Rank Abbreviation

[cazna]

Hi

Can anyone enlighten me to the following abbreviation:

"3348 ER-Sgt. H.B. GRANT. " in the 2nd Pioneers AIF.

Can't think what the ER is for - probably something quite simple.

Duncan

[Bob Coulson]

Possibly Engineer??

Bob.

[Gary Samson]

According to a list of MIC abbreviations on The National Archives website it stands for "Engineer Serjeant".

Gary

[cazna]

Hi

Thanks Gary and Bob, sounds good to me.

The guy was a clerk before WWI, then for a short time in the pay office, so I thought the "R" may have been for "Recorder" or similar. Later he qualified with distinction in bombing school Lyndhurst training and was an instructor to officers so the engineer bit seems more on the money to me.

Duncan

[Bob Doneley]

ER stands for "extra regimental".

NCO's who were retained on a Battalion's nominal roll, even though the Battalion's establishment was complete. These NCO's filled in whenever a vacancy became available.

Not uncommon to see this on AIF medal groups.

[Gary Samson]

Hi Duncan,

Just to follow up on my earlier post, while The National Archives website lists "ER-Sgt" as an Australian abbreviation for "Engineer Serjeant", in Howard Williamson's excellent two-volume The Collector and Researchers Guide to the Great War "ER-" appears as a prefix used by the AIF to denote "Extra Regimental" (vol. 1, p. 136). At this point I would go with Williamson (and Bob D) as the authority.

Gary