I don’t remember a great deal about my grandfather as he died when I was about ten years old, but I do remember that he was not a very tall man, and yet he is by far the tallest man in this photograph taken around 100 years ago …
My grandad is the one on the far right of the picture and, apart from one fellow at the back, he appears to be about a ’head’ taller than his companions .
The studio photograph below was taken around the same time and shows my grandparents before the start of World War I. My grandfather is wearing the uniform (complete with spurs and riding crop) of The Royal Field Artillery (TF) as he was a member of The Territorial Force (similar to US National Guard) …
(click on images to enlarge)
From the picture I have estimated that the old boy was about 5′ 8” or 5” 9” tall, so no giant, which means that some of the other men in the first picture must only be around 5′ tall or even less.
Perhaps they were a bit on the short side due to genetics, a poor standard of living or an inadequate diet, although this is hard to believe when you look at the girth of the blokes in the front row.
My grandad went on to fight in the ‘Great War’, and I expect that many of his ‘short-arse’ mates did the same. So I suppose that you could say that they were all …
… “short in stature, but long in courage”.
