Honourable Artillery Company glossary

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. Note: sometimes these abbreviations might be combined as in "U/A/Bdr" for "unpaid acting bombardier".

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)
? [sometimes with a columnar date]	Went with original HAC unit to the Front in WWI; see also 'F' below when drafted to unit already at the Front
@	at

1 or 2 or 3	HAC's 1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion or 3rd [Reserve] Battalion. 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]
101 or 104	101st Provisional Battalion or 104th Provisional Battalion
15 (S) Div	15th (Scottish) Infantry Division
18 9 14 or 1 10 16 [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 about going overseas, wounding, to hospital etc.
18 set or 19 set	Communications sets used in WWII; the artillery used set No. 18 to communicate with infantry units and set No. 19 to communicate with armoured units
1-A or 1/A or 1/a	A Battery [WWI]
1-B or 1/B or 1/b	B Battery [WWI]
1st Reserve Bn	3rd [or Reserve] Battalion [HAC] [WWI]
2/IC or 2i/C	Second in Command
2/Lt	Second Lieutenant
20 5 17 l f 29 5 17 [with columnar dates]	Leave from hospital between two dates, so in this example, reports from hospital on 20 May 1917 and given leave until 29 May 1917
20 Man. R	20th Battalion, Manchester Regiment
23 H	23rd Hussars
24.9.14 [as a 'long' date]	Dates written straight across at the beginning of a man's entry in the WWI Regimental Number Registers 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
25-prs or 25-pdrs	25-pounder guns
273 Bty	One of the batteries of 86th (HAC) HAA Regiment RA
274 Bty	One of the batteries of 86th (HAC) HAA Regiment RA
275 Bty	One of the batteries of 86th (HAC) HAA Regiment RA
2-A or 2/A or 2/a	2/A Battery [HAC; WWI]
2-B or 2/B or 2/b	2/B Battery [HAC; WWI]
2iC or 2ic or 2IC or 2nd ic	Second in Command
2Lt or 2/Lt or 2nd Lt	Second Lieutenant
30th RF	30th (HAC) Battalion Royal Fusiliers [see also 13th Bn RF and NDC]
317/101 or 274/86	These shorthand examples indicate batteries and regiments of the Royal Artillery, i.e. 317 Battery of 101st Regiment or 274 Battery of 86th Regimen
383 Bty	One of the batteries of 86th (HAC) HAA Regiment RA
392 XVI	Discharged in consequence of being no longer physically fit for War Service' (according to paragraph 392 XVI of the King's Regulations)
3A or 3a	3/A Battery [later the Reserve Battery] [HAC; WWI]
3B or 3b	3/B Battery [later the Reserve Battery] [HAC; WWI]
443 Bty	One of the batteries of 86th (HAC) HAA Regiment RA
65 NY	65 (Norfolk Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regt RA

A & S Grp	Age and Service Group [used for purposes of demobilisation]
A + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
A or a	Acting
A or A Bty	[WWI] A Battery or [WWII] A Battery, 11th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also B and E] [WWII]
A&SH	Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
A, B, C, D Co	A, B, C or D Company of the HAC's 1st, 2nd or 3rd Battalion in WWI or of the HAC's Infantry Battalion just before its disbandment in September 1939
A/	Acting [with rank]
a/a	air activity
a/c	aircraft
A/Capt	Acting Captain
A/Tank or A/Tk or A-Tk or A/T	Anti-Tank
A3, B1 etc	Medical categories
AA	Anti-aircraft see also HAA
AAA	Anti-Aircraft Artillery
AAC	Anti-Aircraft Command
AADC	Anti-Aircraft Defence Command(er)
AADT	Anti-Aircraft Driver Training
AALMG	Anti-Aircraft Light Machine Gun
AAOR	Anti-Aircraft Operations Room
AATE	Anti-Aircraft Training Establishments
ABCA	Army Bureau of Cultural Affairs
Ack(s)	Assistants - see GPO Ack
ACK	Acknowledgements
ACPO	Assistant Command Post Officer
Adj or Adjt	Adjutant
Adm or adm	Administration
adm	admitted [to the HAC's Company or civilian side]
adv	advance(d)
AEF	Allied Expeditionary Forces
AFS	Automatic Fuse Setter
AFV	Armoured Fighting Vehicle
AG	Adjutant General
AGRA	Army Group Royal Artillery
AIG	Assistant Instructor in Gunnery
AL	Army List
AM	Member of the Order of Australia
Amb	Ambulance
Amn or amn	Ammunition
AN + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
Antwerp 'X'	The secret allied defence of Antwerp against the German V1 and V2 bombing
AO no	Army Order no
AOP	Air Observation Post
AP	Armour Piercing or Ammunition Point
APM	Acting Provost Marshal
APO	Army Post Office
App or Appx	Appendix
Apptd or apptd	Appointed
ARBT	Artillery Regiment Battery Target [?]
ARL	Atelier de Construction de Rueil, a French Army workshop
Armd	Armoured
Art or Arty	Artillery
ARV	Armoured Recovery Vehicle
AS + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
Asst	Assistant
ASSTB	Anti-Ship Surveillance and Targeting Battery [?]
atd or attd or Att	attached or attachment
ATS	Auxiliary Territorial Service
Auth or Authy	Authority
AWOL	Absent without leave
AY	Ayrshire Yeomanry

