Bristol Naval Coy National Reserve, 37 Jamaica Street, 1914.
A photo found at Jamaica Street with a handwritten note on the reverse suggests that the men seen here with a gun carriage behind are about to start on a recruiting march in Jamaica Street with Commander Mardon. Ernest George. Mardon was head of the well-known and very successful Bristol printing and packaging company, and was also Commander of the Bristol Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve which had its HQ at 37 Jamaica Street. It is unclear which of the gentlemen in the photo is he, although he could be the distinguished looking man with the droopy moustache and boots. A handwritten note on the reverse reads: “I wonder if there is a face hear(sic) you see xxxx”
Courtesy of the Bristol Records Office – BRO 43207/27/7/6