ASC T4/262290 Driver H V Weeks

[Beth]

I am hoping somebody can assist me. I am wondering whether anybody could tell me if they have any information regarding the above (my father) or his regimental number.

He was born on the 21 November 1899 in Birmingham. I know that he was in Egypt. My information is from what I remember him telling me, and what I have managed to learn recently.

1. He was in Egypt!

2. He told me he was given a pistol, more for the killing of rats in Damascus because they were so big and would fly right at you.

3. He was injured whilst escorting a group of pilgrims to Mecca. Apparently the Turks attacked them and all the dead bodies were put on a truck and my father was put there too. He was thought to be dead!!

4. My mother had a picture of him floating (reading a paper) on the dead sea.

5. He took me to see "Lawrence of Arabia" when it first came out (shortly before his death in 1964) and was mesmerized by it. He said it brought back so many memories.

I cannot find any trace of his service/pension records on Ancestry. Only his MIC which shows Victory and British Medals.

There is nothing written against "Theatre of War etc.," or "Date of entry etc.,"

I am hoping somebody somewhere may be able to shed a little light (a candle will do!!!) on where my father might have been serving, and which Train/division etc.,

Thanking you in anticipation.

Beth Jones

[sotonmate]

Beth

There is not a lot going for you in your quest ! I have been going through some of the possibilities (and now also realise that you have asked about other things for the same soldier here), I thought that the 1918 Absent Voters List might help,then I realised your father wasn't old enough to vote ! I did a re-check on service (and, just in case, pension) records,with no success. The Medal Roll is unlikely to show a unit,but I will look a lot later in the month (pretty please !!),but as I said in the Look Ups section there isn't usually a unit shown there either !

Sometimes here this is mentioned,the SSFA,Soldiers & Sailors Family Association (these days it's called SSAFA,with Airmen added). It was active in WW1 but there doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there. The servicemen were able to use this as a conduit to their families,and would have some details registered there,wherever the records were kept. That is your challenge,or anyone here who might have info, is there anything remaining for you to learn from ?

Might there be some RASC archive out there ? I haven't yet seen that there is,but this doesn't mean that there isn't ! Maybe someone here knows different.........

Sotonmate

[Peridot]

I have never come across an archive Soto and have long since concluded that there isn't one and more so since starting to plough through Mike Young's book. It's rather like the strategic reserve of steam locomotives that is supposed to exist bricked up in a tunnel somewhere for national emergency-you'll never see it.

Peridot

[sotonmate]

P

....but not like the strategic reserve of foodstuffs kept in the 60s in case of nuke attack,'cos I had some of it in an RN Victualling storehouse !!

I have been poking about myself,it's better to say maybe than never !

Sotonmate

[Peridot]

Maybe!!

Peridot

[Peridot]

Hi Beth

Have noticed your most recent post and as with Sotonmate think that your options are narrow-if you want to follow up the Soldiers and Sailors etc Lists then they can be found in the same type of places as the AVL's and unfortunately there is no archive with the present day successors SSAFA. I wouldn't mind betting that the incident of the Turkish attack is reported somewhere and this may well have been in local newspapers. I know it sounds like a hard slog and it is but maybe you will have to go through them from 1916 to see of anything was reported about that attack.

Photos of people floating in the Dead Sea are reasonably common and again it is something that might have figured in the local press.

You could also try the Royal Corps of Transport Museum who are the present day successors to the ASC and see if they have anything.

Peridot