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Help with ASC unit please


jansanderson

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Hi

My first visit to this area of the Forum and aware I know next to nothing about the subject which has brought me here. My Gt Uncle Robert Elliott Sanderson served in the East Africa campaign in the ASC. His service records are pretty detailed including the original maths and literacy tests he took to join the ASC. The detail which I need help with is his unit - the service records give 380 D.U.S. Can anyone give any information about what this means and what they did?

With thanks

Jan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Jan, do you have any place names with his record? this may give more of a clue.... if he was 380 company, they formed July 1915, and were attached to the 36th Ulster division, and amalgamated into 379 MT company in March 1918... not sure how that can link with East Africa

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Jan,

You might find Mike Young's book 'Army Service Corps, 1902-1918' (Pen and Sword, 2000) interesting because it has a chapter on the Corps in East Africa and details of where each company served.

If you have not already done so you may wish to contact The Royal Logistic Corps Museum, The Princess Royal Barracks, Blackdown Road, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey, GU16 6RW, Tel: 01252 833371, who may also be able to help you further, since they have a small archive and (if I remember rightly) a copy of Mike Young's book in their library.

I hope this helps.

Ally

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WO1 Sanderson R. E. MSM most probably went to East`Afrrica 1918 as he is recorded as being RASC rather than ASC.

D U S is probably Dar Es Salaam (check again) , 380 may be the company.

Roop

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Thanks for all the responses. I'll definitely try to get hold of the Young book.

Roop - He landed in Mombasa 7 Feb 1916 as a A/Cpl on the Huntsgreen and seems to have gone down with dysentry almost immediately and not discharged from hospital until end of June. His record is quite detailed but I haven't just spotted which section he was with at this time. However, by April 1917 he was promoted to Cpl and transferred to establishment 384 DUS.

Having looked at his record again I take the point DUS may well be Dar Es Salaam. The whole sentence runs across columns and it isn't immediately clear whether 384 and DUS were a single entry or separate parts of the entry as they come each side of the line, if you get what I mean. Putting everything together I think that is the answer. He was transferred to 380 DUS 7th Jan 1918 when he was also promoted to TSSM for the duration of the war. En route home 9 Jan 1919 as part of 386 section.

18 November he went down with influenza - interesting illustration that it really was Worldwide!

Look forward to any further comments you may have and I will have another search through his papers for any other relevant info

Jan

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More help please. I'm still struggling after obtaining Michael Young book - all ASC units in previous post ie 380, 384 and 386 are shown in Young as being on Western Front not East Africa. His book appears stunningly comprehensive but I do know Robert Sanderson served the majority of his overseas services in East Africa and that was the context in which he was involved in these companies. I have his service record and will download samples if anyone feels they will help. Problem is the details are on several different papers.

Thanks

Jan

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  • 4 months later...

Sorry to hijack this thread - but I have a very similar enquiry!

I have just uncovered a Great Uncle's service records, and they reveal he was with ASC and went to East Africa from 26.12.16. There's no 'until' date, but we believe he survived the war.

There is no other information... unless I am interpreting the records wrongly. However, it does say 'spares' in brackets after East Africa in the 'campagins' section.

I too am finding it difficult to locate the Young book - I have just looked at the catalogue of the library at work (I work in a university) and the Fortescue volumes are there, which I will go and take a look at tomorrow... but the Young one isn't!

Is there anything that should be on the records that might help?

This is a very different bit of research than the previous two I've undertaken! :unsure:

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I now have a library copy of 'The Royal Army Service Corps - A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army' by Col. R. H. Beadon. Vol 2 covers the Great War.

I'll start a new thread for my own enquiry :D

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The detail which I need help with is his unit - the service records give 380 D.U.S. Can anyone give any information about what this means and what they did?

Jan

A bit late I know but D.U.S. is Depot Unit of Supply. There are some War Diaries for some of the units at NA, Kew but only for a bit of 1916.

WO 95/5377 378 Depot Unit of Supply 1916 Mar. - Apr.

WO 95/5377 380 Depot Unit of Supply 1916 Mar.

WO 95/5377 383 Depot Unit of Supply 1916 Mar. - Apr.

WO 95/5377 384 Depot Unit of Supply 1916 Mar. - Apr.

Regards

Steve

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