Tim Osborne Posted 1 May , 2020 Share Posted 1 May , 2020 Help needed! I have only recently found out that my great grandfather served in WW1, and I have managed to download some of his Army records from Ancestry.co.uk - though some are almost impossible to read. Guernsey-born Henry John Samson Osborne joined the British Army (enlisted as ‘Henry Osborne’) in the First World War on 13th July 1915 in the rank of Private /Sapper (service number WR 508565 and regiment number T4/122781) and was enlisted in the Army Service Corps. He was enlisted as a driver. The only information I can glean from his records are that he was posted to France on 7th February 1916 until 5th January 1917 when he returned back home to recuperate after having been suffering from ‘myalgia’ since December 1916; he was in a military hospital in Boscombe, England from 5/01/1917 – 27/01/1917. I wish to know more about his service - hopefully someone will use his service numbers to shed some light on what they stand for and which exact service he was in. Any information would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 1 May , 2020 Share Posted 1 May , 2020 “Sapper” can only refer to Royal Engineers so if that’s what it says it would suggest that he went to the RE (on transfer) from the ASC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 1 May , 2020 Share Posted 1 May , 2020 (edited) He enlisted 13/7/15, Joined his Army Service Corps unit at Aldershot 18/7/15. His number indicates a Horse Transport Coy. He travelled to France as part of Headquarters Coy. 56th Divisional Supply Train on 7/2/1916, and served overseas until 5/1/17. He is also shown as serving with 632 Coy and the A.S.C Remounts service. He spent a month in a Training Reserve Battalion of The Royal Fusiliers, at Catterick, and was transferred to the Royal Engineers Inland Water Transport on 12/12/1917 probably after being medically downgraded. Edited 1 May , 2020 by GWF1967 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 1 May , 2020 Share Posted 1 May , 2020 These are the two cap badges that he would have worn during his service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 2 May , 2020 Share Posted 2 May , 2020 Tim, both the numbers you quote in your first post are service numbers he was allocated at some point. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Osborne Posted 2 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 2 May , 2020 21 hours ago, FROGSMILE said: “Sapper” can only refer to Royal Engineers so if that’s what it says it would suggest that he went to the RE (on transfer) from the ASC. Thank you ... 18 hours ago, mancpal said: Tim, both the numbers you quote in your first post are service numbers he was allocated at some point. Simon Many thanks. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Osborne Posted 2 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 2 May , 2020 21 hours ago, GWF1967 said: He enlisted 13/7/15, Joined his Army Service Corps unit at Aldershot 18/7/15. His number indicates a Horse Transport Coy. He travelled to France as part of Headquarters Coy. 56th Divisional Supply Train on 7/2/1916, and served overseas until 5/1/17. He is also shown as serving with 632 Coy and the A.S.C Remounts service. He spent a month in a Training Reserve Battalion of The Royal Fusiliers, at Catterick, and was transferred to the Royal Engineers Inland Water Transport on 12/12/1917 probably after being medically downgraded. Hi ... Thank you very much for the info. I have managed to get some from his service records but you have added to that. He was down as a 'Driver' on one or two of his documents. He was taken off service Jan 2017 due to myalgia and spent 2/3 weeks in Boscombe Down Military Hospital. Can you explain to me what Coy means? Also, What did the ASC Remounts do? Many thanks - and for the badges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 2 May , 2020 Share Posted 2 May , 2020 Coy = Company ASC Remounts dealt with the acquisition of horses and I'd assume some training. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 2 May , 2020 Share Posted 2 May , 2020 (edited) Coy is the Army abbreviation for Company, as in RE Company, or infantry Company. The ASC remounts was that corps organisation and infrastructure responsible for providing replacement horses. It was enormously important to the ASC, which was responsible for much of the Army’s wheeled transport, much of it horse drawn. You can read about the overarching Army wide remount service here: https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/making-horses-war-army-remount-service/ Edited 2 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Osborne Posted 2 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 2 May , 2020 22 hours ago, GWF1967 said: He enlisted 13/7/15, Joined his Army Service