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Hi,

Any input would be much appreciated. Trying to make sense of an army record, attached.

Record of a family member who served during the Emergency from 1941 to 45.
Some bits I can understand. He's in 5th Battalion

What is CTEM Depot? Central Something?
And whats P/ ACE?

But the one thats really driving me mad is what is an R O number?
And the numbers that follow RO numbers are surely orders of some sort? But how do I make sense of them?

Thanks for reading.

RO stands for Routine Order as someone else suggested. ROs are (or were)issued by units on a regular basis and record the unit's administrative routine. For example if a soldier takes leave it's recorded in an RO. The RO will be forwarded up the chain of command and will land on the desk of a pay clerk who will ensure that deductions for rations are not taken from his pay for the leave period. The RO is numbered sequentially by year so the first one in 1941 was RO 01/41. Your man enlisted at the CT&M Depot on 10th January 1941 and that fact was recorded on RO 27 dated 1st February 1941. I was in the Irish Army in the 80s and 90s and CTD to us was Command Training Depot, so I'm guessing that was what the CT stand for. The M; I don't know.

On 13/2/1941 he was recorded on RO 37 as having been posted from the Depot to 5th Infantry Battalion, effective from 10/2/1941. The 5th Battalion recorded his arrival on their Unit RO which was number 52, dated 3/3/41. And so on through the record. His home unit was the 5th Battalion apparently and he's doing regular detachments/attachments to 2nd Field Company Supply & Transport Corps; 2 F S&T or similar abbreviation.

Could the first (left-hand) medal be the Khedive's Sudan Medal ? And then the middle one might be the Queen's Sudan Medal, although I would expect the order of wear to be the other way round.  Hard to tell !

The photo is dated 1896 so prior to the reign of King Edward VII. Those who served in the Sudan between 1884 and 1889 were awarded the Egypt Medal (1882–1889) and were entitled to the Khedive's Star. I think the middle medal is probably the Egypt Medal with a couple of clasps on the ribbon obscuring the design. The left hand medal is probably from another campaign. At a guess I'd say the Indian General Service Medal 1854-95.

The Nukumaru VC was awarded to Captain Hugh Shaw.

24th January 1865 - New Zealand. Captain Hugh Shaw won the Victoria Cross.

Hugh Shaw was born on 4th February 1839 in Madras, India, the son of James Shaw, Inspector General of Hospitals, and Ann, nee Hay. He was educated at Sandhurst and joined the 18th Regiment of Foot as an Ensign on 10th May 1855. He served in the Crimea from December 1855 until the end of the war.
Shaw then served with the regiment as a Lieutenant in the Indian Mutiny. In 1859, he became the Adjutant, an appointment he held until 1864, when he was promoted to command his own company. In 1864, he was posted with his battalion to New Zealand to fight in the Second Maori War.

On 24th January 1865, at Nukumaru, the British camp was attacked by Maoris, with the men on picket duty  involved in the first attacks. Private Connolly of the Royal Irish fell wounded and Captain Shaw went out, with four men who had volunteered to join him, under heavy fire. They moved forward to within thirty yards of the enemy positions in the bush and succeeded in taking Connolly to safety. Shaw’s VC was gazetted on 28th November 1865, and he was presented with his medal in New Zealand sometime in 1866. The men were awarded the DCM. British losses in the fighting were 16 killed and 32 wounded. Four of the dead and 11 wounded were men of the 18th, Royal Irish Regiment. Private J. Brien who had assisted Captain Shaw in rescuing Private Connolly, was killed on 25th January, while Connolly himself died of his wounds.

Shaw married Emily Sheffield at Holy Trinity Church, Bedford on 21st June 1870. They had three daughters - Nina Jane b.1871, Dolores Evangeline and Mabel Annie b.1877. He was Adjutant of the North Tipperary Militia from Jun 1873 to Feb 1878 during which time he was promoted to Major on 1st October 1877. On 22nd May 1878 Shaw rejoined the Royal Irish Regiment and then went on the Afghanistan Campaign with the Kabul Field Force. In September 1881 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and subsequently served in the Sudan Campaign. He was promoted Colonel in September 1885 and Major-General in 1887, shortly before he retired from active soldiering. Shaw died on 25th August 1904 in Southsea, Hampshire, aged 65.

From Instagram account 18th_foot

This list has two men Tracy and Treacy, both in the Royal Irish Regiment. Initial appears to be T though.

http://www.irishbrigade.eu/lists/mahony/mahony-list.html

Information on Thomas Treacy

http://www.irishbrigade.eu/recruits/tracey.html

Am trying to find birth details of Thomas Dorney/Durney who married Julia Croake in 1871 in Tipperary, I know his father is David. I did find a marriage for a David Durney to an Anastatia Roberts in 1827 in Co Kilkenny and found 4 children for them but not Thomas. From the 1901 & 1911 census Thomas must have been born around 1839/40 ish.
Any help appreciated.
Carol

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1871/11364/8172046.pdf