"attested on AF"

[loujn]

sorry to bother you all again!

 

What does the term "attested on A.F" mean please?

It is for a man who was conscripted in June 1916.  The note appears at the top of his Casualty Form B103

 

Thank you  

[ss002d6252]

'AF' is usually used as an abbreviation for 'Army Form' - can you post just the relevant part of the document in question so that we can see the context ?

Craig

[loujn]

59 minutes ago, ss002d6252 said:

'AF' is usually used as an abbreviation for 'Army Form' - can you post just the relevant part of the document in question so that we can see the context ?

Craig

Ah, i think you've just answered my question then! 

 

He was originally reg number 6023 but then changed to 202916..... so the Attested on AF makes sense now.... on his original army form he was 6023

 

Can I also ask?  how do you know when the battalion is 1/  2/  etc?

 

So for instance this chap was with the 7th Reserve West Yorks Regiment - which I cant seem to find... so would he be the 1/7th?  

 

He moved later to the 1/5th.

 

Is there any rule of thumb with these battalion numbers, because I've wondered before if i am following the correct battalion!

 

Thank you again for your help, much appreciated.  (I would hate to write wrong info on the soldiers stories, plus this chap is also one of our men who the local senior school are following as they are visiting the memorials in Belgium later this year, so I need to be correct with my facts lol)

[ss002d6252]

Quote

Can I also ask?  how do you know when the battalion is 1/  2/  etc?

In some case it can be difficult.

In general terms the term 'reserve' was used originally for territorial 2nd line battalion (terminology was changed several times early in the war) but it was also later used for other purposes. Sometimes the earlier terminology hung for a while in usage which can confuse things, but 1916 would be stretching it a bit.

The 3/7th was rebranded as a reserve battalion in April 1916 so I'd suspect that, based on the timing of his enlistment, this was the battalion to which it refers. It would be interesting to see if the posting of

Craig

[loujn]

14 hours ago, ss002d6252 said:

In some case it can be difficult.

In general terms the term 'reserve' was used originally for territorial 2nd line battalion (terminology was changed several times early in the war) but it was also later used for other purposes. Sometimes the earlier terminology hung for a while in usage which can confuse things, but 1916 would be stretching it a bit.

The 3/7th was rebranded as a reserve battalion in April 1916 so I'd suspect that, based on the timing of his enlistment, this was the battalion to which it refers. It would be interesting to see if the posting of

Craig

Thanks Craig.  I am learning but very slowly! lol  

 

Thank you for your help and insight!

[loujn]

15 hours ago, ss002d6252 said:

The 3/7th was rebranded as a reserve battalion in April 1916 so I'd suspect that,

Ah yes you are correct...

William joined the 1/5th at Christmas 1916 the war dairy tells that they received 68 other ranks from the 3/7th and 3/8th (copy attached from the diary WO 2794/1)

 

 

Edited 27 March , 2018 by loujn
edited as wrong number of other ranks written