Royal Marines Light Infantry Service Record

[nellie d]

I am sorry if this is a really basic, simple question, but I really need some help to understand what Iam looking at.
My great grandad’s Royal Marines Light Infantry service record has the times recorded when he is assigned to a ship, namely, Hood, Hermoine, Fox and Benbow and then this is interspersed with “Plymouth Division”.
Would this time at “Plymouth Division” mean he was actually in Plymouth or does it mean that he was engaged in manoeuvres with the “Plymouth Division”…such as being in Gallipoli or France, etc?
TIA

[tonepad]

As he served on ships, Plymouth Division refers to the depot for the Royal Marines that supplied personnel and drafts to man ships.

Royal Marines were in the Plymouth Battalion which formed part of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division which were at Gallipoli and in France.


Tony

[nellie d]

Thank you Tony.
The thing I am trying to understand is that if he was posted to Plymouth Div. does it mean he was actually in Plymouth for all the time of the posting, or would he be with the unit wherever they went.
My gt grandad who was in the RA, has it written on his service record of the countries he went to.
So I am thinking that this other grandad was always in Plymouth, and wondered why this may be.
He did rise to CSM, QSM and eventually CS…so I thought maybe he was there in a training capacity.
I keep trying to add an attachment to highlight why I am thinking, what I am thinking, but I am not having much luck

[Andy J2022]

The thing I am trying to understand is that if he was posted to Plymouth Div. does it mean he was actually in Plymouth for all the time of the posting, or would he be with the unit wherever they went.
My gt grandad who was in the RA, has it written on his service record of the countries he went to.
So I am thinking that this other grandad was always in Plymouth, and wondered why this may be.
He did rise to CSM, QSM and eventually CS…so I thought maybe he was there in a training capacity.
I keep trying to add an attachment to highlight why I am thinking, what I am thinking, but I am not having much luck

Plymouth was merely the base from which he was administered. There were three divisions, at Plymouth, Chatham and Portsmouth and every Marine would have 'belonged' to one of them. It is slightly analogous to belonging to a particular infantry Regiment (but not an Artillery Regiment) as this would be your point of allegiance. Certainly when he was based on shore in the UK this would usually be in the barracks at Plymouth, but when he was serving in a ship, his pay and career matters would have be dealt with by the Plymouth Division staff.  Division in this context is not the same as an Army Division which was/is a formation of brigades brought together for particular operational reasons, for instance an Infantry Division or an Armoured Division. An RM division was purely for administrative purposes, with the formation for operations being either the ship or the brigade.   

As for training, his recruit training would have been based within his Division, but more specialised courses would have been run centrally and he would have mixed with Marines from other divisions.

 

[nellie d]

Thank you Andy.
I think, then, that he would have had, possibly, administrative duties at Plymouth then, and not been on “active” service, so to speak.
When he joined up, his previous employment was as a clerk and his later day role within the RM, again seems to be clerical duties.
My updated assumption is then, that he was probably employed in a clerical capacity, even though he rose through the ranks

[Andy J2022]

His record sheet which you posted above certainly indicates that he was promoted three times which would have taken him to Colour Sergeant, the ranks being Marine -> Corporal ->Sergeant -> Colour Sergeant. If he was, as you surmise, a clerk, then in all probability his title would have been Staff Quartermaster Sergeant (SQMS) or possibly Chief Clerk. The Marines retained the name clerk, whereas the Royal Navy use the term Writer for their clerical staff.

[nellie d]

Thank you Andy.
He was, at one time a QSM…so that would all tie in, wouldn’t it?

[Andy J2022]

In fact, during his appointments as CSM (Company Sergeant Major) and QMS (Quartermaster Sergeant) his actual rank was Warrant Officer Class II. When he re-enlisted in WW2 his rank was Colour Sergeant. If you look in the top left hand corner of his service record  (image 2) it confirms that he was a supply clerk.

[nellie d]

Thank you Andy…sometimes I can’t see the wood for the trees 🙄😬😆