The story goes that Jessie, having been spurned by Sam’s formidable mother, Jane Schneiderman, went to America in 1915 to live with her sisters. On Sam’s return from the front, presumably hardened by his experiences, Sam defied his mother and summoned Jessie back to get married, only to die a few years later from the gassing he received during the war. All very Mills & Boon! My father always assumed that his mother was posing in a photographer’s costume, as it’s clearly a studio shot. However, later research has shown that Jessie did certainly work with wounded soldiers repatriated back to the USA, so she was at least entitled to wear it – even if it wasn’t completely genuine!