This studio portrait of a family of seven is not of the best quality, the faces of some of the children in particular being indistinct. Nevertheless, certain details are notable, such as the brooches worn by the older girls and their mother and the very well worn boots of the two girls at the front. ‘K 3424.’ has been written in white in the bottom left-hand corner, while the name of the photographic studio responsible for the picture has been stamped in the bottom right-hand corner: ‘J White / Littlehampton in West Sussex.’ || A real photographic postcard || || A photograph of a British soldier and his family. || Photograph

‘F. W. Spry / Littlehampton in West Sussex’ is embossed across the bottom right-hand corner of this real photographic postcard. The badge that the older of the two boys pictured, standing behind their mother, is wearing on his left lapel appears to be that of the Royal Engineers, no doubt his father’s corps. The chevron on their soldier–father’s lower right-hand sleeve is an overseas service stripe, indicating that he had served overseas and that this photograph dates from 1918. || A real photographic postcard || || Photograph || A photograph of a British soldier and his family

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