Territorial Forces in India

[Guest Parsons533]

I have been able to establish from old correspondence from my Aunt and the Roll of Honour in Whaddon Church (Gloucestershire) that my Grandfather ~ Ernest (William) Parsons and possibly his brother Frederick (Sidney) Parsons - served in India during WW1. This obviously restricts the units within which he/they could have served but I wouldn't know where to start in trying to identify anything further about him and his likely experiences. I would welcome any suggestions for background reading or further research that would help to bring his memory to life. He died in 1958 (I was 4 years old) and I have a very distant and vague recollection of him. He was a carpenter or joiner by trade ~ I cannot envisage how the British Army in India would benefit from such a skill, but I am sure it was put to good use.. He sufferred from Malaria whilst in India and seems to have found country life "difficult" on his return. He move to Birmingham where he married and spent the remainder of his life.

Any help, direction and asistance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Laurie Parsons

[bushfighter]

Laurie

Greetings.

I suggest that you read A Strange War. Burma, India and Afghanistan 1914-1920 by C.P. Mills (Alan Sutton 1988. ISBN 0-86299-377-6).

This will describe for you some experiences of Territorials in India during the Great War.

Harry

[Steven Broomfield]

Laurie, three divisions of Territorials (the 1st Wessex, 2nd Wessex and 1st Home Counties - later, respectively, the 43rd, 45th and 44th Divisions) went to India in 1914, to replace regular units brought back to Europe.

It would be worth trying to find Medal Index cards for the two men (they will have been eligible for a War medal and a Victory Medal, and possibly the Territorial War Medal); that will identify a unit.

Oddly, though, their local regiment (the Gloucestershire regiment, assuming they lived in Gloucestershire at the time) did not send its territorial battalions to India as they were in a different division (the South Midland - later 48th - Division). Anyway, track down the MiC for them and we can take it from there.

[Guest Parsons533]

Thanks for the steer so far. As there are a number of Ernest W and Frederick S references, I tried to link them in the belief that they may have joined up together and therefore may have been in the same unit. I have found both under A.S.C. (Army Service Corp) with a reference against their respective medals as being "RASC" which would seem to imply service up to 1918 as I have read elsewhere on this page that the "Royal" was added in that year. Both received Victory and Britsh medals (refs. RASC/101 ~ B130 Page 13189 and B267 Page 21326). I have also ascertained from the medal records :-

Ernest William Parsons (b. 1893) ~ Corporal ~ M2/187056

Frederick Sidney Parsons (b. 1889) ~ Private ~ M/298428

The service records held by Ancestry.Com do not shed any further light on their service.

Would separately identifiable units of the ASC have servied in India ?