Wherever I have found a photo or mention of a person in Rowland Bott's collection of photographs connected with World War II and Palestine, whether named fully, nickname only, or unidentified they appear here. Unidentified people are at the end of this page.
I repeat photos where there is more than one person featured.
Also, please use the Search facility to look for other photos of the people mentioned here. The Search button does not update instantly, as I edit, so please keep coming back!
In alphabetical order:
Albert (only a forename)
See the Christmas page for full details of this photo
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| Albert, 2nd left, Egypt, Xmas 1942 |
Baker
Surname only, but featured in these images. At TME (Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East).).
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| Baker and his dog, Egypt |
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| Baker (left) and Johnson, Egypt |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
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| Baker, Egypt |
I think the above photo is another of Baker. There are no details on the back but it looks like the same person in the photo above with Johnson.
Bott, Rowland No. 2342915 aka Ro, Roly and Rowley (father of the author of this blog)
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| Rowland Bott aged 27 July 1945 |
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| Rowland Bott aged 24, Egypt 1942 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo, sent to his fiancée Joan Lydeard |
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| L-R: Frank Morgan, Rowland Bott, Bill Jenkins |
The above professional portrait of Dad, with his best army friends, Frank and Bill, was sent to his fiancée, Joan Lydeard. It shows the trio on leave in Alexandria in 1943.
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| L to R: Freddie, Rowland Bott, Reg, WDN, Egypt, early 1940s |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
The label reads: 'Freddie Yours Truly [Rowland Bott] Reg just finished work on the Gantry [?]. Freddie preparing dinners'. I think the word should be gantry and is something to do with telecommunications?
This is in Egypt probably in the early 1940s. I think WDN may be short for Wadi Natrun which is my father's spelling of one of the first Egyptian locations he served in.
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| 'Before the swim' early 1940s |
This 'Before the swim' photo has a message to Bott's fiancée, Joan Lydeard, but no date. Probably in Egypt with time for a bit of R & R.
Brown, Carl
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| Carl Brown, TME, Egypt 1942 |
At TME (Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East).
Conway (surname only) - see photo of Cpl Holley below for Conway's hand...
Daw, Jim
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| Jim Daw... and Bott's leg, Palestine 1945 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
The above photo 'Jim Daw' has a duplicate which was labelled in the 1970s/1980s 'Power Board Palestine Central Ramle'.
You can see the details of the back of the photo above. It reads 'Jim Daw at work on ringers Pal[estine] Central MCH [March] [19] 45. Note my [Rowland Bott] leg in attempt to keep out light!'
So I think Dad's leg must be far right...!
Ernie (forename only)
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| Ernie far left front row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Fred aka Freddie (forename only)
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| Fred middle front row with football, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
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| L-R: Freddie, Rowland Bott, Reg, WDN, Egypt, early 1940s |
See details above under Bott, Rowland for the details on the back of this photo which includes Freddie.
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| Possibly Freddie? (middle), Egypt |
Gordon (forename only; could be a surname?)
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| Gordon far right middle row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Cpl Holley - no forename
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| R: Cpl Holley and the hand of Conway (see the Palestine page) |
Eric Impey (1918-2010)
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Army pals... and puppies. L: Eric Impey, R: unknown,
Egypt 1940s
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| Eric... TME, Cairo (see photo back below) 1940s |
In the photo above I have been unable to decipher the caption exactly but most of it is '
Eric [Impey]
at present "residing" with Bill [Jenkins?]
Wain ?
& me' [Rowland Bott]; and the later addition '
TME Cairo' which I believe is Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East.
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| 'Eric & Pat Impey after the war' Wedding Day 1948 |
From FindMyPast I have discovered the Eric and Pat married in 1948. Her full name was Patricia Mary Blows.
The back of the photo reads '"JED" DOING A SPOT OF "MTCE" [maintenance?] PAL[estine] CENT[ral] MCH [March] [19] 45..."
I have been uncertain if JED is a person or an acronym. By 2022 I am beginning to think it is a person's name. On my Palestine 1945-1946 page, under Jed, I have suggested more ideas.
Jenkins, Bill (author's Godfather)
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| Bill Jenkins 1940s |
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| 'Bill [Jenkins] cornering' |
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| Bill Jenkins on leave, Alexandria |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
I believe the Alx, on the above photo, is for Alexandria where I know some of the leave was spent...
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| Bill Jenkins, Cairo, June 1942 |
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| Message on reverse of above photo June 1942 |
The above photo was sent to Dad perhaps after the war. I suspect the 'Happy Memories' is in inverted commas for a reason perhaps not so happy. Roland should be spelt Rowland. See also the entry on the
Egypt page for Rowland Bott in the same location and under the same tree.
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| L to R: Frank Morgan, Rowland Bott, Bill Jenkins |
Portrait of Frank Morgan, Rowland Bott, Bill Jenkins on leave in Alexandria 1943.
Jimmy (forename only)
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| L-R: Owen, Jimmy (with boil) & Bill Jenkins, Egypt 1942 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
You have to feel sorry for Jimmy with his boil. I do not know what Alm is in the above photo - abbreviation for a place?
Johnson
Only a surname but featured in the image at TME (Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East).
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| L: Baker & R: Johnson, Egypt |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
Ken (forename only)
See the Christmas page for full details of this photo
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| Ken far right, Egypt, Xmas 1942 |
Len (forename only)
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
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| Len 2nd from left back row, Egypt |
Lofty (real name unknown)
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| Lofty 1940s |
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| Lofty and his Melon 1940s |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
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| Lofty 2nd from left middle row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
McLeod, Jo
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Rowland Bott, Jo McLeod (kneeling) Martin Timlin Home Guard 1941
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Morden, Alec
Morgan, Frank aka Frankie (my Dad's best army pal)
'
Accidentally shot and killed by Basuto guards at TME' (Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East) probably after 1943 and possibly May 1944.
