Any way to verify service in pre-WW2 French Colonial Army?

Question

One of the Australians who enlisted in the Australian Army in WW2 claimed to have served as a Cpl (2043) in 1st Coy, French Colonial Army. He gave his occupation as Planter, so I'm guessing it may have been in New Caledonia (they were recruiting planters for there in the 1930's & it is closest to Australia), but possibly Indo-China.

Seems a big jump from Company to Army, so I suspect a couple of unit levels missed out in his claim.

Anyone able to check sources of info on personnel for pre-WW2 French colonial forces?

Answer 1

New Caledonia has service recrds  on Family Search,a free

site.Saw 2 diff birth date Dec 12 1912 @ 1914

Comments

Wayne, how did you get to those? Looked on FamilySearch under France and French Polynesia, I didn't find anything, nor under World(Miscellaneous) - couldn't find New Caledonia listed.

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Answer 2

Just google it in will say Family Search

Comments

Wayne, I tried that - I get to a FamilySearch Wiki page for New Caledonia online genealogy records, which has civil and parish records to 1908 and some British armed forces records. Military records is listed in red as page does not exist. Did you end up on a different page?

Answer 3

Patrick Browne has a very interesting profile.  The way I read is that he was a member first of the French Colonial Army and then later with Australian army.  

While serving with the French Colonial Army - his assigned unit was the 1st Coy, French Colonial Army.  Don't know much about but a couple of questions come mind.  First, how was French Colonial Army administered?  Second, where would those records be archieved?

His service with the Australian Army - his assigned unit was 1st Independent Coy.

Just a thought or two which I hope is respectfully helpful.

Comments

Yes - correct. He claimed prior military service with the French Colonial Army when he enlisted with the Australian Army in 1941. And yes, 1st Independent Coy on New Ireland, among those hostages of fortune left to their fate by the Australian government of the day.

Where are the French Colonial Army records? I suspect only summaries would have made it back to France, but I don't know. Tropical climates and wars aren't kind to paper records, so maybe they don't exist anymore.

If he was in New Caledonia, if he was considered a "citizen" he was probably due for compulsory national service starting in 1933, but a rank of Cpl indicates he stayed in a while.

Answer 4

These links may have something of use:

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/France_Military_Records

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troupes_coloniales

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troupes_de_marine#Troupes_Coloniales_(1900%E2%80%931958)

Race and War in France: Colonial Subjects in the French Army, 1914–1918

By Richard S. Fogarty:  https://books.google.com/books?id=28Pd4ZoFKSgC&pg=PA357&lpg=PA357&dq=troupes+coloniales+records&source=bl&ots=5UUYNiTc_2&sig=ACfU3U3d7m-lJLQxVGqfT8IdnwkE_fVy0g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU2tjb4o3oAhUQHqwKHXV8C1sQ6AEwB3oECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=troupes%20coloniales%20records&f=false

https://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2010/04/french-military-records-les-recensements-militaires.html

Comments

Unfortunately, there is not much online on colonial troops between the two world wars. I gather that, in the 1930's, there were only two units in the Pacific:

- Compagnie mixte d’infanterie coloniale de Nouvelle-Calédonie

- Compagnie autonome d’infanterie coloniale de Tahiti

Registres matricules (for soldiers born more than 90 years ago) are kept at the archives of New Caledonia and French Polynesia, respectively. Only officers have individual files at SHD in Vincennes. See explanations here.

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Thankyou Julien - the one in New Caledonia is highly likely (Tahiti is much further from Australia).