Also in this series are two plates showing a young infantryman who must surely have been a friend of the family, if not kin. I can say little about him except how pleased he seems in the topmost image and in the second, quite relaxed. He wears puttees over his boots and a uniform of serge with stars on the lapel. There is a vertical braided bar on his left cuff and a badge on his epaulette.
UPDATE: NOT stars but maple leaves of course! Scott Marchand of The Great War Forum advises me of the following: "He is a Canadian Machine Gunner, likely the 1st, 2nd or 4th Machine-Gun Battalion based on the formation patch on the shoulders. Has seen action based on the strip on the left sleeve and is in a nice privately tailored OR's service dress jacket." Wonderful!














