Corps of Dragoons - Recruitment 1881-1906

If, between the years 1881 and 1913 (and except for a blip during the Boer War years), recruitment into some infantry of the line regiments appears to have been conducted at a snail's pace, it was slower still in the cavalry regiments.

Here are some rough recruitment rates for the Corps of Dragoons between 1881 and 1906

1st King's Dragoon Guards
Approximately 155 men recruited per annum
2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen's Bays)
Approximately 154 men recruited per annum
3rd (Princess of Wales) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 150 men recruited per annum
4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 117 men recruited per annum
5th (Prince Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 128 men recruited per annum
6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)
Approximately 138 men recruited per annum
7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 180 men recruited per annum
1st (Royal) Dragoons
Approximately 146 men recruited per annum
2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)
Approximately 156 men recruited per annum
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
Approximately 143 men recruited per annum

I've calculated the above simply by subtracting the first numbers on my Dragoons army service numbers database from the last numbers and then dividing by the number of years. So for instance, for the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2087 joined on 5th March 1881 and 5879 joined on 5th September 1906. 5879 minus 2087 = 3792. Divide that by the 26 years it took to climb from 2087 to 5879 and you arrive at 145.846...

Recruitment into the regular army was an extremely slow affair for most of the time.

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