Extract from Albert James McLaughlin's military personnel file
This list provides basic definitions of common First World War terms and abbreviations. It explains many of the abbreviations found in military personnel files, and directs readers to sections of NZHistory where more information is available about military units and campaigns.
| 1 NZGH | No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, Brockenhurst, England |
| 2 NZGH | No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital, Walton-on-Thames, England |
| 3 NZGH | No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, Codford, England |
| 2nd NZ (Army) Bde | 2nd New Zealand (Army) Brigade, New Zealand Field Artillery |
| 2nd NZ (Army) FA Bde | 2nd New Zealand (Army) Brigade, New Zealand Field Artillery |
| 27th Genl | 27th General Hospital, Abbasia |
| A/ | Acting |
| Abbasia | 27th General Hospital, Abbasia |
| Acting | An officer acting on behalf of another, or during the temporary vacancy of a position. |
| Adm | Admitted to a position or unit |
| Advance Party | Samoan Expeditionary Force |
| AEC | Area Employment Company |
| AIB | Auckland Infantry Battalion |
| AIR | Auckland Infantry Regiment |
| Amb | Field Ambulance |
| AMR | Auckland Mounted Rifles |
| ANS | Army Nursing Service |
| ANSC | New Zealand Army Nursing Service Corps |
| ANZAC | Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), 1914-16 |
| Anzac Mounted Regiment | Anzac Mounted Regiment |
| AOC | New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps |
| Aotea CH | Aotea Convalescent Home, Heliopolis, Egypt |
| APC | New Zealand Army Pay Corps |
| APD | New Zealand Army Pay Department |
| APS | New Zealand Army Postal Service |
| A Regt | Auckland Infantry Regiment |
| Area Emp Coy | Area Employment Company |
| Area Employment Company | Employment Companies |
| Army Service Corps | Army Service Corps |
| A/S | Active service |
| ASC | Army Service Corps |
| Att/Attd | Attached to |
| Attached to | A soldier (or group of soldiers) are separated from their unit and temporarily attached to another |
| Auck Inf Battn | Auckland Regiment, New Zealand infantry |
| Auck Inf Regt | Auckland Regiment, New Zealand infantry |
| Auck Regt | Auckland Regiment, New Zealand infantry |
| Aus CCS | Australian Casualty Clearing Station |
| Awapuni | Awapuni Camp; main body mobilisation camp August-October 1914; NZ Medical Corps training camp October 1915-February 1919 |
| BAC | Brigade Ammunition Column |
| Balmer Lawn | No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital (Brockenhurst) |
| BD France | New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot, Etaples, France |
| Base Depot | Usually refers to New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot, Etaples, France |
| Batt/Baty | Battery |
| Bde HQ | Brigade Headquarters |
| Bde/Bgde | Brigade |
| Bdr | Bombardier |
| Bn/Btn | Battalion |
| Bom/Bomb | Bombardier |
| Boscombe | New Zealand Engineers Reserve Depot, Boscombe, England |
| Brigade Ammunition Column | Ammunition column |
| Brockenhurst | No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital (Brockenhurst) |
| Brocton | Brocton Camp/New Zealand Rifle Brigade Reserve Depot |
| Bty | Battery |
| C of E | Church of England/Anglican |
| C'ford | New Zealand Command Depot (Codford) |
| C Regt | Canterbury Infantry Regiment |
| C1 Camp | A camp held at Tauherenikau in 1917-18 to bring the health of recruits up the standard required for enlistment in the NZEF |
| Can | Canadian |
| Can CCS | Canadian Casualty Clearing Station |
| Cas Clg Stn | Casualty Clearing Station |
| CB | Confined to barracks |
| CCH | Casualty Clearing Hospital |
| CCS | Casualty Clearing Station |
| Christchurch | Usually refers to Boscombe Camp, England, near the town of Christchurch |
| CIR | Canterbury Infantry Regiment |
| CMR | Canterbury Mounted Rifles |
| Codford | New Zealand Command Depot (Codford) |
| Com Depot | New Zealand Command Depot (Codford) |
| Con Depot | Convalescent Depot |
| Coy | Company |
| CSM | Cerebo-spinal meningitis |
