SFayers Posted 12 May , 2006 Share Posted 12 May , 2006 Hi folks, Further to my previous thread, I have some more questions regarding acronyms and abbreviations used in this war diary and also regarding ordnance used by the Special Companies: 1. What exactly would "Light Smoke" and "Heavy Smoke" ammunition comprise? 2. What are the following types of ordnance/ammunition: "R.P.", "S.K.", and "Thermit"? 3. What were "Ballistite cartridges"? 4. The following is an extract from the diary; what are these items and in the context of a smoke or gas operation what would they be used for?: "40 rounds R.P., 300 E.C.3 biscuits, 40 wads, 12 Mills heads, 50 biscuit containers, 200 Cordite rings and 50 .303 caps drawn from workshops" 5. What would be meant by "B.G.G.S. Australian Corps"? 6. Finally, at one point in the diary it mentions one of the company's sections being "badly affected by P.U.O." - I'm assuming this is some sort of illness, but what is it? Could it be Spanish Flu? As always any suggestions and feed-back will be greatly appreciated!! Best regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 12 May , 2006 Share Posted 12 May , 2006 Steve, I can answer questions number 5 and 6 for you. B.G.G.S. Australian Corps = Brigadier General, General Staff of Australian Corps. PUO stands for Pyrexia Unknown Origin. Pyrexia is one term we medical people use to describe a fever. Basically all the blokes are feeling crap and have a fever, but they haven't been diagnosed yet as to what is causing the fever hence the use of the acronym POU. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 12 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2006 Steve, I can answer questions number 5 and 6 for you. B.G.G.S. Australian Corps = Brigadier General, General Staff of Australian Corps. POU stands for Pyrexia Origin Unknown. Pyrexia is one term we medical people use to describe a fever. Basically all the blokes are feeling crap and have a fever, but they haven't been diagnosed yet as to what is causing the fever hence the use of the acronym POU. Cheers, Tim That was quick! That's a big help Tim, thanks a lot for that! cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 12 May , 2006 Share Posted 12 May , 2006 Steve The references are to 4" Stokes mortar ammunition. RP = red phosphorous SK=South Kensington=ethyl iodoacetate, a powerful tear gas. Thermit= another incendiary filling Ballistite cartridges and the items listed in 4. are all parts of the propellant and firing mechanism for 4" Stokes mortar bombs. 'Biscuits' of Ballistite or cordite were inserted into a pierced base of the bomb as propellant. Mills heads were the sprung levers similar to those on a Mills grenade. Regards Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 12 May , 2006 Share Posted 12 May , 2006 And after a bit of Googling... Ballistite is a smokeless propellant explosive made from two high explosives nitrocellulose mixed with nitroglycerin. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 12 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 12 May , 2006 Simon, Tim, Brilliant! Many thanks for that information. Any ideas on the constituents of Light and Heavy Smoke? cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 14 May , 2006 Share Posted 14 May , 2006 Steve, From what I've been able to find on smoke producing ammunition, I would say that smoke producing mortars were filled with White Phosphorous (WP) and they would've been of the bursting type of mortar bomb. Weight-for-weight, white phosphorus is the most effective smoke-screening agent known. Basically you get 3.2 kilograms of smoke for every kilogram of WP you started with. The British started using factory produced WP hand grenades in 1916. I've read that in early 1917, the British used factory produced smoke shells and mortar bombs. I'm unsure what constitutes Light and Heavy smoke, but modern smoke grenades contain mostly potassium chlorate, sodium bicarbonate, lactose and sometimes a dye. These are known as a emission types grenades. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 15 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 15 May , 2006 I'm unsure what constitutes Light and Heavy smoke, but modern smoke grenades contain mostly potassium chlorate, sodium bicarbonate, lactose and sometimes a dye. These are known as a emission types grenades. Cheers, Tim Thanks for that Tim. As I've been going through the diary extracts I get the impression that both the White Phosphorous (W.P.) and Red Phosphorous (R.P.) were used for smoke operations. Indeed in one entry the diarist refers to the carrying in of 200 rounds Heavy Smoke and 200 rounds Light Smoke - then in the next entry refers to what's undoubtedly the same ammunition as Red and White Phosphorous, though as yet I'm uncertain which is which! cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 17 May , 2006 Share Posted 17 May , 2006 Steve, From what I've read, WP, being the more volitile of the two, causes a very rapid smoke screen, but after a short period of time it starts to "column" thus not being an effective smoke for long periods. However RP being slower burning, doesn't column and remains a smoke screen for a longer period. Apparently WP would be used to form the initial smoke screen, due to it rapid smoke making ability and then followed up by the slower burning RP to sustain the smoke screen. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 17 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 17 May , 2006 Steve, From what I've read, WP, being the more volitile of the two, causes a very rapid smoke screen, but after a short period of time it starts to "column" thus not being an effective smoke for long periods. However RP being slower burning, doesn't column and remains a smoke screen for a longer period. Apparently WP would be used to form the initial smoke screen, due to it rapid smoke making ability and then followed up by the slower burning RP to sustain the smoke screen. Cheers, Tim Thanks a lot for that Tim, In that case I would hazard a guess that the R.P. would equate to 'Heavy Smoke' and the W.P. to 'Light Smoke'. cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n cherry Posted 17 May , 2006 Share Posted 17 May , 2006 Steve, I presume you are looking at the WD for the latter part of the war....my Grandfather in 1918 was 2 i/c of No 1 Special Company....did you have a relative in the unit??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 17 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 17 May , 2006 Steve, I presume you are looking at the WD for the latter part of the war....my Grandfather in 1918 was 2 i/c of No 1 Special Company....did you have a relative in the unit??? Would he have been Captain H Polan by any chance? For the extracts I have so far between May and August 1918 he seems to have written most of the entries. As far as I'm aware no relatives of mine served in that unit - my interest is that I recently bought a military medal group and SWB of a sergeant who served in No. 1 Special Company (gazetted in October 1918) and I was hoping to find his MM citation in the diary - but so far to no avail! cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n cherry Posted 17 May , 2006 Share Posted 17 May , 2006 Yes, that's him....he was transferred to the RE in 1915 after enlisting in the HAC in August 1914.....he was at Loos, Somme, Arras and most of the 1918 actions. The first part of the unit's war diary is at the Liddell-Hart Centre in London and appears to be the only copy in existence. I used a photo of him in 'Most Unfavourable Ground'...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFayers Posted 17 May , 2006 Author Share Posted 17 May , 2006 The first part of the unit's war diary is at the Liddell-Hart Centre in London and appears to be the only copy in existence. As far as I can ascertain that is the case. The NA have the later war diary between 1917 and 1918 (it is the latter I've been using). I used a photo of him in 'Most Unfavourable Ground'...... Please forgive my ignorance - is this a book? cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n cherry Posted 19 May , 2006 Share Posted 19 May , 2006 Steve, Just a bit more info....the only copy of the war diary for No 1 Special Company I've seen was in the Oakey collection at the Liddle Hart Centre. This appears to be the original and covers the first part of the war. The one at the NA and RE Museum covers 1918..... The RE Museum has a bit on the special companies. Most Unfavourable Ground is indeed the title of a book...it came out in 2005 and is a detailed look at Loos in 1915. Please pm me if you'd like any info on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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