hi,i recieved the service records for my uncle john docherty last week.i have googled some of the abbreviations on these files with mixed results,one word or abbreviation that i can't figure out or find any comparison are the letters rawfx.these letters are used when john's cause of death is mentioned under the column for unit. hope that makes sense. regards,john.
Hello John, I`m not an expert but R.A .??? I believe refers to `Road Accident ` or was that Rd. A ? the ?? WFX I don't know, but would this fit? Kyle
I'm not 100% sure, but in my trawls through many War Office casualty department files,I have a dim and dsistant memory of the usage, 'wf' - may mean 'with fatalities' - that leaves a spare 'x' though?
Thanks for posting the photos, John, all is now clear - it's not an acronym but a virtually meaningless draft #. In your 'records 095', look at the top line where it says "Draft RAWFK" with which he was en route to Ceylon. What looks like "RAWFX" is merely the same thing, dodgily-written, as representing the unit he was with at the time - evidently an accident in transit. Is that enough or do you want us to look any deeper into what was going on ? As it is, for instance, I imagine it was pre-voyage but you've you've probably already got his death certificate clarifying that so, if you do want help, we'd maybe best do so under your direction ... Cheers, Steve PS: Nope - post voyage - I've just found his CWGC casualty page
Hi John Steve is correct. RAWFK is just a draft code for embarkation when sailing to/from the UK. Just an army code. As one of our Veterans, Tom Canning once told the forum, the draft code was printed on the servicemen's paperwork, kit bags etc before sailing. Lesley
thanks steve and lesley,that@s a wee bit of the mystery solved.when you say an accident in transit does that mean it happened en route to ceylon?and if so why is john buried in india? i'm sorry in advance for a lot of probably daft questions ,but i'm a novice at this millitary research. could you give an overview of john's service history?eg where his unit would have served etc. john's death cert doesn't give any detail only date of death and cause (killed in motor accident.)place of death is assam. regards,john.
Five Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders died on that day, and four of them are buried in a collective grave in Imphal War Cmetery along with three Seaforth Highlanders. At a guess I would say that they were a party of reinforcments, probably on the way to join 1 Seaforth, which was somewhere in the Tamu area at that time.
Just to admit your 'records 098' tips the vote 2:1 in favour of RAWFX, rather than RAWFK, but it's still an equally meaningless draft code either way. Yes, 'in transit' is my reading of 'records 095' as saying he'd yet to arrive at his draft's destination where, according to my uncle's example, he'd have been re-assigned to a local unit once docked but prior to disembarkation - for fairly obvious reasons. But then I see your 'records 092' has "MalayaIndia" to suggest a mid-voyage change of plan from British Malaya (via Ceylon) to India (usually via Bombay). That would explain ending up in Kohima but, if so on duty, why was his death then logged as if still en route ? My verdict - bad (SNAFU) record-keeping ! Hopefully CC, or one of our other Chindit 'experts' can better help you with the Burma Campaign 'nitty gritty' sadly beyond my ken ... Bon voyage, Steve PS: Talking of voyages, the dates seem to indicate convoy WS-15 PPS: Re my opening paragraph, it further occurs to me that both draft codes may possibly be correct - if the last letter had been changed to tally with the altered destination. I'm just idly speculating, though, as Tom's point about the original code being plastered over everything would seem to rule that out as far too risky - likely to cause confusion & chaos - but let's best not underestimate the time-honoured oxymoron "military intelligence" nor the Law of Universal Cussedness !
I hadn't spotted the Malaya/India change. It is probable that the draft was originally intended for 2 A&SH in Malaya. Once Singapore had fallen the nearest Scottish infantry battalion they could be sent to was 1 Seaforth on the Indo-Burmese border. My supposition is that the road accident must have occurred while the draft was still in transit and that accounts for the variety of unit and regimental affiliations given on CWGC. Most fatalities were buried in the collective grave at Imphal, but your Uncle ended up in Kohima War Cemetery; that may argue for the accident having happened on the Dimapur - Imphal road, which was the main route to the front. It was a dangerous journey at the best of times, especially so in 1942, and many soldiers lost their lives travelling along the road. It is possible that the War Diary (of 1 Seaforth, if my guess is correct) might at least mention having received a draft at this time. Otherwise it is difficult to know where you might find details of the accident. They were between units and the whole border area was in flux at that time. The retreat from Burma was still ongoing and the defences of India and the lines of communication were in a terrible state.
Thanks for your info,things are starting to get a wee bit clearer now. I mentioned in a previous post about me asking a few daft questions,well here goes,what is a draft? Why would John be buried in a different place than the other men who died that day?
Draft: in this case, a group of trained infantrymen of the parent regiment, in transit, sent to reinforce a battalion of that regiment serving abroad. Efforts were generally made to post men to battalions of their own regiment, but that was not always possible. There was a battalion of A&SH serving in Malaya (your Uncle's original destination), but they were captured at the fall of Singapore and spent the rest of the war in captivity. There was no other battalion of A&SH in India, and so they may well have been posted to the next best thing, another Scottish infantry battalion. 1 Seaforth were the only Scottish battalion in the Imphal - Kohima area, and some of the fatalities are identified as members of the Seaforth Highlanders; hence my supposition. Why would fatalities from the same accident be buried in different places? Well, neither of the cemeteries mentioned existed at the time of the accident, so they were probably buried locally and the graves were concentrated in the nearest war cemeteries at a much later date. The other fatalities are buried in a collective grave, so they were either not identifiable at the time of burial or at the time of exhumation. It is conceivable that your Uncle was injured in the accident and sent to the nearest hospital (at Kohima?) and either died there, or on the way there, and was buried locally. This of course is all supposition.
once again lads and lassies thanks very much for your time and knowledge.i'll probably never find out the details of the accident but now i have an idea where and when it happened. could anyone shed any light on john's movements up until he was killed?,his millitary history sheet is in image 92. regards,john.
