1st, 2nd & 5th Londons updates

I've updated the posts for the 1st Londons, 2nd Londons and 5th Londons; adding sample six digit service numbers for the 1st London Regiment and 2nd London Regiment, and including detail on five digit service numbers issued to men transferring into the 5th London Regiment in July 1916.

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2nd (City of London) Bn, The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)

This battalion had its origins in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Royal Fusiliers.

Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 2nd London Regiment as follows:

340 joined on 6th May 1908
670 joined on 22nd March 1909
988 joined on 23rd March 1910
1068 joined on 19th January 1911
1209 joined on 4th March 1912
1452 joined on 8th January 1913
1775 joined on 13th May 1914
1912 joined on 10th August 1914
2472 joined on 7thy September 1914
3169 joined on 20th October 1914
3248 joined on 17th November 1914
3277 joined on 2nd December 1914
3475 joined on 20th January 1915
3636 joined on 15th February 1915
4205 joined on 2nd March 1915
4337 joined on 10th April 1915
4429 joined on 10th May 1915
4605 joined on 5th June 1915
4829 joined on 21st July 1915
4918 joined on 28th August 1915
5004 joined on 7th October 1915
5092 joined on 1st November 1915
5203 joined on 20th December 1915
5224 joined on 17th January 1916
5552 joined on 1st February 1916
5631 joined on 20th March 1916
6423 joined on 3rd April 1916
6605 joined on 15th May 1916
6628 joined on 3rd June 1916
6667 joined on 18th July 1916
6802 joined on 1st August 1916
8176 joined on 11th September 1916
8266 joined on 14th October 1916
8434 joined on 4th November 1916

When the battalion re-numbered in 1917, it did so using numbers within the block 230001 to 250000. Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates within the six digit range.

230001 originally joined in April 1908 (and was almost certainly an old 2nd Volunteer Battalion man)
230092 originally joined on 4th March 1912
230315 originally joined on 6th August 1914
230562 originally joined on 1st September 1914
230997 originally joined on 19th October 1914
231072 originally joined on 15th December 1914
231136 originally joined on 12th January 1915
231423 originally joined on 19th February 1915
231708 originally joined on 20th April 1915
231842 originally joined on 7th June 1915
231985 originally joined on 31st July 1915

I'll add to this list in due course.

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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.


2ND CITY OF LONDON REGIMENT (ROYAL FUSILIERS) IN THE GREAT WAR (1914-1919)







This from the Naval & Military Press:



"The 1/2nd was with the 1st London Brigade, 1st London Division when war broke out, and a month later the brigade was sent to Malta to replace the regular battalions. In February 1915 they in turn were replaced by their second line battalions (the 2/2nd had been formed in September 1914) and left for France where the 1/2nd was posted to 17th Brigade 6th Division at Armentieres and for the rest of the war it remained on the Western Front. In October 1915 the brigade was transferred to the 24th Division and in February 1916 it was moved again - to the re-formed 56th (previously 1st London) Division, part of 169th Brigade, and there it stayed to the end. After Malta the 2/2nd was sent to Gallipoli where it arrived on 13 October and was attached to the 2nd Naval Brigade. In January 1916 it went to France where it was disbanded and the 3/2nd (formed in December 1914), which was in the UK at the time with 173rd Brigade, 58th Division, was renamed 2/2nd. The division landed in France in January 1917 and the battalion fought its first major action at Bullecourt in May; it, too, remained with the brigade throughout the fighting to the end of the war. Finally there was a fourth line battalion, 4/2nd, which was formed in May 1915 but did not serve overseas; its function was to supply drafts for the two overseas battalions.



"The Roll of Honour lists 1,345 dead and the summary of awards shows 65 British decorations to officers and 246 to other ranks, excluding MiD."



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Read my other posts on numbering in the London Regiment battalions:

City of London Battalions

1st (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)