I am researching a soldier who joined the Royal Artillery TA in 1939 and on 2nd September an entry in his service record identifies that he was 'Called out for actual military service under App.1 Para 13 (2) (b) T.A Regulations 1936". A further entry identifies that he was 'EMBODIED' on the same day. I believe that this meant he was 'placed' into the Regular Army, but can anyone help to clarify exactly what this means ?? Thank you Mike
Hi Mike, don't know if it actually means he was sent to a regular unit, or the unit he joined was regarded as a full-time Army unit from that time on. I suspect the latter. My father joined the Terries in 1938, but because he was still only 16 when war broke out he was sent home and later directed to the local Police HQ. When he turned 18 and went to enquire why he hadn't been called up, he was informed that he was now in a reserved occupation. It took him nine months to get permission to leave and join the forces.
Essentially, it means the latter. Enlistment in the TA then, as to the Reserve now, entails commitment to a liability to be called to full-time service in the event of an emergency. On 2 September 1939, the day before British declaration of WW2, such an emergency was deemed to have arisen, and all TA men were called to immediate service, effectively lasting until cessation of hostilities
But before the 1990s TA members had to be asked to volunteer for overseas service, since they had been set up for home defence.
I'm researching an Edward Poyser and have recently obtained his WW2 records. On his statement of services sheet, it says he was discharged in consequence of TA Regs para 204 sub para 15 1936. Can anyone kindly explain exactly what this relates to please?
th That was the case before 1916, betwene 1919 and 1939 and between 1962 (or whenever National Service ended and 1990). The National Services act of 1939 meant that the distinctions between regular and reservist were eliminated and reservists embodied in the armed forces.
We know we have Edwards information for his service in the TA and regular army but they mention nothing about his medals or his postings to India and Burma, for example. We know from a newspaper article in October 1944 that he was with the ordnance branch of SE Asia Command at some point; that he had written home from Burma and mentioned that he had been out East for more than 2 years; that 4 years earlier he had met his brother in Calcutta; that he went to India in 1939 - where he had previously been excused wearing boots then somehow posted out to Burma and that he had been a member of a specialist unit, possibly doing air supply work? None of the above were mentioned in the papers we have for him other than he was in a hospital in India when he was given his PYTHON leave. We know he got the India Service Medal in June 1941 but no mention of those in his records nor any of the other automatic medals he should have received such as the WW2 general service medal for example plus the other one that those who served in WW2 would usually have got. It's all rather odd. So the big question I suppose, having said all that, is where can I/we go to try to find out more about what he may have done out there, dates and so on. What should we be asking for and where? Please don't suggest the Royal Warwickshire Regimental Museum. With the best will in the world, we've had some wrong, misleading information from there already. For anyone who hasn't yet seen the newspaper article I mentioned, I'll post it here. Thank you. Nick.
Have you tried posting at ww2talk? They have a more Commonwealth point of view and someone may be able to point you in the right direction or even answer your questions directly. Good luck and let us know what you find out.