On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:01:11 +1000, "Gail Arkins" <jarkins@bigpond.net.au> wrote: >Could any kind lister tell me what the sentence below means:- > "or evidence of having been marked with the letters D. or BC." >On a Medical Certificate Examination dated on 27/ 06/1916. Until 1871 soldiers were marked (called branding, but often a stamp or a tattoo) with the letter D to indicate they had deserted, and BC to indicate Bad Conduct. Doctors looked for these marks when they carried out medical examinations to see whether the soldier in front of them had previously deserted or been discharged for bad conduct. The following is taken from Diana Henderson's "Highland Soldier: A Social Study of Highland Regiments 1820-1920": ----------- Desertion was ex facie a serious offence, frequently coupled with making away with accoutrements or the sale of necessaries. The incidence of desertion was, it seems, often linked with an unpopular commander, an impending move overseas, the station of a regiment and the time of year. By virtue of the fact that the Articles of War were read at the head of the regiments regularly, the men must have been aware that desertion carried a penalty of transportation, stamping or tattooing (it was not really branding in the modern sense) with the letter 'D', corporal punishment or imprisonment, and yet some men persistently deserted and were equally regularly caught until they were transported or imprisoned. ----------- WO 33/22 at the National Archives apparently contains papers regarding the abolition of branding 1871. Forrest -- Forrest Anderson, Edinburgh, Scotland. E-mail: forrest@military-researcher.com Website: www.military-researcher.com Forrestdale Research - Military Genealogical Researcher