There is a Staffs regiment museum at Whittington Barracks (Lichfield) which will probably be of help... try this for starters http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/exhibit/regiment/ there is sure to be a contact where you could ask questions. Hope this helps.... happy New Year. Regards, Nancy. William longmore <w.longmore@onetel.net> wrote: Hi Listers, A very happy new year to all. Where or how would I get to read the War Diaries of the south Staffordshire regiment. My grandfather Joseph Longmore 14794 enlisted 1914 and was sent to France 3-9-1915. As there were no Battalion movement at that time he must have been sent as part of a draft of replacements. As a result I don't know which Battalion he was in. He was wounded (I think at the Somme) and shipped back to the UK and after recuperation was sent to the 6th Training Reserve Batt. of the Notts & Derby Regt. with the number TR6/13091 and discharged as medically unfit 13-12-1917. Any help would be appreciated Talk to you soon, Bill ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Best Regards, Nancy. Goons member *4288 (Guild of One-Name Studies) - Howmans, Howman etc.

Hi Nancy, Happy new year. Thank you for the reply, It will be very helpful Talk to you soon, Bill

My grandmother's first husband served throughout the war from beginning to end then died of pneumonia in Oswestry Army Hospital on December 1st 1918. His obituary stated he was an RSM. I was friendly with an elderly gentleman who was an RSM in WW2 but only trained men to fight. He never actually saw action. Would this apply to all RSMs or could my nanna's hubby have been to the Front? Regards Peter

A Regimental Sergent Major was effectively the third man in command of a regiment even though he was officially a non-commissioned officer. His responsibilities were to look after training, discpline and good order amongst the men and many other supervisory duties. RSM's often found themselves in battle leading the troops single handedly after the young "Gentlemen experts" the officers had fallen while trying to inspire the men by leading from the front. The RSM usually had more years and battle training /combat experiance and more plain old common sense than anyone else in the regiment. A highly respected man whom you NEVER made fun of. "Kiss Me Goodnight Sergent Major" was something you could only sing in a music hall. Nelson

Peter, As an oversimpification, RSM stands for Regimental Sargeant Major. The RSM is the senior non commissioned officer in a battalion in the case of an infantry battalion. Without an RSM the battalion would not function. There were more infantry battalions in action than battalions carrying out training. RSMs who did not see action would be in the minority. Maybe the RSM in WW2 was an RSM prior to the war starting. The odds are that your nanna's hubby was in the front in WW1 - also probably lucky to have survived long enough to have died of pneumonia. Regards, Dave Peter Metcalfe wrote: > My grandmother's first husband served throughout the war from beginning to end then died of pneumonia in Oswestry Army Hospital on December 1st 1918. > His obituary stated he was an RSM. > > I was friendly with an elderly gentleman who was an RSM in WW2 but only trained men to fight. He never actually saw action. > > Would this apply to all RSMs or could my nanna's hubby have been to the Front? > > Regards > > Peter > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >