What does R.T.A. mean

[rokerman]

Three days after being found guilty at an Australian Field General Court Martial  in Egypt in 1919,  his record states "embarked for R.T.A. as a Prisoner".

The ship he embarked on took him back to Australia, so I guess the T.A. could be "Territory Australia"?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated    

[Terry_Reeves]

Rokerman

 

According to this it stands for Return to Australia which makes sense:

 

http://www.guildfordanzacs.org.au/military-abbreviations-used-ww1-reference-sources

 

TR

[rokerman]

Quote

Many thanks, its obvious once you say it, but I could not see it

 

[rokerman]

I have yet another abbreviation, I checked the list you kindly linked for me, and its not on there

it is "Discharged M.U."

 

[Interested]

Only a guess, but...

Medically Unfit?

[rokerman]

Thank you, it could indeed be Medically Unfit.

If it is, then its a puzzle as on his discharge papers it states he was discharged as "services no longer required."

[rksimpson]

Hi

 

I would say he was discharged as his services were no longer required, because he was medically unfit.

regards

 

Robert

[Heid the Ba]

Medically unfit for front line service, no longer required for labour duties etc?

[Guest]

Mate,

 

As shown in Aussie records men are shown by that after FGCM like;

 

ANDREWS    Albert    64152    Pte    5 GSR Vic    tos 4 LH MGS 12-18 FGCM 23-7-19 stealing sentenced 3 months HL RTA as prisoner
 

ATHORN    Bert    1801    Pte    7 LHR    12R Tos 12-15 FGCM 7-12-16 drunk sentenced 2 years HL suspended 7-3-17 rtn 3-17 FGCM 23-6-17 drunk & AWoL sentenced 18 months HL + suspenced sentence RTA as prisoner disch SNLR
 

BRIERS    Albert Oscar    703    Pte    04 LHR    2R tos C Sqn 3-15 (G) to Dvr 35Co AASC 8-17 FGCM 20-12-18 stealing 2 horses at Medjdelaya sentenced 1 year HL RTA as prisoner disch SNLR
 

And I could go on as there are a few.

 

This happened because as the AIF withdrawal from Egypt they didn't want to leave these men in British Prisons or at lest under British control, so they were returned home and there crimes in most cases ended there on arrival and they were discharged, most SNLR (Service no longer Required) .or what is known now days as a dishonorable discharge.

 

Cheers

S.B

 

 

Edited 26 December , 2019 by stevebecker

[MKC]

I agree with Steve - SNLR is invariably used when there is some sort of mischief/ disciplinary action in the record. 

 

For next-to-useless incompetent officers, the term was often 'cannot be absorbed', and hence, RTA for termination of appointment (officers were not 'discharged' but had their appointment terminated). 

 

RTA is Return (or Returned) to Australia and 

MU is Medically Unfit

HL - Hard Labour

FGCM: Field General Court Martial

 

Some other common ones:

VD - an obvious one, plus its two sub-sets, VDG or VDS. 

But not to be confused with VDH - Valvular disease of the Heart.

 

Mike

Edited 26 December , 2019 by MKC