Abbreviations in Service Records (UK/ Army/ WWII) : For ref.

sjw8 · Apr 10, 2021

Hi Graham

Just seen your post above.

Re the entry "2.FB.DBRE 15.1.42", it does indeed refer to a Royal Engineers Depot Battalion (even though battalion is normally thought of as infantry). "FB" in this instance stands for "Field Branch" which dealt with soldiers' postings and movements. Later in the war it changed title from "Field Branch - FB to "Postings Branch - PB", based in Halifax.

In your father's case, from the extract you posted, he was originally with 17 Field Company. He was then earmarked to go to North Africa so therefore was temporarily attached to 2 (FB) DBRE w.e.f. 15.1.42, pending transfer etc., and from which a Posting Order was issued - "FB/5/16 [???} RGHFZ 14.2.42" - indicating which draft he was to join (RGHFZ) and date. He was then medically examined to confirm his fitness to serve overseas. (He may been on pre-embarkation leave between 15/1/42 and 14/2/42 - if so, this should be recorded on the documents you received).

On arrival he was then posted to list X(iv) (i.e held in a reinforcement unit - RHU) pending his posting to 4 Field Squadron.

if you want more information re 17 Field Company, there is a thread under Royal Engineers within Unit Histories sub forum - 17th Field Company Royal Engineers

There is also the following re 4 Field Squadron - 4 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers war diary

From one RE Sapper's son to another,
Hope this helps,

Steve W a.k.a. sjw8

Graham Anstey · Apr 10, 2021

Thanks very much Steve, that confirms much of what I've been able to decode. I did find that the war diaries for both 17 Fld Coy and 4 Fld Sqn are held by the National Archives, but it appears they are sealed until 2050. I'll investigate the links you provided. I'm hoping to be able to tie up his service with the more general Desert Rats history as published in the many books I have.

Owen · Apr 10, 2021

Graham Anstey said: ↑

Thanks very much Steve, that confirms much of what I've been able to decode. I did find that the war diaries for both 17 Fld Coy and 4 Fld Sqn are held by the National Archives, but it appears they are sealed until 2050. I'll investigate the links you provided. I'm hoping to be able to tie up his service with the more general Desert Rats history as published in the many books I have.
Click to expand...

Are you reading the 'sealed for 29 years' comment on TNA website.
That refers to 29 years from when they were written .
Not 29 years from now.

Graham Anstey · Apr 10, 2021

Aha! Thanks Owen. Yes, I was, and interpreting it as from now. That's good news, now I just need to wait for Kew to reopen.
Cheers

JCD · Sep 12, 2021

Philip of Lee said: ↑

I have compiled a list of abbreviations found in my father's Service Record (he was in the Intelligence Corps, in the British Army, during WWII); I have been through the whole lot by now, having started in late 2013 and doing a bit of it once a week...

You may find this recap useful. Obviously, it does not cover everything and you also need to use the list provided by the MoD.

If you find things that need correcting, feel free to point them out.

Attached is the document in WORD (formatted).

Philip

-------------------------------------------------------

ABBREVIATIONS COMMONLY FOUND IN SERVICE RECORDS (WWII, BRITISH ARMY)

39/45 + Campaign medal for service during WWII
1939/45 Star Same as above
A1 Fit for active service (medical category)
A/CPL Acting Corporal (rank)
Adm Admitted (to)
Afm Aforementioned
AGIB Army General Instruction Bulletin
Apptd Appointed
BFH British Field Hospital
BGH British General Hospital
BM Brigade Major (rank)
Bn Battalion
BNAF British North Africa Force
Capt Captain (rank)
CE Church of England (or C of E)
Class Z See note 1 (below)
CMF Central Mediterranean Force (covering Italy and Greece)
CMP Corps of Military Police (see note 7, below)
Coy Company (as a unit)
CPL Corporal (rank)
D of E Duration of Engagement (in the forces)
Dis Discharged (from)
Disch Discharged (from): same as above
Emb Embarked (on a ship)
entl Entitled (to)
ex- Out of (a unit). E.g.: ex-GSC = transferred out of GS

FSS Field Security Section: IC field unit attached to a division (see note 7)

FSW Field Security Wing: other name for IC, according to records (see note 7)

