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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Tank Corps records


aramsay

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Hello.

 

I wonder if anyone might have, or know where I can find records for which Tank Corps unit the following chap was with ?

 

311863 Pte. David Kinnear Anderson, previously Lab.Corps & Seaforth.

 

From what I can work out, it woud appear to be quite a late-war serial number.....

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I'm afraid I've drawn a blank. There's no indication of his battalion in the medal records, and I can't find a service record or Tank Corps Enlistment Record. I couldn't even find a pension card though that probably won't shed any light either. The only thing I will say is that it was unusual to go from Labour Corps to Tank Corps - as you know the Labour Corps was normally where you ended up if you were no longer fully fit, and it seems strange that he transferred from there to the tanks.

 

As you say it looks to be a late transfer and a service number expert may be able to tell you more.

 

John 

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The Long, Long Trail (under Army Service Corps Infantry Labour Companies) records:

 

26 Company

23 Feb 1917 : formed under 2 Labour Group HQ at Calais from men who had been serving with Seaforth Highlanders and bantam infantry battalions in 35th Division
2 Mar 1917: Sections E1, 2 and 3 became 9 ASC Labour Company
16 Mar 1917: Section B joined 1 Labour Group from Audruicq
27 Apr 1917: Sections A and C joined 1 Labour Group
14 May 1917: re-designated as 192 Company of the Labour Corps
13 Jul 1917: moved to Second Army area at Proven

 

The above seems to point that your man would have been one of the men transferred over at this time.

 

As John has said, it is unusual for men to move from the Labour Corps into a front line corps but if you look at the medal rolls for the man below Anderson, he also transferred from the Labour Corps to the Tank Corps. Very odd??

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I came across this entry on this site:

 

https://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-tank-corps-enlistments-1916-1919.html

 

311000 to 311999
311532 John Allan, joined on 29/08/1918; formerly 251075 RFA
Howard Williamson notes men with numbers in this range are transfers-in from miscellaneous units based at home.

 

Food for thought: Your man may have been based at the tank depot in Dorset after his transfer to the Tank Corps.

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