Q
I would like help identifying the two soldiers believed to be my 2x great-uncles in these photographs.
We know for certain that photo No.1 is Charles Napier born Lewisham in 1898, a sergeant in the 20th Battalion (Blackheath & Woolwich) County of London Regiment, which clearly shows his distinctive 20th Bn cap badge. Charles died in action in France 2 September 1918 just weeks short of the Armistice.
The cap badge in photo No.2 is also the 20th Bn London Regiment, but the soldier looks too young to be Charles’ older brother John Napier. The soldier in family photo No.3, wearing the cap badge of the Royal Engineers, bears a slight resemblance to Charles and is annotated ‘C. Napier’ at the bottom and ‘To John’ in the photo and was taken at a Lewisham studio, but we know that Charles stayed with the London Regiment throughout his service. Neither brother’s service records have survived. Any clarity would be much appreciated.
Jonathan Fox
A
ESTABLISHING WHAT WE DO KNOW
In 1908, the London Regiment uniquely incorporated 26 individual
