Motorcycle records

[Jennarembailey]

I have a man who’s records were partially burned in WW2 so a bit sketchy and want to find out more about What he would have been doing and where.
His name is Edward Samuel Piet born 1885 London

This is the information I have found.

He was signed up into the Royal Marines as a “Sapper” in the RND: Royal Naval Division (63 Div) engineering division. In Marylebone 20th January 1915.
Service no’s    1. S/393   and  2. 127204
Edward was sent for training to Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire where he passed with flying colours In the training of mechanical engineering on Motorcycles. He was trained to ride the bikes and maintain them.


08.06.1915  Wounded
21.10.1915  hospital
18.08.1916 Transferred to Royal Engineers, Naval signals Motorcyclist Division.
19.08.1916 Transferred to Field Security Section division
07.10.1916 Promoted to corporal of Motorcycles     
30.01.1917 promoted to artillery Corporal Motorcycles
15.02.1917 Expeditionary force to France
30.03.1917 British expeditionary force
18.01.1918 line of communication, signals company, Italy
05.09.1918 wounded Gallipoli
28.05.1919 transferred to class Z army reserve for demobilization whilst in Italy.
 

Can anyone elaborate on these at all especially the artillery corporal motorcyles. I can’t imaging what this would be. And what is S/393?
Any help would be appreciated
Regards Jenny.

[MaxD]

S/939 was his service number as a Royal Marine.

What you are reading as artillery is Artificer Motor Cyclist (can mend'em as well as bend'em).  (Sapper was his private soldier rank as a Royal Engineer)

Almost invariably, a motor cyclist in the signals world was a despatch rider and back in the day, in the relatively early years of motor cycles, the men chosen were those who could indeed maintain their machines.

MaxD

[MaxD]

His Royal Marine record is confusing.  What is reproduced is the record of a man called Liscombe (938) and the Navy (for they maintained RM records) have used the same piece of paper for Piet's (939) record so the "wounded" bit could belong to either of them (I have not seen the record at the National Archives, just the one on FindMyPast so you may be seeing more than me). 

MaxD

[jim1]

Just to add a little to what MaxD has said he was sent overseas (Egypt) 17/3/15 & has the 15 Star for that also as a despatch rider he would have had the rank of Cpl. which was mandatory.

[Jennarembailey]

Dear Max and Jim
Thank you for your replies
Went Thur my lists of abbreviations, and never found the “ ARTIFER” thanks for that it
makes more Sense.
I have got his full records from nat archive such as they were, burnt on some edges and water damage and badly  “nibbled”, they are all belonging to Edward, he was wounded and repatriated
back to the Uk in 1915 and seemed to be out of action for approx 14 months, but when finally demobed at the end of the war from Italy was classed as A1 fit. Despite being wounded twice.
I did have the confusing one from Find my past mixed with liscombe, which I just gleened a little from.
What you have both said makes more sense now.
Thank you again, I always need a military mind to sort these things out. I can now get the timeline right.
Regards Jenny

[MaxD]

It's Artificer Jenny
MaxD