Entitlement to WWI overseas service chevrons/stripes

[Trendafil]

Dear forum members, I am new to this forum and this is my first post - hopefully some of you would be kind enough to share their knowledge and help me with this matter.

I am trying to calculate the correct service duration home and abroad i.e. the correct entitlement to overseas service chevrons for two soldiers that served in British/Imperial units during World War I.

I would appreciate your input on the correct application of AO 4/18 regarding the overseas service chevrons. I have read the regulations of AO 4/18 (and subsequent amendments) under which these chevrons were issued, and - if I understood it correctly - the first chevron is awarded on the date the person embarked for service overseas (i.e. the first chevron is not for 12 months of service but actually denotes when the person went abroad - before or after 1914), while each other chevron is for accumulated 12 months (1 year) of service overseas. Thus, the first chevron would have been red if the soldier went abroad in 1914, if not (i.e. if he went abroad in 1915 or afterwards) it was blue. Each subsequent chevron was blue and denoted one year (12 months) of service abroad. So, a soldier that went abroad in August 1914 and served there until returning home by mid-1919, he would have had one red chevron and four blue chevrons (five if he returned home after August 1919 i.e. if service after end of hostilities was still counted for those who were no longer engaged in combat).

The WWI service for person No.1, whose service is fully in British Army units, is pretty much straightforward and is as follows:

Start Date - End Date = Days [Location]
05.02.1915 - 08.05.1915 = 93 days [Home (England)]
09.05.1915 - 05.01.1917 = 608 days [BEF (France), including 7 days leave]
06.01.1917 - 25.08.1917 = 232 days [Home (England)]
26.08.1917 - 23.02.1918 = 182 days [BEF (France)]
24.02.1918 - 10.03.1918 = 15 days [Home (England), on furlough]
11.03.1918 - 09.05.1919 = 412 days [BEF (France)]
10.05.1919 - 08.06.1919 = 30 days [Home (England)]
Transferred to Z Class reserve on 09.06.1919.

If my calculations are correct, he spent almost a full year at home (355 days - 370 if we count the furlough, though I believe under AO 4/18 these are counted in the service overseas) and over 3 years in France (1202 days - 1217 if we count the furlough). So, if my interpretation of AO 4/18 is correct (see above), that would be three blue chevrons at the end of 1917/beginning of 1918 (when the regulations entered force), with one more added at the end of 1918/beginning of 1919 (if these were still awarded after the end of the hostilities) i.e. a total of four blue chevrons.

Now, for person No.2, whose service was first in South African (SA) forces (i.e. in the Union Defence Forces - UDF) and then in British Imperial overseas units, things are a bit trickier. His WWI service is as follows:

Start Date - End Date = Days [Location]
12.09.1914 - 24.02.1915 = 166 days [Home (UDF Commando unit) - please see clarification under a) below.]
23.05.1915 - 09.07.1915 = 48 days [Home & GSWA (UDF PF unit) - please see clarification under b) below.]
19.04.1916 - 27.02.1917 = 315 days [Home & GEA (British Imperial unit) - please see clarification under c) below.]
05.06.1918 - 30.05.1919 = 360 days [Home, England and France (British Imperial unit) - please see clarification under d) below.]

Here are some clarifications on the service periods above:
a) To my knowledge, while in the Commando unit he did not serve abroad. Furthermore, this unit was not based in Military Districts No.12 or 13 (as per ACI 698 of June 21, 1918), so presumably this period should be counted only as service home.
b) His service in the UDF PF (Permanent Forces) unit with which he went to GSWA apparently is noted only up to the day the local (GSWA) German contingent surrendered - July 9, 1915 (BTW, this appears to be the norm for UDF service records!). It is noted in his record that he embarked on July 7, 1915 but unfortunately I am not sure whether this is embarkation to or from GSWA. Also, I'm quite sure that his service didn't stop on the day of the German surrender especially because in his attestation papers for the Imperial Unit (the one in which he subsequently served in GEA) under "previous military service" it is noted that he served 11 months (!) in his previous UDF unit. If this is correct, it appears that he served in it until he transferred to the new unit.
c) For the Imperial unit with which he went to GEA, the service is as follows:
- At home, in SA = 103 days
- In GEA, including en route to and from there = 212 days
d) Finally, in his last unit (with BEF France) he spent:
- At home, in SA = 125 days
- En route from SA to England = 29 days
- In England (on leave and in hospital) = 75 days
- In France (in the field) = 108 days
- En route from England to SA = 23 days

Now, if overseas service for dominion imperial troops was counted when they were away from their peacetime location/country (or upon engagement in military operations) - excluding the period spent in the UK, than I believe this person has accumulated over 1 year of service abroad. So, again, if my interpretation of AO 4/18 is correct (see above), that would be one blue chevron before the end of the hostilities (when he departed for France in 1918), with one more added by the time his service ended in 1919 i.e. a total of two blue chevrons.

I would appreciate the help from more knowledgeable members on this matter in order to determine their correct entitlement to overseas service chevrons.

Thank you in advance for your time and effort!