Unidentified... maybe HMS Dahlia?

[cissystar650]

I have a lot of photos that my Grandfather left behind. Would love to identify the people in them and pass them on to someone?

[herakles]

Welcome cissystar650!

I think people will need a bit more information if they are going to identify anything in those pictures. Can you supply that for us?

[Batstiger]

I can't help you with any names etc but I have tidied them up a bit. It might help.

Bob.

[cissystar650]

Hello again..

It's hard to glean any information from the stack of photos that I have, but on one of the group photos was a note to my Great Grandfather (Joseph Richard Bulley 97276) or to my Grandfather, Frank Samuel Bulley from what looks like W.Davidson from Bristol. Dated 20th Feb 1920. The first line says, " Just a few photographs as I promised to send round to the old boys of the Dahlia"

[Batstiger]

From what I know the Dahlia was an Acacia class sloop/corvette built in 1915 and sold in 1932.

Bob.

[John Moscow]

I have a lot of photos that my Grandfather left behind. Would love to identify the people in them and pass them on to someone?

Cissy

My grandpa Lt John Edward Loveluck 1872-1947 was the master of the Dahlia from Aug 1919 to 18 Jan 1920. He features in 2 of the photos.
In the unknown group on ship he is the Lt on the right with what looks a bit like my gran with her arm around him. I have not seen this before and think it must have been taken at Leith in August 1919. HMS Dahlia is the only ship he could have been photographed with his wife! I know she often stayed on his ship when in port in UK and even Antwerp.
JEL is the one standing in the centre with a pipe of the pic "8 unknown men sailors". I found a copy of this pic in 1988 and it has the same white spots!!
This must have been taken in Riga where the sea was freezing over on 31 Dec 1919 - judging from the coats!
The 6 unknown men seem to have some of the same men as the group of 8, if so it must have been taken when the weather was much warmer a few months earlier in Leith or Copenhagen.
The 4 unknown people seem well wrapped up against the cold so I suggest this must be ashore in Riga, but could be Copenhagen on the return voyage.

On another of your posts the unknown ship does look like others I have of Dahlia. The sea appears to be largely covered in ice so I guess this must be at Riga at the end of December 1919.

Unknown ship 2 is clearly not HMS Dahlia nor HMS Sandhurst, but from the snow must also be at Riga. HMS Dahlia was a tender to HMS Sandhurst, which was at Copenhagen "nearby" on 1 Oct 1919. HMS Dahlia was at or near Riga from 7 October so the crew must have got fed up with the cold weather!!

The ship came home with many Russian refugees. These must have been well-to-do as some of the women had jewels hidden wrapped round their legs. One carelessly showed them to JEL, who persuaded them to have them locked away in the ship's safe, since some of the ruffians on board would not think twice about removing them. I have never found out who these people were. A good few of the UK leading businessmen & politicians have been descended from immigrants displaced by WWI so I wonder who might have been on Dahlia!

In the mid 20's Dahlia was used for foot and mouth experiments at sea - just Google Dahlia foot and mouth.

I should ilke to know what the other photos are! Also was your grandpa the photographer - if so do you have the negs? Whoops - I see he got the pics from Davison in Bristol so we need to establish who he was! Maybe you have an old address book - JEL was at 59A (1915) or 71 Hurstbourne Road Forest Hill London (1920-24). I have 2 large prints of Dahlia - I'll reduce the large scans and post these later, when I find out how!

John Dixon in Bromley Kent.