B	[WWI] B Battery or [WWII] B Battery of 11th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also A and E]
BAOR	British Army of the Rhine
Bapt	Baptist
BBC	British Broadcasting Corporation
BC	Battery Commander
Bde	Brigade
Bdr	Bombardier
bdy	body or boundary
BEF	British Expeditionary Force
BEM	British Empire Medal
BEME	Brigade Electrical and Mechanical Engineer
BHQ	Battery Headquarters
BLA	British Liberation Army
BM + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
BM	Brigade Major
BMA	Beach Maintenance Area
BMRA	Brigade Major Royal Artillery
Bn	Battalion
Bomb Sch	Bombing School
bombards	bombardments
BQMS	Battery Quartermaster Sergeant
Br or br	Bridge [or British, see Brit]
BRA	Brigadier Royal Artillery
brheads	bridgeheads
Brig	Brigadier
Bright	Brighton
Brit or br	British
Brussels 'X'	see Antwerp 'X'
BSM	Battery Sergeant Major
Btty or Bty	Battery

C	C Battery of 12th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also D and F]
C de G	Croix de Guerre
C of E	Church of England
c/o	care of
Cad S Kildare	Cadet School, Kildare [Ireland]
Calthorp [in columnar form]	Calthorpe Street Depot, London
Cam	Cambridge
Can	Canadian
Capt	Captain
cas	casualty or casulaties
Cat	Category
Cav	Cavalry
CB	Confined to Barracks
CB	Companion of the Order of the Bath
CB	Counter-Battery
CBE	Commander of the Order of the British Empire
CBO	Counter-Battery Officer
CCMA	Commander Corps Medium Artillery
CCRA	Corps Commander Royal Artillery
CD	Civil Defence
CD	Coast Defence
CDN or Cdn	Canadian
Cdo(s)	Commando(s)
CE	Church of England
CF	Chaplain to the Forces
Chris Sc	Christian Scientist
C-in-C	Commander-in-Chief
CL	Centre Line or class
Class A Release	Released from the Army under the Plan for Re-allocation of Manpower in the period after the defeat of Germany and before the defeat of Japan; individuals released under this order were still subject to recall in an emergency until the defeat of Japan
Class I (NT) Cook	Class of cook 'non-technical', i.e. not a trained a cook
CM	Counter Mortar
Cmd or Cmnd or cmd	Command
CMP	Corps of Military Provosts/Police
CN + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
CO	Commanding Officer
Col	Colonel
Com	Commissioned [into an HAC unit or another unit]
Comd	Command
Comd or Comdr	Commander
Comm	Commanding
comns	communications
Comp	Competition
conc	concentration [a periodic burst of fire on selected hostile areas or batteries]
Conf	Conference
Cong	Congregationalist
Corpl or Cpl	Corporal
Coy	Company
CP	Command Post
CPO	Command Post Officer
CPO/A	Command Post Officer's Assistant
CQMS	Company Quartermaster Sergeant
CRA	Commander Royal Artillery
CS	Cadet School
CSM	Company Sergeant Major
CU	Cadet Unit
CV	Command Vehicle
CVO	Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
CW	Chemical Weapons
Cwt	hundredweight

