2/15 LONDONS (CIVIL SERVICE RIFLES)- GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA 1918

[Guest]

 Pray forgive me for raising this little conundrum-  I am away from access to the official history of the Civil Service Rifles and the modern book "All Bloody Gentlemen"

     A local casualty, Corporal William Thomas Webb, KIA 29 September 1918 in France has 4 theatres on his medal roll, below.   France and Macedonia are all OK with me  but the code 4B is South West Africa.

 

 

     (With thanks to Ancestry and The National Archives-for scholarly "fair use" only)

There are several other men on the same page of the Medal Roll with 4B service- all in June and July 1918.  Would any colleague have any idea what this was about and any pointers to sources other than the 2 CSR books above?

 (Service in 4B is not mentioned for 2/15 London on Long Long Trail.)   The War Diary has the battalion en route to the Western Front from Macedonia, via Kantara, Alexandria and thence to Taranto. I suppose it is possibly an error for 2B- to include Aegean Islands- but I have not encountered such a repeat error in the usually reliable typed-up medal rolls before.

 

I am perplexed.

 

Edited 15 February , 2021 by Guest

[SteveE]

Theatre Code 4b was only German South West Africa for disembarkations up to the end of 1915 as per the 1914/1915 Star.

 

After that date that theatre code became disembarkations in Egypt from 18/19 March 1916 and German South West Africa became theatre code 5b.

 

Steve

Edited 15 February , 2021 by SteveE

[PRC]

Just what I was about to type - see https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldiers/how-to-research-a-soldier/campaign-medal-records/how-to-interpret-a-campaign-medal-index-card/medal-roll-theatre-codes/

 

Cheers,

Peter

[Guest]

Steve and Peter- thank you both.  I was perplexed- (still am), I was unaware that medal rolls contained embarkation codes  as well as theatre codes.  How bizarre to mix them.  

 

Steve- Don't worry-I still have a 25 RF man with Africa to do- As Arnie says "I will be back"

 

Phew- what a relief-thought I had missed a whole campaign in Africa!!

[SteveE]

I was unaware that medal rolls contained embarkation codes  as well as theatre codes.  How bizarre to mix them.  

Steve- Don't worry-I still have a 25 RF man with Africa to do- As Arnie says "I will be back"

 

The disembarkation code/theatre of war code is essentially the same thing and covered all requirements.  My primary interest is in East Africa so I was already aware of the code change for the African theatres, East Africa went from 4a (on 1914/15 Star roll) to 5a (on BWM/Victory Medal roll) so I knew GSWA was similarly affected.

 

If you want to let me have the name of the 25RF man I can have a dig around to see if I have anything on him?

 

Regards

 

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Steve- Thanks again for keeping my brain from confusion.

   My one local 25 RF man is Harry George King King- MR below.  Nothing out of the ordinary on him.  Hope I have the code right this time!!

 

 

    I have 2  other local casualties for East Africa-  One is Henry Tarbutt, Lieutenant, Northern Rhodesia Police- quite a good piece about his end online in a back issue of Rhodesiana Journal. The other is an ambulance driver who died of fever at Dar-es-Salaam.   I mention this as there was a small diary published in "Cockney Ancestor" not so long ago of another MT man in East Africa- If you would like it, I will get it scanned and zapped when the libraries re-open