The printed information on the reverse of this real photographic postcard informs us that the photographic studio that produced it was ‘H. HALL & Co., Sidwell St., Exeter in Devon’. Turning it over, we see a boy dressed in white standing alongside his mother, on what appears to be a chaise-longue. Seated next to him is his soldier–father. The two stripes on his sleeve tell us that he is a corporal, and the combination of his spurs, bandolier and white lanyard suggests that he is probably serving in the Royal Field Artillery. || A real photographic postcard || || Photograph || A photograph of a British soldier's 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

A photographic postcard. || The soldier in this photograph has placed a supportive hand on his child’s right-hand shoulder. The cap on the chair next to him appears to bear the badge of the Gloucester Regiment. The child’s bespectacled mother wears a cross around her neck, another visible piece of jewellery being her wedding ring. Printed on the reverse of the photographic postcard is the name and address of the photographer whose studio the family of three visited in order to pose for this snapshot in time: ‘W. Franklin, Photographer, 55 Twinnell Rd., Bristol’.