D	Draft
D	D Battery of 12th (HAC) Regiment RHA (see also C and F)
d	pence [Latin: denarii]
D&M	Driving and Maintenance
D/no	Draft number
D+8	D-Day (6 June 1944) plus eight days or any other number of days
DADOS	Deputy Assistant Director Ordnance Services
DAG	Deputy Adjutant general
DAQMG	Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General
DCM	Distinguished Conduct Medal
DCRE	Deputy Commander Royal Engineers
DCU	Defence Communications Unit [?]
D-Day	the 'Day' for a specific operation, in the case of the Normandy Landings (or Operation Neptune) this D-Day was 6 June 1944
def	defence or defensive
Dem	Demobilised
Dep	Depot
Det or det	Detachment
DF	Defensive Fire
DFC	Distinguished Flying Cross
DI	Defence Intelligence
dingo	a small armoured scout car
DIO	Divisional Intelligence Officer
Dis	Discharged
Dis Com	Discharged to commission in another regiment/unit
Dist	District
Div or Divl	Division or Divisional
DL	Deputy Lieutenant
DoW	Died of wounds
DP	Displaced Person
DQMG	Deputy Quarter Master General
DR	Despatch Rider
Driver I/C	Driver in charge
DRLS	Despatch Rider Letter Service [?]
DSO	Distinguished Service Order
DTD	Department of Tank Design, Chobham, Surrey
Dvr	Driver
DWR	Duke of Wellington's Regiment

E	England or Establishment
E or E Bty	E Battery of 11th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also A and B]
EC1	London Eastern Central One postal district
Ech	Echelon
ECU [sometimes with date in columnar form]	To Cadet School or Cadet Unit in England, as in '16 3 17 ECU' = 'to England 16 March 1917 to join Cadet School'
Edn	Education
eg	for example [Latin: 'exempla gratia']
EME	Electrical and Mechanical Engineer
en	enemy
ENSA	Entertainments National Services Association
eqpt	equipment
est	establishment
etc	et cetera (Latin: 'and the rest')
evac	evacuation or evacuated
ex	exercise or 'from' or 'formerly of'
EX or Ex or ex	Exercise
Exp	Expeditionary
EY	Essex Yeomanry

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'
F or F Bty	F Battery of 12th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also C and D]
F&F Yeo	Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
Fce	Force
Fd or Fld	Field [as battle] or Field [as in regiment]
Flt	Flight
fmn	formation
FO	Flying Officer (RAF)
FOO	Forward Observation Officer
formn	formation
ft	feet
fwd	forward

G	General number designation if in front of HAC Regimental number in WWI register
G or G Bty	G Battery of 13th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also H and I]
G2 or GII	Intelligences
gaz	Gazetted, i.e. commission published in the London Gazette
GC	George Cross
Gds	Guards
Gen	General
GHQ	General Headquarters
GL	Gun Laying (as in Radar) or Gunnery Lieutenant
Gnr(s) or Gr	Gunner(s)
GOC	General Officer Commanding
GOC-in-C	General Officer Commander-in-Chief
Gov or Govt	Government
Gp(s)	Group(s)
GPO Ack	Gun Position Officer's Assistant
GPO	Gun Position Officer
GS	General Service
GSO [I, II, III or 1, 2, 3]	General Staff Officer - grades 1, 2, and 3
GSW	Gun-shot wound(s)
GTV	General Transport Vehicle

H & RF	Height and Range Finder
H [sometimes with date in columnar form]	To hospital
H or H Bty	H Battery of 13th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also G and I]
H + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
H hr	'H' hour is the specific Hour at which an operation or exercise commences, or is due to commence
HA	Horse Artillery [HAC]
HAA	Heavy anti-aircraft
HAC	Honourable Artillery Company
HB	Household Brigade
HD	Home Defence
HE [sometimes with date in columnar form]	To hospital, England
HE	Home Establishment or High Explosive
HF	Harassing Fire
HG	Home Guard
HM	Her or His Majesty
HMI	His Majesty's Inspectorate [of Education]
Hon	Honourable
Hosp	Hospital
Howr	Howitzer
HQ or HQrs or HQtrs	Headquarters
hr(s)	hour(s)
HRH	Her or His Royal Highness
Hvy or Hy or hy	Heavy

I	Invalided
I or I Bty	I Battery of 13th (HAC) Regiment RHA [see also G and H]
i/c	in command or in charge
IA	Indian Army
IAE	Inspectorate of Artillery Equipment
IAZ	Inner Artillery Zone [i.e. London]
Ident	Indentification
IE [sometimes with date in columnar form]	Invalided, to England
ie	that is [Latin: 'id est']
IG	Instructor in Gunnery
Imp. Camel Corps	Imperial Camel Corps
in	inch(es)
incl	including
Ind	Indian
Inf or inf	Infantry
INFM	Information
infmd	informed
Instr	Instructor
insts	instructions
int	intelligence
Intce Corps	Intelligence Corps
intercomn	intercommunication(s)
IO	Intelligence Office(r)
IORA	Intelligence Officer Royal Artillery
ITC	Infantry Training Centre

