Need help IDing WW1 photo of Great Grandfather-In-Law

**Alex W** · 01-04-2014, 09:08 AM

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the double up post with this picture but I thought I would try posting it in the right section for some help.

This is a photo of my wife's Great Grandfather. Her family have no information about his service and I'm going through the processes of requesting it, however I've heard it can take months and that's if they weren't destroyed.

I'm guessing German WW1 with a dress s98 bayonet but that's as far as my guessing goes. Can anyone tell me his rank and branch from the photo?

Thanks for any info.

Alex

Need help IDing WW1 photo of Great Grandfather-In-Law

**Alex W** · 10-15-2015, 12:40 PM

Just want to bump this post.

Can anyone tell me his rank from the picture?

**HPL2008** · 10-15-2015, 01:39 PM

I know very little about uniforms from this period, but since nobody else has replied so far...:

I can only offer the observations that it is definitely a German uniform from the Imperial era and that he is a Gefreiter, as he is wearing a collar button, but no NCO Tresse.

**aicusv** · 10-15-2015, 10:15 PM

Gefreiter, he looks like he is in an infantry regiment, number on shoulder appears to be a seventy something. Do you know what town he was from?

**ynot** · 10-16-2015, 06:44 AM

If he served in WWI his name may be on the casualty lists, if his name isn't common and if he appeared on the lists early to mid war you might be able to find his unit and hometown Search results Verlustlisten 1. Weltkrieg

If you have worldwide ancestry I think you can access German records for Bavaria and Wuerttemberg but I'm not 100% sure.

Tony

**Alex W** · 10-16-2015, 07:36 AM

by aicusv

Gefreiter, he looks like he is in an infantry regiment, number on shoulder appears to be a seventy something. Do you know what town he was from?

Thanks guys for the replies. Not 100% but I think he was from Beuthen.

**aicusv** · 10-16-2015, 05:57 PM

Given that he was from Beuthen, which is in Silesia, what I took to be a"7" maybe a "2". This could mean he was in either JR 22 or JR23. At least this may give you a starting point. Looking at his Troddeln (bayonet knot) I would say he was in the 2nd battalion, looks like maybe 6th company. Can't be sure as it is a B/W photo and I'm trying to guess at colors, based on shades of grey.