This battalion had its origins in the 1st Volunteer Battalion Royal Fusiliers. In common with all Territorial Force battalions in 1908, the majority of men joining this new battalion that year, would have seen prior service with the Volunteer Battalion.
Army Service Numbers and enlistment dates for the 1st London Regiment as follows:
401 joined on 30th June 1908
613 joined on 2nd February 1909
1013 joined on 21st February 1910
1144 joined on 22nd March 1911
1251 joined on 26th February 1912
1522 joined on 21st February 1913
1782 joined on 13th May 1914
2059 joined on 12th August 1914
2333 joined on 1st September 1914
3156 joined on 15th October 1914
3176 joined on 4th November 1914
3266 joined on 7th December 1914
3403 joined on 12th January 1915
3525 joined on 6th February 1915
3840 joined on 9th March 1915
4007 joined on 1st April 1915
4154 joined on 6th May 1915
4327 joined on 2nd June 1915
4662 joined on 21st July 1915
4889 joined on 30th August 1915
4904 joined on 4th September 1915
5024 joined on 5th October 1915
5195 joined on 3rd November 1915
5467 joined on 6th December 1915
5568 joined on 21st January 1916
6142 joined on 27th March 1916
6540 joined on 23rd May 1916
6716 joined on 5th June 1916
8121 joined on 28th August 1916
8351 joined on 8th September 1916
8551 joined on 11th October 1916
8982 joined on 20th November 1916
8982 is the last army service number that I currently have on my database for the 1st (City of London) Bn (Royal Fusiliers). The battalion though, would have carried on numbering in this series until the new six digit TF series was introduced in 1917. Men already in this battalion would then have been issued numbers within the block 200001 to 230000 as would new recruits to this battalion from early 1917.
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Caveat
It is wrong to assume that numbering sequences in battalions always followed a sequential pattern. They didn't. As the war progressed and casualties grew, large numbers of men were often transferred from one battalion to another and allocated numbers within blocks which did not fit the sequential patterning seen to date. This becomes particularly evident in most battalions from 1916 onwards. For an example of this, see my posts on the 5th London Regiment and the 23rd London Regiment.
See also: 1st London transfers, November 1916 and read my other posts on numbering in the London Regiment battalions:
City of London Battalions
2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
3rd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
4th (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
5th (City of London) Battalion (Rifle Brigade)
6th (City of London) Battalion (Rifles)
7th (City of London) Battalion
8th (City of London) Battalion (Post Office Rifles)
County of London Battalions
9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
10th County of London) Battalion (Hackney) [Originally Paddington Rifles]
11th (County of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles)
12th (County of London) Battalion (The Rangers)
13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensington)
14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish)
15th (County of London) Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles)
16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
17th (County of London) Battalion (Poplar & Stepney Rifles)
18th (County of London) Battalion (London Irish Rifles)
19th (County of London) Battalion (St Pancras)
20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath & Woolwich)
21st (County of London) Battalion (First Surrey Rifles)
22nd (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
23rd (County of London) Battalion
24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion
28th (County of London) Battalion (Artists Rifles)
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2 comments:
Hi - excellent website, thanks
I'm just trying to find out a litle bit more about the 1st husband of my great-grandmother. She was Eliza Newton, who was born in Ipswich in 1896.
The following are his details from UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
Name: Albert Edward Naldrett
Birth Place: Marylebone
Residence: Handel St.
Death Date: 26 Oct 1917
Enlistment Location: Marylebone
Rank: Private
Regiment: London Regiment
Battalion: 1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers).
Number: 201574
Type of Casualty: Killed in action
Theatre of War: Aldershot
The Ancestry website shows him to have been born in 1893, but his service record doesn't show up on a search, so I expect his is one of the many later destroyed.
From your post, can I take it, do you think, that Albert's number means that he was likely (though not certain) to have enlisted in April to May 1915? He married my great-grandmother here in Ipswich in 1916, himself having been born in London, so I'm thinking it might well be the case, if so, that he met her as a soldier billeted on her family or nearby locally.
I can't see him in the 1901 census and I haven't tried the 1911 census yet, so these might support or undermine this as the possible story.
My uncle holds his medals, plus a letter to my great-grandmother from his commanding officer as to his death.
After he was killed, she re-married my great-grandfather, Frank Hines, who died young in 1924, then again to another chap, Alfred Smith.
I'll check back on your site in the days ahead.
Thanks again and regards
Shane Hines
Shane
Thanks for your message.
Albert's original number was 4068 and the closest number I have on my database is 4052 who joined on the 14th April 1915. So Albert would have joined around this time.
His medal index card indicates entitlement to the BWM and Victory medals which in turn means that he must have arrived overseas on 1st January 1916 or later.
Paul
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