Ju 88s	Junkers Ju-88s [German twin-engine, multi-role aircraft]
junc	junction

K	Killed, dead or missing
KCB	Knight Commander of the Bath
KiA or KinA	Killed in Action
KO	Knocked Out
KOYLI	Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
KR	King's Regulations - as in KR 1940 Para 390 (XVIII) or (XVI)
KRRC	King's Royal Rifle Corps
KRs	King's Regulations
Ks 392	See 392 XVI (King's Regulations)
KSLI	King's Shropshire Light Infantry

L or L/	Lance [rank]
L/Bdr or LBdr	Lance Bombardier
L/Cpl or LC or LCpl	Lance Corporal
L/Sgt or LSgt	Lance Sergeant
LAA	Light anti-aircraft
LAD	Light Aid Detachment
LBR	Landing Barge, Ramped
LCD Seaf	London Command Depot at Seaford, Sussex
LD	London District
LDLC	London District Labour Centre
LEE	London Electrical Engineers
LG	London Gazette
LG or L/G	Lewis Gun
LHE [in columnar form]	In hospital whilst on leave in England
LIAP	Leave in Advance of Python, i.e. leave given to those who had been away from the UK for three or more years; see also Python
Lieut or Lt	Lieutenant
LM	Life member, of the HAC's Old Comrades Association
LMG	Light Machine Gun
LO	Liaison Officer
locn	location
LofC Inf	Line of communications for the infantry
LST	Landing Ship Tank
Lt	Lieutenant
Lt Col	Lieutenant Colonel
Lt Gen	Lieutenant General
LW	Local Warning
LY	Leicestershire Yeomanry

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 or (M)	Medium or Mixed
M or m	Missing or motor
M tgt	the target engaged by an artillery regiment
M in Desp	Mentioned in Despatches; see also MID
maint	maintainence
Maj	Major
Maj Gen	Major General
Man R	Manchester Regiment
MBE	Member of the Order of the British Empire
MC	Military Cross
Mch	Mechanic
ME 109s	Messerschmitz 109s [German fighter aircraft]
Mech	Mechanic
Med	Medium
MEF	Middle East Force
MEs	Messerschmitts [German ground attack fighter] aircraft]
Meth	Methodist
MFS	Manual Fuze Setter
MG	Machine Gun
MG	Master Gunner
MGC Bisley [or other locations]	Machine Gun School at Bisley, or other locations
MGRA	Major General Royal Artillery
MiD	Mentioned in Despatches
Mil	Military
Min	Minimum
mins	minutes
Mk	Mark
MM	Military Medal or motor mechanic
mm	millimetres
MMB	Major Mayhew's Book - the HAC's 1st Battalion Register for WWI
MO	Medical Officer
MO3	Military Operations 3 [a special duties intelligencesection at the War Office]
Mob	Mobile or Mobilisation
MONS	Monmouthshire Regiment
MOT	Motorised
MP	Military Police or Member of Parliament
MR	Map Reference
msg	message
MT	Mechanical Transport
Mtd	Mounted

N + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
N	North
N Yeo	Northamptonshire Yeomanry
NAAF(I) or NAAF	Navy, Army and Air Force (Institutes)
NCO	Non commissioned officer
NDC	National Defence Companies [see also 30th RF and 13th RF]
NE or ne	North East
net	network
No	Number
non-op	non-operational
Nos 1 or No. 1s	the soldier in charge of the gun - normally a Sergeant but it could be another NCO or any other rank in a war situation
Nr	Near
NS Act	National Service Act
NTR	Nothing To Report
NW	North West
NY	Norfolk Yeomanry
NYA	Not Yet Announced

OBE	Officer of the Order of the British Empire
OBOE	a remote control radar system, OBOE Smoke Screens refers to a particular layout for firing the smoke shells
OC	Officer Commanding
OCA	HAC's Old Comrades Association
OCB	Officer Cadet Battalion
OCT	Officer Cadet Training
OCTU	Officer Cadet Training Unit - 162 OCTU was the HAC's infantry training unit and 121 OCTU was the HAC's artillery training unit
OFC	Operator Fire Control
offr(s)	officer(s)
OiC or OI/C	Officer in Charge or in Command
OM	Old member, as in, of the HAC's Old Comrades Association, or possibly a former member of the HAC itself; also Order of Merit
OME	Ordnance Mechanical Engineer
OO or O/O	Operation Order
op	opposite
OP or Op	Operation or Observation Post
OPA	Observation Post Assistant
opp	opposition
OR(s) or Or(s) or or(s)	Other Rank(s)
org	organisation