| Cyclists | New Zealand Cyclist Battalion |
| D Train | Divisional Train |
| DAC | Divisional Ammunition Column |
| Dardanelles | Gallipoli |
| DEC | Divisional Employment Company |
| Dep | Depot |
| Devonport | Disembarkation port, England |
| DHQ | Divisional Headquarters |
| Disch | Discharged |
| Div Art/Arty | Divisional Artillery |
| Div Emp Cpy | Divisional Employment Company |
| Div Engrs | New Zealand Engineers |
| Div Sig Coy NZE | Divisional Signallers Company New Zealand Engineers |
| Div Signlrs | Divisional Signallers |
| Div Train | Divisional Train |
| Division | An organisational unit in an army |
| Divisional Ammunition Column | Ammunition column |
| Divisional Employment Company | Employment Companies |
| Divisional Train | Army Service Corps |
| DPS | Director of Personal Services |
| DR | Director of Recruiting |
| Drvr | Driver (rank) |
| EEF | Egyptian Expeditionary Force |
| EFT | Engineer Field Troop |
| Egyptian EF | Egyptian Expeditionary Force |
| Engineers | New Zealand Engineers |
| Ent Battn | New Zealand Entrenching Battalion |
| Establishment | The number of personnel a unit tries to maintain through reinforcements |
| Etaples | New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot, Etaples, France |
| ETC | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| Ewshot | New Zealand Field Artillery Reserve Depot, Ewshot, England |
| F Amb | Field Ambulance |
| F/Arm | Forearm |
| F Art | Field Artillery |
| F Bakery | ASC Field Bakery |
| FA | Field Artillery |
| Fd/Fld | Field, on active service 'in the field' (serving in the actual battle zone) |
| Fd/Fld Amb | Field Ambulance |
| FE | Field Engineers |
| Featherston | Featherston Camp |
| FGCM | Field General Court Martial |
| Field | ‘In the field’ means serving in the actual battle zone |
| Field Ambulance | New Zealand Medical Corps |
| Field Bakery | Army Service Corps |
| Field Butchery | Army Service Corps |
| Field Troop | Engineer Field Troops |
| Fld Troops NZE | Engineer Field Troops |
| Forest Park | No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital (Brockenhurst) |
| Flers-Courcellete, battle of | A phase of the Somme campaign |
| FP No. 1 | Field Punishment No. 1 |
| FP No. 2 | Field Punishment No. 2 |
| Fston | Featherston Camp |
| G'Towers | Grey Towers – alternate name for New Zealand Convalescent Hospital (Hornchurch) |
| GH | General Hospital |
| GHQ | General Headquarters |
| Gen/Genl H | General Hospital |
| Grey Towers | Grey Towers – alternate name for New Zealand Convalescent Hospital (Hornchurch) |
| GSW | Gunshot wound |
| H'church/Hch | New Zealand Convalescent Hospital (Hornchurch) |
| Heavy Trench Mortar | Trench Mortar Batteries |
| HMNZT | Her Majesty's New Zealand Troopship |
| HMT | Her Majesty's Transport |
| Hornchurch | New Zealand General Base Depot, England, January-September 1916, New Zealand Convalescent Hospital September 1916-June 1919 – New Zealand Convalescent Hospital (Hornchurch) |
| Hos | Hospital |
| HS | Hospital Ship |
| How B/Bat | Howitzer Battery |
| HQ | Headquarters |
| ICC | Imperial Camel Company |
| Inf Bde HQ | New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters |
| Inf Regt | Infantry Regiment |
| In the field | Serving in actual battle zone |
| Isolation H | Isolation Hospital |
| Katia | Phase of the Sinai campaign |
| Krithia | Phase of the Gallipoli campaign |
| L/Corp | Lance-Corporal (rank) |
| L/Cpl | Lance-Corporal (rank) |
| Larkhill | Sling Camp |
| Lieut | Lieutenant (rank) |
| Light Railways | Light Railway Operating Section |
| Light Trench Mortar | Trench Mortar Batteries |
| LROS | Light Railway Operating Section |
| LTMB | New Zealand Light Trench Mortar Battery |
| LWP | Leave without pay |
| M/I | Marched In |
| M/O or M/Out | Marched out |
| Machine Gun Section | Machine Gunners |
| Machine Gun Squadron | Machine Gunners |
| Maheno | Hospital Ship |
| Main Body | The first group of New Zealand soldiers to leave New Zealand in October 1914. All subsequent soldiers were reinforcements to that original group. |
