A guide to abbreviations in the British Army, Honourable Artillery Company records
The British Army, Honourable Artillery Company records have a large amount of abbreviations and military jargon. To help you get the most from the records we have created a list of abbreviations for you to consult. The following guide might help with those most commonly found.
| Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| * | (In front of name) Went overseas with the HAC |
| § | Awarded 1914 Star or 1914/15 Star |
| † | (In front of name) Went overseas with another unit of the armed forces (usually because of receiving a commission) |
| 101 or 104 | 101st Provisional Battalion or 104th Provisional Battalion |
| 1 or 2 or 3 | 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion or 3rd [Reserve] Battalion [HAC]. Note that Each of the three infantry battalions had four numbered companies (Nos 1-4 Company) and these are sometimes referred to as corresponding lettered companies (A-D Company) in HAC records (or histories) |
| 1/1 or 2/1 or 3/1 | 1st Battalion, No. 1 [or A] Company [similar for 2nd and 3rd Bns] [HAC] |
| 1/2 or 2/2 or 3/2 (or 1-2 and so on) | 1st Battalion, No. 2 [or B] Company [similar for 2nd and 3rd Bns] [HAC] |
| 1/3 or 2/3 or 3/3 (or 1-3 and so on) | 1st Battalion, No. 3 [or C] Company [similar for 2nd and 3rd Bns] [HAC] |
| 1/4 or 2/4 or 3/4 (or 1-4 and so on) | 1st Battalion, No. 4 [or D] Company [similar for 2nd and 3rd Bns] [HAC] |
| 18 9 14 or 1 10 16 (Dates in columnar form) | These represent dates written in columnar form; sometimes two days might be represented as '24 27 10 17'; these dates usually accompany information on going overseas, wounding, to hospital etc. |
| 1-A or 1/A or 1/a | A Battery [HAC] |
| 1-B or 1/B or 1/b | B Battery [HAC] |
| 1st Reserve Bn | 3rd [or Reserve] Battalion [HAC] |
| 2/Lt | Second Lieutenant |
| 20 5 17 lf 29 5 17 [with columnar dates] | Reports from hospital on 20 May 1917 and given leave until 29 May 1917 |
| 20 Man. R | 20th Bn, Manchester Regt |
| 24.9.14 [as a 'long' date] | Dates written straight across at the beginning of a man's entry in the RNRs represent the date at which he joined the HAC and was assigned his regimental number; this 'long' date might also have extra day and month numbers below or above it |
| 2-A or 2/A or 2/a | 2/A Battery [HAC] |
| 2-B or 2/B or 2/b | 2/B Battery [HAC] |
| 2nd ic | Second in Command |
| 392 XVI | Discharged in consequence of being no longer physically fit for War Service' (paragraph 392 XVI King's Regulations) |
| 3A or 3a | 3/A Battery [later the Reserve Battery] [HAC] |
| 3B or 3b | 3/B Battery [later the Reserve Battery] [HAC] |
| A | A Battery [HAC] |
| A/ | Acting [with rank] |
| A/Capt. | Acting Captain |
| Adjt | Adjutant |
| adm. | Admitted [to the HAC civil side] |
| Amb. | Ambulance |
| AO no. | Army Order no. |
| APM | Acting Provost Marshal |
| Art. | Artillery |
| atd or attd | Attached |
| B | B Battery [HAC] |
| Bapt. | Baptist |
| Bde | Brigade |
| Bdr | Bombardier |
| BEF | British Expeditionary Force |
| Bn | Battalion |
| Bomb. Sch. | Bombing School |
| Bright. | Brighton |
| Btty | Battery |
| Bty | Battery |
| C | Corporal |
| C de G | Croix de Guerre |
| C of E | Church of England |
| Cad. S. Kildare | Cadet School, Kildare [Ireland] |
| Calthorp [in columnar form] | Calthorpe Steet Depot |
| Cam. | Cambridge |
| Capt. | Captain |
| Cav. | Cavalry |
| CE | Church of England |
| Chris. Sc. | Christian Scientist |
| Col | Colonel |
| Com. | Commissioned [into an HAC unit or another unit] |
| Cong. | Congregationalist |
| Corp. | Corporal |
| Coy | Company |
| Cpl | Corporal |
| 'Crossed swords' symbol [with or without a columnar date] | Went with original unit to Front; see also 'F' below |
| CS | Cadet School |
| CSM | Company Sergeant Major |
| CU | Cadet Unit |
| D | Draft |
| DAG | Deputy Adjutant-General |
| DCM | Distinguished Conduct Medal |
| Dem | Demobilised |
| Dep. | Depot |
| DFC | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Dis. | Discharged |
| Dis. Com. | Discharged to commission in another regiment/unit |
| DoW | Died of Wounds |
| DSO | Distinguished Service Order |
| Dvr | Driver |
| E | England |
| ECU [sometimes with date in columnar form] | To Cadet School or Unit in England, as in '16 3 17 ECU'= 'to England 16 March 1917 to join Cadet School' |
| Exp. | Expeditionary |
| F | Father - as next of kin with religion, e.g. F CofE - 'father is next of kin, religion is Church of England' |
