Expert: Mark Smith - 2/13/2011

Question
My grandfather served in the 7th Batt. Border Regiment in WWI in the Army Pay Corps.  Because of the loss of Army records following bombing in London, I am unable to find out whether or not he served overseas.  It appears that he was based in Preston, Lancashire and enlisted as a Regular, not being discharged until 1921 when he emigrated to Australia.  He received the Service Medal and Victory Medal but I suppose all soldiers that survived the war did so.

Would members of the Army Pay Corps have served at the Front or would they have remained in England?

Answer
The Army Pay Corps did serve overseas, in fact wherever the Army went the Pay Corps went with them to manage the pay and other finances etc. He would not have served at the Front in the sense of going over the top in a charge, he would have been back at Headquarters more likely.
Interestingly the first British officer to be killed in WWI was a Staff Paymaster in the Royal Navy, he died when his ship was sunk by a mine two days into the war. He served in the Naval equivalent of the Army Pay Corps.