Guest MSj Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/msj_1@bti...re2.jpg&.src=ph Hi, Can anyone point me in the right direction to ID which exact unit of the Royal Engineers my Great Grandad served in? Also why would the Regt No be crossed out? Any help would be great. Many thanks in advance and I hope the image uploads ok? Hmmm Not uploaded... Be back with image soon!! In the meanwhile the Regt No says 19960 but underneath 60 seems to be a crossed out 259? Cheers Mark Jarvis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Mark The number is crossed out simply to correct an error. There is no way of positively identifying his unit from it. You will need to check at the NA to see if his service record still survives to do that. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Crossed out number looks like a simple clerical error to me. Not sure if you can tell exact RE units from service numbers. I would imagine fellow forum pal "HB" would be able to answer that. Sorry not to be of more help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Would Ya look at that, just pipped to the post by Terry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MSj Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Thanks gents for the quick response. I had thought that the number was his Regt Number not his ID number within the Regt. I guess I shall have to have a trip down to London this year to see if he had his records burnt. Looking at his Medals I am guessing he did not serve in France? Is that a fair assumption? I am thinking he might have been UK based? Are there any other pointers from the numbers that I should be aware of? Many thanks and the this site is the Dogs B.... Cheers MJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Looking at his Medals I am guessing he did not serve in France? Is that a fair assumption? He's card shows both the British War Medal and Victory medal. The BWM was generally only awarded to those who had served overseas. The Victory medal, however, was only awarded to those who had served in an "Operational Area". It's a fair assumption, therefore, that your man DID serve overseas, although not necessarily in France. Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MSj Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Ok good thanks for putting me right on that. Cheers I thought I had read that there was a specific French medal? I will need to re-read things I read last year. It's funny how you put two and two together and don't get the right answer. For example we have a photo of him on a horse. So the assumption in the family was that he served in the Cavalry. How wrong were we... Not until I dug up his medal records that we saw he was an engineer and then finding this site explained what his role was within the unit and horses were fairly extensively used. This site has opened up my eyes to the whole thing and I am hoping I can work out where in the world he served. Cheers MJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pte1643 Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 For example we have a photo of him on a horse. So the assumption in the family was that he served in the Cavalry. How wrong were we... Not until I dug up his medal records that we saw he was an engineer and then finding this site explained what his role was within the unit and horses were fairly extensively used. Hence, the Rank on his card shows him as DVR.. (Driver), instead of the more usual "Sapper". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MSj Posted 17 January , 2006 Share Posted 17 January , 2006 Yep, which then ties into his great love of horses and his original upbringing which I discovered when tracing him back via the census. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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