We can see three different men wearing uniforms. We can also see the year 1915 hand written at the bottom of the photograph.

Look closely, what do you see?

This photograph shows three brothers in their military uniforms. All of the brothers served in the First World War but they served in different ways.  One served in the Army, one in the Air Service and one in the Home Guard.  Each of these services has a different uniform.

Service men and women often had their photograph taken before they went off to serve in the war. Most photographs were taken in a photographic studio with painted backdrops and props. It is, however, quite unusual to see three brothers in a photograph wearing different uniforms.

Look closely at Cecil who is standing on the left.  Cecil served in the Royal Navy Air Service, which later became known as the RAF.  On Cecil’s right arm you can see his winged badge.

Look closely at Percy who is seated on the bench.  Percy served in the Army as an Intelligence Officer.  He is wearing the Army uniform and a badge on his cap to tell us which regiment he belonged to.

Look closely at Lawrie who is standing on the right.  Lawrie was the eldest brother and served in the Home Guard which was where men who were either unable or too old to fight on the Front line served.

We might wonder how each of the brothers’ felt while having their photograph taken in uniform? We also might wonder what happened to them after the war?

What do you wonder?

Object name: The Levy Brothers

Date: 1915

Catalogue Number

Materials: Sepia Photograph

Size: height 19cm width 14cm

On display in the Jewish Museum? Yes

Percy Levy compiled a scrap book which he called his ‘Book of Life’. Percy was one of the thousands of Jews who fought in the British army during World War I. He was a Lieutenant in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment and served on the Western Front between January 1917 and January 1919. With his knowledge of French and German, he served as an intelligence officer.

Percy’s scrapbook contains invitations, menus, photographs, letters, postcards, cuttings, maps, reports, newspapers and small objects relating to his life and military service during the First World War.

One of Percy’s many achievements was being awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre.  The medal was awarded to soldiers who performed an act of heroism in Belgium.