Army Form D.400 - Description on discharge

 

Army Form D.400 is a useful document in giving a picture of a soldier at the end of his service and is packed with information not only about the man's military career but also about his family. On this June 1915 version is space to record details of the soldier's parents, wife and children, not to mention his intended place of residence.

 

The man mentioned in this particular document, a recent research project, originally attested in 1898, extended to complete 12 years with the colours and then enlisted for four years for Section D, Army Reserve. He was three months short of the expiry of that term of service when Britain went to war and he was obliged to complete the four years plus an additional bounty year (which he served in Britain). Upon discharge he promptly re-enlisted and served with the Army Service Corps in France.

 

 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.2056 - Transfer to Army Reserve

 

Army Form B.2056 gives a useful summary of a man's colour service prior to his transfer to the Army Reserve. In the case of Private Groves (above), his conduct and character is described as "Indifferent. Addicted to drink".

 

 

Brief service history details are given on the following pages, also a description of the man and his intended place of residence. It's a useful document and in my experience there are not too many that survive in WO 97. This appears to have been one form which the MoD decided could be weeded and disposed of, probably because the majority of the information included here is also noted on the attestation papers.

 

Pages 3 and 4 are reproduced below. 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.103 - Casualty Form - Active service

Army Form B.103 is an extremely useful document as it gives not only attestation and enlistment details but also movements from the time the soldier stepped ashore in war zone. These documents can run to several pages and are useful additions to - or substitutes for - attestation papers.

There are two date columns on this form and it's the date on the right which is the date of the event.  So in the example above, Private Anderson was admitted to the 31st General Hospital at Port Said on the 12th December 1916.

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.

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Army Form W.5080 - names and addresses of living relatives of a deceased soldier

This is a poignant, sad and touching document. It is also extremely useful to today's family historians as it can give a complete family picture of parents and siblings of the dead soldier in question. Most of the forms that I have seen tend to date to 1919 and there was certainly a large print run delivered that year; see the 2/19 below:

For many family historians, this document and a few others like it (for instance medal acknowledgement slips) are as close as we get to being able to pinpoint our ancestors close to a decade after the 1911 census was taken.

The main document on this post is from my great uncle' surviving service record in WO 363. Rfm John Frederick Nixon was killed in action on 3rd October 1918 and this form lists his parents, four brothers and seven sisters and all their addresses. It's gold-dust for the family historian - but I wish it hadn't been necessary to complete this for him.

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.115 - Court of Inquiry inventory

 

This form, as is clearly stated on the form, was used by a Court of Enquiry to list the "Arms, Ammunition, Equipments, Instruments, Regimental Necessities or Clothing" of men who had absented themselves without leave. The interest for me - and I suspect other family and military historians - is in the minutiae of detail given - not to mention the cost of some of the items.

 

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 W.3195 - Mobilisation of Derby Scheme men

 

Form W.3195, as can be seen in the example below, was sent to men who had attested under the Derby Scheme and who were now being mobilised. It's a very useful form for family historians as it gives the man's home address and group number. In this particular case, the man's group is noted as 28 which tells us that at the time of his attestation he was a married man who had been born in 1893. There is also a stamp on the form which tells the recruit to bring his marriage certificate and children's birth certificate/s with him when he presents himself.

 

 

This man is being fifteen days notice to attend the Central London Recruiting Centre at Scotland Yard and the small print warns him that he if fails to attend he will be considered a deserter.

 

Despite the good intentions of the Derby Scheme which encouraged a further 2.4m men to join up (amongst these, my grandfather and at least two of his brothers), the scheme was ultimately adjudged a failure with 38 per cent of eligible single men and 54 per cent of married men still declining to serve King and Country. It was inevitable therefore that conscription would follow and this was introduced by The Military Service Act of January 1916 which came into force on 2nd March 1916.

 

There is much useful information on the Derby Scheme on The Long, Long Trail website.  The image of Army Form W.3195 is Crown Copyright The National Archives and is used with permission. The Military Service Act poster is used with the permission of Wikipedia.

 

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.104-53 - medal corrections

This is a nice little form which in this instance demonstrates the efficiency of the War Office if nothing else. I'm not sure that the form was used exclusively to record medal naming inconsistencies and would welcome further thoughts on this.

Private W Butterfield's 1914 Star was impressed incorrectly with "A Butterfield". This version of the army form documents the correction process. The medal was originally issued on 8th January 1920 and had been corrected and returned to the man by 13th February; a little under five weeks. Pretty good going considering the volume of medals which were flying around at that time.  Note that the man's medal index card (below) also records the amendment.

 

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. The medal index card image appears on Ancestry.