sotonmate Posted 29 March , 2009 Share Posted 29 March , 2009 Strolling through the Old Southampton Cemetery,a quiet,interesting and absorbing walk, I observe a CWGC stone with the legend: TS/4454 Strapper F WOOLLEY RASC 29.11.1914 Aged 42. Can anyone help with the rank,what did he do ? Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 29 March , 2009 Share Posted 29 March , 2009 Hello sotonmate It's not an official rank or appointment (i.e. listed in Kings Regs or the Pay Warrant) but presumably it means a harness-maker The TS/ prefix indicates "transport specials".. "RASC" is a bit of an anomaly here, too. They did not become Royal until the Armistice. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B Posted 29 March , 2009 Share Posted 29 March , 2009 Hi Sotonmate, As Ron said, probably a harness maker. A great uncle of mine served from 1899-1920 had a rank of Saddler Staff Sergeant. Though I had not seen this renk previously, I always thought it was an official rank, at least thats what it says on his service docos david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 29 March , 2009 Share Posted 29 March , 2009 CWGC gives Name: WOOLLEY, FREDERICK Initials: F Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Strapper Regiment/Service: Army Service Corps Unit Text: Remount Depot (Southampton) Age: 42 Date of Death: 29/11/1914 Service No: TS/4454 Additional information: Husband of H. Woolley, of 122, Provost St., City Rd., Hoxton, London. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: 147 N. 214. Cemetery: SOUTHAMPTON OLD CEMETERY NB No "Royal"; Although there might have been saddlery involved in this chaps work with the Remount Service, the OED gives, for "strapper" : 2. One who straps or grooms horses. Chiefly Australian in later use. With "strap" (as a verb) given as: To groom (a horse). The OED, of course, also gives the expected: 5. A worker who furnishes or secures a thing with straps. NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetop Posted 29 March , 2009 Share Posted 29 March , 2009 My grandfather was a strapper in a remount company of ASC until he died in 1916. Digging into research suggests he was essentially a stable groom who helped to prepare,stable and condition horses for service at the front. This will have included some driving of supplies to and from the front areas and artillery columns into position because of their skills with horses. Extremely dangerous when you read about how they crossed the Menin Gate crossroads at night to get supplies to the front lines. GF was killed by an incoming shell which could have been several miles behind the lines near Arras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 30 March , 2009 Author Share Posted 30 March , 2009 Contributors Thank you all for the comments,it might have suggested an obvious task but I have found that it always bears augmentation ! I posted what it said on the stone,RASC, I too knew it wasn't "Royal" at the time of his death. Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 30 March , 2009 Share Posted 30 March , 2009 A great uncle of mine served from 1899-1920 had a rank of Saddler Staff Sergeant. Though I had not seen this renk previously, I always thought it was an official rank, at least thats what it says on his service docos Hello David Yes, that one is on the list in Kings Regs so it is an official rank! Or, more strictly speaking, an appointment. The equivalent rank was Staff Sergeant. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 I'm finding this interesting, as I have a Star to an A.S.C. Strapper, with a TS prefix, who was transferred to the 5th Royal Fusiliers, and thence to the Machine Gun Corps. I've found a couple of others who did the same, although one ended up with the Tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 The ASC became "Royal" in 1919. The headstones were done in the 1920's. Hence casualties who served with the ASC have RASC on their headstones (I am sure that there will be exceptions to this somewhere though!).IIRC it was the choice of the regiment or corps concerned what "title" went on the headstones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 In peace time a number of the more affluent hunts had strappers - men who 'strapped down' the horses of the master, huntsman and other officials after a meet. A skilled groom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Johnson Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 In peace time a number of the more affluent hunts had strappers - men who 'strapped down' the horses of the master, huntsman and other officials after a meet. A skilled groom. Pte. Patrick Healy's attestation lists his occupation as "Groom". He was also about 40 when he enlisted. I got a shock when I found a note in his file stating that he had been accepted for the Pioneer Corps in 1940, but it was misfiled. Some MICs give the rank as "Strapper" and some as "Private Strapper" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 A strapper puts the saddles, bridles, harness straps etc. on horses. In practice, he or she would also perform general stable duties. Antony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 July , 2011 Share Posted 19 July , 2011 A strapper puts the saddles, bridles, harness straps etc. on horses. In practice, he or she would also perform general stable duties. Antony Don't think so - he rubbed down the horses using a "strap" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piorun Posted 20 July , 2011 Share Posted 20 July , 2011 This may be a case where the meaning has become changed. SOED gives strapper as a groom in the early 19th Century. I've always taken strapping to refer to sweat or water removal which, nowadays, seems to be performed mostly with a moulded plastic or light metal implement, rather than a strap. Concurrently, the term strapper appears to have shifted to the tack department. We can agree to differ on the detail. Coming back to the OP and immediate replies; I wouldn't take a strapper to be a harness-maker. That was a highly-skilled leather-working trade. Strapping wasn't. Antony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waggoner Posted 20 July , 2011 Share Posted 20 July , 2011 A fascinating discussion. It confirms my understanding that a strapper - whatever it was exactly that he did - was associated with the remount part of the ASC. I am looking forward to learning more on this subject. All the best, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 March , 2020 Share Posted 21 March , 2020 My Grandfather George William Spear, RTS 2659, is listed as a Strapper 2nd Depot. Enlisted in 1914, served in France, invalided out in 1918. Before the start of WW1, he is in the census as a Horse Groom. And on Birth Certificates as an Ostler. ( Horse Groom ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasemuseum Posted 24 March , 2020 Share Posted 24 March , 2020 In horse racing circles today, the people who groom the horses in the stables and lead the horse and jockey to the starting box are called "strappers". The "reliable" tips about which horse to bet on are always attributed to the "strapper" due to restrictions on jockeys supplying information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 24 March , 2020 Share Posted 24 March , 2020 14 minutes ago, Chasemuseum said: In horse racing circles today, the people who groom the horses in the stables and lead the horse and jockey to the starting box are called "strappers". The "reliable" tips about which horse to bet on are always attributed to the "strapper" due to restrictions on jockeys supplying information. No in the uk. Strapper at a ASC depot probably strapped boxes or bumdles up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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