1940 Royal Engineers

[AJLAMERS85]

Hello
My great grandfather William Gamble
Was a Sapper he joined ww2 with Territorial Army
No 6 Training Battalion RE.on 15 Mar 1940 (I believe he trained at Elgin, Moray, Scotland)
Depot Company 6th Territorial Battalion Royal Engineers 3 Aug 1940
297th Corps Field Park Company, Royal Engineers 25 Sep 1940
583rd Army Field Company, Royal Engineer 6 Oct 1940
C Company, 3rd Line of Communication Troops 26 Oct 1940
Discharge 3 Dec 1940
Does anyone know what the training was like?
Was anyone else in the same unit as Wm Gamble during the war?
Any information about the units and activities?

[Andy J2022]

Ideally you also need to know his trade while in the Sappers. This will then lead you to sources concerning his training. Do you know his civilian occupation before the war? This may give a clue to his sapper trade. The Sappers had/have a wide range of trades from the standard building trades (electricans, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers etc) through to plant operators, and ordnance demolition plus many support trades such as drivers and storesmen.

As for the units he served with and what they were doing at various stages of the war, you need to locate their war diaries at the National Archives. Just to get you started here's the War Diary for 583 Field Company RE for the period August 1940 to December 1941: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C789877
As you can see they have not been digitised and so you either need to visit TNA in person or arrange for TNA or someone else to make copies for you. Don't expect to see your great great grandfather mentioned by name, but you should be able to form a pretty good picture of what his company was up to at the time.

Alternatively if you are able to visit the Royal Engineers Museumat Gillingham in Kent, you should be able to get plenty of details about the training and the sort deployments his units had.

[AJLAMERS85]

William was Farmservant or Bryeman (cow sheds), but he was a Cable Vulcanizer at one point

Does Anyone know what pictures says before Service 264 Days

I Found the two war diaries
297th Corps Field Park Company, Royal Engineer  25 Sep 1940-6 Oct 1940
Place -       Wet Bridging Site, Northfleet Kent
Date -      7 Sep 1940
Summary -    Bulk of 297 Corps Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, moved from Wet Brideging Training site, Northfleet Kent to Milton Baraacks, Gravesend, Kent having completed a period of training in Wet Bridging'

Place -       Milton Barracks Gravesend Kent
Date -       15 Sep 1940
Summary -    The Officers and men of 297 Corps field Company, Royal Engineers moved from Milton Barracks, Gravesend, Kent to Coombs stables, whitechurch, Pangbourne, Near Reading, Berkshire for training in Wet Bridging

583 Army Field Company, Royal Engineer 6 Oct 1940 Gravesend, Kent, England – 26 Oct 1940
Place -       Pengbourne
Date -       1 Oct 1940
Summary -    Tactical exercise involving bridging the River Thames on night

Place:       Gravesend, Kent, England.
Date -       30 Sep 1940 - 1 Oct 1940
Summary -     carried out. Company  moved from Pangbourne to Milton Barracks, Gravesend
recruit drivers posted away and intake received bridging company .
approximately up to war Establishment

Place -       Gravesend, Kent, England.
Date       27 Oct 1940, 0200
Summary -    Company moved from Milton Barracks, Gravesend

Place -       Gilford, County Down, Northern Ireland
Date -       28 Oct 1940, 1300
Summary  -    Company arrived at Gilford, County Down, Northern Ireland. Accomodated under  Canvas

Place -       Gilford, County Down, Northern Ireland
Date -       29 Oct 1940
Summary:    Work commenced on construction of hutted camp

[Andy J2022]

Does Anyone know what pictures says before Service 264 Days

It means that Army Form O 1637c was sent to the Regimental Pay Office. I don't know the exact purpose of that form, but given that it is noted in the space related to Army School and other certificates of education, my guess is that he had just passed his ACE I or II (Army Certificate of Education) which entitled him to a slight increase in pay. ACE II was required for promoton to corporal then ACE I for promotion to sergeant.

[AJLAMERS85]

I think it could be a change in circumstances, I don't know why he was discharged but i know it was medical, he died in  end of mar 1946 maybe it was for his payment to stop?

[AJLAMERS85]

His Trade was = edinburgh anyone know what that mean,  edinburgh is a place

[Andy J2022]

I think that, given the word Edinburgh is in pencil, it refers to the information immediately above, so maybe it was where he was discharged. The entries on the left are in ink so done at a different time. I think the = sign just means it was being left blank at the time the entries were filled in. What you have found is his tracer card. Ideally you should get his full service record from the National Archives and look at the page headed 'Casualties', which in army speak means occurrences. That will list far more about his time in the Army and what his trade was. Unfortunately it is unlikely they will supply his medical history.

The reason for his discharge was King's Regulations para 390 (xvi) which as you know, means he ceased to fulfil the Army's physical requirements - a wide category, usually with a medical cause.

[AJLAMERS85]

Thanks for the advice. I got his records in 2012 by the MoD as he died in 1947 although there isn’t a header called casualty on the document, so you think they could of with held some information.
I went and submitted to see if the archives got more hopefully
There is a header called trade classification on enlistment NR not sure what that means

[AJLAMERS85]

Maybe this hold the clue

Mustered from N.R.
to ___ E. III ___
(amend in future)
Lt II to come