An interesting postcard this – purchased on eBay – in that it was taken in the UK but has a very clear Salonika connection. It is labelled: Wessex “Salonica” Draft. Dec 1916.
The card shows 2 officers and 71 NCOs and sappers of Wessex Territorial Force Royal Engineers, ready to join the British Salonika Force. The First (Wessex) and Second (Wessex) Field Companies were allocated to the regular 27th Division and served with them in France in 1915, before going to Macedonia. The companies were renamed 500th and 501st Field Companies, respectively. Wessex RE (TF) also provided the Divisional Signal Company. If you go to the excellent Imperial War Museum Collections page and type in Struma Wessex you will get a series of photographs of the 501st Field Company busy in the Struma Valley in 1917, which could well include some of the individuals in the above photo.
The postcard has a note on the back, in pencil, saying:
To Ma with love, Lou (or Len) and Art
