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Tom Tulloch-Marshall |
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Tom Tulloch-Marshall |
The British Army 1914 ~ 1919
Higher Echelon War
Diaries
 what are we talking about here, and why is it important ? |
The control structure of nearly all British Army units is pyramidal; that is to say the line of command and reporting is vertical and follows a logical path. In terms of researching any particular man or unit it is important to understand how this might affect the availability of, and likely sources for, any War Diary information which might exist in addition to the information to be found in the Battalion or Unit war diary. |
| Infantry, for example | Take the Infantry for example (as they are the most commonly researched
branch of the service), and say we wanted to look at the whereabouts
and actions of the 8th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders during the Battles
around Delville Wood during August 1916; what "reporting path" should
be researched ? For the period in question the path is as follows:-
The 8th Seaforths are instructed by and report to > 44th Infantry Brigade; who are instructed by and report to > 15th (Scottish) Division; who are instructed by and report to > XV Corps; who are instructed by and report to IVth Army. Once you go above Brigade level then there is often more than one file to be examined for each echelon, for example both the 15th Division's General Staff and A&Q Branch files should be examined as both may contain relevant information, - so it goes on up the line. |
| units other than Infantry ? | Similar, though "different", paths exist for other branches of the Army; for example if we were looking at the 70th Brigade Royal Field Artillery then the path would be via 70th Bde RFA's war diaries to 15th Divisional Commander Royal Artillery and then into the 15th Division GS and A&Q diaries, etc. Units such as Brigade Trench Mortar Batteries, Divisional Ammunition Columns, Field Ambulances, Siege Batteries, Entrenching Battalions, etc., etc., all have similar paths - the list is almost endless - "everyone" reports to "someone", and the document chains are more often than not well worth following. |
| why search above Unit level ? | I'll stick to the Infantry as an example here, though the same general
rules apply to nearly all Army units.
The reason why the war diaries of echelons higher up the chain than the Infantry Battalion should be examined is really quite simple, it's because Operational Orders, battle or action reports, messages, statistics, Routine Orders, maps, and a myriad of other paperwork relevant to the Battalion's activities are hardly ever found in the Battalion files; these vital sources of information are generally only found in the relevant Brigade and Divisional files, and, depending upon the degree of detail required, it is often worthwhile going further up the chain of command and examining the files at Corps and "Army" level. Each case will be dependent upon the level of detail required, and appropriate advice will be given at the time of enquiry. |
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