10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Hussars - Other Rank PoWs 1914

The list of 10th Hussars men who had become prisoners of war by December 1914 is tiny. It took the form of a two-page letter typed by Mrs E Mackenzie of the Tenth (PWO) Hussars Association and was sent to Sir Ernest Goodhart on the 19th December 1918. At the time of writing, at least six of the men were still being held in German camps.

At first glance, Corporal Addison looks to be the longest serving man here, assuming that is that the other men's numbers all belong to the regimental number series issued to the Corps of Hussars from 1907. That would place Corporal Addison as a 1907 enlistment, and all the other men a couple of years behind him, enlisting in 1909 and 1910.

On the other hand though - and this is where you need to be careful with line cavalry numbering - the numbers issued to all of the men except Corporal Addison could, in theory, have been issued to the 10th Hussars before 1907. This would make 4238 Sergeant Hawkes the longest serving man (enlisted 1899), with the other men enlisting between 1900 and 1906).

In actual fact, Lance-Corporal Arthur H Hawkes does indeed appear on medal rolls for the Queen's South Africa Medal and King's South Africa Medal and so he is the longest serving man in the list below.

909 Corporal Alfred H Addison 
4686 Private George R Bird 
6545 Private P Cairns 
5568 Private Joseph Cassidy 
5559 Private Arthur G Cater 
5590 Private H Grant 
4238 Sergeant H Hawkes 
5759 Corporal William R Miller 
5422 Private E Reeve

For more information on cavalry numbering and that crucial change from regimental numbering by regiment to regimental numbering by corps, have a look at my post on King's and Queen's Regulations, and in particular Army Order 289 of December 1906 which, for the modern day researcher, really is a vital document that should be pinned up somewhere where it won't be missed. Or alternatively, just bookmark this page.

Pictured above in about 1901, Prince Edward, HRH The Prince of Wales; Later King Edward VII, Colonel of the 10th Hussars.

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Kalapoosh! 7th Hussars transfers in 1886

Edwin Mole, a troop sergeant major with the 14th Hussars, and back in England in 1886 just prior to the regiment's return from India (or Kalapoosh, as it was known to the men), writes:

“Judge then our feelings of dismay when one Sunday, about four months before the 14th was expected home, on returning from church parade, every man of our depot was ordered to parade in front of orderly-room. Colonel G then called the troop to attention, and to the surprise and mortification of both Captain T and myself, read out an order that all our men under three months’ service were to be forthwith transferred to the 7th Hussars and that all over that service might volunteer for the same regiment, which was just proceeding to India to relieve the 14th. To make matters worse, he pointed out to those who desired to see foreign service, that now was their time, for as the 14th was coming home and would remain in England for some years, unless they accepted this chance, all their soldiering would be in the United Kingdom. The argument was irresistible, for Kalapoosh was every young fellow’s ambition. Before evening our depot had lost half its muster.”

I decided to explore this further by looking in series WO 97 for men transferring into the 7th Hussars in 1886. It didn't take long before I found what I was after.

In the list below, the names of the recruits are followed by their previous Hussars regimental number and Hussars regiment, followed by their new 7th Hussars regimental number and their date of transfer. As we can see, the 14th Hussars were not alone in losing men to Kalapoosh:      

Augustine John Welsh, No prior service, 3004 7th Hussars, 26th August
Edward Ellis, No prior service, 3007 7th Hussars, 1st September
Charles Duck, No prior service, 3012 7th Hussars, 15th September
Henry Brereton, No prior service, 3020 7th Hussars, 20th September
John MacQueen, No prior service, 3021 7th Hussars, 20th September
Headley Frederick Griggs, No prior service, 3023, 7th Hussars 21st September

14th Hussars transfers

William John Davis 2400 14th Hussars 13th June 1884; later 3026 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Fred T Harper 2427 14th Hussars 13th October 1884; later 3027 7th Hussars, 23rd September
John Rhodes 2585 14th Hussars 9th January 1886; later 3028 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Henry Peck Naylor 2538 14th Hussars 29th August 1885; later 3029 7th Hussars, 23rd September
William Bull 2473 14th Hussars 4th June 1885; later 3032 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Robert Bishop 2490 14th Hussars 25th June 1885; later 3033 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Thomas Clarke 2477 14th Hussars 11th June 1885; later 3038 7th Hussars, 23rd September
George Ernest Harris 2484 14th Hussars 19th June 1885; later 3040 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Thomas Hendley 2461 14th Hussars 29th May 1885; later 3041 7th Hussars, 23rd September
Charles Le Court 2505 14th Hussars 16th July 1885; later 3042 7th Hussars, 23rd September
John Edward Murtan 2529 14th Hussars 14th August 1885; later 3043 7th Hussars, 23rd September
William Bevan 2446 14th Hussars 19th March 1885; later 3050 7th Hussars, 23rd September
George Ernest Whitmarsh 2474 14th Hussars 6th July 1885; later 3056 7th Hussars, 23rd September

