As the text on the back of this real photographic postcard states, the army family pictured on the front visited the studio of ‘T. H. Head & Co., 265 Fratton Rd., Portsmouth.’ in order to be photographed. ‘Extra Copies & Enlargements can also be had’ and ‘British Made’ have also been printed on the reverse. Depicted with his parents, the boy in the photograph is holding a toy train. Sitting next to him is his mother, her wedding ring prominently displayed. His soldier–father holds a swagger stick, which he has tucked under his left armpit; his cap lies on the table next to the boy, the cap badge may be that of the Royal Engineers. || A real photographic postcard || || Photograph || A British soldier and his family photographed in Portsmouth.

A photograph of a British soldier's family of four. || The printed information on the back of this postcard tells us that the photographic studio that produced the portrait of the family pictured on the front was ‘Alan Mills, Paris St., Exeter in Devon’. There are no further clues to help us to identify the two girls and their parents, nor does the soldier–father’s uniform bear any distinguishing badges. One detail is noticeable, however: both of the girls appear to be wearing heart-shaped pendants.

A few clues give us a little extra insight into this photograph. The single stripe on the soldier–father’s sleeves tells us that he is a corporal. And an embossed stamp across the mother’s feet on this photograph informs us that it was taken in the studio of ‘N GRUT / GUERNSEY’. The ‘N’ stands for ‘Norman’, who was the son of noted photographer Thomas Alfred Grut; by the time of the First World War, the Grut studio was located in St Peter Port, Guernsey. || A real photographic postcard