Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) - PoW Other Ranks 1914

The following men were serving with the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) when they became prisoners of war of the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. There are 53 names in this list; quite a modest total by the standards of 1914.  Read more about this Prisoner of War data source on my 1914 PoWs page.

This data has been transcribed from the following sources which are now housed at the Imperial War Museum:

1. B.O.2 1/99. A two-page typed letter from the Irish Women's Association to the officer i/c of records, Black Watch, asking for address details of men.  Letter dated 6th March 1919
2. B.O.2 1/101. A single-sided hand-written letter confirming the men's date of capture.  Letter dated 27th December 1918
3. B.O.2 1/102. A typed letter from the Black Watch Relief Fund to the officer i/c Records. Dates of capture and comments are handwritten. Letter dated 18th December 1918.
4. B.O.2 1/103. A two-page typed letter from the Black Watch Relief Fund to the Hon Sec, Princess Mary's Xmas Fund giving names and addresses of "Prisoners of war captured before December 1914". Letter dated 19th December 1918.
5. B.O.2 1/104 is single-sided typed letter from TF Record Office, Perth to Mrs Donachie enlosing the late Pte Donachie's tin.  Letter dated 18th May 1916.
6. B.O.2 1/106. A three-page typed letter from Major Rennie,  Infantry Record Office, No 1 District, Perth, to Sir Ernest Goodhart, dated 30th January 1919.

The majority of the men were regular soldiers serving with the 1st and 2nd Battalions, but there are also men listed here who were Territorials, serving with the 1/5th (Angus & Dundee) Battalion (Territorial Force).

My full transcription of this Black Watch Prisoners of War roll call of other ranks (not reproduced here) also contains the home address or next of kin address, and date of capture against many of the men's names. Note that date of capture is also included, in many cases, on these men's medal index cards.

The full transcription is available for sale as a download or CD for £20. Contact me if you would like to purchase a copy.

783 Sergeant Allan Adam
9389 Private H Alexander
87 Private John Andrews
1646 Private G Ballantine
139 Private G Black
1507 Private J Bruce
700 Private Bryant
9806 Private W Cairney
2595 Private J Clift
2230 Private W Craigie
305 Private George Cunningham
7530 Private T Dilly
2365 Private John Donachie
2514 Private E Downton
9677 Bandsman W Egerton
1819 Private D Ferguson
71 Private G Forrester
Private G Gibson
1589 Private C Glover
1369 Private J Gordon
9879 Private F Hemmingway
2391 Private E Hendry
9657 Private A Imrie
9327 Private R Ireland
9414 Private J Lawson
7135 Private W Loudfoot
9752 Sergeant J MacGregor
7224 Private L MacQueen
5973 Private W Manson
2658 Private J McDade
9752 Sergeant J McGregor
2222 Corporal A McIntosh
7298 Private P McNay
9945 Drummer W Morrison
8321 Private W Muir
9568 Private W Murrie
2619 Private Scott Oram
2280 Private P Phinn
8269 Private W Rodgers
9939 Private G Rowan
7808 Private G Selvester
1337 Sergeant W O Smith
327 Private W Squire
75 Corporal Strachan
9289 Private J Thompson
2116 Private G Watson
8240 Private H Whitcombe
3/2391 Private J L Whitton

The roll also includes the names of a handful of men who have a 1915 date of capture against their names. As they appear in the original archive, I am also including them here:

7786 Private T Mathie
2735 Corporal  James McRobbie
9818 Corporal T Neil
3282 Private P Pennycook
230 Private G Smith

The image on this post shows the Pipe Band of the Black Watch at Edinburgh Castle c1905.

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

Finding your army ancestor

This blog was started with the aim of helping researchers to identify likely enlistment dates for army ancestors who joined the British Army between 1881 and 1918.  However, it is worth pointing out that there are many online resources where original documents, or transcripts from original documents can be accessed for a few pounds. Finding your army ancestor online seems to become easier by the day.  Here are links to some of the best online resources:


PRE FIRST WORLD WAR

1861 Worldwide Army Index
Can't find him on the 1861 census? Was he in the army? This index contains the names of over 245,000 British soldiers at home and abroad.

