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Remembered Today:

BMGO abbreviation, meaning of?


Errol Martyn

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A New Zealand Equipment Officer is posted to France to HQ 2nd Brigade and attached to HQ 11th Wing 'as acting BMGO' on 1 Nov 1917. He was a Gunnery Officer so that presumably explains the GO, but what might BM stand for?

 

TIA,

Errol

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12 hours ago, DavidOwen said:

I shall take a guess "Brigade Machine Gun Officer"?

 

Probably not correct but maybe someone who knows will be along to put us right.

 

 Thanks David. A possibility.

Cheers,

Errol

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4 hours ago, travers61 said:

BM = Brigade Major

 

Either a Captain or Major in rank. This would also explain him being posted or attached to a headquarters.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_major

 

Thanks Travers61. He was only a Lieutenant and Equipment Officer 2nd Class at the time. He did not make Captain until Oct 1918. Perhaps he could have been made an Acting Captain in Nov 1917 (though there is nothing to indicate this on his AIR76 or NZEF service records, or in the London Gazette)? He never attained the rank of Major.

 

Cheers,

Errol

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I thought it might be "Bombing officer", but Googling BMGO (not an easy one as you get a lot of results for Bingo) in conjunction with "Lieut" brings up a number of WW1 references to Battalion Machine Gun Officers so FWIW I think David in Post #2 may be right.

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From The Long Long Trail of all places:-

Machine Gun Section

The section consisted of a Lieutenant (acting as Battalion Machine Gun Officer), a Sergeant, a Corporal, 2 drivers, a batman and 12 Privates trained in the maintenance, transport, loading and firing of the Vickers heavy machine gun. These men made up two six-man gun teams.

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11 hours ago, pierssc said:

I thought it might be "Bombing officer", but Googling BMGO (not an easy one as you get a lot of results for Bingo) in conjunction with "Lieut" brings up a number of WW1 references to Battalion Machine Gun Officers so FWIW I think David in Post #2 may be right.

Thanks Pierssc.

Cheers,

Errol

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10 hours ago, davidbohl said:

From The Long Long Trail of all places:-

Machine Gun Section

The section consisted of a Lieutenant (acting as Battalion Machine Gun Officer), a Sergeant, a Corporal, 2 drivers, a batman and 12 Privates trained in the maintenance, transport, loading and firing of the Vickers heavy machine gun. These men made up two six-man gun teams.

David,

My man was with the RFC on secondment from the NZEF at the time. No Battalions in the RFC but as the BMGO entry is on his NZEF file and not mentioned in his AIR76, it may be that BMGO was a misnomer inadvertently written into the record by an uninformed NZEF clerk?

Cheers,

Errol

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Thanks Alf.

Cheers,

Errol

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