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Archiver > GREATWAR > 2004-12 > 1102445240


From: "Tom Tulloch-Marshall" <>
Subject: Re: [WW1] History of a RFA unit ???
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 18:56:17 -0000
References: <009501c4d92c$bfb82000$0301010a@margslbm456c>


"....... > He was serving in the RFA in Nov 1914 when he married grand
mother at the Parish Church , Berkhamsted, HRT > He was from Watford but he
has a High Wycombe, Bucks address on their marriage cert. > He was a gunner
regt # 1452 and under that is another number 890418 .........."

Marg - the two numbers point to a Territorial Force re-numbering in 1916,
which if correct means that he served with the 4th Brigade of the East
Anglian Division (TF) which was controlled by the Hertfordshire Territorial
Force Association (see Army Council Instruction #2198 appendix #183).

You cant take it as read that all his service was with them, but failing a
service record surviving there isn't too much you can do with an RFA man.

The "problem" with the surviving burned and unburned series service records,
from a researchers point of view, is that ever so occasionally people
somehow convince themselves that what they are paying for is a copy of the
records, and if the records don't exist then there will be no cost. This
isn't correct - what researchers charge you for is the search time - if no
record survives then that isn't their problem / "fault" - you pay for the
searches, not the results. Sadly it is a fact that about 60% of the records
were destroyed in 1940, and as there is no index system it is impossible to
tell if a record does survive without actually making the searches.

It is very important to remember that you CANNOT search for WW1 OR's service
record index references in the TNA database - and there aren't only the
burned series records to search, for men who survived there are also the
various unburned series to search as well.
regards
--
Tom Tulloch-Marshall
Great War Military Research
Website > http://www.btinternet.com/~prosearch/index.html


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