Can anyone help me with translating some WWII record jargon?

[AlexNoodle]

Hi Guys

I'm hoping that some kind person on here could give me a hand!

I received my father's father's WWII record the other day, sadly it was quite sparse due to some of his information having been sent to the Ministry of Pensions many years ago for the consideration for a War Disability Pension and never returned to his file and destroyed.

So what I do have is a page full of dates and references which I have no real idea what they mean in order to work out where he was during the course of his time in the war.

I know upon enlistment he was in the General Service Corps, then went into the Primary Training Corps before then transferring into the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers. At one point I know he was in Belgium and I think at one point he was stationed in Lewes, Sussex.

Also - he was discharged for being permanently unfit for any form of military service and one part of the details show 'Disability Hysteria Visceral' does that mean he had some kind of breakdown? I have his army pay book and it says 'Ceasing to fulfill army physical requirements'. I am attaching the details I have in the hope someone can help me out!

Thanks in advance!

Alex

[AlexNoodle]

And here is the section regarding the Hysteria - not sure if there is some explanation behind the other information underneath it?

[Hackstaple]

It seems that he was discharged with a 20% disability rating. Visceral hysteria is shown by a series of nervous disorders which do not seem to have a physical cause - twitching, repetitive actions, compulsive disorders are some.

I am unable to say what the E12 meant. His record does seem to show an abnormal number of postings to holding units awaiting new orders.

[AlexNoodle]

Thanks Hackstaple.

Any idea which entries mean when he was posted overseas?

[kyt]

For the first column:

1 PTC - Personal Transit Centre
REME Mobilisation & Holding Centre
14 TTC - Technical Training Centre
Mob & (h) Centre - Mobilisation & Holding Centre
L of C Rec Coy - Lines of Communication Reception (?) Centre
Mob & hldg C - Mobilisation & Holding Centre
Y List Hosp - If a soldier is in hospital for a certain time he is then put on the Y List and transferred to a Holding Centre
X IV List - the transfer from the Y List to this means that he is either moved back to his unit or to a training unit
3 Recon Coy - Reconnaissance Company (though it could be Recov so could mean Recovery ?)
54 RHU - Reinforcement Holding Unit
Emb UK for BLA - Embarked from the UK for the British Liberation Army (the BLA was name given to the Commonwealth forces fighting in Europe)
X ii List - evacuated on medical grounds beyond Regimental Aid Post (i.e. back to a hospital behind the lines)
37 RHU X IV List - Reinforcement Holding Unit, awaiting transfer back to unit
Emb UK for NWE - Embarked UK for north West Europe
Disembarked UK (which means that the above entry is wrong on the record - it should say Emb NWE for UK)

Then it follows the pattern of the X lists above.

But then another anomoly - he seems to have gone back to Europe at some point and then returned to the UK as his last entry


K

[AlexNoodle]

Thank you very much KYT - very helpful!

Feel quite sorry for him having spent a bit of time in hospital. In his army pay book he had a period of compassionate leave between 13th Aug 1944 and 20th Aug 1944. No idea what this was for. He and my grandmother married in the February of that year - and I have been suspecting that perhaps she was pregnant when they married and that perhaps she miscarried. No proof of this of course, but my father was an only child and came along in 1947. My grandparents met and married within 6 weeks, so I was a bit curious about this period of compassionate leave.

I dont think I'll ever find out!

Thanks again!

Alex

[Lancer9th12th]

Just a few small amendments, hope you do not mind, amendments marked with **.

** 1 PTC - Primary Training Centre - Saughton Camp Chester.
REME Mobilisation & Holding Centre
14 TTC - Technical Training Centre
Mob & (h) Centre - Mobilisation & Holding Centre
** L of C Rec Coy - Lines of Communication Recovery Company REME
Mob & hldg C - Mobilisation & Holding Centre
Y List Hosp - If a soldier is in hospital for a certain time he is then put on the Y List and transferred to a Holding Centre
X IV List - the transfer from the Y List to this means that he is either moved back to his unit or to a training unit
** 3 Recov Coy - Recovery Company REME
54 RHU - Reinforcement Holding Unit
** Emb UK for BLA - Embarked from the UK for the British Liberation Army, the BLA was the name given to the Commonwealth forces occupying the conquered Germany, which became the Army of Occupation and then Changing to BAOR (British Army of the Rhein).
X ii List - evacuated on medical grounds beyond Regimental Aid Post (i.e. back to a hospital behind the lines)
37 RHU X IV List - Reinforcement Holding Unit, awaiting transfer back to unit
Emb UK for NWE - Embarked UK for north West Europe
Disembarked UK (which means that the above entry is wrong on the record - it should say Emb NWE for UK)


Recovery units would often be not too far from the Front lines, often following Motorised units, many Armoured and would be called to recover Vehicles Damaged or Broken down.

The vehicles recovered would then be taken to 2nd or 3rd line support units to be repaired and if possible returned to fighting units. 

[ScouseBoy]

Only addition to that point about recovery is that:  there would be heavy recovery  of Armoured Fighting Vehicles, and then there would Recovery of Wheeled Vehicles (supply and transport).

My guess that he was with  Lines of Communication Vehicles  which sounds like RASC  supply vehicles, Wheeled Vehicles.

Recovery of Battle Damaged Armoured Vehicles from the battlefield was perhaps more specialised?

[Brewins girl]

I see this was posted some years ago, so you may have got the information you want already, but I thought you might like to know that I am also researching a relative's (my uncle) time with REME during WW2. He also had some time in hospital. Have you applied to the Army Personnel Centre for a copy of your father's records? I did this with my uncle (there is a fee) and then the REME museum have been very helpful in interpreting the records for me (again a fee £49)