SWMDgen Posted 17 March , 2019 Share Posted 17 March , 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Atkins Posted 17 March , 2019 Share Posted 17 March , 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandererpaul Posted 17 March , 2019 Share Posted 17 March , 2019 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWMDgen Posted 18 March , 2019 Author Share Posted 18 March , 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandererpaul Posted 18 March , 2019 Share Posted 18 March , 2019 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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