P or p	paid
p	page
P/A/	Paid Acting [with rank]
PAC	Parachute and Cable [as in defence]
Para	Parachute Regiment
PC	Privy Councillor
pdr or pr	pounder
pet	petrol
PICKFORD	the code name for a demobilisation or Far East reinforcement scheme; probably named after the actress Mary Pickford
Plat	Platoon
Plate	Addressograph' plate, e.g. "plate extracted" administration system at the HAC's Armoury House
posn	position
posns	positions
POW [sometimes in columnar form]	Prisoner of War
Pow or POW or PoW	Prisoner of War - see also PW
pp	Latin: per procurationem ['through the agency of '], used when signing on behalf of someone else
Prac	Practice
Pred	Predictor Radar
prep	prepared or preparation(s)
Pres or Presby	Presbyterian
prom	promoted
PT	Physical training
pt(s)	point(s)
Pte	Private soldier
pties	parties
PW	Prisoner of War
PWX	former Prisoner of War [i.e. an allied prisoner who had been liberated]
Python or Pythoned	Python scheme for repatriation of overseas forces at the end of WWII; this gave leave to those who had served abroad for three years or more
Pz AR (Mot)	Panzer Artillery (Motorised) [a German unit]
Pz	Panzer [German for 'tank' or 'armoured']

Q	Quartermaster's Branch
QF	Quick Firing
QM	Quartermaster [officer rank]
QORW Kent	Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment

R Berks	Royal Berkshire Regiment
R	River
R Tks or RTR	Royal Tank Regiment
R W Kent R	Royal West Kent Regiment
R W Surrey R	Royal West Surrey Regiment
R War R	Royal Warwickshire Regiment
R Welsh Fus	Royal Welsh Fusiliers
RA	Royal Regiment of Artillery or Royal Artillery
RA Exeter	Officers Royal Artillery School, Exeter
RA Select St JWd	Royal Artillery Officers Selection, St John's Wood
RAC	Royal Armoured Corps
RAChD	Royal Army Chaplains Department
RAF	Royal Air Force
RAFVR	Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
RAM	Rocket Artillery Mortar; this was the original name fo rthe self-propelled 25 Pr later called the Sexton
RAMC	Royal Army Medical Corps
RAMT School	Royal Artillery Motor Transport School
RAOC	Royal Army Ordnance Corps
RAPC	Royal Army Pay Corps
RASC	Royal Army Service Corps
RB	Reserve Battery [HAC; WWI]
RB	Rifle Brigade
RC	Roman Catholic
RCOS or RCS	Royal Corps of Signals
Rct	Recruit
Rd or rd	Road
RDC [sometimes in columnar form]	Royal Defence Corps
rds	rounds [of ammunition]
RE	Royal Engineers
RE Signals	Royal Engineers Signals
Recce	Reconnaissance
recd	received
RED	Returned Equipment Depot
Reg or Regt or Regmt	Regiment
Regtl	Regimental
rem	remains
REME	Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
reorg	reorganisation
rep	representative
reqd	required
Res or res	Reserve
Respy	Responsibility
Rev	Reverend, see also CF
RF or R Fus	Royal Fusiliers
RFA	Royal Field Artillery
RFC	Royal Flying Corps
RFC Denh	Royal Flying Corps, Denham, Buckinghamshire
Rft HU	Reinforcement Holding Unit, see also RHU
RGA	Royal Garrison Artillery
RGO	Regimental Gunnery Officer
RHA	Royal Horse Artillery
RHQ	Regimental Headquarters
RHU	Reinforcement Holding Unit, see also Rft HU
RIASC	Royal Indian Army Service Corps
rly	railway
RMO	Regimental Medical Officer
RMP	Royal Military Prison or Royal Military Police
RN	Royal Navy
rpg	rounds per gun
RQMS	Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant
RS [sometimes in columnar form]	Royal Scots
RSM	Regimental Sergeant Major
Rt Hon	Right Honourable
RT	Radiotelephony
RTR	Royal Tank Regiment
RWF	Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Ry	Railway

