The Mystery of the Missing Trooper.

Since February of this year I have been scanning selected prints, slides, and negatives to the number of around 3,500. Now I have changed to some of my own stuff, I have been scanning a series of prints and slides selecting those of interest to convert to JPG’s. Total number selected to date is just over 1,000. Some of the images had been over exposed  and were very light with little highlight detail. One of the two extremely pale, I had of the old side-pump horse drawn fire brigade was damaged on the original and I had to work on the JPG to repair the scratch marks and folds.

In the picture of the Artillery group the central people have little facial detail

[To enlarge the pic for better viewing left click on it and then Press f11]

My favourite programme for the treatment of this type of picture is Photoshop Elements. There are controls there to lighten shadows, darken highlights, change contrast and also to allow sharpening of images.

Imagine my surprise when after darkening highlights in this picture of the old Volunteer Artillery I discovered ghost images appearing from what had been white borders to a vignette. The original printer of the picture that I had copied had decided the central and important characters were enough. Yet the suppressed image had lasted through not only his print but my copy picture on film and carried over to my scanned JPG on my computer.

   

My Great, Great, Uncle Thomas Lilly [the fisherman] and his son Charles ran pleasure boats and bathing machines on the beach.

Charles was also a member of the Militia Artillery and a crack shot in the shoulder gun contests.  The badge they wore was very large and incorporates the cannon of the present artillery badge

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I wonder how many of them still exist?