Length of service

[lalkav]

I have a man who enlisted in the British Army c1911. Would there have been a specific length of service that he would have signed up for? I've searched for his service record but it looks like it's not survived and I'm trying to establish what year he would have been discharged and returned home. Thanks

[rosie99]

Was he still serving in 1920     If he was then his records would still be with the MOD.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=651361.0

[lalkav]

I don't know. He's on the absent voters list in Birmingham in 1919 and on the regular voters list in 1920 but I don't know if the information for that was gathered a certain time period beforehand. His wife bigamously married whilst he was away so I'm trying to find out when he returned home.

[rosie99]

Those absent voter lists were probably only operative for the period of the war.  Does the 1920 list have any initials against it that would indicate he could be Absent.

[lalkav]

No just an 'R' denoting Residence qualification.

[MaxD]

This Longlongtrail link explains in detail http://www.1914-1918.net/recruitment.htm

The most likely scenario for a 1911 man is a 12 year engagement, 7 with the colours, 5 in reserve.  He would then be 3 or so years into his engagement when the war interrupted. His engagement would be pretty much finished when the war ended and, I believe this is the case, his 5 years reserve would still hold.  So he would return to civilian life at the end of the war which could have been into 1919 although pre war regulars were given some priority for release,

If you'd like to post his name and any other military detail you have, a second (or more) pair of eyes may find a clue.

maxD

[lalkav]

Excellent thankyou very much. I've just sent off for his wife's marriage cert to husband number 2 and I'm hoping it's going to come this week.

His name was John Robert Smith and this is what I've got so far that someone else found for me -

First Name: J
Surname: Smith
Age: 24
Notes in Admission Number Column: HA
Index Number of Admission: 4129
Rank: Private
Service Number: 435616
Years Service: 7 years (Enlisted 1911)
Ailment: Inflammation of Connective Tissue Right Knee
Date of Admission for Original Ailment: 03/09/1918
Date Discharged Back to Duty: 05/09/1918
Date of Transfer From Sick Convoy: From 103rd Field Hospital Convoy USA
Date of Transfer From Other Hospitals: 03/09/1918
Notes written in the Observations Column: 2ndCanadian Casualty Clearing Station ?
Regiment: Royal Army Medical Corps

And this is what it says on the absent voters list for 1919 -

Army service number 435616 Pte B Div 2/2E Lancs, FA , RAMC

[MaxD]

As perhaps you've suspected, his detailed service record has not survived as far as I can tell. His unit as written in the 1919 Absent Voters list would be 2/2 East Lancs Field Ambulance (a unit not a truck!), one of the RAMC units of the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division.  We don't know when he joined them but the outline history of the division is here http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/66th-2nd-east-lancashire-division/ and the war diary of the Field Ambulance is here http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7355522  This should tell you (although it is unlikely to mention his name) where the Field Ambulance was in Sep 1918.
2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at which he was treated was at the time at Outreau south of Boulogne.  The 103rd Field Hospital Convoy was one of the elements of the casualty chain in the area provded by the USArmy.
His medal card is at the National Archives at http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6461978.  It should be on Ancestry but seems to have slipped through the net.

As surmised earlier, his 7 years with the colours would have coincided nicely with war's end and he would then, perhaps in 1919, be on his reserve commitment.

maxD

.

[MaxD]

Further

On 3 to 5 Sept 1918, the Field Ambulance were at Malassise in the vicinity of Hazebrouck east of St Omer.  The 17th America Division  was also being supported by this FA, hence the hospital convoy.

maxD.