O Cdt training and commissioning

[MaxD]

I have a 19 (2nd PS) Battalion RF man going to France in November 1915 with the battalion.  It looks as if* he was among the first men in mid March 1916 to go to No 6 Officer Cadet Battalion at Balliol College.

 

His commissioning as a Temporary 2nd Lt is dated 25 April 1916.  Given that officer cadet training was, as I understand it, some 4 months or so long  how come he was commissioned (into the MMG Corps) apparently before the training ended?  Did they have the age thing that existed (may still do) whereby older cadets were commissioned before they passed out?

 

*I haven't seen his service record which is at Kew.

 

Max

[daggers]

He may have had earlier training in a school OTC, giving him a slight edge.

D

[Colin W Taylor]

Max,

 

From my spreadsheet records you are likely looking at either Aitken, Arnold, Diamond, Keevil,  Wright or Living/Liveing.  I cannot find Kew files for Arnold and Living so unlikely them. All were amongst the first tranches of UPS men going back for commissions and were commissioned into the MMGC and later ended up in the Tank Corps.  I would agree with daggers that a certain certificate from an OTC would largely qualify a man as having accomplished a large proportion of the OCB syllabus, albeit largely out of date in many areas.  Likewise, these men were, by dint of being in the earlier tranches, the most eligible for commissions and might be thought of as requiring less need for officer training. The MMGC was a relatively new arm and was expanding; it may not have required officer candidates to have received a full OCB syllabus to accept them.  The OCB syllabus was more aimed at future infantry officers than those of more specialist arms.

 

If you're interested in Diamond I have his file from Kew.  If not his movements may mirror your own man; he joined No 4 OCB on arrival and served with them for a month before being gazetted (PSA); there is no evidence he completed the course.  OCB reports don't seem to find their way into officer files until later in the war (or they were weeded from earlier records).  

 

Having examined the return dates to the UK and WO339 record numbers you can relate certain sequences in the latter to specific OCBs; I would estimate that the majority in the list above attended No 4 OCB along with Diamond (without numbers for Arnold and Living I cannot estimate for them).

 

Let me know if any further information from Drummond's file is of any interest.

 

Regards

 

Colin

[MaxD]

Colin

 

Absolutely first class, thank you indeed.

 

The man was Diamond.  He was an Old Alleynian and from the dates and your explanation was almost certainly a member of he OTC at Dulwich.

 

I am middle man here, initially "translating" Diamond's medal records and cross referring his LG entries, War Diary and so on for someone else.  He will be delighted I am sure to know that you would be happy to share Diamond's record.

 

I'll be in touch but meanwhile on his behalf, many thanks indeed agai, both for the general info about OC training and for the specific about Diamond.

 

Max

[MaxD]

Daggers

 

Apologies, belated thanks too for your on the money post.

 

MaxD

[MaxD]

Colin

 

The interested party has asked me to ask what your fee would be for sight of the whole or salient parts of the file?  He had already requested a page count from Kew (not received yet) before your kind message appeared.

 

Max

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colin W Taylor]

Max,

 

If you can either PM me your email address or that of the interested party I'll send a copy by 'Wetransfer'. No charge from my point of view but if the interested party finds the pages of use a small donation to the forum or a forces charity would be entirely at their discretion.  

 

Kind regards

 

Colin 

 

 

[MaxD]

A gentlemanly act, thank you.  Message on the way.

 

Max

[Charles Fair]

Oddly enough I have been researching the OCBs and have been looking at the transfers from the UPS to the OCBs.  The UPS men formed part of the initial intake for Nos. 1 - 11 OCBs.

 

Diamond (as well as the others) were with No. 4 OCB and arrived there on 24 March 1916.  I found a roll of the UPS men in the No. 4 OCB records in Keble college. Unfortunately I cant post the image here because of the copyright declaration I signed with Keble.

 

Charles

[MaxD]

Thank you for that Charles.  Thanks to Colin I now have Diamond's record which does indeed show him going to 4 OCB leaving France on 20 March 1916 and leaving on commissioning on 25 April 1916.  He was 33 years of age when he joined up on September 1914.

 

Max

[Charles Fair]

He was with C Company, Keble College.  The C company records are held in the Bodleian and include Diamond's registration form which he completed on arrival at No 4.

[MaxD]

Thank you for the additional snippet.

 

Maxc