More photos - could one of these be in the photo above? 1 Joe Halsall b1890 (so 9/10 when his mother died - the children were farmed out, so maybe ...) He's the man on the right. 2 Edward Halsall b1889 (so 10/11) As the Industrial Schools took boys to age 14y, maybe ...?? The lad at the front is holding a Scroll - passing out certificate?? Jane
I've been mixing it up on Excel with unpleasing results. Kept losing my colour fills in the wrong place. Imagine if you will- the Finland flag, with a George Cross Flag in top & bottom corners next to pole ( the image is in reverse in photo) then add the flags of Scotland & Wales in other corners. Or some such crosswise marks. Can't put too many images here I think. I'm not a flag maker but it kind of sounds like the photo-ed flag looks. ok,I'll go now.
White background with blue cross, then in each even quarter section a red cross? I'm also wondering if the boys neck kerchiefs are red rather than blue. Indeed if blue then a lighter shade.
Almost that Sue, the far corners which are hard to view- folded over show a distinct X in two other colours with white. probably light blue & red. I may have done it in reverse,- perhaps the main hard colour across the middle is Red. with blue ones in the corners instead of George Cross.
It does look like some sort of ceremonial picture, the scroll and the cape to the lad in the middle and behind him one with the jacket and cap and the another with just a cap (1st 2nd and 3rd) perhaps.
I'm thinking along the lines that Wendy mentioned, that the flag could be the flag of the school/institution, I suppose it's feasible that a school/institution might have a flag of it's own design, wonder if we'll ever know!
Just tried A M and it's beat me, I've tried viewing it with paint, magnifying it both as it is and upside down.
The boy in the "officer's" uniform is wearing a rosette or similar on the right side of his jacket - as is the boy in the "hood" but nobody else. The boy to the "officer's" left is the only one wearing a cap and he also seems to have something like an anchor at the neck of his blouse. Nobody else is wearing one. And the boy in the hood - what is the white "frilly" at his knees? The flags have eluded me. I thought it might be sea scouts or sea cadets but neither of those flags match anything I've found - assuming it is in Britain of course.
I've been coming back to this photo quite a bit today but something keeps telling me that this is not an English photo. The hats on the boys have a French or European look to them, as does the double breasted uniform on the one boy. Then I reread your first post in that you say "her grandparents emigrated to Canada in 1906". Could it be a French/Canadian school?
So it is, Sue, and he's on one knee, right? At first I thought it was attached to the scroll (which would have made it a scroll-like thingy not a scroll) but then ............ Looks as though we have a Captain, a Bosun, and a crew - all showing a distinct lack of jollity - but of what? (Forget the 2 rather fierce minders, if the rest came clear they'd be explained automatically). Has anyone yet come up with an idea of when this was taken?
Those 'collars' if you look closely are all a little bit different and nothing like what a uniform would have. Wonder.....school play?
I agree A M, when I first saw this photo the hat on the boy with the uniform type jacket looked a bit German/Austrian, then there's the hat on the boy to the right of him in the photo it looks more like a Beret. It's a puzzle alright! When all's said and done I can't somehow see a European country putting a British flag in the photo, surely it would only be Britain or a Commonwealth county who would! if the photo were taken in a European country or a Commonwealth country it would add another possibility to the list, a State or Province flag.
The cape appears to be made of a tulle or fine net that has lost it's stiffness. maybe through lots of use. Oh what a mystery! But don't we love it!
Check out the middle illustration. I thought the "scarf" worn by the photo boys was very similar to the navy uniforms myself. What a shame the original isn't in colour. Also, I've been thinking maybe Maritime College instead of Naval College. They taught all sorts of maritime skills with the view of graduation to the Merchant Navy, RN, or even commercial shipping lines.
Here's someone else who has been completely drawn in by the photo! I think I must have looked at every photo of groups of boys dressed up as goodness knows what that the Interwebby has to show (there's probably a law against it.....) I must admit that my idea of Empire day went out the window, when I found most of the other pictures of Empire Day celebrations were just that - celebrations with happy faces! This lot look as if they have been told not to smile on pain of death. They must be a group within an establishment of some sort, 'cause there are so few of them. The building behind them looks like a school building or even a church, and I have no idea what it says on the box.... The young lad in the middle with the 'officer's' uniform is either playing his part very well, or really considers himself a cut above the rest. There has to be an answer out there.......