"No medals - No service overseas"

Here's an interesting medal index card; interesting because it's a medal index card for a man who neither served overseas (and so received no medals) nor received a silver war badge.  As such, this card is something of a rarity but in the absence of a surviving service or pension record, it's still possible to sketch an outline service career for this man.

The HLI number is easy enough.  It belongs to the series issued to the first recruits to the 15th Battalion, Highland Infantry (1st Glasgow Pals) and dates to mid September 1914. 

The Training Reserve was formed on 1st September 1916 and the TR/2 prefix indicates either the 12th or 18th Training Reserve Brigade and probably either the 52nd TRB in the 12th Brigade (originally the 13th (Reserve) Battalion, HLI) or the 78th or 79th TRB in the 18th Brigade (originally the 19th and 20th (Reserve) Battalions, HLI respectively).

The Labour Corps was formed on 21st February 1917 but this number appears to date to some while after the formation of this corps and may have been part of a batch allocated to the 461st Home Service Employment Company in October 1917.

I can't explain the 30th London Regiment number.  The 30th was formed on the 1st January 1917 and drew six-digit numbers from the block 800001 to 820000.  However, John Cameron's number is a five-digit number and therefiore does not fit the pattern I would have expected it to do.

The Royal Defence Corps number dates to after the Armistice was signed.

All in all, an extensive service record spread over four years, and quite unusual to see it thus recorded.

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The formation of The Labour Corps in 1917

Not for the first time, I am indebted to my pal Graham Stewart for supplying the following scans of ACI 611 which in turn reference The Royal Warrant of 21st February 1917 (issued as Army Order 85 of 1917) which sanctioned the formation of The Labour Corps.

Whilst I have detailed information on the numbering patterns in most corps, I have always steered clear of The Labour Corps and The Army Service Corps.  This information from Graham therefore fills a huge gap for me personally and will, I hope, be of interest to others as well.  Click on the images for readable versions.

Army Council Instruction 611

 

 

 

 

Appendix 106

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 107

 

 

 

 

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