To mark Anzac Day tomorrow, here is an update on our ‘Kiwi Faces of World War I’ soldier identficiation project.
We now identified more than 60 men out of the 110 World War One soldiers who were photographed by the Wellington photography studio Berry & Co.
Most of these identifications have been based on detective work using military personnel files, historical newspapers, and genealogical sources such as births, deaths, and marriages data. Lately we’ve been very grateful for the help received from Allan Dodson.
Burch 12/10, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa
Allan has been trying to confirm the identity of the soldier (above and below) whose name is recorded as ‘Burch’ on two glass plate negatives. Our dilemma is that there were 12 men with the surname Burch who served in the NZEF:
- 62688 Alfred Edward Burch
- 55217 Arthur Burch
- 3/1447 Arthur Jesse Burch
- 22595 Basil Leonard Burch
- 49069 Charles Albert Burch
- 80736 George Robert Burch
- 9/251 Herbert Clement Burch
- 87207 Herbert William Burch
- 23/85 Joseph Paxton Burch
- 64618 Leonard Burch
- 28916 James Burch
- 85114 John Robert Burch
Our two most likely contenders are James Burch, and George Robert Burch – with George Robert, a 37-year-old Master Plumber from Wellington, the more likely.
Burch 12 12/10, circa 1920, Wellington. Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa
The criteria we have used to get to this shortlist of two are:
- the collar and hat badge, which indicate service in the 34th Reinforcements onward but not with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, which had its own badge
- the absence of any rank on the uniform, which indicates that at the time of the photo ‘Burch’ would have been a private
- an indication that ‘Burch’ is a more mature man in his late twenties to early thirties
- and an indication that he has light hair and possibly blue eyes
Te Papa would like to hear from anyone who can help us confirm that this is George Robert Burch’s portrait. Contact details are on Te Papa’s Collections Online database and on our ‘Kiwi Faces of World War I’ Flickr site. We’d also like to know if their are photographs of the other Burch men, as these will help us to definitely eliminate them from the running.
Read about the start of our WWI soldier identification project on Te Papa’s blog.
