Tom Tulloch-Marshall Military Genealogy & Operational Records Of The Great War

Officer's Service Records ~ some previously researched examples

The following extracts from "Officer's Service Records" at the PRO are fairly typical of the type of information to be found in these classes of files. It should be remembered that the files vary enormously in content and "quality", and that the "service record" is only one of several sources to be used for researching an Officer's active service. Click the image to return to "Officer's Service Records" >

	< click here for Lauriston John ARNOTT - Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) & Royal Irish Rifles.  ~ unsatisfactory reports with the Cameronians ~ misconduct and disciplined ~ threat of Court Martial ~ intervention of father ~ resignation ~ enlistment as a Private in the RIR ~ wounded ~ commissioned ~ wounded again ~ Medical Boards ~ return to France ~ medically downgraded and discharged.
	< click here for George Wesley JACK - Queens Own Cameron Highlanders ~ pre war Private in the 1/4th (Territorial) Battalion ~ to France February 1915 ~ wounded ~ wrongly recorded as Kia ~ applied for commission in Infantry ~ commissioned in the Machine Gun Corps ~ taken prisoner ~ repatriated ~ exonerated ~ discharged.
	< click here for Robert Forsythe PEPPER ~ Royal Irish Fusileers ~ wounded but stays "at duty" ~ wounded again, and "missing" ~ War Office send mother wrong advice ~ mother writes to War Office ~ sister writes ~ War Office issues correction ~ "Miss Russell" writes ~ enquiry to the American Embassy ~ presumption of death ~ a Red Cross letter ~ "Miss Greer" writes ~ "death accepted for official purposes".
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Lauriston John ARNOTT
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and Royal Irish Rifles

Born 27/11/1890 at Stoke Bishop, Westbury, Bristol. Son of John Alexander Arnott, Ship Owner, and Caroline Sydney Arnott, nee Williams. Applied for admission to the Royal Military Academy 25/4/09. Address at this time 12 Merrion Square, Dublin. Arnott's military report for 1912 stated that his  overall performance was "not satisfactory", and further notes show that he had been dealt with by GOC Lowland Division 24/6/13  on a charge of misconduct through heavy drinking at Stobbs Camp. Arnott's leave was stopped for one year and  it was noted that no clemency was to be shown if there was any  further breach of military discipline.

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Arnott was placed under arrest in Glasgow 19/3/1914 by OC 1st Bn Cameronians after having been witnessed "Drunk and Misbehaving himself" in the Alhambra Theatre on the 18th. Strongly recommended for Court Martial, with 2nd Lieutenants EL Ferry, CDW Rooke, and JHC Minchin of the 1st Cameronians to be called as prosecution witnesses.

No witnesses were nominated by the defence and an application for a General Court Martial was submitted 26/3/1914. On the same date OC Lowland Division wrote to HQ Scottish Command and reported that he had been visited by Sir John Arnott, Bart (Arnott's father, now proprietor of the Irish Times in Dublin) who had made a "most urgent appeal" that his son should be allowed to resign his commission in order to avoid a trial and therefore disgrace to the family. Sir John had drawn attention to the fact that following the 1899-1902 South African War he had donated the sum of £18,000 to the widows and orphans find and had received the personal thanks of HRH The Duke of Connaught.

OC Lowland Division advised Scottish Command that he was concerned for the good name of the Cameronians and that for that reason he recommended that Arnott should be allowed to resign his commission rather than be Court Martialed. GOC Scottish Command passed this recommendation to The Army Council, who acceded, and on the 13th of April 1913 Arnott submitted his application to resign to OC 1st Cameronians. The War Office approved this application on the 1st of May 1914 and Arnott quit the service with his record showing a total of seven and a half years with the Cameronians (therefore there must have been service prior to April 1909).

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Attested as Private 1312 in the 3rd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles 3/11/1914 in Dublin, giving his profession as rancher and marital status as single. (The use of the expression "Rancher" would rather imply that Arnott had been working overseas, but no overseas addresses are recorded in the files). Previous military experience was shown as Lieutenant in the Cameronians, "resigned". Age at enlistment declared as 24yrs; height 5ft 11ins; chest 35-37.5ins; weight 147lbs.