Fus Fusilier (equivalent of Private in the Royal Fusiliers)
General Service General Service Corps (GSC)
GSC General Service Corps (see above)
Gt Granted
Hosp Hospital
HRM Higher Rate Messing (with regard to rate of pay)
HRM @ Egypt rates Higher Rate Messing at Egypt rates
HRM @ Pal rates Higher Rate Messing at Palestine rates
IC Intelligence Corps (see note 7, below)
i/c In charge of
ICD Intelligence Corps Depot
Inf Recs Infantry Records
Inits Initials (of person on document)
Int Corps Intelligence Corps (IC) : see note 7 (below)
Italy Star Campaign medal for service in Italy (see note 9)
ITC Infantry Training Centre
L/Sgt Lance Sergeant (rank); see note 2 (below)
LDRD London District Reception Depot
LIAP Leave in Addition to Python (see note 4, below)
Med Allce Mediterranean Allowance (when serving in the region)
MEF Middle Eastern Force (covering Egypt and Palestine)
MELF Middle Eastern Land Force
N/Africa North Africa
OC Officer Commanding
O i/c Officer in charge (of)
O/SEAS Overseas
O/SEAS NETT Overseas Net amount (for pay)
P/A Permanently attached to (followed by name of unit)
P/A/CPL Paid Acting Corporal (rank)
Pal Palestine
PFC Private First Class (rank)
P/L/CPL Paid Lance Corporal (rank)
P /L/Sgt Paid Lance Sergeant (rank)
Pte Private (rank)
PTW Primary Training Wing
PYTHON See note 4, below (in relation to LIAP and PYTHON, or Python)
RA Royal Artillery
RA Ration Allowance
RF Royal Fusiliers
R FUS Royal Fusiliers (as alternative to above)
Royal Fus Royal Fusiliers (as alternative to above)
Sgt Sergeant (rank); also written SGT
SOS Struck off strength, i.e. removed from the unit referred to
TOS Taken on strength, i.e. transferred over to the unit referred to
U & P/A/CPL Unpaid and Paid Acting Corporal (rank)
U & P/A/Sgt Unpaid and Paid Acting Sergeant (rank)
U & P /L/Sgt Unpaid and Paid Lance Sergeant (rank)
U/A/CPL Unpaid Acting Corporal (rank)
U/L/C Unpaid Lance Corporal (rank): see note 1 (below)
U/L/Sgt Unpaid Lance Sergeant (rank)
W/CPL War Corporal (rank given for duration of hostilities)
wef With effect from (followed by date)
WOL War Office Letter (giving authority for decision)
W/Sgt War Sergeant (rank given for duration of hostilities)
X (i) See note 8 below
X (ii) See note 8 below
X (iv) See note 8 below
X (4) See note 8 below
YRS Years
Z (Class —) See under ‘Class Z’ (above)

NOTES ON SPECIFIC TOPICS/ ITEMS

1— U/L/C means that the acting rank is that of L/C or Lance Corporal, which is above Private, but the pay would not have been adjusted and would still be that of a Private. The reason someone was made a U/L/C could be: (a) That it was probationary, before full/paid rank; That it was a temporary measure in order to fill a short-term vacancy, which means reverting to Private eventually; (c) That it was after a demotion from full rank, i.e. for a man punished for some transgression.

2— The rank of Lance Sergeant was abolished in the British Army in 1946, but for the Guards Regiments and the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC). In certain cases, in Service Records, “L” can also stand for “Local”, meaning that the rank has been given locally (under local circumstances), which, in turn, usually means that it is temporary. In this sense, “L/Sgt” would mean “Local Sergeant”.

3— Class Z traditionally stood for the Army Reserve: when a soldier was demobilised, he was first transferred to “Class Z” (hence the expression: “Released to Class ‘Z’”). “Class Z” was abolished at the end of WWI (in 1920, according to one source), but re-instated at the end of WWII, in anticipation of war against Communism/the USSR. “Class Z” stood for the Army Reserve: when a soldier was demobilised, he was first transferred to “Class Z”.

4— LIAP means “Leave in Addition to Python”. “LIAP” was an additional scheme for regular soldiers who had served overseas (outside the UK) for >4 years. — Information found on British Army Forum (on line: http://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/): “PYTHON was the name given to the scheme started after VE Day that concerned repatriation and accumulated leave of regulars who had been serving overseas and, also, demobilization of overseas non-regulars, plus leave entitlement. The favourite item of conversation in messes and canteens was one's PYTHON number. This number was based on a points system, with points allowed for total length of service and the length of time one had been overseas. Points were also given for decorations awarded and for married men with children under 18 years of age.”

