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Pte edward berryman rwr

  • Thread starter Thread starter phil berryman
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phil berryman

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Hi All.
Am researching family tree, and have reached the military history of my great grandfather Pte Edawrd Berryman 10529 R.W.R. It seems his records from the army went up in the blitz, but I have his medal record with some interesting abbreviations. We have the Victory,British war, 1915 star which has been worn down (as if kept in the pocket and constantly rubbed between thumb and index finger) and the entry for a Silver War Badge (which we don't have) which reads " L/378," shows "E.F" (?)
Also there is the theartre of war "France", date of entry therein "27.5.15" and his discharge date "7.6.16"
Whilst most of this info is self explanatory does anyone know where I might find out which battalion he was with, the significance of "L/378" and what is "E.F" ? (possibly "enemy fire", have read about "eef"= effective enemy fire.
Many thanks
 
Phil, I've just taken a look at the card.

L/378 is the code telling you which page of the roll of the Silver War Badge he appears on. The EF is a bit curious without seeing the roll, but it is likely to be "Expeditionary Force". I have never seen EF used to mean enemy fire. The only other thought is - he didn't have a middle name beginning F, did he?
 
Hi and thanks Chris.

No middle name recorded anywhere in our records, or those of the national archives. He seemed to have been plain old Edward Berryman.
I'm speculating that it's Enemy Fire for the SWB abbreviation E F, as I have read that sometimes the medal cards have a Kings Regulation number against them to explain what might have been a less than "glorious" reason for their issue, if you get my drift.(Unfit, ill,etc)
EEF is a common service abbreviation to indicate or report when the enemy fire is very accurate and on range, "Enemy Fire" (possibly EF) is the first stage of the transistion to EEF and used to signify when the enemy is finding it's range, or speculating with a shot. Therefore it might explain why my great grandfather may have been an only casualty of a given day in a report ( again I'm speculating here, as I don't know the day of his wound, or indeed if he was physically wounded.) Artillery and Army Jargon may well have found it's way onto the medal card ?
 
The war badges always have a Kings Regulation or Army Order code against them, describing the reason for discharge. If he was wounded by enemy fire, he would be discharged under KR392(xvi), and the roll should show that and add W for wound. EEF was not a term in use by the army in 1914-1918 (except to mean Egyptian Expeditionary Force).
 
Hi Chris and Alf,

Thanks for the information and a fascinating website.

Regards
Phil B.
 
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