On 8 April 1919, the War Office announced a new set of terms of engagement specifically for raising what was described as a “Volunteer Relief Force” for service in North Russia.
Volunteers were required for the Royal Field Artillery, Royal Engineers (Field, Signal and Postal), Infantry, Machine Gun Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, and Army Pay Corps.
The volunteers would be mainly drawn from the following categories of men:
- Demobilised and discharged trained soldiers
- Trained duration-of-war soldiers still serving at home
- Soldiers serving on normal engagements for two, three, or four years.
All men re-enlisting had to be
- Fully trained in the arm that they wished to join
- Medically fit for general service
- Aged 19 or over.
A discharged or demobilised soldier would in the rank (subatantive or acting) he had at the time he left the colours, and would receive the same pay allowances and bonus appplicable to men serving in the Armies of Occupation.
On completion of the period of service, all men would be given two months of furlough (or any loinger period to which they may be entitled) on full pay and allowances.
Rumours that men who had already been transferred to Class Z Army Reserve were to be called up for service in North Russia were quickly dispelled.
A research tip
Men who agreed to these terms and who were accepted into the Royal Army Service Corps had the letter R as well as the normal trade letter prefix. So for example, a man of the Horse Transport would have the prefix TR. This is not to be confused with the same prefix, previously used to designate men of the Training Reserve.