Service/Pension Documents

[Doug Lewis]

I have in front of me what remains of my Great Grandads records which consists of -

1) Army Form D.400z "Descriptive Return of a Soldier Discharged or Transferred to the Reserve on Demobilization"

2) Army Form B. 103 Casualty Form- Active Service.

I'm totally confused by the information on the documents,I'm looking to the experts out there to try and clear the fog.

The documents contradict each other,form B.103 has him enlisting 28/5/16

D.400z has him enlisting 28/5/15.

To confuse me even more,D.4400z states that his period of service was 4 years 196 days with 2 years 56 days of that service spent in France.

He landed at Le Havre 26 Feb 17 with the 2/6th S. Staffords as part of the 59th Div and was transferred to the 2nd Btn S Staffords in July 18. He was Disembodied 21 May 1919,so I know his service abroad is correct,what is confusing me is his length of service

I know my maths is bad but I can't get the figures to match.

Other information that I have that might help,when he enlisted he was 32 and married with one child,he was 37 on discharge.

His Regimental no was 4273 then 241166.

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards Doug

[Jim_Grundy]

Doug

I can only offer a couple of pointers but they may be of some help to you.

Firstly, his regimental numbers. As a member of the Territorial Force, if he enlisted in 1915 (or early 1916) he would have been issued with a four figure regimental number. Your Great-Grandfather was given the number 4273, which suggests an earlier, rather than later date of enlistment, i.e., 28th May 1915.

All members of the Territorial Force were renumbered in the summer of 1916, receiving six figure numbers in place of four to allow for the expansion of the Terriers during the war. That explains why he later got the number 241166.

I think the 2/6th South Staffs served in Ireland during and after the Easter Rising, so he could have seen active service prior to his arrival in France but, being part of the UK at the time, did not count as a theatre of war.

Again, I'm not certain (without reference to a book that I don't have to hand at the moment) but the 2/6th South Staffs was probably one of those battalions that was disbanded in 1918 after being reduced to a cadre, hence his transfer to the 2nd South Staffs. Still being a member of the same regiment meant that he would not need to be given a third number, which would have happened had he left for another unit.

Hope this is of some slight assistance.

Cheers,

Jim