Guest Abby Posted 29 July , 2006 Share Posted 29 July , 2006 Hello to eveybody, like so many I'm tracing the family tree, and trying to track down details of my great-great uncle. I know he died in France in late 1918, and a search of the CWGC website has turned up the record (from which the info below is copied) : Name : George Henry Sims Rank : Private Regiment : Army Service Corps Unit : V. Army Troops M.T. Coy. Date of Death : 21/11/1918 Service No : MT/080098 Cemetery : Lille Southern now i understand all of this info except the 'Unit'. Would 'V' indicate the number five (or fifth) ? Should it be read as 'Five/Fifth Army Troops Motorised Transport Company' ? Having read thru the ASC section of this website there's no mention of a 'five/fifth' (altho the section may be incomplete), so does it mean something else ? could it be an error ? or am I being stupid and missing something obvious !? Can anyone shed any light ? Any help gratefully rec'ed ! kind regards Abby Sims ps there are no (surviving) family records which will shed any light on this. He was born, raised and lived in the Bath area of the UK, and aged 29 when he died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 29 July , 2006 Share Posted 29 July , 2006 Hello welcome to the forum MT stands for mechanical transport There are no soldiers died details (a cd that shows place of birth etc for casualties) - most likely as he died after the war ended in france Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoplophile Posted 30 July , 2006 Share Posted 30 July , 2006 It is quite reasonable to assume to explore the possibility that 'V' refers to the the number '5' and, in particular, the Fifth Army. (Roman and Arabic numerals were both used to designate armies.) As far as I can tell, 1918 found each army with an 'army troops motor transport company' that bore the same number as that army. (The war diaries for the units of this type of the First and Second Armies are at the National Archvies at Kew. The war diary for the 'army troops motor transport company' of the Fifth Army, however, is not to be found there - at least not in the places that I looked.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Abby Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Thanks very much for the replies. I'm going to make the assumption that it stands for five/fifth until some other scrap of info comes along to change it ! I'll certainly continue researching the Army Service Corps. Thanks again to both of you for your help and consideration. Abby ps from other info i've read on this site, i tracked down the medal index card...but it doesn't give any new information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldstreamer Posted 31 July , 2006 Share Posted 31 July , 2006 Hello the numbers on the medal index card are the reference to the medal rolls - you can find pieces of info on these rolls thats arent on the MIC Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 1 August , 2006 Share Posted 1 August , 2006 Hello, Just a little more. A 'Army' consisted of a number of 'Corps' and a number of other units ranging from artillery to transport. These were referred to as Army Troops. In the same way there would be 'Corps Troops' i.e. units which were part of the Corps but not part of the Divisions that made up the Corps. Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 3 August , 2006 Share Posted 3 August , 2006 Abby, "Unit: V. Army Troops M.T. Coy." This is not much to go on but perhaps we can narrow the field down ever so slightly. A quick flick through the Annex Q of Col Michael Young's history 'ASC 1902-1918' offers up the foll companies (E & O E) which might be described thus ASC Co. No. 698 - NA file No. WO95/570 Formed 22 April 1916 and disbanded 13 July 1919 Roles described as No. 4 Anti-Aircraft Battery Workshop Unit, No. 5 Workshop for Anti-Aircraft Guns, No. 6 Workshop for Anti-Aircraft Guns. ASC Co. No. 1060 - NA file No. WO95/561 This company was formed 16th March 1918 and disbanded in March 1920. Its role is described as 43 Motor Ambulance Company ASC Co. No. 1112 - NA file No. WO95/570 Formed 5 July 1918, disbanded 5 June 1919, and role described as 6 Mobile Repair Unit (MT) ASC Co. No.1113 - NA file No. WO95/570 Formed 3 June 1918, disbanded April 1920 Role at formation described as 5th Siege Park (MT) (with 770 (MT) Company) and 25 Vehicle Reception Park at its disbanding If you get to the National Archives then WO95/570 might be a good place to start regards Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Abby Posted 4 August , 2006 Share Posted 4 August , 2006 I think a visit to the national archives is in order (never been before !). It's so difficult to find info when you start with practically nothing....but thanks to everyone. I'm going to try and find exactly what unit/division my relative was in and then perhaps come back for more help. You're all such nice people, I thank you again for your time and consideraton, and hopefully i'll be conversing with you again soon. Abby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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