I know AG.3 was part of the Adjutant General's Department in WW2 - but can anyone tell me what its function was? I have tried elsewhere and got nowhere! Thank you.
I read that in post-war years it was salary, pension and financial matters, but I don't know whether that was always the case.
This from Hansard (1947) would appear to support the supposition: I think the worst and most prominent case is where the wife of a private soldier or an officer is deserted by a man, who goes overseas, say, to Palestine or India. He then ceases to contribute to her maintenance and he has an absolute right to refuse on the ground that he has no intention of cohabitating with her again. That brings the allowance to an end. There is no method at all to deal with that case. It is quite true that the welfare officer is asked to see the man and discuss the matter with him, but if he says to his commanding officer, "I have no intention of resuming cohabitation," then all allowances to the wife cease forthwith. If that happens in the case of a soldier, the papers are sent to a branch, I think A.G.3, of the War Office and that branch considers straight away whether that soldier is justified in depriving his wife of her maintenance or not. Under Section 137 the War Office has a discretion to order the compulsory stoppage of pay against the soldier, if it considers that a grave injustice is being done. Source: Commons Chamber - Hansard
A.G.3(V/W) was the "client side" of war crimes cases involving former prisoners of war in particular and had a role in co-ordinating progress in both major and minor war crimes trials, based at the War Office. The V/W is short for "Violations of the Laws and Usages of War", swiftly changed from " (WC) ". There was a D.P.S. or Director of Personal Services. File numbers usually include the letters "B.M." or "Branch Memorandum." Also dealt with mutinies, general grievances, pay & c.
WO311/638 is a file of D.P.S. Progress. This may explain the "L" branch in other reports.. Attached relates to the creation of A.G.3 "D", "M" and "WC", from said file.
These files contain reports on matters other than war crimes not really "related" thereto, but this is how Kew describes the files. An advanced search for "BM AG3 VW" returns a fair number now in WO311. The word "Direction" is a Kew typing error in the file description. WO 311/638 Judge Advocate General's Office, Military Deputy's Department, and War Office, Directorates of Army Legal Services and Personal Services: War Crimes Files (MD/JAG/FS and other series). | Monthly progress reports from Direction of Personal Services to Adjutant General | Monthly progress reports from Direction of Personal Services to Adjutant General. | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/02/1945 31/10/1945 Former Reference Dep: JAG/BM/AG3 VW 810 WO 311/639 Judge Advocate General's Office, Military Deputy's Department, and War Office, Directorates of Army Legal Services and Personal Services: War Crimes Files (MD/JAG/FS and other series). | AG3(VW) weekly reports on war crimes and related matters | AG3(VW) weekly reports on war crimes and related matters. | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/03/1946 30/11/1946 Former Reference Dep: JAG/BM/AG3 VW 810/1
In file WO311/638 the only other section of A.G.3 I have found was A.G.3(E) "to deal with domestic enquiries from overseas." For AG3 war diaries see: WO 165/19 War Office: Directorates (Various): War Diaries, Second World War. PERSONAL SERVICES. | A.G.3(b) | A.G.3(b). | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/06/1941 31/03/1946 - WO 165/18 War Office: Directorates (Various): War Diaries, Second World War. PERSONAL SERVICES. | A.G.3(a) | A.G.3(a). | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/06/1941 31/12/1945 - WO 165/20 War Office: Directorates (Various): War Diaries, Second World War. PERSONAL SERVICES. | A.G.3(d) | A.G.3(d). | Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/05/1943 30/06/1946 - WO 165/21 War Office: Directorates (Various): War Diaries, Second World War. PERSONAL SERVICES. | A.G.3(e) | A.G.3(e). | Reports only Held by: The National Archives, Kew 01/01/1944 31/12/1946 -