WHAT BRITISH ARMY REGIMENTS / UNITS WERE LOCATED IN ATHLONE, WESTMEATH; DURING 1917 TO 1923

[Christopher Nixon]

Steven Broomfield. "Royal Army Signal Corps' is not a thing. There is Army Service Corps, which became the Royal Army Service Corps in 1919, or the Royal Corps of Signals. However, the latter wasn't created until 1922; prior to that, signals was the preserve of the Signal Section of the Royal Engineers. Are you basing your regimental title on the initials 'RASC'?"

 

Many thanks for your posting of 8th March; and apologies for not replying sooner.

Yes, you are correct. Thankyou for pointing the above out to me. 

Chris Nixon 

[Christopher Nixon]

Just as one problem is resolved, up pops another one.

We are now bemused by the date of birth on the Home Guard application form!!

He has given his DoB as 23rd January 1895.

So it's back to the grindstone again.

Once again, many thanks for the all your input over the past months.

Kindest regards to all,

Chris Nixon.

[Pat Atkins]

Hullo Chris - that kind of minor accidental error in the records can be very frustrating, can't it? 18th Division was a Kitchener division raised at the beginning of the war. There will be information on it in the Long Long Trail, but I think it went to France in 1915. Your father's pre-war service in the North Staffs could equally plausibly have led to later war service in the ASC or the Signal Service (my grandfather served 1906-1913 in the 2nd South Lancs, then transferred into the RE Signals Service when it expanded; he stayed in the same Division though, joining 5th Signals Company).

 

So we're no further along, really.  Do keep the thread updated if you discover anything though, please, I'd be interested to know.

 

Pat

[Christopher Nixon]

Pat Atkins.

I will keep you updated should my son and I find anything. The only reason we were searching in the RFA and ASC was a chat my Daughter had with my mum.

"He used to regularly call to drop off some "excess rations" at my mums home in College Lane, Athlone". Hence the idea of  the RFA and ASC queries.

So it was quite a bombshell to receive the Home Guard Information, and then to read a different DoB on the form. But having no Service Number and Regiment

to follow we had to go down a very long route to a dead stop and re-examine everything we had.  

Kindest regards, Chris Nixon.

[FROGSMILE]

On 09/09/2020 at 19:32, Christopher Nixon said:

Pat Atkins.

Thankyou for your posting of the 8th March; and apologies for the very late reply.

Reading my fathers entries on his Home Guard form he / or someone filling the form in, has written "Royal Army Signal Corps, 18th Division 1914-1919".

 chris Nixon

 

Steven and Pat have put you back on the straight and narrow I think.  It seems very likely that your forebear was in the Army Service Corps from 1914, which was given the appellation Royal in 1918, thus making its initials RASC.  It’s quite easy to see how a clerk many years later has misinterpreted that as connected with the Royal Corps of Signals formed in 1922.  Service in the Army Service Corps would chime completely with the family stories of him bringing rations to the home place, as the transportation of rations was one of the key roles of the ASC.

 

Edited 9 October , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Christopher Nixon]

  After contacting "The Staffordshire Regiment Museum" they supplied us with the attached information in regard to a search for any information

regarding my fathers service during the period 1911 - 1913. 

                                    The Staffordshire Regiment Museum

                                    Defence Medical Services

                                    Whittington

                                    Lichfield

                                    Staffordshire

                                    WS14 9PY       

                                   

                               

 

Tel 01543 434395       (Thursdays)                

research@staffordshireregimentmuseum.com

 

Dear Gerarde.

 

Thank you for your enquiry and donation to the museum.

 

RE: John Nixon. North Staffordshire Regiment.

 

We have been through archival sources for any traces of a “John Nixon”, “Joseph Nixon” or “J Nixon” who served in the North Staffordshire Regiment from 1911-13. The following resources were checked.

 

The North Staffordshire Regiment journal titled the China Dragon. Years 1911-14 were checked but no result for a Nixon could be found. The China Dragon normally lists men of the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions and sometimes the Reservists/Territorials who were involved in events, sports and news. The photo index produced no definitive results which would match with the dates you have for John/Joseph.

 

All archive boxes containing information on the North Staffordshire Regiment were checked. These included the files for the 1^st & 2^nd Regular Battalions, 3^rd & 4^th Reserve Battalions as well the 5^th & 6^th Territorial Battalions. Only the 6^th Battalion has substantial paperwork. Unfortunately, a “J Nixon” was not listed.

 

With John only being 16 years old in 1911, it is possible that he enlisted with a Reserve Battalion or a Territorial Battalion as a form of part-time soldiering. As he was from the Stoke area, he may have enlisted with the 5^th Battalion. Unfortunately, we have found no concrete evidence to support this.

 

It is not often, we are unable to find any records/traces of soldiers. Unfortunately, on this occasion, we have been unsuccessful. If you have any further questions, we would be happy to help.

 

Kind Regards, Vic Wiles & Matt Naughton.

 

Research Team Volunteers. The Staffordshire Regiment Museum.