The Lincolnshire Regiment - 5th Battalion

The 5th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment was a Territorial Force Battalion formed on 1st April 1908 out of the embers of the old 3rd Volunteer Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment.

In early 1914, the distribution of battalion headquarters and the eight companies was as follows: HQ and A and B Companies at Grimsby, C Company at Spilsby, D Company at Louth, E Company at Barton, F Company at Alford, G Company at Frodingham, and H Company at Gainsborough. (Courtesy Ray Westlake's The Territorial Force 1914).

Here are some army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 5th Lincolns:

480 joined on 28th April 1908
716 joined on 5th March 1909
1075 joined on 10th May 1910
1175 joined on 12th January 1911
1359 joined on 19th March 1912
1520 joined on 24th February 1913
1723 joined on 19th March 1914
1785 joined on 3rd August 1914
2851 joined on 9th September 1914
3031 joined on 1st October 1914
3331 joined on 11th November 1914
3624 joined on 19th January 1915
3681 joined on 9th February 1915
3736 joined on 15th March 1915
3847 joined on 14th April 1915
4130 joined on 18th May 1915
4204 joined on 15th June 1915
4292 joined on 22nd July 1915
4330 joined on 10th August 1915
4415 joined on 6th September 1915
4435 joined on 11th October 1915
4484 joined on 6th November 1915
4553 joined on 28th December 1915
4580 joined on 26th January 1916
4786 joined on 8th February 1916
4908 joined on 7th March 1916
5479 joined on 10th May 1916

My data becomes thinner from here on in and numbering patterns are less reliable. By the end of 1916 however, the battalion was numbering in the 6200s (6265 joined on 31st December 1916). When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, men from the 5th Lincolns were re-numbered within the series 240001 to 265000. Here are some sample numbers and dates from this series:

240001 originally joined on 1st April 1908
240044 originally joined on 12th January 1911
240113 originally joined on 1st July 1912
240194 originally joined on 26th November 1913
240229 originally joined on 8th April 1908
240262 originally joined on 7th August 1914
240418 originally joined on 2nd September 1914
240689 originally joined on 2nd October 1914
240865 originally joined on 23rd November 1914
240933 originally joined on 9th February 1915
240977 originally joined on 25th March 1915
241077 originally joined on 7th May 1915
241164 originally joined on 8th June 1915
241233 originally joined on 22nd July 1915
241273 originally joined on 30th August 1915
241310 originally joined on 5th November 1915
241365 originally joined on 26th January 1916
241530 originally joined on 8th February 1916
241785 originally joined on 10th May 1916
242057 originally joined on 3rd October 1916
242219 originally joined on 31st December 1916

Number 1, Number 2 and Number 3 Supernumerary Companies were also attached to the 5th Lincolns (and there may have been other supernumerary companies as well) but the numbers issued to men joining these companies were from the same series as those issued to the regular 5th Battalion men - at least initially. Thus 46 year old Alfred Dows who attested with Number 1 and Number 2 Supernumerary Companies (attached to the 2/5th Lincolns) on 10th May 1915 was given the number 3954 which, if you consult the first list above, falls correctly between these numbers/dates:

3847 who joined on 14th April 1915 and 4130 who joined on 18th May 1915

However, Alfred transferred (and the word "transferred" appears on his service record rather than "posted") to Number 3 Supernumerary Company on 4th September 1915 and was given a new five digit number: 20270. This is an entirely new numbering series which was probably introduced around June/July 1915 for men joining the supernumerary companies attached to the 5th Lincolns.

Incidentally Alfred, who had joined the National Reserve, was an old soldier who had originally enlisted with the Border Regiment in March 1889, transferring to the Lincolnshire Regiment that same November. He saw service in East India and Singapore before being discharged medically unfit in June 1894. He would later be discharged from his supernumerary company duties in November 1915 for the same reason.

Also see my other posts regarding the Lincolnshire Regiment:

The 1st & 2nd Battalions, The Lincolnshire Regiment
The 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment
The 4th Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment
The Lincolnshire Regiment - Service Battalions
The Lincolnshire Regiment - 10th Battalion - Grimsby Chums
Donald Banks - A Lincolnshire Terrier

And also:

The Lincolnshire Yeomanry

View Lincolnshire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line via the Ancestry.co.uk website

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