What did this man do in WW1 and what was the 140th Batallion of the RFA?

[nicdigby]

FindMyPast and Ancestry have some lovely burnt records for Harold ALLISTER b 1895, who attested in Newcastle in 1916. I believe he was part of the reserve until mobilised in Oct 1916 and served as a gunner with the RFA as part of the Expeditionary Force in France for much of 1917-18. He transferred back to the reserve in 1919 and was discharged in March 1920. Military number: 185528.

I do not need the family history/address/next of kin etc for this man as I already have it but would be grateful for some assistance interpreting his military endeavours please:

1) FindMyPast state that he was with the 140th battallion of the RFA. I cannot find this batallion online; only one that was created in 1939 or one with the RGA, which is not who he served with. Can anyone tell me his correct battalion?

2) Can anyone interpret his records to tell me more about what he did and when?

3) Can you confirm which medals he received?

IMPORTANT: he was 'Harold' ALLISTER, not to be confused with his first cousin 'Harry' ALLISTER who was killed (and whose father was a DCM). Two different people living next door to each other!

Service records for HAROLD:

Ancestry:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1219/images/miuk1914e_123520-00812?pId=29592

FindMyPast:
https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbm%2fwo363-4%2f007290280%2f00721&parentid=gbm%2fwo363-4%2f7290280%2f41%2f713

Service record image and medal image to follow.

[nicdigby]

service record screenshot. (links to originals in previous post)

[nicdigby]

Medal card from TNA:

[california dreamin]

Hi Nic

I can't answer your full query. But according to the medal card (which I've just had to check as you've cut off the full image  ...    He received both the Victory and British medals. This is quite standard. He did not receive the Star as he did not attest earlier. 

Here's a little about the medals.  https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first-world-war-service-medals

Hope this helps somewhat

CD

[nicdigby]

Thank you CD, appreciate it. That was my understanding too about his two medals but great to have it confirmed.

For anyone else looking at that record, I've cropped it so it was small enough to post on here but there is no writing in any lower boxes.

[Andy J2022]

It's a mistranscription. It should read B/190 Bde. The RFA didn't have battalions. You can read more about the 190 Bde (or CXC as they liked to refer to it) here: The Long, Long Trail

[nicdigby]

It's a mistranscription. It should read B/190 Bde. The RFA didn't have battalions. You can read more about the 190 Bde (or CXC as they liked to refer to it) here: The Long, Long Trail

Thank you Andy. Harold was from Lancashire and attested at Newcastle but the 190 BDE was apparently made up of troops from the South, especially London. Would there be a reason why an apparent northerner was mobilised to join a group of southerners, or is there another possibility?

[Andy J2022]

If you look at the screenshot of his record above you can see that he was posted a number of times before ending up in B/190 Bde, so I don't think the place where that Brigade was originally formed was that relevant once the war was underway. Replacements would have been sent where they were needed. Even in the infantry battalions where they tried to retain a local connection (the Pals battalions, for example) this didn't always work and men were moved to other regiments or to the labour corps as required.

[nicdigby]

If you look at the screenshot of his record above you can see that he was posted a number of times before ending up in B/190 Bde, so I don't think the place where that Brigade was originally formed was that relevant once the war was underway. Replacements would have been sent where they were needed. Even in the infantry battalions where they tried to retain a local connection (the Pals battalions, for example) this didn't always work and men were moved to other regiments or to the labour corps as required.

Thanks again Andy, this is very informative. Looking at his record, I think I can make out that his actie service during the WW1 years was mainly in 1917 and 1918 in 4th TMB and 4th DAC. I believe the latter stands for Divisional Ammunition Column? Would you agree about his units during 1917 and 1918 and if so, can you or anyone else enlighten me about these units; what did they do and where? I have googled but I can't find anything specific on the 4th TMB and 4th DAC so am now second guessing myself!