S	sick
S	South
S + a number	a gun-site location, see also ZE below
S of A	School of Artillery
S	Southern or South
S Wales Bdrs	South Wales Borderers
S/L	Searchlight
S/Sgt or S/Sjt	Staff Sergeant
SAA	Small Arms Ammunition
SAAD	School of Anti-Aircraft Defence
SAF	Strategic Artillery Fire [?]
SB	Stretcher bearer
Sch	School
SCR 584	Radar Signal Corps Radio No. 584; a microwave radar developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory during the Second World War
SE	South East
SE [sometimes with date in columnar form]	Sick, to England
SEAC	South East Asia Command
Sec	Section
secs	seconds
Sect or sects	Sections
sgnd	signed
Sgt	Sergeant
Sgt (AC)	Sergeant (Artillery Clerk)
shelreps	reports on the effectiveness of shelling
Sherwood For	Sherwood Foresters
sic	Thus [Latin]
Sig(s)	Signal(s) or Signaller(s)
SL or S/L	Searchlight
SL	Start Line
SM + a number	A gun-site location, see also ZE below
SM or sm or smk	smoke
SM	Short Message [?]
SM/I	Sergeant Major Instructor
SO3	Staff Officer Grade 3
SOS	Struck Off Strength
SOS	the international Morse code distress signal
SP	Self-Propelled or Start Point
sp	support
Sp Res	Special Reserve [of officers]
SPC	Survey Production Centre
Spec Empld	Specially employed
Spr	Sapper
Sqdn or Sqn	Squadron
SS	Signal Section [?]
SS	Waffen-Schutzstaffel ['Armed Protection Squadron'] - the armed wing of the Nazi Party
St	Saint
St JWd	St John's Wood
Sta	Stalag for Stammlager [a German PoW camp for other ranks]
stonks	a linear concentration of artillery fire
Str	Strength
Sub	Subaltern [a 2nd lieutenant or lieutenant]
Sub-Lt	Subordinate lieutenant [junior naval rank]
sups	Supplies
SVY or Svy	Survey
SW	South West

T	Territorial
T/	Temporary (with rank)
T/P	Temporary/Posting [?]
TA	Territorial Army
Tac	Tactical
Tanks [sometimes in columnar form]	Tank Regiment
TARO	Territorial Army Reserve of Officers
TD	Territorial Decoration (award for officers)
Tech or tech	Technical
Temp	Temporary
TEWT(S)	Tactical Exercise(s) Without Troops
tgt(s)	Targets
Tk or TK or tk(s)	Tank(s)
TM or TMB or TM By	Trench Mortar Battery
tp(s)	troop(s)
tpt	transport
TR	Training Reserve or Training Regiment
Transfd	Transferred
Trg or Trng	Training
TRRA	Training Regiment Royal Artillery
TT	Trade Test
TTC	Tactical Training Centre

U or u	Unpaid
U Tgt	the target engaged by the divisional artillery
U/A /	Unpaid Acting [with rank]
u/cmd	under command
U-Boat	Unterseeboot [a German submarine]
UPT	Unit Posting Telegram [?]
US or USA	United States of America

V or (V)	Veteran member of the HAC
V Tgt	the target engaged by the corps artillery
v	versus
V1	a visible German flying bomb used mainly against ports, like Antwerp and civilian populations from 1944
V2	an invisible (because of the speed at which it flew) German rocket, much more dangerous than the V1, but similarly used
VC	Victoria Cross
Veh or veh	Vehicle
vice	instead of [Latin]
VIE	Vehicles, Instruments and Equipment [?]
VJ Day	Victory over Japan Day (15 August 1945)
VP	Vulnerable Point

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
W or W/	War [with war service rank], - i.e. War Sergeant; see also WS/
w/Bdr	War substantive bombardier
w/Lieut	War substantive lieutenant
W/shops or Wksps	Workshops
WE or W/E	War Establishment
wef	with effect from
Wes or Wesly	Wesleyan
WH [sometimes with date in columnar form]	Wounded in hospital
WO List	War Office List
WO or W/O	War Office or Warrant Officer
WOI or WO1	Warrant Officer Class I
WOII	Warrant Officer Class II
WOWM	War Office Wireless Message [?]
wpns	weapons
WS/ or W/S	War Substantive

X-rds	crossroads
XXX Corps	30th Corps
Y List	Sick List
yds	yards
Yeo	Yeomanry
YMCA	Young Men's Christian Association
yrs	years
ZE or ZS or ZW + a number and (often) a location	Locations for heavy anti-aircraft gun sites; other letters (with numbers) used for similar gun sites in other locations ar: A, AN, AS, BM, CN, H, HMI, N, S and SM