John Nicholas Hall

[Pialba]

I am trying to find information on one of my uncles. His name wasJohn Nicholas Hall born 1898, parents were Robert Nicholas and Margaret Ann nee Bird.
I know very little about him as he passed away about 1930. I have a photo of him, taken July 1916 in MilitaryUniform with another soldier. On the back  is John Nicholas Hall AVC 207, and F. Wood AVC 194 July 1916.. Can anyone tell me what the AVC stands for and where I might be able to turn to for information.
Twiggy

[Michael Dixon]

Twiggy,

Bearing in mind that the military loved abbreviations, one possibility for AVC is Army Veterinary Corps .

Nickname "The Horse Doctors"

Because of their great work in WW1, it became the Royal Army Veterinary Corps ( RAVC) in November 1918.

Their uniform was blue. Badge was the figure of Chiron
(man's upper body, horses body and legs) within a Laurel Wreath, topped with a crown.

The numbers were probably their individual numbers, abbreviated to the last three.

Do you have other clues to support or contradict this possibility

Michael Dixon

[Pialba]

Hi Michael,
Many thanks for replying to my query about John Nicholas Hall. This is the first clue I have had. Unfortunatley, I have nothing more than two photos of him the one I mentioned and another one of Uncle John on a hores outside army barracks. I haven't a clue where he would have served how long when he joined or anything. As I said he was 30 when he died, I would have liked to find out a bit more about his service when he joined ,etc, where he served. Anyway many thanks for your reply. Twiggy

[Michael Dixon]

Twiggy,

Tracing soldiers records is a very tough task. As far as WW1 goes it is slightly easier to trace a soldier killed during the war, than one who survived.

Here in Northumberland, we have aids such as books and regiumental records for soldiers who were in the Northumberland Fusiliers and other local regiments.

You should browse through the National Archives web site, for info on where particular records are held. e.g. more recent records are held by Min of Defence, while older ones have been handed over to National Archives.

Bad news is that of the 6 and a bit million individual recoirds that were stored in London..... about two thirds were destroyed by fire in 1940 ( a German incendiary bomb).

But on the upside... the RVC was comparatively small, which increases your chances of success.

Go for it.

Michael Dixon

[Pialba]

Michael,
whereabouts in Northumberland would the Army records be? At this stage I don'tthink I can do much, but in 2007 I intend coming to England and hope to be able to do as much research on my family as time permits.
Twiggy

[Michael Dixon]

Twiggy,

I am having difficulty answering your question, which sounds so straightforward.

In World War my father was in the Royal Artillery (RA)
He enlisted in Northumberland, and did some service here. But as the RA was country-wide regiment and not just for Northumberland, his records will not be available here in Northumberland.

This will be the same for The Royal Veterinery Corps.

Also the era of service determines where the records might be held.  Individual soldiers records for service before 1920 have been deposited in the National Archives
( see their web-site) It is the same one that gives us Census 1901.

Now with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, which was a local regiment and was not country-wide, the regimental archives are held locally... in Alnwick I think.

And my view is that there is no advantage being in Northumberland for all those "other" regiments, because anyone would have to go to National Archives in London to search as they are not online.

Michael Dixon