Corps unit at Aldershot 18/7/15. His number indicates a Horse Transport Coy. He travelled to France as part of Headquarters Coy. 56th Divisional Supply Train on 7/2/1916, and served overseas until 5/1/17. He is also shown as serving with 632 Coy and the A.S.C Remounts service. He spent a month in a Training Reserve Battalion of The Royal Fusiliers, at Catterick, and was transferred to the Royal Engineers Inland Water Transport on 12/12/1917 probably after being medically downgraded. Couple more things ....... I have seen two dates in 1919 that he officially left the Army ...one was 29/01/1919 ... and another date on his records is a few months later ... do you know which is correct? Also was myalgia a common medical condition that these WW1 soldiers got? Many thanks 9 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said: Coy is the Army abbreviation for Company, as in RE Company, or infantry Company. The ASC remounts was that corps organisation and infrastructure responsible for providing replacement horses. It was enormously important to the ASC, which was responsible for much of the Army’s wheeled transport, much of it horse drawn. You can read about the overarching Army wide remount service here: https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/making-horses-war-army-remount-service/ Thank you very much! 12 minutes ago, mancpal said: Coy = Company ASC Remounts dealt with the acquisition of horses and I'd assume some training. Simon Thanks Simon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1RGLI Posted 3 May , 2020 Share Posted 3 May , 2020 On 01/05/2020 at 23:44, Tim Osborne said: Help needed! I have only recently found out that my great grandfather served in WW1, and I have managed to download some of his Army records from Ancestry.co.uk - though some are almost impossible to read. Guernsey-born Henry John Samson Osborne joined the British Army (enlisted as ‘Henry Osborne’) in the First World War on 13th July 1915 in the rank of Private /Sapper (service number WR 508565 and regiment number T4/122781) and was enlisted in the Army Service Corps. He was enlisted as a driver. The only information I can glean from his records are that he was posted to France on 7th February 1916 until 5th January 1917 when he returned back home to recuperate after having been suffering from ‘myalgia’ since December 1916; he was in a military hospital in Boscombe, England from 5/01/1917 – 27/01/1917. I wish to know more about his service - hopefully someone will use his service numbers to shed some light on what they stand for and which exact service he was in. Any information would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Glad you found him Timmy... Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 3 May , 2020 Share Posted 3 May , 2020 (edited) 17 hours ago, Tim Osborne said: Also was myalgia a common medical condition that these WW1 soldiers got? Many thanks Thank you very much! Thanks Simon! The most common cause of myalgia is the overuse of a muscle or group of muscles (common amongst infantry and artillery men especially), but acute myalgia may also be due to viral infections and the most common of these initially at least was Trench Fever, which was the result of infection by body lice. Edited 3 May , 2020 by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Osborne Posted 3 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2020 46 minutes ago, 1RGLI said: Glad you found him Timmy... Mark. Hey Mark! Yes ... I am really pleased as I never knew I had a relative in WW1 He might not have bee a fighting soldier ... but he was nearly 41 in 1915 ... so he played a part! Stay safe! Tim pp .... he was in the Militia/RGLI too I understand ... how can I access any records of his time in them Mark? (if it is correct) 34 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said: The most common cause of myalgia is the overuse of a muscle or group of muscles (common amongst infantry and artillery especially men especially), but acute myalgia may also be due to viral infections and the most common of these initially at least was Trench Fever, which was the result of infection by body lice. THank you for all your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1RGLI Posted 3 May , 2020 Share Posted 3 May , 2020 Priaulx Libarary Militia Files (5 boxes) Not much pre-war - this is currently closed. So a wait I am afraid. Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Osborne Posted 3 May , 2020 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2020 2 hours ago, 1RGLI said: Priaulx Libarary Militia Files (5 boxes) Not much pre-war - this is currently closed. So a wait I am afraid. Mark. Okay thanks ... I will go in the future at some point. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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