Arundel Austen Plomer (#64969)- Royal Engineers, 20th & 14th Signal Coys, YY Cable Section

[Nat]

Hi there! I'm hoping for some help understanding what Arundel's role would have been in WWI as part of the Signal Coys. I have found his military records which has provided some information, but I haven't been able to link where he was or what he would've done. He was older when he enlisted (age 36) and was deemed to be a superior harness maker/saddler and was a sapper for the duration of the war. Any assistance would be much appreciated. Here's a clip of his service record from Find My Past:

Edited 15 April by Nat

[WhiteStarLine]

Hi @Nat,

This question has been answered quite a few times on this forum.  Easiest way to find some good responses is to use the search at the top right.  However, make sure you put the 2 words "cable section" in quotation marks like I have, so that you get hits on cable section, rather than some on cable and others on section.

If you have other questions, don't hesitate to come back to us.

Cheers, Bill

[Matlock1418]

On 15/04/2024 at 18:35, Nat said:

I'm hoping for some help understanding what Arundel's role would have been in WWI as part of the Signal Coys.

Beside GWF and LLT https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-corps-of-royal-engineers-in-the-first-world-war 

My immediate go to is: Work of RE in the European War 1914-19 - The Signal Service (France) by RE Priestley [from shortly post-war]

More recently: Communications and British Operations on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Brian N Hall [2017]

M

[WhiteStarLine]

4 hours ago, Matlock1418 said:

Work of RE in the European War 1914-19 - The Signal Service (France)

M, that was my immediate suggestion, but on this occasion it didn't have a nice summary of what they actually did.  There are around 50 examples of their employment but Nat might get a better picture from the GWF or the Long Long Trail.

If Nat does use Priestley, the best way of getting an idea is using the search term cable detachment.  There are over 30 hits and some good insights.

[Matlock1418]

13 hours ago, Matlock1418 said:

Work of RE in the European War 1914-19 - The Signal Service (France) by RE Priestley

9 hours ago, WhiteStarLine said:

If Nat does use Priestley, the best way of getting an idea is using the search term cable detachment.  There are over 30 hits and some good insights.

Thank's for valuably commenting - you have thus alerted me  I forgot to post this link to the above book https://archive.org/details/signalserviceine00prie 

M

[Nat]

Thank you, both! It's definitely a very informative book about the role of the signal companies! I see the many jobs they took on,  from laying cable to managing the pigeons. As a harness maker/saddler, Arundel would have making sure the horses were outfitted correctly, right?. He was only with the cable section for a few months it seems, but was in France. Are there war diaries for the Signal Coys? I'm not very talented at searching the national archives. Or a way to follow who they were assigned to during the war?

[Matlock1418]

6 minutes ago, Nat said:

It's definitely a very informative book about the role of the signal companies!

I'm rather presuming Priestleys' book - which has the more contemporary feel for the period - Glad you like it.

On 15/04/2024 at 18:35, Nat said:

deemed to be a superior harness maker/saddler and was a sapper for the duration of the war.

5 minutes ago, Nat said:

As a harness maker/saddler, Arundel would have making sure the horses were outfitted correctly, right?

That's a potential situation - but not necessarily certain, unless you can find some further evidence in his SR to more fully support it.

Many men never utilised their civilian skills - I'm rather presuming his skills must have largely come from pre-war, as I would suggest they would not be not quickly or readily picked up to that level of competence once in wartime service.  [Having only ridden horses - most of their tack looks like it need extremely high skill levels to manufacture and maintain/repair]

20 minutes ago, Nat said:

Are there war diaries for the Signal Coys? I'm not very talented at searching the national archives.

This link seems to give you plenty of hits to start with. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_srt=3&_q="signal+company"+"WO+95" - you should be able to narrow by adding another search term - Use quote pairs around a phrase, if necessary - For unit numbers just use the digit(s) not st, nd, rd or th etc]

M

[Nat]

Thank you!! I'll give that a go! In his SR, it says he was a superior harness maker and it does say it on the SR I snipped above, but it would make sense if his job changed depending on needs during his service! It was pre-war experience he had. His father was also a saddler/harness maker. I'll see what I can find in the archives. I really appreciate how helpful you've been!

Edited 17 April by Nat

[Matlock1418]

23 minutes ago, Nat said:

In his SR, it says he was a superior harness maker and it does say it on the SR I snipped above

Yes, it seems he had had his skill accepted very early on [potentially passed a RE Trade Test??], so pre-war skill seems seems a certainty - but as we know war did have a habit of upsetting the best of plans along the way!

Wishing you good fortune.

M