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General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: B17_Fan on Tuesday 28 January 25 16:02 GMT (UK)
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I've just got my grandads service record, but some of the writing is quite hard to read.
On the first image, what does it say under THEATRE/COUNTRY
On the 2nd image, I can't fathom the first line under PERSONAL OCCURENCE. Something Uk TOS MELF...I know what MELF means and TOS.
Can somebody just basically tell me what it says?
Many thanks
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Second image:
Emb UK & TOS MELF
Embarked UK and Taken on Strength Middle East Land Forces
(Embarked on a Troopship)
Tony
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Image 1. Having completed 5 years and 146 days regular service, he was transferred to the Section 'B' reserve to complete his commitment for 12 years service.
Image 2. BTD x1 refers to the unit in the UK on whose strength he was being held pending his posting overseas, x1 refers to the X list (category 1): "The X (i) LIST comprises all ranks posted to fill vacancies in authorised War Establishments of a Headquarters or an extra-regimental unit (such as a base depot, school etc.)" BTD probably stands for something like Basic Training Depot. From here he "embarks in the the UK and is TOS MELF, then disembarks ME and is TOS this unit (ie the Composite Port Squadron). His rank is Sapper (ie private)
He is then posted to 53 Port Squadron and embarked at Suez and disembarked at Akaha (no idea where this was) in the rank of Lance Corporal.
He then went to the Royal Engineers Works Establishment Egypt where he as promoted from Unpaid (U) to the paid (P) rank of Local Corporal. Local in this context means that he was held (and paid) against a vacant Corporal position in the unit's establishment. It was not a permanent promotion and he would have reverted to Lance Corporal when he left the unit.
He was then TOS 11 DEL HQ from number 4 Detachment of the Port Operating Group. Not sure what DEL stands for here. In normal circumstances it means Directly Employed Labour ie locally engaged civilian labourers, which might apply here, in which case he would probably have been supervising these labourers.
Today 53 Port Squadron forms part of 17 Port and Maritime Regiment RLC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_Port_and_Maritime_Regiment_RLC) in Marchwood and is no longer a Royal Engineers unit.
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Thanks to both of you for the replies.
It helps to build up a picture of what he was doing and when. I am sure I'll be asking for more help along the way, as I don't understand a lot of the abbreviations. But It sure is interesting reading!
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Can anyone decipher this page for me please?
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Image 2:
Disemb Akaba
Akaba or Aqaba, a port in southern Jordan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqaba
Tony
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Image 1. Having completed 5 years and 146 days regular service, he was transferred to the Section 'B' reserve to complete his commitment for 12 years service.
is that "Regular Army Reserve"?
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Yes
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B17_Fan, I'm not entirely clear what you want help with on the third image you posted (reply 4). I assume you can read it all but don't understand the abbreviations.
On 4 Feb 1943 he reported to No 10 Primary Training Centre (based in chichester) to undergo his 6-week basic training (General Military Training, GMT) which was the role of Primary Training Centers (PTC). The training included physical training,shooting, drill, map reading and tactics. His rank was private. During this time he was selected to join the Royal Engineers, perhaps based on his civilian occupation. Accordingly on 17 March 43 he was posted to the Transportation Training Centre RE at Longmoor in Hampshire. The TnTC dealt with training soldiers in dock operations and railway operations. He became the Royal Engineers equivalent of Private, a Sapper (Spr). From there he was posted to No 6 Docks Group in Cardiff on 21 Apr 43. There then follows a number of administrative moves (mustering and re mustering) between his unit in Walmer and Tn TC at Longmoor and the depot Wing. The upshot of all this is that he passed his trade test to become a Stevedore D2 (class two) in accordance with Army Council Instruction (ACI) 865/43 on 24 Sept 43 and was awaiting re mustering, ie being posted to a new unit. The last entry on the page shows his parent unit at this time was 1038 Docks Operating company.
For some background details on the overall composition of the Dock Operations branch of the Royal Engineers, see this article archived from the old Orbats.com website: https://web.archive.org/web/20120905221435/http://www.orbat.com/site/uk_orbats/files/6/RE%20World%20War%20II.pdf
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Thankyou so much Andy. That's really informative.
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Can someone explain his movements in this section please?
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5 Railway Training Regiment (my guess is that this may have been at Longmoor in Hampshire.)
Port Wing (Again, a guess, that this was part of the same setup at Longmoor, obviously with the emphasis on dock working.)
12 DR (possibly Docks Regiment)
He was then struck off the strength of 12 DR and embarked in the UK for the Middle East Land Forces, as part of draft DCATG - these were random letter codes to denote specific bodies of men (drafts) which were to be moved together to overseas locations.
Embarked in UK and was taken on the strength of MELF. This is fairly standard practice, that once he had boarded the troopship he would have been held on the strength of the receiving unit even though he wouldn't physically be with them about 9 days. This would start his entitlement to any overseas allowances, and separation allowance if he was married at the time. He then disembarked in ME and transferred to BTD - some sort of Depot I suspect.