I apologise if this is not really the place for this message. I have a photo from the period of the 1st World War. It shows a group of 16, possibly Devonshire Regt. soldiers on a vessel called "Alcama". [Insignia is not clear enough for me to tell for sure.] The name is on a life-buoy some men are grouped around. The capital letter "P" appears around the bottom edge, but the rest of the name has been bleached out. There is a number on large sign above the men : 102 then I think 2 further digits which are hidden by one of the men , who is sitting on a gun barrel. I wonder if the other word was "Plymouth". The men appear very relaxed, and there are two sailor-suited 5-8 yr.olds (one of the soldiers has his arm around the youngest, who is leaning into him. (Possibly his father?) One man is standing completely apart from the group, and he is wearing a swimming suit. My question is,does any DFHS member have any knowledge of the "Alcama" ? An ancestor who might have been on her? If it was a troopship, the men do not appear as if they are preparing to leave . From the men we can see in full, they all wear trousers, but there is one, again standing slightly apart, wearing puttees.This man's cap badge appears to be oval in shape; the other men's is a simple round badge. Just one other suggestion: might the "Alcama" have been a medical ship? I ask because the photographer, Robert Murduck of Exmouth, who published the postcard, did a series of individual portraits of RAMC soldiers. Any suggestions about the Alcama would be very much appreciated.
Is it possible for you to upload the photo? There is a button at the bottom of the reply box 'image' which makes that possible. Maybe someone will spot something that provides more information.
Thank you for that information and for the invitation to forward an image. I have some but I am (embarrassingly) defeated by the URL prompt. I can always send pics as attachments, but do not really understand the URL bit here!
