My father’s service record shows that he was paid an additional 2d per day from March 1943 to March 1945, as an “A.I. Sigs.”. I have failed to find out what an AI Sigs is, even though this abbreviation is also used in his demob testimonial in 1946 – so the writer must have expected civilians to understand it at that point. Can anyone enlighten me? The Additional Pay was authorised under “Article 859 of R.W. 1940”, but I have not been able to find what “Article 859 of R.W. 1940” was either! Background: All my father’s foreign service was In East Africa (1940 Eritrea, including 1941 battle of Keren) and Middle East (to 1945), and all with Company 389, 144th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. I know he was a signaller (hence presumably the “Sigs.”). He had been promoted to Acting Sergeant on 1 Jan 1943, and then to War Sergeant on 30 June 1943, so I presume his basic sergeant’s pay was 6s per day at this time. There is a three month gap in the additional 2d per day which covers the Oct – Dec 1943 (the first 3 months after he was posted from “Persia And Iraq Force” to “Middle East”), but every other month the additional pay is authorised, retrospectively, on the last Friday of every month. So in total his service record shows he got the additional pay for 95 weeks, and it ceased only just before he started his return to the UK in April 1945. Any light would be appreciated, And thanks for a very informative website. Regards, Ash Rennie
Hi, If it is “AI” on his record it may denote he was an “Advance Instructor” but if it is “A1” it likely means he was a “first class” signaller. I’d go for the latter interpretation as it would be better understood by a non military person in the context of his discharge testimonial. BTW it’s not 389 Company, 144 Field Regt but 389 Battery. Steve
Thanks for correcting the Company - 2 months ago I knew nothing about the structure of the Army - it's been a bit of a struggle! I would correct my original post, but not yet worked out how to... Some of the Service Records definitely have "A.I." rather than "A1", but no doubt the average War Office clerk would not necessarily get the difference correct every time. Interesting if he WAS an instructor, since 40 years later both his children were school teachers, and he never mentioned it...
Excellent. Thanks. I'll try to track that down. (I notice I typed the wrong Article number - it should be "Article 879 R.W." - apologies to all.)
Have no claim to expertise - but, the second post in this thread from 2021 mentions a 'Junior Acting Instructor Signals': might your father have been an A/I? Just a guess, mind.
I think that A1 is as follows (Check with Derek Barton website Home - The Royal Artillery 1939-45 ) or: Royal Artillery Methods in World War 2 Each Field Regiment has three batteries of 8 guns Each Battery is divided into 2 Troops Designated A B C D E F Each Troop is divided into 2 Sections 1 and 2 Being A1 Sigs probably means he was a signaller in A Troop No 1 section.