| Maori conscription | Maori men of military age were eligible for conscription from June 1917 |
| Maori Pioneer Battalion | New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion |
| Maoris | New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion |
| Marama | Hospital Ship |
| Marched in | Soldiers join (or rejoin) their unit |
| Marched out | Soldiers leave their unit |
| Maymorn | Maymorn Camp |
| MB | Mounted Rifles Brigade |
| Messines, battle of | Battle of Messines, part of the Western Front campaign |
| MGC | Machine Gun Company |
| MG Coy | Machine Gun Company |
| MGS | Machine Gun Squadron |
| Mil Cem | Military Cemetery |
| Moascar | Moascar Camp, Egypt |
| Mobile Vet Sec | Mobile Veterinary Section |
| Morval, battle of | Phase of the Somme campaign |
| Motor Workshop | Army Service Corps |
| MR | New Zealand Mounted Rifles |
| Mtd Bde | New Zealand Mounted Rifles |
| Mtd Fd Amb | New Zealand Mounted Rifles Field Ambulance |
| Mtd Sig Trp | Mounted Signal Troop |
| MVS | Mobile Veterinary Section |
| Narrow Neck | Narrow Neck Camp |
| Native Contingent | Maori Contingent |
| NN | No regimental number assigned |
| No. 5 (NZ) Lt Rly S | Light Railways Operating Company |
| NZ Adv Base Depot | New Zealand Advance Base Depot |
| NZAB Post Office | New Zealand Advance Base Depot Post Office |
| NZANS | New Zealand Army Nursing Service |
| NZAOC | New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps |
| NZAPC | New Zealand Army Pay Corps |
| NZA Pay Corps | New Zealand Army Pay Corps |
| NZAPD | New Zealand Army Pay Department |
| NZAPS | New Zealand Army Postal Service |
| NZASC | New Zealand Army Service Corps |
| NZ Con Depot | New Zealand Convalescent Depot |
| NZ Con Hom | New Zealand Convalescent Home |
| NZCC | New Zealand Camel Company |
| NZCD | New Zealand Chaplains Department |
| NZ Div Train | New Zealand Divisional Train |
| NZ Division | New Zealand Division |
| NZDC | New Zealand Dental Corps |
| NZE | New Zealand Engineers |
| NZE Fld Troop | Engineer Field Troop |
| NZE Signal Troop | Signallers |
| NZE Tun Coy | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| NZE Tunnellers | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| NZE Wireless | New Zealand Wireless Troop |
| NZEF | New Zealand Expeditionary Force |
| NZET Coy | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| NZETC | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| NZFA | New Zealand Field Artillery |
| NZFA Res Dep | New Zealand Field Artillery Reserve Depot, Ewshot, England |
| NZFE | New Zealand Field Engineers |
| NZGH Brockenhurst | No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, Brockenhurst, England |
| NZGH Codford | No. 3 New Zealand General Hospital, Codford, England |
| NZGH W on T | No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital, Walton-on-Thames, England |
| NZ Inf | New Zealand Infantry |
| NZIB HQ | New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters |
| NZI & GBD | New Zealand Infantry and General Base Depot, Etaples, France |
| NZLTMB | New Zealand Light Trench Mortar Battery |
| NZMC | New Zealand Medical Corps |
| NZMGC | New Zealand Machine Gun Corps |
| NZMR | New Zealand Mounted Rifles |
| NZMR Bde | New Zealand Mounted Rifles |
| NZMR Tng (Units) & Depot | New Zealand Mounted Rifles Training Regiment and Base Depot, Moascar |
| NZNC | New Zealand ‘Native’ (Maori) Contingent |
| NZ Pioneer Battalion | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion |
| NZPB | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion |
| NZ Raro Coy | Rarotongan Company |
| NZRB | New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
| NZ(R)B | New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
| NZRSU | New Zealand Reserve Signalling Unit, Stevenage, England |
| NZSC | New Zealand Staff Corps |
| NZTC | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| NZ Training Unit | The collective name for all the men in training in New Zealand preparatory to embarkation. |
| NZVC | New Zealand Veterinary Corps |
| NZVS | New Zealand Veterinary Section |
