Abbreviations

These abbreviations are found in the text of the website.

Where the abbreviations relate to a specific unit, item, or person, the definition includes a link to that page.

&

&c – Etcetera.

2

  • 2 IC – Second in Command.
  • 2/Lt. – Second Lieutenant.

A

  • AA – Anti-Aircraft.
  • AFRA – All Fronts Reenactment Association.
  • AFV – Armoured Fighting Vehicle.
  • ANZAC – Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
  • APTC – Army Physical Training Corps.
  • Armd. – Armoured.
  • ASA – Ammunition, Small Arms.
  • A.S.C. – Army Service Corps.
  • ASM – Artificer Sergeant Major.
  • attd. – Attached.
  • Aust. – Australia[n].
  • AWM – Australian War Memorial.

B

  • Battn. – Battalion.
  • Bde. – Brigade.
  • Bedf. – Bedfordshire Regiment.
  • BEF – British Expeditionary Force.
  • b.h.p – Brake Horse Power.
  • BL – Breech Loading.
  • BLC – Breech Loading Converted.
  • Bn. – Battalion.
  • BSF – British Standard Fine.
  • BSW – British Standard Whitworth.
  • Bty. – Battery.

    C

  • Capt. – Captain.
  • Cat. No. – Catalogue Number.
  • CD – Compact Disc.
  • Cdr. – Commander.
  • C.F. – Chaplain to the Forces.
  • C.G. – Centre of Gravity.
  • Ches. – Cheshire Regiment.
  • C.I.S.A. – Chief Inspector, Small Arms.
  • CMGC – Canadian Machine Gun Corps.
  • Commdt. – Commandant.
  • Coy. – Company.
  • Cpl. – Corporal.
  • CQMS – Company Quarter-master Sergeant.
  • C.S.O.F. – Chief Superintendant, Ordnance Factories.
  • cwt. – Hundred-weight (imperial unit of weight).
  • cyl. – Cylinder.

    D

  • D.D.G.M.D.(S.) – Deputy Director General Munitions Department (Small Arms)
  • D.D.O.S. – Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores.
  • deg. – Degrees.
  • detnt. – Detachment.
  • Div. – Division.
  • Divnl. – Divisional.
  • DLI – Durham Light Infantry.
  • DP – Drill Purpose or Drill Pattern.
  • DPB – Drill Purposes Blank.
  • Duke’s – Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment.
  • DVD – Digital Video Disc.
  • Dvr. – Driver.
  • Dvr. Mech. – Driver Mechanic.
  • Dvr. Op. – Driver Operator.
  • DWM – Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken.

    E

  • E. Lanc. Bde. – East Lancashire Brigade.
  • E. Lanc. R. – East Lancashire Regiment.
  • Ed. – Editor.
  • EEF – Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
  • EY – Emergency Use.

    F

  • Fd. Ambces. – Field Ambulances.
  • Fig – Figure.
  • F.S. – Field Service.
  • ft. – Feet or foot.

    G

  • galls. – Gallons.
  • GHQ – General Headquarters.
  • Glouc. – Gloucestershire Regiment.
  • GP – General Purpose.
  • GPMG – General Purpose Machine Gun.
  • gr. – Grain.
  • GRO – General Routine Order.
  • Grp. – Group.
  • GS – General Service.

    H

  • HM – His (or Her) Majesty.
  • HMSO – His (or Her) Majesty’s Stationery Office.
  • How. – Howitzer.
  • HQ – Headquarters.

    I

  • IA – Immediate Action.
  • IC – In Command.
  • in. – Inch(es) (unit of measurement).
  • Ind. – Independent.
  • Inf. – Infantry.
  • IWM – Imperial War Museum.

    J

  • JCH – Joint, Crosshead.
  • JEC – Joint, Elevating, Crosshead.

    K

  • KOSB – King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
  • KSLI – King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.

    L

  • LAA – Light Anti-Aircraft.
  • LAD – Light Aid Detachment.
  • lbs. – Pounds (unit of weight).
  • L. of C. – Lists of Changes.
  • Lieut. – Lieutenant.
  • LH – Left Hand.
  • LMG – Light Machine Gun.
  • LRDG – Long Range Desert Group.