Appointed unpaid Lance-Corporal 6/11/1914; and Acting Sergeant 9/11/1914, he was posted to France on the 11th of November 1914 and wounded in action near Kemmel 27/12/1914 (no detail given). Returned to the UK 2/1/1915 where he remained until March 24th 1915 when he was granted a commission as 2nd Lieutenant  in the 3rd Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and returned to the BEF in France, where he was attached 1st Bn RIR. (His next of kin is recorded at this time as  his father, John Alexander Arnott of 12 Merrion Square, Dublin). Suffered a gunshot wound to the elbow (compound fracture) at Laventie  on the 23rd-24th of June 1915. Left the battalion on the 24th and embarked Dieppe for Dover on the 29th of July.

Medical Board on the 23rd of August 1915 granted 3 months leave and a further Board 8/2/1916 declared they expected him to remain unfit for service for 12 months and stated that the disability was likely to be permanent. However further notes show that he returned to the front during March 1918,  then arrived at the Le Havre Base 25/5/1918 and appeared before a further Board there on the 28th. This Board graded him "B3" and unfit for further active service. A final Medical Board 12/3/19 ordered his discharge as his condition seemed unlikely to ever improve. click here to return to top of page >

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George Wesley JACK
Queens Own Cameron Highlanders & Machine Gun Corps

Born on the 13th of July 1895 at No7 Telford Terrace, Inverness, and educated at The Royal Academy, Inverness. Attested as Private 1180 in the 1/4th Battalion (Territorial Force) Queens Own Cameron Highlanders on the 13th of January 1912 aged 17yrs. Clerk with the Bank of Scotland, Fort Augustus. Next of kin stated as father, William Wesley Jack, also of the Bank of Scotland at Fort Augustus. Mother was Elsie, nee McGillivray. Height 5ft 4ins; chest 35-37.5ins.

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Embodied 5th August 1914 and signed Army Form E624 (obligation for Imperial Service) 5th September 1914. Departed for France with the 1/4th Battalion 19th February 1915. Gunshot wound to the leg 15/6/15 and admitted to No23 Field Ambulance the same day. Discharged to unit on the 17th. Appeared before OC 23/6/15 and was fined 6 pence for having lost his cap comforter.

An erroneous entry on his Active Service Casualty Form shows him as killed in action on the 27th of September 1915 (the Battalion were in the front line at Loos that day and suffered several casualties), - this entry was subsequently deleted.  Promoted Lance-Corporal 16/10/15 and applied for commission in the 3/4th Camerons on the 12th of January 1916 (unit applied for was subsequently deleted and the 3/5th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders substituted). Jack was admitted to No 1 Field Ambulance on the 29th of January 1916, suffering from influenza, and was passed to the Highland Casualty Clearing Station on the 4th of February. He was then sent to No 9 General Hospital at Rouen on the 6th and was finally discharged back to the 1/4th Battalion at the Etaples Base Camp on the 6th of March. He was promoted Acting-Corporal effective from the 1st of that month.

A form dated 18th March 1916 expresses the recommendation of Lieutenant-Colonel Hector Fraser with regard to the application for commission in the A&S Highlanders. (The Colonel was then commanding the 3/5th Battalion of that Regiment at Ripon, in Yorkshire, but had first served overseas with the 1/4th Camerons at the beginning of 1915 and had commanded that battalion from May 1915 until the end of that year). Jack returned to the UK on the 6th of July, the papers on file stating that this was with a view to his being commissioned into the A&S Highlanders, but he was in fact granted a temporary commission in the Machine Gun Corps on the 7th of November 1916. There is nothing in the files to explain this change of plan.

Arrived at the MGC Base Depot at Camiers on the 6th of October 1917 (there is no immediate explanation on file about the period between being commissioned and this arrival) and was posted to No 62 Company MGC on the 9th of October. Granted leave to the UK from the 16th till the 31st of January 1918, he rejoined his unit on the 2nd of February and was posted "missing" on the 22nd of March.

He had in fact been taken prisoner at Chapel Hill, near Hendicourt, when his men and two Vickers Guns had been surrounded and captured by the advancing enemy. There is a full statement of mitigation on file, this describing a confused and desperate situation when the Germans advanced out of heavy fog and broke the British front line either side of his forward position. He had been wounded and had lost consciousness during the attack, coming round between about 4 or 5pm to find himself in enemy hands. The War Office issued notice of acceptance that he was a Prisoner of War on the 27th of May 1918.

Repatriated after the Armistice he arrived at Leith docks (Edinburgh) on the 18th of December 1918. Promoted Lieutenant on the 3rd of March 1919, and on the 15th of May the War Office issued a certificate of exoneration for his having any responsibility for his capture. Released from his commission 29/10/19, noted as "A1" medically, and single.

