This post will look at army service numbers issued to men joining the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers between 1881 and 1914.
There are over 48,000 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers service andpension records (for this regiment - and its
antecedents) in various War Office series held at the National Archives.
Clicking on the link will take you to the results on Findmypast but you
will need a subscription or Pay-Per-View credits to actually view the
records. Some of these records can also be viewed on-line on Ancestry although
Findmypast has by far the most comprehensive service record collection.
Use the regimental numbers and dates on which these were issued, below,
to determine parameters for when your own Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ancestor would
have joined up. Note though that these numbers are only for regular
enlistments. Special Reserve and Extra Reserve battalions operated
completely separate regimental number sequences.
10 joined on 30th July 1881
289 joined on 17th October 1882
599 joined on 11th July 1883
837 joined on 12th February 1884
1501 joined on 8th June 1885
1847 joined on 30th January 1886
2210 joined on 17th April 1887
2442 joined on 27th February 1888
2849 joined on 8th February 1889
3293 joined on 9th July 1890
3505 joined on 28th January 1891
3885 joined on 10th May 1892
4195 joined on 15th January 1893
4609 joined on 29th May 1894
4814 joined on 22nd January 1895
5201 joined on 18th January 1896
5507 joined on 19th August 1897
5975 joined on 25th July 1898
6208 joined on 31st January 1899
6489 joined on 5th January 1900
6890 joined on 28th February 1901
7295 joined on 21st July 1902
7648 joined on 24th April 1903
7959 joined on 24th May 1904
8251 joined on 28th February 1905
8447 joined on 3rd February 1906
8920 joined on 9th January1907
9521 joined on 28th August 1908
9646 joined on 22nd April 1909
9812 joined on 17th February 1910
10094 joined on 2nd September 1911
10277 joined on 8th May 1912
10591 joined on 15th November 1913
10744 joined on 3rd August 1914
The following day, Britain went to war with Germany, and when the new service battalions of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers started forming shortly afterwards, they too drew their numbers from the same series which, up until that point, had been the sole preserve of the two regular battalions.
Also see this post on regimental numbering in the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
British Military History Bookshop
Click the link above to view books on the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and Iniskilling Dragoons.
Books from The Naval & Military Press
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in the World War
Written at a time when there had only been one world war, this book details the actions of the regiment's thirteen battalions during the First World War.
The regiment lost over five and a half thouand men and won seven Victoria Crosses. Two appendices provide the Roll of Honour with the officers grouped together in alphabetical order and the other ranks alphabetically by battalions, and the list of Honours and Awards. These are headed by the VCs with citations and the others are grouped according to the award - in all cases the names are in alphabetical order. Battalions of the regiment served on the Western Front, in Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine; two of them were with the 10th (Irish) Division, two with the 16th (Irish ) Division - the North and the South.
The book is arranged in three parts: the first provides the background to the war and the that of the Inniskillings and the type of man who served in the regiment; the second part, which takes up most of the book, is about the war on the Western Front and the part played by the battalions; the third section deals with the Eastern theatres - Gallipoli, Salonika and Palestine. This is a well-written and descriptive Great War regimental history. CLICK to order.
The recruitment poster on this post also appears on the excellent, Ballymena and the Great War website.
Paul, in case it is of interest, here are the fruits of some research I was doing on enlistment dates for the Extra Reserve Battalion:
ReplyDeleteService numbers for 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers:
1789 joined 3rd November 1897
4TH/2840 joined 4 October 1912
2875 joined 28 November 1912
2896 joined 11 January 1913
2925 joined 20 February 1913
2941 joined 1 April 1913
3023 joined 30 July 1913
3097 joined 3 October 1913
4/3121 joined 15 October 1913
3126 joined 17 October 1913
3148 joined 19 November 1913
3181 joined 30 December 1913
3231 joined 11 March 1914
4/3261 joined 17 April 1914
4/3338 joined 28 July 1914
4/3374 joined 7 August 1914
Thanks for this, AHJ. I'll create a separate post for this and also add in some of my earlier numbers from 1908 which was when the battalion came into being. The 1897 number you note would, of course, have been a militia issue, but the SR and ER battalions continued with the militia nu8imbering sequences.
ReplyDeletePaul, can I ask if you have ever come across a man with two numbers, both apparently within the regular/service battalion number sequence for the Inniskillings? I'm researching a man for a friend, 11817/31036 W Hanning, who shows service with the 6th, 8th & 1st battalions. The first number seems to date from around September 1914 and the second I think would have been issued between February and April 1917. My private speculation is that he went out to the Balkans theatre with the 6th Btn, was taken sick (as I can't find a wound record) some time when they were in Salonika and shipped home, then was renumbered and sent to the 8th when he was sent back to France. However, I have nothing directly to support this in the absence of a service record or relevant hospital record. Incidentally, I have another for the database:
ReplyDelete11812 John Gartland, enlisted Glasgow on 8 September 1914, reported to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Depot at Omagh the following day, and then posted to the 6th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 12 September 1914.
Yours,
Anthony
It's quite common, Anthony; often with a time-expired man re-joining. A typical example might be a mna enklisting in 1903, serving out his 12+1 years and then being conscripted in 1916. There were a host of other reasons why a man could be re-numbered but in essence it's not at all unusual to see this.
ReplyDeletePaul
My great grandfather was in the Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers. He joined 11/10/1899 and his Regimental # 6401. On the birth of my grandmother on 03/04/1905 at Queen Street Enniskillen, he was recorded as a Sgt 1st Battalion.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Paul.
ReplyDeleteAny information on my great grandfather John armour 19954
ReplyDeleteThere is no service records that survives for John Armour but it will be possible to pull some information together. See my RESEARCH tab, please.
ReplyDeleteWe have been trying to find a Patrick Price of Newry, son of Patrick Price and Mary Margaret Price. We think he joined the Royal Enniskilling Fusiliers, saw service, may have been injured and either died on the field somewhere or was returned to GB/NI where he passed. Can you assist?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Ben, there are two men called Patrick Price who died whilst serving with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers but neither of them match the criteria you stated. See here: https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-war-dead/results?firstName=patrick&lastName=price®iment=Royal%2BInniskilling%2BFusiliers
ReplyDeleteMy great grandfather Private Leslie Houston Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 2nd battalion 7378 died from wounds received on October 31 1914.
ReplyDelete