How would soldiers receive instructions at end of period of leave?

[Ruskie]

.... how would his unit have known that he was at his girlfriend’s house (and what her address was) rather than his own home? How would they know to contact him there?

In his personal diaries, my OH’s father had a girlfriend whose mother had a telephone at home. (He specified the phone number and I managed to find it in a directory)  However if he was staying there I don’t think the army would have known that address or phone number, unless he had given it as a contact, which I know he did not. It is possible they could contact his parents (who I don’t think had a telephone) and they could then have passed on these details if they knew where he was, which I am sure they would not have done. 

Would it be feasible that your chap would have had to remain in close regular contact with his unit to find out what what his next move was? (.... so he would contact them rather than them chasing him?) What would have happened in reality, I don’t know. Telegram, as the others suggest, seems likely.

[Brewins girl]

Thank you JM. Unfortunately while Coronovirus restricts us I’m not able to visit places like the Railway Museum, nor places like The National Archives which hold a lot of records. I will do a search to see if the Royal Mail Museum has any information online, and maybe I’ll try his regimental museum, which has been very helpful in the past. The trouble is most of these archives charge for doing a search of their records. Research is expensive! Unless of course, it’s RootsChat!

I hope it’s acceptable to post this here, but you might be interested in my blog (in which, I hasten to add, I’ve acknowledged RootsChat)
https://brewinsgirl.wordpress.com

https://brewinsgirl.wordpress.com/the-generosity-of-writers-and-researchers/

[John915]

Good evening,

As his leave was probably only 1 or maybe 2 weeks he could have known about the move before hand. Units would have been given notice of movements rather than being told  at very short notice. They would need time to pack up and move.

He would also have been traveling on a travel warrant with which to obtain his ticket/s. So his return journey ticket would have the correct destination on it.

John915

[Brewins girl]

Good evening John915. He wrote to his sweetheart a few days before he left his Unit in Eastbourne to go to London for a Trade Test. From there he went direct to his home in Devon. He had 10days leave, then an extra 36hrs at the beginning because he finished the Trade Test early. He told her that he would return to Eastbourne, but of course it’s wrong for me to assume that in between his letter & actual departure from Eastbourne or London things hadn’t changed. Thank you for the info about the travel warrant.