Battery Quartermaster Sergeant

[tessie31082]

Does anyone know exactly what role this person would of had? I have tried to google but nothing really explains?!
Thanks
Tessie

[Durham Lady]

Basically a Battery is a section of a Regiment and a quartermaster is in charge of getting and issuing the equipment the men need.
I'm sure my OH if he was here could explain better than me though :D

[Geoff Devon]

Tessie,

Quartermaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the British Army, the Quartermaster (QM) is the officer in a battalion or regiment responsible for supply. By longstanding tradition, he or she is always commissioned from the ranks (and is usually a former Regimental Sergeant Major) and holds the rank of captain or major. Some units also have a Technical Quartermaster, who is in charge of technical stores. The Quartermaster is assisted by the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS) and a staff of storemen. The QM, RQMS and storemen are drawn from the regiment or corps in which they work, not from the Royal Logistic Corps, which is responsible for issuing and transporting supplies to them. Units which specialize in supply are known as "supply" units, not "quartermaster" units, and their personnel as "suppliers".


Depends what epoch we are talking about, is it late medieval (...Tudor - Henry VIII), Napoleonic, WW1, WW2....and where and what type the gun is. Is it a coastal battery...or an inland (castle or field gun) battery.

In the Napoleonic/Crimean eras there were quartermaster regiments and they were allocated to specific gun battery regiments.

And when I say gun battery that means anything from a 2lb. gun up to WW2 where they could be 15 (or even 17) inch (the diameter of the round).

Four of the best examples of coastal batteries over the ages in the UK are Pendennis Castle (which has a great display there, well worth a visit), Hurst Castle (guarding the mouth of the Solent), Portland Castle and Dover Castle (as a battery for WW2), which are all run by English Heritage. They were originally derived from Henry VIII Device Forts and the links below should lead you to an idea of exactly what sort of guns through the ages it could have been.

Device Forts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Every castle would have a battery, whether inland or located on the sea
Castles in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These are great links to give you an idea:
Artillery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Field gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My love of everything to do with castles stems from when I was a young boy!
Geoff.

[Just Barbara]

Don't want to argue but I always understood that the quartermaster was a non commissioned officer, usually know to his fellows as "Quarters"

[tessie31082]

Thanks everyone!
Geoff- He was in the royal artillery field battery and rose up the ranks and became battery quartermaster sergeant just before 1911 up until 1914 when he was discharged for being unfit (tumour on the lung). However he re-joined the Royal Veterinary Corps later on in 1914 as a battery quartermaster sergeant until 1916 when he de-mobbed! He was posted to india in 1911 so I don't know whether he was inland or coastal! I have his records from Ancestry, if I got his full records would it give me better and more info?
Barbara- what is the difference between commissioned and non-commissioned?
Thanks again
Tessie

[Durham Lady]

Just spoken to my husband and he said an Artillery is divided into 4 batteries each consisting of 130 men and a battery quartermaster sergeant would be an assistant to the Quartermaster. The battery quartermaster sergeant could be responsible for supplying from stores the clothing and light equipment the men in 1 or more of the batteries require.

A commissioned officer is ranked lieutenant or above and would usually enter the service at lieutenant or captain. A none commissioned officer is anyone above private which is what personel enter the army as. Men work their way up the ranks and a battery quartermaster sergeant is the equivalent of a Warrent Officer Class two
(WO2). Next up is WW1 and then he could apply to be Commissioned although in theory anyone can apply for a commission.

Should add this is what it is like now but could have been slightly different during the war years.

[Geoff Devon]

If he was in Royal Field Artillery before/in WW1 then it would be (originally) a horse drawn gun or howitzer. The navy did all the coastal batteries up to then.
Sounds like they gave him the job of RQMS as he was otherwise unfit, so with his previous knowledge, he would be invaluable in the job.

Geoff.

[tessie31082]

Thanks Geoff and Daphne! That has helped me understand more about the millitary and what sort of man my g.g.grandfather was!
Just one more question though if I dare? If an artillery was divided into 4 batteries then would each battery have a quartermaster or did the quartermaster cover all 4 divisions?
Thanks soooo much
Tessie

[Geoff Devon]

He definitely covers all 4 divisions.

[Durham Lady]

My husband is saying each artillery regiment consists of 3 gun batteries and one headquarter battery and the quartermaster (usually a Major) is the QM for the whole regiment and he will have various people like the Battery quartermaster sergeant and other ranks below him.

[tessie31082]

Thanks very much!!!!
Tessie

[tessie31082]

Sorry I am being a pain now! If you can look on ancestry then this is the image:
- Ancestry.co.uk, can you read what rank he is on any of them?
Thanks again!!
Tessie

[Durham Lady]

It looks like he was appointed acting Staff sergeant unpaid 12.4.16 so was probably paid at rank of a sergeant then in the July started to be paid for Staff Sgt rank.
Further down it says reverted to rank of Private part 2 orders. My husband says that usually happens when someone has done something wrong and been put on a charge, they are often stripped of their rank and to come down those many ranks it could have been something considered bad such as sleeping on guard or hitting an officer! BUT he could have had to loose rank if he was moved to a different corp then regained his rank pretty quickly again. You'd have to be able to read the part 2 orders to know what it was, hubby said he doesn't know if the part 2 would be among his full records.

[tessie31082]

Thank you and thank your hubby! Can you read the bit above that as well? I am absolutely rubbish at reading old handwriting! I have tried enlarging but still can't work out what it says. As for being reverted to private it was by the looks of it because he was absent without permission for 10 1/2 hours!!
Thanks
Tessie

[Durham Lady]

Tessie, it looks like it says Joined at Woolwich,
AVC = Army Veterinary Corps
Depot and Att (attested = signed up) and posted
Granted Corps pay 6d (6 pence in old money= 2½p todays money)

[tessie31082]

Thanks thats what I thought it said! Can you or your hubby read the ranks below the bit that says 'transferred to rga' which I presume is Royal Garrison Artillery?
I think it is something like: Posted- Gunner or Germany, then appointed- g or p a. Bdr, then promoted- Bdr.a.r, then promoted- acting corporal, appointed acting sergeant.
It then says volunteered for one year with ?? in rank of ?, I can read the rest its just these little bits in between I am having trouble with! I am trying to get them transcribed before my dad comes over tonight as he has no idea about his g.grandparents!
Thanks so much again for your invaluable knowledge and help!
Tessie

[Durham Lady]

It looks like
Gunner 31/3/17
Posted Gnr =Gunner 5/4/17
Appointed G.a.bdr =Gunner acting bombardier 1/9/17
Promoted Bdr. A.R = Bombardier Army Reservist 4/12/17
" " A. Cprl = acting corporal 8/12/17
Appointed A. Sgt = acting sergeant 13/11/18

I can't make out the rest either sorry, looks as if it could be with colours under but ???? then something like in rank of Gnr. 16/3/19

[tessie31082]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate yours and your hubby's help!
Tessie