,so will hopefully get confirmation
on the sitting down shot with the dogs unfortunately the one face to the left of my dad is damaged and not enough inforrmation to repair it and i assumed it was Hutch. i may mirror the half of the face i do have and see if it matches the person listed on the original shot as hutch .

cheers both

Steve

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 07/03/2009 19:34:31

steve,

Here's my comparison of (my theory) Hutch1 & Hutch2
Compare:
the shape and height of forehead.
receding hair above temples
furrow at bridge of nose
shape of eyes
attitude of eyes (left eye turns down at edge)
shape of nose, mouth and lips
level of ears in relation to eyes
shape of chin

even the way he holds pipe and cigarette in his mouth!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 07/03/2009 19:24:52

that is feasible ....its really unfortunate that knowing my dads writing is hampering me here which is why i threw it out ,,,you see i can see hutch in the second name down as he sometimes did hus u 's like the one on the second name ...lol...i can now see them both as potentially hutch ...

it would of course mean the corporal in the group shot is the man stripped to the waist as as non of the others has stripes showing it could well be the case .

It may well be that the original pic which had "from the right written on the back meant ...as people stood on the day

i will hopefully solve this with the other photos i have on the way in belonging to my dad .

thanks for the help guys

Steve,

are you sure it's your father's writing?
It seems to me that PHELPS, T*ANTON & SILVESTER are all printed in upper case, whilst 'Hutch' is written as if by someone who is used to writing it all the time...

Something else to ponder...

nick

yeah on the original its clear the pen ran out on third name and its another type of pen for the last name so he went to his normal letter writing style rather than print

good point tho .,...like the thinking behind it