400 Coy MT ASC

[Alan Baker]

Another from AK's material.

This card is from Driver Jack Carr to his wife in Sheffield. He gives his details as 400 Company, MT ASC (Mechanised Transport, Army Service Corps?), 5th General HQ, BEF.

I have checked this unit out on The Long, Long Trail, which lists many ASC companies, including Mechanised Transport, but does not mention 400 Coy. In addition, the franking is FPOA2, 2nd Army HQ, not 5th.

Any ideas?

[Michael Dobbs]

Alan - I have found two files (War Diaries) in The National Archives.  They have been digitised and are available for download at £3.50 each:

400 Company ASC

MT = Mechanical Transport [i]not[/i] Mechanised Transport

War Diaries - France, Belgium and Germany

WO 95/131/1
General headquarters troops. 5 General Headquarters Ammunition Park (400 Company A.S.C.)
1915 Aug - 1916 Dec
The pages in this item are part of a larger record (piece). The record has been split into smaller parts during the digitisation process.
It is available for download for £3.50

WO 95/131/2
General headquarters troops. 5 General Headquarters Ammunition Park (400 Company A.S.C.)
1917 Jan - 1917 Nov
The pages in this item are part of a larger record (piece). The record has been split into smaller parts during the digitisation process.
It is available for download for £3.50

Mike  :)

[Alan Baker]

Many thanks for this. It just goes to show that there are gaps in many records.

I still wonder why it is stamped FPOA2

[Michael Dobbs]

Alan

Do not become confused by numbers - there was no 5 GHQ, it was just GHQ BEF.  I suspect that the '5th General HQ' referred to in the senders address is 5 GHQ Ammunition Park - a unit designation [i]not[/i] a General Headquarters.

This book may provide a better explanation:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=h6qdCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=5+GHQ+Ammunition+Park&source=bl&ots=3FiUKAkZIs&sig=ACfU3U20PAKPnsNzcCzrhLFSVaG2W9kP6w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiR26TEz-_mAhWrURUIHZiHCKIQ6AEwBXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=5%20GHQ%20Ammunition%20Park&f=false

It refers to additional ammunition parks on the Western Front which bore the confusing designation GHQ Ammunition Park (and a number).

It could be that 5 GHQ Ammunition Park had some affiliation with 2nd Army HQ, hence the postmark.

Mike