I have my grandfathers service record but it's completely alien to me . I wondered if someone might help me understand what unit he was in so that I can look up the war dairy . In the section where it says unit it has 1/AMPC this was from 27th movement 1939 to 10th July 1940 . Then on the middle section it says various units , no 5 111, coy - no 37 coy , I'm totally confused ! I know he was in France and a family story said he made his own way home from there but I'd love to know more Any help gratefully received Thank you
Hi Most of the Auxiliary Military Pioneers Corps (AMPC) served in the Lines of Communication rear areas and provided manpower / labour squads in support of other units e.g. my dad served in the Royal Engineers and his unit worked in tandem with the AMPC constructing barracks and various infrastructure to support the BEF. Later, following the Germans offensive, many of the Lines of Communications troops were brought together into composite "fighting" (I use the word in the loosest of terms) units such as the "Beauman Division" which had an improvised Brigade formed from AMPC personnel. These units although not infantry trained were used in rearguard actions to delay the German advance e.g. building road blocks, constructing obstacles etc. Many of these units did not leave France until well after Dunkirk, and from what you say about the date he left France, it is likely that he was with one of these units. Could you post copies of your grandad's records, as it would be helpful to establish timelines etc. and exact unit(s) he served with and establish if there is a specific unit War Diary, and to help decipher the entries. It should be noted however that due to nature of operations, some entries may have been made after the event when details could be passed to the unit's Record Office. Steve
I have been able to assist the poster aided in no small measure by the diary extracts published on the RPC part of the RLC digital archive which, in conjunction with the man's record give a totally clear picture of his movements and experiences in outline from being recalled from the reserve, through Mill Hill, to Cherbourg with No 1 Coy from which 10 Docks Labour Coy was blistered off, then to 5 Coy at Nantes, then to 111 Coy also Nantes and then finally to 37 Coy at Nantes and evacuation at St Nazaire on 18/19 Jun 40.. Max
