Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Share Posted 4 August , 2021 I've found a war record for an ancestor who served in the Royal Irish Rifles and Royal Flying Corps in 1915.I'm stumped on the section stated:"Theatre of war first served in M. Er. F.".Date of entry is given as 24th July 1915.Does anyone know what theatre M. Er. F. stands for? Closest I could find was M.E.F. = Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, so it can't be that. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 4 August , 2021 Admin Share Posted 4 August , 2021 Welcome to the forum. I think it is Mediterranean Expiditionary Force, E written rather strangely. Can you post the whole card please? Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2021 10 minutes ago, Michelle Young said: Welcome to the forum. I think it is Mediterranean Expiditionary Force, E written rather strangely. Can you post the whole card please? Michelle Here's the whole card attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 4 August , 2021 Admin Share Posted 4 August , 2021 Think he could be 6th RIR who arrived in Mudros 26/7/15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 4 August , 2021 Share Posted 4 August , 2021 I think the E has a downstroke at the end of top and bottom horizontal bars just like the F has on its one horizontal bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2021 26 minutes ago, Michelle Young said: Think he could be 6th RIR who arrived in Mudros 26/7/15. Thanks for the welcome earlier! Ah, so that would be the island of Lemnos, Greece? From the following link, it looks like the 6TH RIR is the correct battalion. https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/royal-irish-rifles/ 2 minutes ago, PhilB said: I think the E has a downstroke at the end of top and bottom horizontal bars just like the F has on its one horizontal bar. Yeah, I can definitely see that now, so Mediterranean Expeditionary Force is correct as Michelle Young said. Thanks for your help, Michelle and Phil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 4 August , 2021 Share Posted 4 August , 2021 (edited) Yes it is as Michelle says. The card writer has an unnecessarily flamboyant handwriting style, his serifs on the capital letters E & F unusually prominent, and in the case of the E, there is an unnecessary squiggle of the pen making it look like an extra lower case r. And they say doctors have bad handwriting? Edited 4 August , 2021 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2021 Excellent help on this forum! Does anyone have access to the UK Military Deserters 1812-1927 file attached? It seems to have been disciplinary action against the same ancestor 15 years before he fought during WW1, so 7th May 1900. Figure it doesn't hurt asking for a copy before I upgrade my Ancestry account to see it. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2021 I also found the medal roll for Felix Monaghan RIR/RAF. I know the "do" means "ditto", but I've no idea what "Trans "G" 4.4.19" means? Obviously, something happened to on the 4th April 1919. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 4 August , 2021 Share Posted 4 August , 2021 (edited) Transferred to Class G of the Army Reserve. Most soldiers were discharged to Class Z ( Demobbed, but with a theoretical risk of being recalled at short notice should the Armistice break down). I'm not sure what the terms of Class G were. Edit: It looks as though it's the same thing in the RAF:https://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/Reserve_2.htm Edited 4 August , 2021 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Man Posted 4 August , 2021 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2021 28 minutes ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said: Transferred to Class G of the Army Reserve. Most soldiers were discharged to Class Z ( Demobbed, but with a theoretical risk of being recalled at short notice should the Armistice break down). I'm not sure what the terms of Class G were. Edit: It looks as though it's the same thing in the RAF:https://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/Reserve_2.htm Thank you for this information! Appreciate it. I've just found further records on Fold 3 which confirms he was part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and that he was transferred to the RAF G on the 4/4/19. Not sure what a/27284 after it means? Attached is screenshots of various parts of the file I found a few mins ago. I'm not sure how to read it all to make sense of it. Part of it appears to state where and when he saw action. France and then onto to the MEF. The Trade Classification reads to me as...."Batman". Surely not? If it is, what does it mean? Many, many thanks once again for your help in understanding these documents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaureenE Posted 4 August , 2021 Share Posted 4 August , 2021 A batman was an officer's servant See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_(military) Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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