Army Form B.2512 - Short Service Attestation

 

 

Army Form B.2512 is the attestation form that was introduced in December 1915 in response to the creation of the Derby Scheme which it references in paragraph 11:

 

 

This form was to be used for wartime enlistments only with the most noticeable addition being the box, top right, in which the man's Derby Scheme group number was to be written. In this particular example the man fell into Group 33 and this number also appears on the top left of his form, presumably written there as a filing aid at the time of his attestation.

 

You can read more about the Derby Scheme on The Long, Long Trail website. All document images reproduced on this post are Crown Copyright, The National Archives. Service and Pension records can be searched and downloaded from Ancestry and Findmypast. Both companies offer FREE 14-day trials.



Army Form B.121 - Squadron Troop, Battery & Company Conduct Sheet

Here's a fairly full conduct sheet completed for 4267 James Nugent of the Royal Irish Rifles. These forms are useful for today's historians because, as in this case, they can give a nice summary not only of misdemeanours during a man's army service but also his movements between battalions (and regiments), where he was located when the offences were committed, the names of witnesses and commanding officers, and also the award of Good Conduct Pay and Badges.

James Nugent's original form was destroyed and what we have here is a copy, dutifully recording various offences of drunkenness and disorderly behaviour over a 14 year period. Despite his brushes with the bottle, it should be noted that James Nugent nevertheless still managed to notch up three Good Conduct Badges.

All document images reproduced on this post are Crown Copyright, The National Archives. Service and Pension records can be searched and downloaded from Ancestry and Findmypast. Both companies offer FREE 14-day trials.

Army Form B.268 - Proceedings on Discharge

 

This four-page form is commonly found in the WO 364 pension series and this particular version, illustrated above, dates to March 1915 and was issued in a print-run of 70,000. Furthermore, this was the 39th printing of this particular form.

 

The form is useful as it gives a physical description of the man as well as his intended place of residence and the reasons for discharge.

 

 

The papers above, which are Crown Copyright and reproduced with the permission of the National Archives, relate to the war service of Sydney Crowhurst of Chailey who was discharged as a result of an inflamed heart muscle, or myocarditis, a condition that would kill him before the war was over.

 

Service and Pension records can be searched and downloaded from Ancestry and Findmypast. Both companies offer FREE 14-day trials.