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Remembered Today:

Unknown Sgt. Major (recorded), Royal Horse Guards


laughton

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I did read this topic only today and am still not sure that I understand all the differences in rank mentioned in the previous posts.

 

There were several soldiers attached to the Royal Horse Guards, the table below is for May 13th 1915:

AUSTIN G W 13/05/1915 Private 20th Hussars NEW IRISH FARM CEMETERY
HEARN W W 13/05/1915 Private 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
SHAW S 13/05/1915 Lance Corporal 14th (King's) Hussars YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
TUCKNOTT W 13/05/1915 Private 20th Hussars

BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY

 

Under what rank would Lance Corporal S. Shaw have served in the Royal Horse Guards?

I could have misinterpreted the entire rank discussion but think that he should be considered.

 

The other 2 with a known grave were found in the same area:  TUCKNOTT was found at 28.I.12 and AUSTIN at 28.I.5

 

Luc.

 

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15 minutes ago, LDT006 said:

I did read this topic only today and am still not sure that I understand all the differences in rank mentioned in the previous posts.

 

There were several soldiers attached to the Royal Horse Guards, the table below is for May 13th 1915:

AUSTIN G W 13/05/1915 Private 20th Hussars NEW IRISH FARM CEMETERY
HEARN W W 13/05/1915 Private 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
SHAW S 13/05/1915 Lance Corporal 14th (King's) Hussars YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
TUCKNOTT W 13/05/1915 Private 20th Hussars

BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY

 

Under what rank would Lance Corporal S. Shaw have served in the Royal Horse Guards?

I could have misinterpreted the entire rank discussion but think that he should be considered.

 

The other 2 with a known grave were found in the same area:  TUCKNOTT was found at 28.I.12 and AUSTIN at 28.I.5

 

Luc.

 

 

As I understand it a lance corporal was still a lance corporal - the difference in terminology came in at the higher ranks, from lance corporal of horse (corporal) and above.

Craig

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On 4/27/2018 at 06:43, laughton said:

The additional information for the remains in 33.F.25 and 32.C.24 at New Irish Farm Cemetery relates to a code, for which I have no knowledge (Ru/48135 and Ru/4254BL). That differs from the others that have the "EF/X" code, which we know to be "Effects". The spoon in 33.F.19 was considered an "effect" but not n 33.F.25.

 

On checking a number of those, I found a new set of COG-BR documents. I will need to retrieve those and come back to this as many have the "Ru" code.

 

Until I went back to Justin's web after his posting on the "HONOURS" for the Long Service Medal, I had not noticed the reference to the "Ru" files. He has this in his Glossary here:

 

https://warrecordsrevealed.com/graves-registration-commission-directorate-of-graves-registration-enquiries-i-w-g-c-record-glossary/#unique-identifier31

 

It probably did not catch my eye at the time as I this is my first association with the "Ru" series. I suspect there is a vast amount of other important information in Justin's work!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I received a reply from the CWGC on the meaning of the "Ru" files:

 

Quote

From: CWGC Enquiry Support Team 
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2018 3:32 AM
To: rlaughton
Subject: Re: Glossary Terminology: "R.U."

 

Dear Richard,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

We honestly don't know what it stands for.

 

It could be registration unit, it could be initials of an individual or it could just be a sequence of files as there are also XY's, AA's etc. but everything we come up with is just speculation.

 

Regards

 

Martin

 

--------------- Original Message ---------------

From: Richard Laughton 

Sent: 16/05/2018 20:48

To: enquiries@cwgc.org

Subject: Re: Glossary Terminology: "R.U."

 

Thanks Martin, but my question was "what dies RU stand for (mean)" .

 

Richard

 

Sent from my BlackBerry - the most secure mobile device - via the Rogers Network

 

  Original Message  

From: enquiries

Sent: May 16, 2018 02:00

To: rlaughton@cefresearch.ca

Subject: RE: Glossary Terminology: "R.U."

 

Dear Mr Laughton,

 

Thank you for your email below.

 

The file RU/41543 written next to Corporal Waite on several of his documents is a directorate of graves registration and enquiries file.

 

Unfortunately, this file no longer exists so I am therefore unable to provide you with any information it may have contained.

 

Kind Regards

 

Martin Skelly

CWGC Records Department

 

--------------- Original Message ---------------

From: Richard Laughton 

Sent: 29/04/2018 12:04

To: enquiries

Subject: Glossary Terminology: "R.U."

 

Dear CWGC:

 

This is a question related to a Glossary Term and not to a specific soldier

of the Great War, however we present the page of Corporal Waite of the Royal

Horse Guards as an example:

 

https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/453220/waite,-/

 

On both the GRRF and COG-BR there is a note that says:

 

RU/41543

 

That is under the columns that says "Cross Erected or G.R.U.'d" so that

raises the question as to whether the "RU" stands for a "Registration Unit"

note or report. The term is not in the CWGC Glossary.

 

We assume that these reports went the way of the EF/X documents during WWII.

 

Thank you for any clarification that you can provide.

 

Best Regards,

 

Richard

 

 

 

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Hi Richard

 

After going through hundreds of surviving E-files (Enquiry Files) at the C.W.G.C. and many surviving WW1 related Commission policy files (access via Andrew Fetherston and his staff in the C.W.G.C. Archive) , as well as many documents in the Casualty Archive plus elsewhere, the answer is that RU files were connected to the I.W.G.C. Director of Records and subordinate Registrar's department within the I.W.G.C. (not the Grave Registration Units or D.G.R. & E.). They were it seems often used by staff from the Registrar's Branch to make enquiries/investigations about individual cases. The RU file prefix is entirely different to the Enquiry Branch (another branch within D.G.R. & E. and then I.W.G.C. which dealt largely but not exclusively with the next-of-kin) File prefixes, e.g. AA, CCM (directly related to the Army Record Offices, see my Glossary) a small selection of which still survive. The E-Files I looked at often include samples of correspondence from this and other file series, X/Y, 3/, S.S.P., MMR, Ef/x etc. There is a lot more about all of this (including source references) in my Glossary as you know:

 

https://warrecordsrevealed.com/graves-registration-commission-directorate-of-graves-registration-enquiries-i-w-g-c-record-glossary/

 

Aside from some fragments of correspondence and many references in the Casualty Archive documents, RU file references do not survive in the same abundance as the Enquiry File prefixes, which feature throughout the I.W.G.C. Index of all the Commonwealth buried and missing of WW1 (AA, CCM. CDEW etc, together with the earlier Enquiry file references 8/17/20/21/22/23 and S.S.P. burial files).

 

We know which parts of I.W.G.C. used the RU prefix and for what purpose, but unlike the Enquiry File prefixes where it was easy to establish the wording of the file prefixes through the surviving E-Files and Casualty Archive, RU is just connected to the Records/Registrar's Branch. The clue lies in the users but unlike the Enquiry file prefixes where a definitive letter by letter rendering of the prefixes was easy I think we have got about as far as we are going to get with this prefix, other than just turning up more surviving RU correspondence from the Registrar's Branch.

 

Best

 

 

Justin

 

 

Edited by Justinth
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