| F | Field [as in regiment] |
| F [with columnar date] | Was drafted overseas from an HAC reserve unit to to join an HAC operational unit serving at the Front |
| Fce | Force |
| gaz. | Gazetted, i.e. commission published in the London Gazette |
| Gen. | General |
| Gnr | Gunner |
| Gr | Gunner |
| GSW | Gun-shot wounds |
| H [sometimes with date in columnar form] | To hospital |
| HA | Horse Artillery [HAC] |
| HAC | Honourable Artillery Company |
| HB | Household Brigade |
| HE [sometimes with date in columnar form] | To hospital, England |
| Hon. | Honourable |
| Howr | Howitzer |
| HQ | Headquarters |
| I | Invalided |
| IE [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Invalided, to England |
| Imp. Camel Corps | Imperial Camel Corps |
| Inf. | Infantry |
| Instr | Instructor |
| K | Dead or missing |
| KCB | Knight Commander of the Bath |
| KiA | Killed in Action |
| KRRC | King's Royal Rifle Corps |
| Ks 392 | See 392 XVI |
| KSLI | King's Shropshire Light Infantry |
| L/ | Lance [as in rank] |
| L/Bdr | Lance/Bombardier |
| L/Cpl | Lance Corporal |
| L/Sgt | Lance/Sergeant |
| LC | Lance Corporal |
| LCD Seaf. | London Command Depot at Seaford [Sussex] |
| LD | London District |
| LDLC | London District Labour Centre |
| LEE | London Electrical Engineers |
| LG | London Gazette |
| LHE [in columnar form] | In hospital whilst on leave in England |
| Lt | Lieutenant |
| Lt-Col | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Lt-Gen. | Lieutenant-General |
| M | Mother - as next of kin with religion, e.g. 'M CofE' - 'mother is next of kin, religion is Church of England' |
| M [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Missing |
| M. in Desp. | Mentioned in Despatches |
| Maj. | Major |
| Maj.-Gen. | Major-General |
| Man. R. | Manchester Regiment |
| MBE | Member of the Order of the British Empire |
| MC | Military Cross |
| Meth. | Methodist |
| MGC Bisley [or other locations] | Machine Gun School at Bisley [or other locations] |
| MiD | Mentioned in Despatches |
| MinD | Mentioned in Despatches |
| MM | Military Medal |
| MMB | ‘Major Mayhew’s Book’ [HAC’s 1st Bn Register] |
| NCO | Non-Commissioned Officer |
| No. | Number |
| Nr | Near |
| OC | Officer Cadet |
| OCB | Officer Cadet Battalion |
| Offr | Officer |
| Plat. | Platoon |
| POW [in columnar form] | Prisoner of War |
| Presby or Pres. | Presbyterian |
| Pte | Private |
| QM | Quartermaster [officer rank] |
| R Berks. | Royal Berkshire Regiment |
| R W Kent R | Royal West Kent Regt |
| R War. R | Royal Warickshire Regt |
| R W Surrey R | Royal West Surrey Regt |
| R. Welsh Fus. | Regiment of Royal Welsh Fusiliers |
| RA Exeter | Officers Royal Artillery School, Exeter |
| RA Select. St JWd | Royal Artillery Officers Selection, St John's Wood |
| RB | Reserve Battery [HAC] |
| RC | Roman Catholic |
| Rd | Road |
| RDC [in columnar form] | Royal Defence Corps |
| RE | Royal Engineers |
| RE Signals | Royal Engineers Signals |
| Regt | Regiment |
| RFA | Royal Field Artillery |
| RFC | Royal Flying Corps |
| RFC Denh. | Royal Flying Corps, Denham |
| RGA | Royal Garrison Artillery |
| RN | Royal Navy |
| RS [in columnar form] | Royal Scots |
| Ry | Railway |
| S | Sick |
| S | Sergeant |
| S Wales Bdrs | South Wales Borderers |
| S/Sgt or S/Sjt | Staff Sergeant |
| SB | 309th (HAC) Siege Battery RGA [HAC] |
| SE | South East |
| SE [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Sick, to England |
| Sgt | Sergeant |
| Sh sh | Shell shock |
| Sherwood For. | Sherwood Foresters |
| sic | Thus' [Latin] |
| Sjt | Serjeant |
| Sp. Res. | Special Reserve [of officers] |
| Spr | Sapper |
| SS | Signal Section [?] |
| St | Saint |
| St JWd | St John's Wood |
| Sub.-Lt | Subordinate Lieutenant [junior naval rank] |
| T/ | Temporary [with rank] |
| Tanks [in columnar form] | Tank Regiment |
| TD | Territorial Decoration |
| Temp. | Temporary |
| TM or TMB or TM By | Trench Mortar Battery |
| TR | Training Reserve |
| VC | Victoria Cross |
| W | Wife [as next of kin with religion], e.g. 'W RC' - 'wife is next of kin, religion is Roman Catholic' |
| W [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Wounded |
| WE [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Wounded, to England |
| Wes or Wesly | Wesleyan |
| WH [sometimes with date in columnar form] | Wounded and in hospital |
| WO 1st Class | Warrant Officer First Class |
| WO List | War Office List |