Joseph McCullie, No prior service, 3058 7th Hussars, 5th October

19th Hussars transfers

Robert Bousfield 2801 19th Hussars 25th November 1885; later 3065 7th Hussars, 12th October
William Charles Cook 2785 19th Hussars 9th November 1885; later 3066 7th Hussars, 12th October
Robert Barclay 2609 19th Hussars 30th June 1884; later 3067 7th Hussars, 12th October
Benjamin Burton 2133 19th Hussars 27th January 1882; later 3070 7th Hussars, 12th October
Charles Butterworth 2356 19th Hussars 3rd November 1882 ; later3071 7th Hussars, 12th October
Henry James Elliott 2481 19th Hussars 14th March 1884; later 3073 7th Hussars, 12th October
Harry Thomas 2535 19th Hussars 21st May 1884; later 3080 7th Hussars, 12th October
William Smith Jeffcott 2647 19th Hussars 4th April 1885; later 3081 7th Hussars, 12th October
Henry Walker 2565 19th Hussars 10th June 1884; later 3083 7th Hussars, 12th October
Richard Allen 2848 19th Hussars 11th January 1886; later 3084 7th Hussars, 12th October

3rd Hussars transfers

Charles Robinson 2171 3rd Hussars 6th August 1884; later 3086 7th Hussars, 23rd October
William Neal 2174 3rd Hussars 7th August 1884; later 3087 7th Hussars, 1st November
William Marshall 2121 3rd Hussars 10th July 1884; later 3088 7th Hussars, 31st October

Various Hussars transfers (including another man from the 14th)

Frederick Godfrey 2532 14th Hussars 20th August 1885; later 3095 7th Hussars, 1st November
Louis Madge 2889 18th Hussars 23rd September 1885; later 3101 7th Hussars, 1st November
Richard Probert 2314 21st Hussars 20th June 1884; later 3103 7th Hussars, 1st November

15th Hussars transfers

James Henry Hannett 2076 15th Hussars 23rd January 1884; later 3105 7th Hussars, 1st November
John Paterson 2105 15th Hussars 10th April 1884; later 3110 7th Hussars, 1st November
Harry Gray 2177 15th Hussars 1st November 1884; later 3114 7th Hussars, 1st November

William Buck, No prior service, 3117 7th Hussars, 5th November
William Smith, No prior service, 3118 7th Hussars, 29th October

10th Hussars transfers

James Black 2096 10th Hussars 15th March 1884; later 3123 7th Hussars, 16th November
Samuel Clarke 1858 10th Hussars 27th January 1881; later 3127 7th Hussars
Richard Ellis 2127 10th Hussars 3rd May 1884; later 3131 7th Hussars, 16th November
Thomas Green 1946 10th Hussars 25th January 1882; later 3134 7th Hussars, 16th November
David Griffin 1935 10th Hussars 8th November 1881; later 3139 7th Hussars, 16th November

Christopher Kiddell 2174 19th Hussars 7th March 1882; later 3144 7th Hussars, 16th December

The last man on this list, Christopher Kiddell, did not make it overseas as he enlisted after the 7th Hussars had departed for India on the 25th November 1886. But there are definite sequential patterns to the transfers: a block of around 30 men from the 14th Hussars, 20 men from the 19th Hussars, 16+ men from the 10th Hussars, and others.

Edwin Mole's assertion though, that 14th Hussars recruits with under three months' service were also transferred, appears to be incorrect. I looked at 14th Hussars enlistments in 1886 and did not come across a single man who transferred to the 7th. Admittedly there are gaps in surviving service records but all those for whom records do survive spent their colour service at home in the UK. On the other hand, men with no prior service who enlisted directly into the 7th Hussars in 1886, did travel to India with their regiment. William Buck, for instance, enlisted on the 5th November 1886 and was en route to India twenty days later.

I have noticed pattern of transfer in line cavalry regiments in the past but had not considered the possibility that one of the reasons for this was to bring another regiment in the same corps up to establishment before it proceeded overseas. Edwin Mole's casual statement now sheds more light on this.

The image on this post, taken from the Navy & Army Illustrated, shows the 14th Hussars in Ireland in 1896.

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10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars

This post will look at numbering in the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars between 1881 and 1906. Line and Household cavalry regiments were unaffected by Cardwell's Army reforms but keeping to the parameters of this blog, my starting point for this post is 1881.

The database and information on this blog have been compiled as a result of studying service records in WO 97 (British Army pensions to 1913), WO 363 (WW1 service records) and WO 364 (WW1 pension records). All of these series are now online. Click on the links for further information.

1867 joined on 21st March1881
1985 joined on 9th May 1882
2134 joined on 8th May 1883
2149 joined on 27th September 1884
2251 joined on 13th February 1885
2370 joined on 2nd March1886
2547 joined on 25th April 1887
2702 joined on 27th September 1888
2732 joined on 20th April 1889
2889 joined on 6th October 1890
3005 joined on 26th August 1891
3156 joined on 29th February 1892
3268 joined on 5th January1893
3342 joined on 2nd April 1894
3464 joined on 8th January1895
3684 joined on 21st February 1896
3727 joined on 13th January 1897
3861 joined on 14th February 1898
4090 joined on 5th January 1899
4347 joined on 9th January 1900
4949 joined on 16th January 1901
5318 joined on 2nd April 1902
5410 joined on 5th January 1903
5466 joined on 31st August 1904
5502 joined on 6th September 1905
6837 joined on 28th September 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were separated; each of the three line cavalry corps – dragoons, hussars, and lancers – beginning a new number series which started at 1 and was to extend to 49,999.

What this meant for the 10th Hussars was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the all of the Hussars regiments:

3rd (King's Own) Hussars
4th (Queen's Own) Hussars
7th (Queen's Own) Hussars
8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars
11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars
13th Hussars
14th (King's) Hussars
15th (King's) Hussars
18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars
19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars
20th Hussars

See also, my posts on numbering in the Corps of Hussars 1907-1914, Queen's and King's Regulations: regimental numbering and cavalry numbering in 1906.

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