Catalogue description War Office: Royal Army Service Corps, Army Catering Corps, and Royal Engineers Other Ranks: Service Records, Second World War

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Details of WO 438
Reference: WO 438
Title: War Office: Royal Army Service Corps, Army Catering Corps, and Royal Engineers Other Ranks: Service Records, Second World War
Description:

This series consists the service records of non-commissioned officers and other ranks (but not officers) who served in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), Army Catering Corps (ACC), or Royal Engineers of the British Army during the Second World War and who were discharged from the armed forces as 'over age' before their time expired in the reserves after 1945.

The types of documents that are most commonly found within the service records comprising this series are:

  • Attestation forms, which are the documents signed by the new recruit, or created upon transfer between units;
  • Statement of service, which outline an individual's postings whilst in service;
  • Discharge forms, which were issued when a soldier left the regiment;
  • A variety of supporting correspondence.
Note: There may be gaps in the sequence of pieces while we continue to catalogue this accession
Date: [1939-1963]
Arrangement:

Some pieces appear to have been organised according to service number, surname or date of birth, however for large parts of this series there is no discernible order to the pieces.
Related material:

For Soldier's records pre-1914 see

First World War soldiers' documents are in WO 97

and WO 363

For soldier's service records relating to the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) see WO 364

For soldier's service records relating to selected smaller corps during the Second World War period see WO 420

For Infantry Over Age Other Ranks see WO 421

For soldier's service records relating to the Royal Artillery see WO 427

and Other Ranks see WO 422

For Women's Services in East Africa, Nurses and Other Ranks see WO 423

WO 428
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

War Office, 1857-1964
Physical description: file(s)
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 2024 Ministry of Defence
Accruals: This series is accuring
Administrative / biographical background:

This collection of records includes those who served in the Royal Army Service Corps, Army Catering Corps, and Royal Engineers during the Second World War. Records relating to the infantry, Royal Artillery, the Guards or Cavalry, as well as the majority of women’s service records, were held by the War Office/Ministry of Defence separately for administrative purposes. In many cases, records were added to after 1945, as individuals remained in the Army Reserve and liable for recall to the armed forces up until 1959 or until they reached the age of 45. This series contains those who were ‘over age’, i.e. those who reached the maximum age limit before the expiration of their terms of service. The records were also used for pension purposes after 1945.

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