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Robert Forsythe PEPPER
Royal Irish Fusileers

Born on the 17th of November 1891, the son of Robert (a bootmaker) and Issabella Jane Pepper (nee Lusk), of New Row, Coleraine, Co Derry.  Educated at Macosquire Intermediate School, Coleraine. Applied for a commission in the 4th Royal Irish Fusileers on the 4th of May 1915. Single, permanent address  at time of application, Hopelea, Portrush, Ireland. Address for correspondence, c/o RP Bowen & Co, 14 Howard Street, Belfast. Profession, "Commercial". Height 5ft 10ins, chest 34-36.5ins, weight 137lbs. A Cadet with Belfast University OTC at time of application.

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There are no "military" details on file excepting that Robert served overseas as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Royal Irish Fusileers "attached" to 1st Battalion. Some very mundane correspondence deals with fiscal matters, but the bulk of the correspondence concerns his having been reported "missing" in action. A War Office telegram to his mother on the 16th of October 1916 states that Robert had been "slightly wounded" on the 12th but had remained at duty. The same day (the 16th) his mother wrote to the War Office saying that she had received the "wire" and  had wired in reply asking for details.

Nothing has been heard and she is now "very anxious" about her son and again asks for details, the War Office replying to this letter on the 19th of October advising that enquiries were being made and  any news would be forwarded. On the 27th of October Robert's sister, Miss E.Pepper, also wrote to the War Office asking if anything was now known about this "slight" wounding (Miss Pepper is the Matron and Officer in Charge of the Partington Convalescent Home and Auxiliary Military Hospital at Glossop, near Manchester).  In this letter Robert's sister refers to correspondence which her mother has now received from Major Donovan, OC 4th Royal Irish Fusileers (refered to elsewhere as dated October 18th, but not on file), in which he apparently stated that Robert had last been seen alive and unwounded on the 12th, but "surrounded by 5 or 6 Germans". Miss Pepper asks if there is any news of Robert having been taken prisoner, and as an afterthought adds that the last Field Service Postcard received at Portrush was dated the 8th of October.

The War Office also corresponded on the 27th, sending a telegram to Robert's mother in which they corrected the advice of the 16th, now saying that Robert had in fact been "slightly wounded" on the 11th but remained at duty, but that "on the 12th inst he became missing" (sic). The War Office replied to Miss Pepper's letter on the 31st of October saying that they had heard nothing more and that if Robert had been taken prisoner then it was far more likely that the family would have correspondence from him directly before any official German report was forthcoming.

A Miss J.Russell of 123 Lee Road, Blackheath, London SE then wrote to the War Office on the 15th of November saying that she had heard that Robert had been wounded and asking for news of him. The War Office replied to this letter on the 17th advising that there had been no news since the report that he had been missing since October 12th, but that his name had been added to a list sent to the American Embassy for circulation in all hospitals and internment camps in Germany; "It is not possible to say if, and when, any information will be received from the German Authorities." (Miss Russell does not explain her interest, but one must perhaps assume her to be a sweetheart of Robert's).

A War Office form dated the 4th of June 1917 suggests that Robert's name should now be put forward for "presumption of death" and a letter to his mother dated the 8th of August "regrets" that the Army Council now  intends this course of action, providing that the family have received no news to the contrary. Robert's mother replies to this on the 23rd of August saying that she has been unable to get any reliable information, but that a Red Cross letter is enclosed for their information. That Red Cross letter is dated the 11th of April 1917 and it says that a Private 5362 W.Matthews of the 1st Irish Fusileers (sic) says that he saw Robert lying wounded in the first German trench at Sailly Saillisel and that he was within six yards of him, but that they had to retire immediately and Robert was left behind. The Red Cross give no credence to this however as it contradicts Major Donovan's letter of the 18th October 1916.

The War Office replied to Mrs Pepper on the 27th of August and now confirmed that death on or after the 12th of October 1916 was going to be accepted.

On the 3rd of September a Miss V.Greer of Glenholme Cottage, Helen's Bay, Co Down, wrote to the War Office and  enquired if there was any definite news of Robert (again, no relationship is explained). The War Office replied on the 12th and advised that the Army Council had decided that death on or after the 12th of October 1916 had now been accepted. The "Death accepted for Official purposes" notification was finally issued on the 18th of September 1917.

The 1st Royal Irish Fusileers lost five Officers and seventy-two Other Ranks killed during their attack on the 12th of October 1916. Robert has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial To The Missing.

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