The 7th Manchesters was a Territorial Force battalion which, prior to 1908, had been the 4th Volunteer Battalion, the Manchester Regiment.
Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 7th Manchester Regiment. Please note the caveat at the end of this post.
62 joined on 1st April 1908
884 joined on 15th March 1909
1135 joined on 11th January 1910
1275 joined on 4th January 1911
1468 joined on 2nd February 1912
1632 joined on 25th February 1913
2032 joined on 28th January 1914
2209 joined on 8th August 1914
2366 joined on 1st September 1914
2661 joined on 1st October 1914
2903 joined on 5th November 1914
3247 joined on 2nd December 1914
3294 joined on 4th January 1915
3417 joined on 8th February 1915
3460 joined on 18th March 1915
3489 joined on 5th April 1915
3761 joined on 8th May 1915
4022 joined on 1st June 1915
4135 joined on 3rd July 1915
4165 joined on 3rd August 1915
4280 joined on 20th September 1915
4341 joined on 5th October 1915
4461 joined on 1st November 1915
4668 joined on 4th January 1916
4997 joined on 10th February 1916
5140 joined on 7th March 1916
5274 joined on 14th April 1916
5673 joined on 26th June 1916
5830 joined on 7th August 1916
6791 joined on 11th September 1916
When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, the block of numbers allocated to the 7th Manchesters ran from to 275001 to 300000.
Read my other posts on the Manchester Regiment:
The Manchester Regiment, The Regular Battalions 1881-1914
The Manchester Regiment, Special & Extra Reserve Battalions 1908-1914
5th Bn, The Manchester Regiment (TF)
6th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
8th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
9th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
10th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
Manchester Regiment Service Battalion numbers 1914-1916
16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions)
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)
A Manchester Pal's War - 9814 Pte Harry Bardsley, 18th Manchesters
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 post on the 23rd London Regiment.
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Don't be fooled into thinking that because your ancestor had a five digit number, he couldn't have served with a Territorial Force battalion. He could have.
As we have seen with London Regiment men, the majority of the battalions (the 5th London Regiment being a notable exception) started numbering from 1 in 1908 and continued with the same series up until at least January 1917 when the first six digit numbers start to be issued. At that point in time, those men still serving were issued with new numbers in order of seniority. So the earliest enlistment from 1908 would have been issued with the lowest six digit number and so on.
Taking the 7th Manchester Regiment as an example, number 67 (who was probably a serving Volunteer with the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Manchester Regiment) joined the 7th Manchesters on 1st April 1908. In January 1917 he was still on the Regiment's books and was given the new number 275211. (The 7th Manchesters was allocated the block of numbers 275001 to 300000).
So for this battalion - and the majority of Territorial Force (TF) battalions - men with single, double and triple digit numbers (up to 500 or more) are generally 1908 enlistments, with four digit numbers starting to appear - for the most part (although Cyclist Battalions are generally an exception) - in 1910 and 1911. (The 7th Manchesters had reached 884 by March 1909 and 1135 by January 1910). Some battalions did in fact get into five digits before the new six digit renumbering happened in 1917 (see the 28th London Regiment for instance, which was up to 10400 by January 1917), but the majority of TF battalions did not.
But what about those high five digit numbers - 300** etc - which appear as Territorial Force numbers?
Army Council Instruction 1245 of 11th August 1917 explains why:
1245.3
A recruit on being posted to a regular or TF unit, either on being called up under the Military Service Acts or on voluntary enlistment, will be allotted a regular number, with the exception of recruits posted to battalions of the London Regiment or to units of Corps which do not contain any regular unit (ie The Honourable Artillery Company [which was also supposed to be part of the London Regiment] and Royal Defence Corps.
So those high five digit numbers are conscripts or volunteers who have been posted to TF battalions but given numbers from the main series of numbering normally found in the regular/service battalions. Incidentally, and having referenced the 5th Londons earlier, we also see five digit numbers appearing in numbers beginning 105** through to 110**,for the 5th Londons in July 1916. The battalion suffered heavy casualties on the diversionary attack on Gommecourt on 1st July 1916 and these five digit numbers are all drafts from the 2/7th Middlesex Regiment and other London Regiment battalions - 616 in total - to replace those men lost on July 1st. I've given more details on these five digit 5th London Regiment numbers in a separate post. Of these 616 transferees, at least 130 were killed in action or died of wounds whilst serving with the 5th Londons, in a continuation of the Somme battles in September and October 1916.
The other five digit numbers that appear in TF battalions in large groups are those which appear for some Supernumerary Company men attached to TF battalions, but again, that will be the subject of a future post.
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