9th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

The 9th (The Dumbartonshire) Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, was a Territorial Force (TF) battalion which, at the beginning of 1914, was headquartered at Dumbarton. A Company recruited men from Helensburgh, B Company from Kirkintilloch, C Company from Dumbarton, D Company from Milngavie, E Company from Jamestown, F Company from Alexandria, and G and H Companies from Clydebank.

Again, and in common with other Territorial Force battalions from this regiment, the numbering up until 1914 is not sequential. As an example, take a look at these enlistments from 1912 and 1913, place of joining indicated in square brackets.

1912 Enlistments

1501 joined on 10th January 1912 [Dumbarton]
1516 joined on 25th January 1912 [Alexandria]
1527 joined on 9th January 1912 [Jamestown]
1533 joined on 30th January 1912 [Jamestown]
1549 joined on 22nd February 1912 [Kirkintilloch]
1613 joined on 12th April 1912 [Clydebank]
1615 joined on 16th April 1912 [Alexandria]
1649 joined on 14th May 1912 [Clydebank]
1660 joined on 5th June 1912 [Clydebank]
1693 joined on 17th June 1912 [Dumbarton]

Service records for all of these 1912 and 1913 survive in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives. They can all be viewed on-line via the Ancestry.co.uk website.


1913 Enlistments

1780 joined on 11th February 1913 [Clydebank]
1807 joined on 24th January 1913 [Dumbarton]
1825 joined on 5th February 1913 [Milngavie]
1860 joined on 12th April 1913 [Alexandria]
1861 joined on 14th April 1913 [Renton]
1893 joined on 18th March 1913 [Jamestown]
1920 joined on 1st April 1913 [Dumbarton]
1961 joined on 8th April 1913 [Renton]
2041 joined on 6th November 1913 [Helensburgh]

Renton was the location of the drill station for F Company (headquartered at Alexandria) and I'm just going to pull out the records for those Alexandria and Renton men:

1516 joined on 25th January 1912 [Alexandria]
1615 joined on 16th April 1912 [Alexandria]
1860 joined on 12th April 1913 [Alexandria]
1861 joined on 14th April 1913 [Renton]
1961 joined on 8th April 1913 [Renton]

Looking at this short sequence, 1860 and 1861 seem perfectly logical, 1861 joining two days after 1860. But bearing in mind that a Territorial Force Battalion company probably numbered no more than 125 men, give or take, in 1912; and given that recruitment was slow anyway (and had reached an all time low the previous year), recruiting 100 men into two and a half months (see 1516 and 1615 above) just isn't feasible.

If any logic was applied at all - and one assumes that it must have been - it seems more probable that companies were allocated blocks of numbers and when these were used up, they applied for another block. I should emphasize that this is all supposition on my part - and as a result of interesting communications with the webmaster of the excellent Sons of Galloway website.  

I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.

Also see my posts regarding army service numbers issued to men in the following Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders battalions:

1st & 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 1881-1914
3rd (Special Reserve) & 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion A&S Highlanders
5th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (TF)
6th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (TF)
7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (TF)
8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (TF)
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders service battalions 1914-1917