    M

  • m. – Metre.
  • M – Model.
  • Mag. – Magnetic.
  • Mag. – Magazine.
  • Maj. – Major.
  • MC – Military Cross.
  • MC – Motorcycle.
  • MEF – Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
  • MG – Machine Gun.
  • MGC – Machine Gun Corps.
  • MGers – Machine Gunners.
  • MGS – Machine Gun School.
  • MGTC – Machine Gun Training Centre.
  • Mk. – Mark.
  • mins – Minutes.
  • mm. – Millimetre.
  • MMG – Medium Machine Gun.
  • MMG – Motor Machine Guns.
  • MPI – Mean Point of Impact.
  • MQA – Minimum Quadrant Angle.
  • MT – Motor Transport.
  • Mtd. – Mounted.

    N

  • NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  • NC – Nitro-cellulose.
  • NCO – Non-Commissioned Officer.
  • NIV – Not in Vocabulary.
  • No. – Number.
  • Norf. – Norfolk Regiment.

    O

  • O Group – Orders Group.
  • OC – Officer Commanding.
  • OP – Observation Post.
  • oz. – Ounze.

    P

  • para. – Paragraph.
  • pdr. – Pounder.
  • Pl. – Platoon.
  • PPCLI – Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
  • PTC – Primary Training Corps.
  • Pte. – Private.

    Q

  • QE – Quadrant Elevation.
  • QF – Quick-firing.
  • QMSI – Quartermaster Sergeant Instructor.
  • Qty. – Quantity.

    R

  • R – Rimmed.
  • R Group – Reconnaissance Group.
  • R War R – Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
  • RAC – Royal Armoured Corps.
  • RAF – Royal Air Force.
  • RAMC – Royal Army Medical Corps.
  • RAP – Regimental Aid Post.
  • RAOC – Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
  • RASC – Royal Army Service Corps.
  • RDF – Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
  • RE – Royal Engineers.
  • Ref. – Reference
  • REME – Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
  • Res. – Reserve.
  • RFA – Royal Field Artillery.
  • RH – Right Hand.
  • RHA – Royal Horse Artillery.
  • RL – Rocket Launcher.
  • RN – Royal Navy.
  • rnd. – Rounds.
  • RQMS – Regimental Quarter-master Sergeant.
  • RSM – Regimental Sergeant Major.
  • RT – Range-taker.
  • RV – Rendezvous.
  • RWF – Royal Welch Fusiliers.

    S

  • SA – Small Arms.
  • SAA – Small Arms Ammunition
  • SAS – Small Arms School.
  • SAS – Special Air Service.
  • SASC – Small Arms School Corps.
  • S.E.Mtd.Bde. – South Eastern Mounted Brigade.
  • Sec’ds – Seconds (unit of time).
  • Sec – Section.
  • Sec Comd – Section Commander.
  • Sect. – Section.
  • Sept. – September.
  • Sgt. – Sergeant.
  • Sjt. – Serjeant.
  • Skn. – Skeleton[ised].
  • SMG – Sub Machine Gun.
  • SOS – Save Our Souls.
  • Spt. – Support.
  • Sq. in. – Square inch.
  • Sqdn. – Squadron.
  • SR – Semi-Rimmed.
  • SR – Special Reserve.
  • SWB – South Wales Borderers.
  • SWG – Standard Wire Gauge.

    T

  • TF – Territorial Force.
  • Tgt. – Target.

    U

  • UK – United Kingdom.
  • USA – United States of America.

    V

  • VAC – Vickers-Armstrongs, Crayford.
  • VAOS – Vocabulary of Army Ordnance Stores.
  • VB – Vickers-Berthier.
  • Veh mech – Vehicle Mechanic.
  • VGO – Vickers Gas Operated.
  • VI – Vertical Interval.
  • VMGCRA – Vickers Machine Gun Collection and Research Association.
  • Vol. – Volume.
  • VSM – Vickers, Sons and Maxim.

    W

  • WO – Warrant Officer.
  • WOIII – Warrant Officer, Class 3.
  • WW1 – World War One – The Great War 1914-1918.
  • WW2 – World War Two – The Second World War 1939-1945.

    Y

  • Yd(s). – Yard(s) (imperial unit of measurement).