Greenwoodman Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 A little while ago I read a post on a group of RAMC troops being transferred to an infantry battalion. I did a search but no luck. Can anyone point me in the right direction, please? And I'm also looking for a couple more examples of Corps (RAOC, etc.) troops being tranferred en bloc to infantry battalions in late 1917, early 1918, prior to the Spring Offensives, or even between St Michael and the Lys. Any help gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 This is not directly helpful, but on my 2RWF database I have ten ex RAMC men killed in 1916 and very few later, together with 12 ASC men killed mostly 1918. Given that fatalities in 2RWF were about one in five, this infers a transfer of about 50 RAMC before the Somme, and about 60 ASC early in 1918. It certainly happened from time to time. Called "combing out" colloquially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 Yes, LB, combing out. I`ve always thought this a most unfortunate (though very descriptive!) term as I assume it`s to do with the combing out of hair to remove nits and lice. Rather insulting to the soldiery! Unless anyone knows of another connection? Phil B PS Sorry I can`t help on your question, GWM. It just seemed to be a fact of life that Corps men were transferred to the PBI as the exigencies of the time demanded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 26 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 September , 2004 Thanks David and Phil. I'm looking at the manpower allocation for 1918 at the moment, and the argument that "a larger proportion of the Army" could be rendered "available for first-line duty". The Offy Hist's response was "the ancillary services had already been combed many times" and it was "not worth considering". Just trying to get a handle on the occurrence and size of such transfers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 Slightly off of topic, but in early WW2 some TA infantry units were trained to operated AA and searchlights during The Blitz; and, similarly, during the fighting in Italy & Normandy in 1944-45 a good many artillerymen (and others?) were retrained as infantry to compensate for the savage casualty figures endured by frontline troops. (And of course many RA gunners have been deployed as infantry in UN and other low intensity operations since WW2.) Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 I suppose that`s still the case Richard. Aren`t all Corps men trained as basic "fighting" soldiers, just in case? Phil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fair Posted 26 September , 2004 Share Posted 26 September , 2004 A little while ago I read a post on a group of RAMC troops being transferred to an infantry battalion. I did a search but no luck. Can anyone point me in the right direction, please? And I'm also looking for a couple more examples of Corps (RAOC, etc.) troops being tranferred en bloc to infantry battalions in late 1917, early 1918, prior to the Spring Offensives, or even between St Michael and the Lys. Greenwoodman, was it this thread: click here? As to the second part of your question, I do have examples of men from the ASC, AOC who were transferred into the 19th Londons in 1917 and 1918. However, I dont yet have enough to be able to tell whether these were individuals of bloc transfers. Only another 2,500 or so men to go before the database is roughly complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 27 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 27 September , 2004 Thanks Charles, I'm pretty sure that's the one. Strange how it didn't come up when I searched on RAMC. I didn't realise that the transfer took place in 1916 either, but that's surely this old man's memory. But it does just leave David's example as the only one I have. Have to use a finer comb now!! Any more examples out there please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 30 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 30 September , 2004 Just bumping this one back to the top. Any help gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 10 October , 2004 Author Share Posted 10 October , 2004 Bringing this back to the top. Anyone apart from LB1418 researching an infantry battalion that had drafts posted in of soldiers from non-infantry backgrounds between late-1917 to end-April 1918? e.g. RAMC, ASC, RAVC i.e. soldiers who had been converted from non-infantry specialisation to infantrymen? I'd be grateful for any help on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 10 October , 2004 Share Posted 10 October , 2004 Following an appeal for help, membres of the Forum helped me trace one AVC cpl who deployed to France in 1915 with the AVC and died, probably of wounds, serving with 13th DLI in Oct 1918 around Cambrai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenwoodman Posted 10 October , 2004 Author Share Posted 10 October , 2004 Thanks Delta, did you find out when he transferred? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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