S.A. section of the trenches
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3/3-1916 Does S.A. stands for South African? Not probably, because according to the Long, long trail the South African Army only arrived in France in April 1916.
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cyngast
moderator
I don't know. If the Long, Long Trail says they arrived in April 1916, and your diary page is dated March 1916, it might be possible.
The 5th Division had a pioneer battalion from the Argyle & Sutherlanders, but that would likely be abbreviated A.S.
The only other thing I can think of is Small Arms, but that doesn't make any sense.
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erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be
in response to cyngast's comment.
Maybe it's just the name of a sector, because further on they also talk about a C sector and a S.A. sector.
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ral104
moderator, scientist
I think you're right, Erik - it must be the name of a sector. The South Africans were still in Egypt in March, 1916.
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erik.schaubroeckscarlet.be
in response to ral104's comment.
Rob, on March 22th the diary mentions this S.A. sector again as "J2 (late S.A.)".
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ral104
moderator, scientist
It feels like it must be the abbreviation of a unit holding the sector, doesn't it? Unfortunately, I can't think what it might have been! On the hand, it might not have been - J*2 doesn't seem like a unit abbreviation, so perhaps the prior designation of S.A. was just some kind of code.
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