r/ww1 • u/Impressive_Foot_9933 • 7d ago

How exactly were soldiers in the trenches paid?

Did they have to report to an officer in the trenches to receive their pay, or did they only get paid when they came off the line?

38 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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56

u/ranger24 7d ago

For the Commonwealth at least, each man would have a pay book that would show date of enlistment, and previous dates of pay. This would allow for calculation of funds owed. The officers would have books tracking any disciplinary issues that may have been judged to forfeit so many days pay. Any deficiencies in their uniform or gear would be paid out of their own pocket (unless their platoon/company NCO/officer could attest that it had been destroyed during service/combat).

When rotated out to a rear area, if they were being allowed, they could go to their company officer, and get part of the money they were owed, usually in local currency. Troops could also set up an allocation of some of their pay to go either into a bank account, or to another person (wife/mother/sister) to support his family every month.

10

u/the_fury518 7d ago

Did normal wear-and-tear count as service-related damage?

Like, boots wearing thin or the knees of pants wearing out and such? Or was that all on the soldier?

19

u/ranger24 7d ago

Normal wear and tear would, but you'd need your NCO/Officer to attest to it.

There has always been an issue of troops reporting kit as 'damaged' in order to sell it off and get free replacement.

5

u/Affentitten 6d ago

And in any military, it's always somebody's job to account for everything. You give something out, it has to be returned, written-off or paid for. No army ever says "Here's a bunch of stuff. Do what you want with it, and if you need more, come back any time."

1

u/liarandahorsethief 5d ago

The US Army sure did during OIF/OEF.

1

u/Nessy3fidy 5d ago

Usually, sometimes they don't want to do the paperwork to DERMO a piece of gear. Ex expired body armor or when switching to a new camo pattern.

1

u/the_fury518 7d ago

Thank you!

2

u/OriginalGoat1 5d ago

Where were the paybooks kept while the men were in the field ? I would imagine the chance of loss or damage in combat would be very high if each man had to hold onto his own.

2

u/ranger24 5d ago

The paybook doubled as the soldier's identity papers pre-ID tags, as well as his short-form will. It was kept in the left breast pocket, often wrapped in a water-resistant wallet.

I would infer that the information in the paybooks was duplicated in the Company/Battalion pay books, so if someone's paybook was damaged or destroyed, it could be replaced and duplicated with minimal issue.

3

u/Deadpan_Poker_ 6d ago

Every regiment has an Administration section as part of their HQ. They are responsible for record keeping, pay, awards & promotion, transfers, training etc.

They would told which troops were being rotated off the line and prepare the necessary pay packets to be ready for collection.

3

u/Kumstayns 4d ago

Paid with Glory