A.A.Laight R.A.S.C.H.T.

[darrenlaight]

Hi all

Im new to this site & wondered if anyone can help. Ive been tracing my family tree for a few years now & have got a fair bit on my G. Grandfather who none of my family know anything about.

One of the papers I got hold of was a copy of his discharge cert. from the army dated 27-02-1920. It states he enlisted at Aldershot on the 16-09-1893 at the age of 16. According to the document he was first posted to the A.S.C. .

He served 14 years with the colours & 12 years with the reserve. The reg. he was discharged from was the R.A.S.C.H.T. & his specialist qualification was horse transport duties.

His qualifying date for his 1914 star was 20-09-1914 & on the document discription page before you veiw the mic it states that he served with the Indian army.

The reason I am posting this is does anyone know what division this would have been with & roughly where. I have looked at a couple of sites & got totally lost.

Cheers Darren (total amature)

[truthergw]

Hi all

Im new to this site & wondered if anyone can help.

Cheers Darren (total amature)

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Hi Darren and welcome to the forum. I'm surprised that none of the Aly Slopers Cavalry buffs have picked this up. Still in bed I expect. The Army Service Corps performed a multitude of duties and many of them were drivers. The ASC became the Royal ASC. I don't know the date, but I think at the end of the war or just after. Indian troops served on the Western Front from 1914. Many of the infantry units were later transferred to Egypt and other theatres of war where they were better suited to the climate. It should be remembered that every brigade of the Indian Army included a battalion of British troops. e.g. the Jullundur Brigade of the Lahore Division contained the 1/ Manchester. In other words, the Indian Army had many British troops serving in it. Now that I have got it almost completely wrong, some of the real experts will tell you what it's really all about.

[darrenlaight]

Hi Darren and welcome to the forum. I'm surprised that none of the Aly Slopers Cavalry buffs have picked this up. Still in bed I expect.    The Army Service Corps performed a multitude of duties and many of them were drivers. The ASC became the Royal ASC. I don't know the date, but I think at the end of the war or just after. Indian troops served on the Western Front from 1914. Many of the infantry units were later transferred to Egypt and other theatres of war where they were better suited to the climate. It should be remembered that every brigade of the Indian Army included a battalion of British troops. e.g. the Jullundur Brigade of the Lahore Division contained the 1/ Manchester. In other words, the Indian Army had many British troops serving in it. Now that I have got it almost completely wrong, some of the real experts will tell you what it's really all about.

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Cheers for the reply Tom

A.A. Laight was born & brought up in St. Pancras, London, If this helps any. Am I right in guessing R.A.S.C.H.T. stands for Royal army service corps horse transport. On his discharge cert. under medals etc. it states he had 1 red & 2 blue chevrons, what does this mean (I could guess but I'd rather not).

Also on a photo I have of him, he is standing posed I can see he has 4 stripes (like a sergeants only upside down) on his left forearm, what are these .

Cheers Darren

[truthergw]

Cheers for the reply Tom

A.A. Laight was born & brought up in St. Pancras, London, If this helps any. Am I right in guessing R.A.S.C.H.T. stands for Royal army service corps horse transport. On his discharge cert. under medals etc. it states he had 1 red & 2 blue chevrons, what does this mean (I could guess but I'd rather not).

Also on a photo I have of him, he is standing posed I can see he has 4 stripes (like a sergeants only upside down) on his left forearm, what are these    .

Cheers Darren 

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This where you really need the experts. I would say that you are correct about the initials. The stripes might well be good conduct stripes. Another stripe was a wound stripe but I think that was usually a vertical strip rather than a chevron.

[Steven Broomfield]

Guessing, here, really, but the chevrons sound like Long Srvice stripes (and with 14 years in, he'd have earned them - I think that itr was one for every 3 years service.

The red/blue chevrons are 'war service' - red for 1914, I believe.

As for the Indian Army bit, well, he may have been with an Indian Division; if he had been in India pre-war, then he may very well have come to France with an Indian Division, and Indian units started arriving in late September, so that would tally.

Afraid I can't help with ASC units in Indian Army service, thjough - try their museum (now Royal Logisitcs Corps), which used to be at Aldershot.

However, as Tom says, wait for the experts to get home from work - "still in bed" is a scurrilous untruth!

[darrenlaight]

Guessing, here, really, but the chevrons sound like Long Srvice stripes (and with 14 years in, he'd have earned them - I think that itr was one for every 3 years service.

The red/blue chevrons are 'war service' - red for 1914, I believe.

As for the Indian Army bit, well, he may have been with an Indian Division; if he had been in India pre-war, then he may very well have come to France with an Indian Division, and Indian units started arriving in late September, so that would tally.

Afraid I can't help with ASC units in Indian Army service, thjough - try their museum (now Royal Logisitcs Corps), which used to be at Aldershot.

However, as Tom says, wait for the experts to get home from work - "still in bed" is a scurrilous untruth!

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Cheers chaps

Heres the picture Im refering to, hope it helps.

Cheers Darren