How do I find details of Alfred’s First World War service?
QI am trying to find out more about my husband’s grandfather’s service in the First World War, although I can’t find a service record.
His name was Alfred Harrison, and he was born on 3 February 1877 in Spalding, Lincolnshire. At the time of his enlistment, he lived at the Crown Hotel in Shepperton. He was in the Army Veterinary Corps, and he is the man on the left in the group photo. Carol Harrison
AThese are photographs of an Army Veterinary Corps Private, the first taken probably quite early in the First World War in a British studio, and the second on active service later, probably in Italy in 1918, or possibly in Salonika. Alfred’s Medal Index Card, which is on ancestry.co.uk and the website of The National Archives (TNA) at bit.ly/tna-mic, shows no theatre of war first served in, normally meaning service in France after the start of 1916. However, the background of the second photo isn’t France. At the end of 1917, five British divisions, with support units, moved to Italy from France and fought in the foothills of the Alps. Each division took a Mobile Veterinary Section with it, which collected sick horses and forwarded them to Veterinary Hospitals. Their War Diaries aren’t online, but can be seen at TNA in Kew and often refer to ordinary soldiers as the units were small. A thorough search might find Albert mentioned, and the same principle applies to veterinary units in Salonika.
Phil Tomaselli
1 CORPS CONFIRMATION
The letters AVC, for ‘Army Veterinary Corps’, and made of brass, are clearly visible on Alfred’s shoulder.
2 WHITE LANYARD
On Alfred’s left shoulder is a white lanyard. These became less common as the war went on, suggesting a date of around 1915.
3 CAP BADGE
The cap badge here is beautifully clear and shows the letters ‘A’, ‘V’ and ‘C’ entwined within a laurel wreath with a crown above. This is the badge of the Army Veterinary Corps in the First World War period. The cap has a stiff peak and a wire keeping the whole thing solid around the top. These began to be phased out in 1915, so the photograph was probably taken that year.
4 TOOL OF THE TRADE
Alfred is carrying a horsewhip. The main job of the Veterinary Corps was the handling and treatment of horses and mules (camels too, in the Middle East), so a horsewhip was vital.
5 OPEN AIR
This second photo was shot in the open air – the shadows are consistent and there’s no sign the background is a studio backdrop (for example, the grass stretches towards the camera). The distant view is mountainous, but does not resemble parts of France and Belgium the British Army served in.