As very few of the service records appear to have survived for both the R.A.M.C. and A.S.C. men of the 38th (Welsh) Division and only a few men have pension records, I have compiled this list from the medal index cards, looking for men who arrived in France on the 4th December 1915 who appear in the R.A.M.C. regimental number sequence 48XXX. Where other information exists, such a mention in the London Gazette, Official War Diary etc, this has confirmed that my assumptions are correct. Occasionally, the date of arrival in France (date of entitlement for the 15 Star) is incorrectly recorded as the 3rd December (the date the Unit set sail from England) on the medal index cards. Members of the A.S.C. are much more difficult to identify as serving with the Unit.
The War Diaries of the three Field Ambulances of the 38th (Welsh) Division show that the 129th Field Ambulance embarked from England on the 1st December 1915 and arrived in France on the 2nd, the 130th (St John) Field Ambulance sailed on the 3rd December and arrived on the 4th and the 131st Field Ambulance along with the 77th Sanitary Section set sail from England on the 4th December but because of bad weather, did not arrive in France until the 6th. Thus, the medal index cards of men in the 129th Field Ambulance should show 4th December 1915 as the date of entitlement for the 15 Star but may occasionally show the 1st (the date they left England which is also the date they joined the B.E.F.). The medal index cards of men in the 130th (St John) Field Ambulance should had the 4th December for their 15 Star but I have come across numerous occasions when the date is incorrectly recorded as the 3rd (the date they joined the B.E.F. rather than the date they arrived in France. The situation is even more complicated with the 131st Field Ambulance and the 77th Sanitary section where most of the men have the 6th December 1915 for their 15 Star but some have the incorrect date of either the 4th or the 5th December and this some men who served in these two Units may be included in the list above as possibly serving in the 130th (St John) Field Ambulance.
Further confusion exists as many men have more than one medal index card. Frequently, the 15 Star appears on one card and the Victory and War Medal on another, sometimes with variations in the spelling of the man’s name (Grey/Gray) and thus, where I have been unable to locate a medal index card showing a man’s 15 Star when his name and number put him in one of the two alpha-numeric sequences within the 48000 series of men that I know served in the 130th (St John) Field Ambulance, I cannot be sure if he sailed to France with the Unit or even ever served in it and thus I have included such men in the ‘may have served’ group.
If anyone has information that I have incorrectly included a man in this list or know of a man who did serve in the Unit and so should be included, I would be most grateful if they would contact me so that I can correct the nominal roll.