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| Frank Morgan killed by 'friendly fire', Egypt |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
I wasn't sure if this was the right record when I started the blog. Thank you to
Rob Clark for the confirmation that this is
Signalman Frank Percy Morgan No. 2333557 found on Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. Frank Morgan died in May 1944 aged 24 serving with the 3rd Headquarters the Royal Corps of Signals.
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| From Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
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| Frank Morgan, Egypt |
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| 'Frankie once again', Egypt |
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| Reverse of 'Frankie once again' photo |
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| L to R: Frank, Rowland Bott, Bill Jenkins |
Portrait of Frank Morgan, Rowland Bott and Bill Jenkins on leave in Alexandria 1943
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| L: Morgan; R: unknown, Egypt |
Owen (forename only; could be a surname?)
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| L-R: Owen, Jimmy (with boil) & Bill Jenkins, Egypt 1942 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
I do not know what Alm is in the above photo - abbreviation for a place?
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| Owen far right back row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Parrish, Reg
See details above under Bott, Rowland for more details of this photo below which includes Reg Parrish (far right).
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| L to R: Freddie, Rowland Bott, Reg, WDN, Egypt, early 1940s |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
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| R: Reg Parrish, Egypt |
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| L: Reg Parrish |
In the wedding photo above you can see he groom Rowland Bott and his new wife Joan on their wedding day June 28th 1947. Reg Parrish was his best man.
Peter (forename only)
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| Peter far left middle row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Prior, John Fee ('Jock') No.2326330
With a bit of Googling I have found this cemetery. It is
Heliopolis War Cemetery in the photo. I have also found that this is Corporal John Fee Prior from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. He too was serving with the 3rd Headquarters the Royal Corps of Signals as was my Dad and Frank Morgan above. Thank you to
Rob Clark for the confirmation.
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| Jock Prior's grave Heliopolis, Egypt 1944 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
I have also found his entry on the
City of Dundee Roll of Honour:
Ron (forename only) - NB there are 2 Rons
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| 2nd from right back row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Ron (forename only) - NB there are 2 Rons
See Christmas page for full details of this photo
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| Ron, standing, Egypt, Xmas 1942 |
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| Ron 2nd from right middle row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Sid (forename only)
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| Sid far right front row, Egypt |
See Egypt page for all of the P. O. Wanderers football team named together
Stan (forename only)
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| Stan, Egypt? |
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| Details on reverse of photo of Stan |
Early on in World War II, Rowland Bott (here describing himself as 'Yours Truly) and other service men with telecommunications skills were brought back to England from Egypt as there were too many with similar telecommunications skills. I think this was 1940/1941 and may be the period when he was in the Home Guard? Anyway he used to tell me this story with a wry smile. The servicemen left in Egypt were waiting for telecommunications 'experts' to come and instruct and assist. Those who had been sent back to England became these experts, much to the surprise of those who had stayed in Egypt who were not expecting to see the familiar faces back again in this elevated role!
I do not yet understand if recall means recalled to England or recalled back to Egypt.
Thurbon, Maurice
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| L-R: 'Bill Jenkins, Me, Maurice...' |
You can see Maurice Thurbon far right in this picture above. A good friend of Dad after the war ended, he emigrated to Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) in 1947. There is a little mention of him here when
fighting for a UK pension. From the details written on both front and back of the photo we can find out that it was
Christmas Day 1942 and that they are at TME [Telecommunications Middle East] Heliopolis [Egypt]. Maurice was Godfather to my elder sister Valerie Bott.
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| Reverse of above photo |
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| Detail of Xmas Day 1942 photo |
Timlin, Martin (author's Godfather)
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| Martin & Doris Timlin, Wedding Day, date unknown |
Tom is in the picture below but no further details
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| Palestine Central Exchange |
UNIDENTIFIED
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| 'An idle moment...' |
The caption on the reverse of the above photo reads 'An idle moment at TME [Telecommunications Middle East] Heliopolis 1942'.
Sadly it is a poor photo and I have not been able to anybody other than Bill Jenkins, 3rd from left, who is detailed under J above.
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Unknown. Also features with Impey & Morgan
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| L: Rowland Bott, M: possibly Freddie, R: possibly Reg Parrish, Egypt |
I have included the above photo in this unidentified section as I am not sure of Freddie but now more certain of Reg who is Reg Parrish. They are also included under their names above...
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| Unknown Sudanese boy, Cairo |
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| Unknown Egyptian 'Jointers at work', Egypt |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
I am sorry that at present I do not understand more of the details on this photo of the 'Jointers at Work'.
MECN is possibly Middle East Communications Network.
TME is Telecommunications Middle East
I do not know what E.S.T. Jointers are... but perhaps E is for Egyptian?
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| Unknown. MDF 'Middle East', Cairo 1942 |
The photo above is labelled 'MDF [Main Distribution Frame?] "Middle East", Cairo 1942' but sadly the man is unidentified.
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| Unknown. MDF 'Middle East', Cairo 1942 |
The photo above is labelled 'MDF [Main Distribution Frame?] "Middle East", Cairo 1942' but sadly the man is unidentified.
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| Switchroom "Middle East" Cairo 1944 |
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| Details on reverse of above photo |
All those on the photo above of the American Switchboard are unidentified.
In the photo above I have been unable to decipher the caption exactly but most of it is 'Eric [Impey]at present "residing" with Bill [Jenkins?] Wain ? & me' [Rowland Bott]; and the later addition 'TME Cairo' which I believe is Telecommunications Centre Middle East or more simply Telecommunications Middle East.