5— The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army, within Combat Services. Its main function is to act as a holding unit for specialists who have not been assigned to other units or corps; these are primarily reservists and the GSC is usually only active in wartime.

6— The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the British Army until 1968, when it was amalgamated with other regiments to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

7— The Intelligence Corps is responsible for gathering, analysing and disseminating military intelligence and also for counter-intelligence and security. The Director of the Intelligence Corps is a Brigadier.

On 19 July 1940, a new Intelligence Corps was created (a forerunner had existed during WWI) and has existed since that time. The FSW, or Field Security Wing (known as the Green Caps, in contrast with the Red Caps of the Military Police), was separated from the CMP (or Corps of Military Police) in 1940 to form a specific corps, in its own right, known as the Intelligence Corps (or IC). Members of the FSW wore the CMP cap badge, but without the scroll (saying ‘Royal Military Police’).

The Army had been unprepared for collecting intelligence for deployment to France. The corps grew rapidly during the war, eventually reaching 3,040 officers and 5,930 other ranks. In addition, c.1,050 officers were attached to the Intelligence Corps. When the Intelligence Corps was formed, officers and men were transferred in from other Arms and Services. (The IC only started to accept direct-entry officers in 1958.) Around 40% of British Army personnel at Bletchley Park were in the Intelligence Corps, and another important function was analysing aerial photography for ground support.

The IC’s motto is Manui Dat Cognitio Vires (i.e. Knowledge gives Strength to the Arm). The corps has a particularly high proportion of commissioned officers, many of them commissioned from the ranks, and also a high percentage of female members. Non-commissioned personnel join as an Operator Military Intelligence [or OPMI], or Operator Military Intelligence (Linguist) [or OPMI(L)]. They do basic 14-week military training at an Army Training Centre. An OPMI will complete a 27-week special-to-arm training, at the end of which he is promoted to Lance Corporal. An OPMI(L) will complete a 78-week language course, during which he will be promoted to Lance Corporal and, also, will qualify for specialist pay.

The most common unit within the Intelligence Corps was the Field Security Section (FSS). Each division had one section allocated. Each section had 2 Jeeps (4 x 4) and 9 motorcycles allocated. The War Establishment of a section was:-

●Captain or Lieutenant (officer commanding);
●Warrant Officer Class II;
●2 x Sergeants [spelt with a ‘j’ in the document but this would appear to be an error]
●4 x Corporals;
●4 x Lance Corporals.

8— The ‘X List’ was used to identify a soldier and his place/role in the system. The ‘X’ was followed by a Roman numeral, as follows; if a Service Record features an ‘X’ item followed by an Arabic numeral, it is incorrect.

●X(i) for all ranks posted to fill vacancies;

●X(ii) for all ranks evacuated on medical grounds (and the idea being that they would return to their unit of origin in due course); thus, X (ii) referred to soldiers awaiting transfer to a hospital, etc., i.e. being on the sick list;

●X(iii) was for prisoners of war, deserters, and soldiers held further to disciplinary action;

●X(iv) were un-posted reinforcements, i.e. soldiers waiting to be posted to a unit; e.g.: an escaped PoW who is fit for duty and has returned to Army lines would be on the X(iv) list while waiting to be posted to a unit. In other words, when on the X (iv) list, the soldier is awaiting integration into his unit of destination; e.g.: he might be stationed in a transit camp while waiting to be integrated into his regiment. Even if X (iv) covers a very short period (it could be a day or a few days only), it is important to the Army in order to attest to where the soldier is, and doing what.

●X(v) is for soldiers attending training/courses.

9— The Italy Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II to British and Commonwealth troops. The medal was awarded for operational service (on land) in Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Aegean area and Dodecanese Islands at any time between 11 June 1943 and 8 May 1945.

▪End of document (abbreviations in Service Record)
Click to expand...

Hi, I've come across an abbreviation relating to punishments for minor offences that I cannot find an explanation for; PB, it seems to be followed by 'Serial No 2 or 4'. This refers to incidents that occured when based in the UK. Does anyone have any knowledge of exactly what this refers to?

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Abbreviations in Service Records (UK/ Army/ WWII) : For ref.

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