Acronym on War Diaries

Discussion in 'Royal Artillery' started by Lee1983, Aug 30, 2022.

  1. op-ack

    op-ack Senior Member

    Agreed Charlie, spot on
     
  2. op-ack

    op-ack Senior Member

    Derek
    I would agree with all of those. Most are in my book, or at least the expanded working document
     
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  3. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    This is a bit outside my wheelhouse, but I think O2 is the designation of an officer's position in an organizational structure. I'm not sure what "O" branch (branch?) would be, but I think you might have one officer in charge of "O", then "O2" would be one of their subordinates with a specific set of duties. There might be "O3", "O4", etc with other duties. Obviously this doesn't tell you anything about what O2 would actually have done - sorry.

    By way of parallel, in a war diary of a top level artillery organization in Italy in 1944, there are references to G1, G2, and G3. G, O, etc would indicate different areas of responsibility.
     
  4. op-ack

    op-ack Senior Member

    I would suggest that this GCR is a miss reading, and that it is in fact GOR for Gun Operations Room.
    At the beginning of WW2, this was the central location within a Gun Defended Area
    from which a nominated Anti-Aircraft Defence Commander exercised direct control
    over all fire units under his command. From this location he was able to transmit
    raid information and orders appertaining to any restriction on firing which may have
    been imposed by the local RAF Controller.
     
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  5. op-ack

    op-ack Senior Member

    Again, could O2 be a misreading of a badly typed G2? Without seeing the actual transcript it is difficult to make a judgement.
     
  6. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    Can anyone tell me what the pl means in the following sentence please. Special PL and Snipers and Sig PL.
     
  7. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    Does anyone know what OSC stands for in a war diary.
     
  8. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    I'd say Pl is Platoon

    Is there any context for OSC, it seems familiar but can't place it
     
  9. Quarterfinal

    Quarterfinal Well-Known Member

    PL or Pl or pl is normally Platoon. If it is Pl, it should refer to a specific platoon.

    OSC - what context? Can you put it in a sentence?
     
  10. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    I have just attached a copy of the page to show the context.
     

    Attached Files:

  11. Quarterfinal

    Quarterfinal Well-Known Member

    Officers Commanding
     
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  12. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Can anyone shed any light on the meaning of the acronym(A.A.D.C)

    Anti Aircraft Defence Commander
    Royal Artillery Glossary of Terms by Philip Jobson Page 17

    Looks like I fell into the old thread time trap!
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2022
  13. Graham Anstey

    Graham Anstey Member

    I'm getting reasonably good at decoding abbreviations, but "CIF" has me stumped, and doesn't appear on any of the lists of abbreviations I've found: It's from the War Diary of 4 Field Squadron RE on 3rd Feb 1942. At that time they were in the Citadel, Cairo. Orignal TNA scan for reference.

    CRE, Capt PARKER, Capt FIELD, and Adjutant to SME, GEBEL MARYAM to fix details for three-week bridging camps. Major HAINES, CIF, indicated the camp site and provisionally booked equipment. Lt D L HOLT granted 7 days leave.

    It also appears in the entry for 16th Feb 1942 where Captain PEREIRA was Acting CIF:

    OC arranged for an SME instructor (Sgt WILKS) to conduct officers and NCOs round bridging site and stores. Procedure for drawing stores explained. Programme was worked out and fixed up with A/CIF, Capt PEREIRA.

    Many thanks
     

    Attached Files:

  14. Lee1983

    Lee1983 Well-Known Member

    I tend you use this list, pop the below into your search engine acronyms_and_abbreviations_dec08.pdf
     
  15. Quarterfinal

    Quarterfinal Well-Known Member

    Looking at the context, CIF seems more likely to be a role descriptor, rather than a facility etc; ergo possibly Commander/Commanding/Chief something. CI is often Chief Instructor (rather than Counter Intelligence here), but I can't offer anything other than Firing for the F, given the range activity and I think that is doubtful. An F something to do with bridging? Nothing comes to mind. Pereira can have Indian connotations, so possibly Indian Force(s)? Is there anything close by in the War Diary to suggest Indian attachments, or associated involvement with the bridging camps?
     
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  16. Graham Anstey

    Graham Anstey Member

    Doing a bit more Googling, I've found modern references to CIF being "Commander's In-extremis Force" as part of the American Special Forces. I've not found any WWII-era references, but this could possibly relate to special forces (LRDG) I suppose. On another page of the diary there is mention of a Major Haines, CIF, and searching the records on Ancestry there is a Major Haines in the Indian Army at this point. However, I can't find any references to Indian Forces being in the (7th Armd) Division at that time.
     
  17. Volitans

    Volitans Member

    I feel there is a very obvious answer to this...
    But what does MET mean? e.g. "Engaged numerous tanks and 200 MET"?
    Obviously Googling or using the search for such a common word yields confusing results.
     
  18. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Mechanised enemy transport, usually.
     
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  19. op-ack

    op-ack Senior Member

    Agreed, definitely Mechanised Enemy Transport.
     
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