Banniere, If you know the date he was "embarked" for India it should be reasonably easy to figure out which Convoy number he was shipped out on. It will probably be a W.S. (Winston Special), via the usual Freetown, Capetown, Durban route. Movement orders are sometimes in the War Diary of the unit the soldier was assigned to and W.S. convoys are well documented on-line, in books and of course at the National Archive. Movement orders often contain name of assembly port, ships to be loaded on (usually in code such as H.M.T. A1, not the ship`s name), which units are to be embarked etc, but normally they don`t contain lists of soldiers. HTH John
Hi Maria. I found the reference in his Army service records (Army form B103 - I). And to answer John's query, His record states that he was posted to Draft REHYW on 16/9/1943 and that the draft embarked for India on 25/10/1943 (although that might be the date the officer entered it on his record rather than the date the Draft sailed). I do remember my dad saying his convoy was one of the first through the Med after it had been re-opened to troop convoys. Actually, he thought it was the first through but I'm not so sure. My own guess at present is that it could have been convoy KMF25a but I'd really like to take this further. It's great to know that there might be records in the National Archive which is on my list to visit. Any idea, John, what it might be filed under? Movement Orders? Troop Drafts? Thanks to you both for replying. Frank
Frank Convoy KMF.25A - link here http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/kmf/index.html - in the left hand box scroll down to KMF.25A select that and it provides all the data for that convoy. Depart Liverpool on 27 October 1943. Arrive Alexandria on 11 November 1943. Hague's records contain 26 merchants and 19 escorts (23 ships TDS) From Arnold Hague web site TD
Hello Frank, Well I`ve had a search for KMF.25A with Kew`s search engine and can`t find the file under it`s own heading. No doubt it`s contained within a file covering a number of KMF convoys so your best bet is perhaps put a request on here, this link perhaps as no doubt someone will have had the file out previously. http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/11433-national-archives-kew-tips/ There are also a number of people on here who visit Kew regularly and can maybe find it for you, all I can say is it`s no doubt in the ADM series. Hope this helps a little. Regards, John
This has been a big help. I've now downloaded the Movement Cards for the troopships in KMF25a and find to my delight that only one (SS Strathmore) left Liverpool on 25 October 1943 sailing via Alexandria, Suez, and Aden to arrive in Bombay on 28 November 1943 - the exact date my old man's service record has him arriving in India. Seems pretty conclusive to me. Thanks for the help everyone. Frank
Hi all Appreciate any help anyone can give. Interpreting my Grandfather's service record, aided greatly by abbreviation threads and X thread on here. However a couple of entries I am struggling with so any guidance would be really helpful: "Posted to draft REHGH" - presumably this is some form of holding organisation? "Disemb ME and att. RASN(?)" - Disembarked MEF and attended RASN(?). I am guessing this is Egypt. Journey time seems to have been 17 days (embarked 13.8.43, disembarked 30.08.43). XL(ii vi) I have attached a photograph of relevant section from record. Many thanks Chris
Hi Chris, In terms of the draft code, I asked a similar question a few years back. Here is the thread for that post: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/50973-draft-recognition-codes/?hl=%2Bdraft+%2Brecognition+%2Bcodes Good luck going forward. Steve
RASN is possibly RABD. Royal Artillery Base Depot at Almaza outside Cairo. That's where the Middle East (ME) School of Artillery was located. Peter
Steve Thanks very much for link to your thread. Never occurred to me that it might be a serial code, and an impenetrable one at that! Cheers Chris
Peter Thanks very much. Looking at the handwriting the D of RABD is very similar to, though slightly cramped, to the D of the Disemb preceding it. Strange how it is immediately obvious once someone points it out to you. Chris
You're welcome. I had the advantage of looking at your pic with the intention of finding RABD, makes it easier to spot My grandfather was there too but I'm still waiting for his service records to find out any specifics. Peter
Hi I am looking over my grandfathers service record from WW2. He was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers. I am coming across some acronyms which I just cannot see to decipher at all. He was at one point "Posted to D Company No 3 (L of C) Depot Battalion Royal Engineers for Serial RGHGA I believe L of C is 'Line of Communication'? But I cannot work out what 'Serial RGHGA' means. The next item on his service record is "Posted to Draft Serial RGHGA" again, I do not understand what this means. Later he is "Granted H.R.R.A. with M.S.E. and attached to RAF (not sure on the next word, as the writing is difficult to read) Gairsaks I have no idea what HRRA and MSE is either. Google does not seem to be able to help me Thank you so much in advance for any help that anyone can provide Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, Welcome to the forum. IMHO RGHGA is a "draft" code which is of no significance now. H R R A is Higher Rate Ration Allowance but can't help with MSE. Steve Y
Thanks Steve I have jst found MSE - I think it is Mobile Support Equipment So I translate this to "Granted Higher Rate Ration Allowance with Mobile Support Equipment & attached to RAF". Can I ask what a "draft" code is - this is all new terminology for me Thanks for your help
Hi Rebecca, I asked the same question many moons ago on the forum. It is just a code for the identification of a group of service personnel, often used when travelling. Here was my question back in 2013: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/50973-draft-recognition-codes/?hl=%2Bdraft+%2Bcodes
Fantastic! Thank you all. He was assigned the draft serial code before travelling overseas - so it's a "meaningless" code for some sort of travel without actually standing for anything. Thank you both for all your help - another mystery solved
Hi, I just read your notes, My father and your father must have been on the same ship SS Strathmore when it left Liverpool in Oct 1943. Hi name was James Bernard Carlile. I am researching my Father's travels during WWII. Her served in the RAF as a wireless operator between 1943 and 1947. Sadly he passed away two years ago, none of us knew that during his time in the RAF he had kept a diary, photographs, movement docs, dance tickets etc. Written on small scarps of paper it covered most days during that period. I have now transcribed all that material into one word document which I am about to get printed into a book. It is circa 140 pages. I was just doing the last piece of research when I came across this site. If anybody can help point me in the direction where I can obtain other material I would be grateful. He left Liverpool in Oct 1943 on the SS Strathmore in the convoy KMF.25A, through the Mediterranean (diary entry covers the bomber/torpedo attack off Cape Bougaroun, 6th November when he was on deck on guard duty, then through Suez, Bombay, Allahabad, Ceylon, Cocos Islands, Ceylon, Southampton. Your father must have been below decks when my father had written this extract into his diary. Saturday 6th November 1943 Just finished my first 2 hour shift on guard duty on deck AFT. It was about 6:30 during my next shift when the fireworks began. Clearing the deck as it was one of my guard duties, on goes my tin hat, first one plane comes down in flames then another, all over in twenty minutes. Glad I wasn't down below deck. rgds Steve
Embarked for India on 25/10/1943 Proceeded on Draft RNLBL, does this number identify the name of the shift and /or embarkation location?
