18poppy75 Posted 3 May , 2015 Share Posted 3 May , 2015 Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help! My great grandfather was called up at the outbreak of war, and fought with the 2nd Highland Light Infantry. His records show that he was then transferred to the 3rd HLI (I think!) and then to the Army Cyclist Corps in April 1915. Can anyone tell me what this (transfer to the ACC) would have meant for him? Would he have been removed from his battalion and put elsewhere, or would he have stayed with the same men, but on 'ACC duties'? Also, does anyone know why he might have been selected for transfer? There are other details on his 'Statement of Services' which might be useful, but I am no expert and I don't know what they actually mean (abbreviations, combined with the handwriting!). I have attached the section in question! Thank you very much in advance for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 3 May , 2015 Share Posted 3 May , 2015 Hello 18poppy75, and welcome to the Forum! He was firstly posted to 2/HLI and then to 3/HLI which was the Special Reserve battalion based at home. This may be because he was wounded or otherwise unfit, or perhaps because he was still under 19 years old. Divisional Cyclist Companies were formed in late 1914, mainly from infantry units, and your GGF was posted firstly to 27th Div Cyclist Co and then to 8th Div Cyclist Co. Both of these divisions were formed late in 1914 from units brought home from overseas garrisons including India. In 1915 the Army Cyclist Corps was formed, and men in cyclist companies were transferred into it from their original regiments. In May 1916 Div Cyclist Cos were consolidated into Corps Cyclist Battalions. Your GGF thus joined III Corps Cyclist Bn, with which he seems to have remained, rising to the rank of Corporal. He was then posted to the ACC Depot, possibly as a result of being wounded but more likely as an instructor, before being attached to 2/Berks Yeomanry, a second-line Territorial unit. Most 2nd-line yeomanry units exchanged their horses for bicycles in due course, and were employed on home defence duties, many of them in Ireland after the1916 Easter Rising. His original term of enlistment (twelve years with the Colours and in the Reserve) seems to have expired during the war and he was retained in the Army under the Military Service Acts which introduced conscription. It appears that in August 1914 he had completed his full-time Colour service and was then in the Reserve, being recalled on the outbreak of war. An interesting example of a fairly complete service record, although the dates of posting are not shown in your scan! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18poppy75 Posted 3 May , 2015 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2015 Ahhh, thank you so much for all of that information! I think he was wounded in September 1914, because he seems to have been sent home- would that be why he then went in the the 3rd HLI? I have attached a second scan, showing his 'home' and 'away' dates. This is all so interesting, though it's taking me a while to get my head round it all! Eleanor I lied- here is the attachment, haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 I think he may have been sent home because of sickness, since there is no entry opposite "6. Wounded". At any rate, he was able to return to France after eight months and to serve there for most of the War. He was likely to have been wounded (or fell sick again) in April 1918. Incidentally, he should have qualified for three medals: the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18poppy75 Posted 4 May , 2015 Author Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Yes, we have his medals thankfully! Would you say the movements of 'Cyclist Corps' men are more difficult to trace? I assume that as a cyclist, he would have been serving the whole III Corps rather than, say, a single battalion within it? Eleanor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Yes, the nature of ACC units makes it difficult to say which lower formations or units they were serving with at any particular time. It is also likely that Corps Cyclist Battalions might be split among the divisions of the Corps for particular operations. They might even be attached temporarily to brigades within the divisions, but I think it is unlikely that they would be split down to battalion level. Their main function was reconnaissance, alongside the Corps Cavalry Regiments. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18poppy75 Posted 4 May , 2015 Author Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Wow, thank you, that's so good to know I have a photograph of my GGF, with crossed rifles above his wound stripe. I've read a few things about the rifles but not sure which is correct! As far as I can see, there is no crown, or wreath, just the rifles. Do you know exactly what they mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 5 May , 2015 Share Posted 5 May , 2015 Hello Eleanor Having consulted another of the Forum members (GRUMPY) who is an expert on all matters concerned with badges, I can confirm that the crossed rifles badge indicates a marksman - the highest classification of individual skill at musketry. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18poppy75 Posted 5 May , 2015 Author Share Posted 5 May , 2015 Thank you so much for all of your help Eleanor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantwo Posted 7 May , 2015 Share Posted 7 May , 2015 Eleanor Please excuse my piggy-backing a question for Ron from your post. Ron I noticed in post #1 what looks like the term 'Bounty allowed under army order 209 of 1916' within the image and what looks like a sum of £20.0.0. Do you know what this was for? Can you advise? Thanks in advance. Regards Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 7 May , 2015 Share Posted 7 May , 2015 Hello Alan It was a payment in consideration of him agreeing to extend his service. I don't know whether he would have been likely to be retained compulsorily under conscription, but the most likely reason for the payment seems to be that he was already a trained soldier, and presumably with a full set of kit, so the Army was saving money as against a completely fresh recruit, and passed some of that benefit to him. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
18poppy75 Posted 7 May , 2015 Author Share Posted 7 May , 2015 Alan- piggy-backing excused! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantwo Posted 8 May , 2015 Share Posted 8 May , 2015 Ron and Eleanor Many thanks both. I don't think it is something I have seen before. Regards Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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