| New Zealand and Australia Division | The Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), 1914-16 |
| OC, O/C, O i/c | Officer in Charge (of a unit) |
| O Regt | Otago Infantry Regiment |
| OIR | Otago Infantry Regiment |
| OMR | Otago Mounted Rifles |
| OMR Squadron | Otago Mounted Rifles |
| Other ranks | Military personnel below officer rank |
| Pion Bn | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion |
| Pioneer Battalion | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion |
| Pioneers | New Zealand Pioneer Battalion |
| Polygon Wood | A phase of the Third Battle of Ypres/Passchendaele offensive |
| Pres | Presbyterian |
| Pro Overseas | Proceeded overseas |
| Proceeded overseas | Leaving New Zealand or a staging area near the front for the war zone |
| Pte | Private (rank) |
| Pvte | Private (rank) |
| R Group | Reserve Group |
| RA | Royal Artillery |
| RAMC | Royal Army Medical Corps |
| Raro Coy | Rarotongan Company |
| RC | Roman Catholic |
| RE | Royal Engineers |
| Reinforcements | Reinforcements |
| Rejd | Rejoined unit |
| Rejoined unit | A soldier rejoins their unit, usually after a period of hospitalisation, leave, or attachment to another unit |
| Res | Reserve |
| Res Bn/Btn | Reserve Battalion, a unit's training section based in England |
| Res FA | New Zealand Field Artillery Reserve Depot, Ewshot, England |
| Res Group | Reserve Group, infantry training units at Sling Camp |
| Reservist | A man of military age who is eligible to be conscripted |
| Reverts to the ranks | Returns to a lower rank after temporary promotion |
| Rfm | Rifleman |
| Rfts | Reinforcements |
| RO | Routine orders |
| Romani, battle of | Phase of the Sinai campaign |
| Rotorua | Usually refers to King George V Military Hospital in Rotorua |
| Rouen | New Zealand Embarkation Camp and hospital, Rouen |
| Samoan Expeditionary Force | Samoan Expeditionary Force |
| Samoan Garrison | Samoan Expeditionary Force |
| Samoan Reinforcements | Samoan Expeditionary Force |
| San Section | Sanitary section of New Zealand Medical Corps |
| SH | Stationary Hospital |
| Sig Coy | Signal Company |
| Sig Sqdn | Divisional Signallers |
| Sig Troop | Divisional Signallers |
| Sling | Sling Camp, Wiltshire, England |
| Sling Camp | Sling Camp, New Zealand reserve and training centre, Wiltshire, England |
| SOS | Struck off strength |
| Spec Co/Coy | Specialist Company, a training unit in New Zealand |
| Spr | Sapper |
| SRF | Samoan Relief Force |
| Sqdrn | Squadron |
| Stat Hos | Stationary Hospital |
| Str off str | Struck off strength |
| Struck off strength | A soldier no longer capable of active service is removed from the list of soldiers available for serving at the front |
| Sty | Stationary Hospital |
| Sty H | Stationary Hospital |
| T/ | Temporary |
| T1 | 1st Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
| T2 | 2nd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
| Tauherenikau | Tauherenikau Camp |
| Tfd | Transferred |
| TM | Trench Mortar Battery |
| Tng Regt | Training Regiment |
| Tpr | Trooper (rank) |
| Tr M Baty | Trench Mortar Battery |
| Transloy Ridge, battle of | Phase of the Somme campaign |
| Trench Mortar | Trench Mortar Battery |
| Trentham | Trentham Camp |
| Trentham Regiment | Alternate name for the New Zealand Rifle Brigade |
| Trg Rgt | Training Regiment |
| Tunnellers | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| Tunng | New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company |
| Vet Corps | New Zealand Veterinary Corps |
| Walton/Walton-on-Thames | No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital, Walton-on-Thames, England |
| Western F.F. | Western Frontier Force |
| WFF | Western Frontier Force |
| WIR | Wellington Infantry Regiment |
| Wireless Squadron or Wireless Troop | Wireless Squadron |
| W Regt | Wellington Infantry Regiment |
| WMR | Wellington Mounted Rifles |
| Wnd | Wound/wounded |
| WO | Warrant Officer (rank) |
| Ypres, Third battle of | Alternate name for the Passchendaele offensive |
| Zeitoun Camp | Zeitoun Camp, Egypt |
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