Thomas Henry Rafferty born in Birmingham at Branston Street joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1903 as a bandsman he did his time and joined Birmingham tramways in 1909 married and had a daughter Ivy re joined his regiment at outbreak of war and was named by the people of Birmingham as Captain Bruce Bairnsfaters cartoon character Old Bill of the Better Ole his wife Kate appeared on stage as the wife of Old Bill but Rafferty was forgot over the years and again accepted in 1992 by the experts as being Old Bill

john belcher