Clarification of duties of soldier with G/ GS/ prefix

[SWMDgen]

Greetings all

I've been ferreting away with 6 rag tag tatters of burnt documents fm a pension file, the only remaining docs, apart fm the medal card, for a 12th Royal Fusiliers man who was discharged 21 Oct 1915...after the Bns first engagement. 

I'm perplexed by the prefix to his SN. G/ 5384 12th Royal Fusiliers then GS/5384 14th Royal Fusiliers.  I've not come across this prefix before though I understand its to indicate General Service...BUT does this mean he was an Officers servant or clerk, I can't imagine he'd have been a specialist of any kind, he'd worked for a photographer before he joined up.  The thing is.... the timeline is so short...he returned Home on 9 Oct was transferred to 14th RFand was then discharged on 21/10.  He was of good conduct. He was awarded a 5/- pension for 6ms on Jun 1916. 

All this suggests a quickly healing condition BUT one that made him unsuitable for further service....even general service...so I'm wondering what kind of tasks that might have involved.

  Any clarification appreciated.  Cheers

MHS

[Pat Atkins]

I'm no expert, but I believe the G and GS prefixes in this context were used to identify men who enlisted in WW1, to differentiate them from e.g. pre-war Regulars (who would have had an L prefix in the Royal Fusiliers). I don't think it indicates a role or duties as such; rather, the type of enlistment - I'm guessing here, but 'duration of hostilities', or whatever, rather than Regular Army hitch of e.g. 7 years with the colours and 5 as a Reservist. 12th RF was a Service battalion raised during the war, as was 14th RF before it became a reserve and then a training reserve battalion.

 

Pretty sure an expert will be along soon, though.

 

Cheers, Pat

[wandererpaul]

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/a-soldiers-life-1914-1918/letter-prefixes-to-british-soldiers-numbers-in-the-first-world-war/

 

They were just general service prefix letters. Nothing specific to the man.

[SWMDgen]

Greetings and thank you both for your comments. 

I had seen the LLT notes wanderpaul thats how I learnt about the general service... its such a useful site but I wondered if there was more to it

Thanks for your additional comments Pat, my cousin was a Kitchener recruit so I understood things were rather different for them.  He had a rough month or so in France and was discharged with  disability very fast... it just surprised me the speed of it ll so I was looking more broadly for  reason in the absence of any real documentation. I'm thinking now that such short hospitalisation and discharge probably meant a hand or foot injury that 'healed' relatively quickly but with permenant stiffness/loss of function...maybe more Hospital records will be unearthed at some stage.

All the best with your ongoing research, Cheers

MHS

[wandererpaul]

FMP has more info.

 

Police Gazette re deserters and absentees.

 

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM/POLICEGAZETTE/009143

 

plus some service papers

 

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM/WO363-4/7283487/56/658