1871 Worldwide Army Index
An index of over 200,000 British Army officers and men stationed at home and abroad with additional notes on over 30,000 of these men.

Anglo-Boer War Roll 1899-1902
Over 300,000 men and a casualty list of over 60,000. The most comprehensive Boer War register on the web.

Army Deserters 1828-1840
An index of over 34,000 men. Details include name, age, regiment, date of desertion and trade.

British Army Service Records 1760-1913
There are over 2m records here, across six very distinct series:

Militia attestation records 1806-1915 (WO96)
Royal Hospital, Chelsea: British Army pension records 1760-1913 (WO97)
Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents 1760-1887 (WO121)
Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO122)War Office: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers' documents, South African War 1899-1902 (WO128)
Royal Hospital, Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 (WO131)

Click on the link above to access the complete collection and then filter by series.

British India Office Army & Navy Pensions 1749-1947
Released on Findmypast as part of its India Office Collection

Indian Mutiny Medal Roll 1857-1859
The names of over 56,000 medal recipients.


WORLD WAR 1 - WW1

De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1924
Biographies, many with photos, of over 26,000 WW1 casualties.

Honourable Artillery Company
Some pre-war records here but the majority are records for the First World War. Potted service histories, membership details, nominal rolls, draft lists and so on.

Pals Battalions
findmypast has published lists for the following Pals' Battalions: Birmingham Pals, Bradford Pals, Edinburgh Pals, Glasgow Pals, Liverpool Pals, Manchester Pals, Oldham Pals, Salford Pals, Swansea Pals

Royal Naval Division Service Records 1914-1920
These records are classified in the ADM series rather than WO as far as The National Archives is concerned. However, the men fought on land alongside the army during the First World War and so they are included here.

Silver War Badge rolls 1914-1920
Over 800,000 records giving date of enlistment, date of discharge, and often, the man's age.

Soldiers Died in The Great War 1914-1919
Incomplete but useful record of WW1 British Army deaths.

WW1 Medal Index Cards 1914-1920
The medal index cards of approximately 4.8m men.

WW1 Medal Rolls 1914-1920
Many medal rolls give battalion details and dates served overseas; information not usually found on the medal index cards. This is an essential resource.

WW1 Service Records 1914-1920
The so-called "Burnt Documents" from WO 363.

WW1 Pension Records 1914-1920

Pension records from WO 364.

British Army Service Records 1914-1920
This is Findmypast's combined collection of records in WO 363 and WO 364 which was released in 2014. Includes thousands of records not previously indexed. Also has the advantages of being able to search both series at the same time.

INTER-WAR

Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942
The majority of these records date to the inter-war years but there are earlier records including those of men who served during the Great War,
 

Tank Corps 1919-1934

Don't let the dates fool you.  There are lots of records here for men who saw service during the First World War and for those, of course, who would go on to see service in the Second World War.

All of the above records are available on two commercial sites: Ancestry and Findmypast. Both sites offer FREE 14 day trials (click on the links to find out more) and both sites routinely offer promotions which can make military research extremely affordable.

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

7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards

This post will look at numbering in the 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards. I've compiled the information on this post by studying 7th Dragoon Guards (and from 1907, corps of Dragoons’) service records in WO 97 (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (on-line with Ancestry). Use the numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other men who served with the 7th Dragoon Guards.

2319 joined on 8th February 1881
2458 joined on 3rd January 1882
2719 joined on 14th April 1883
2754 joined on 3rd February 1884
2836 joined on 12th March 1885
3039 joined on 10th February 1886
3517 joined on 28th February 1887
3651 joined on 23rd November 1888
3663 joined on 3rd January 1889
3752 joined on 10th February 1890
3829 joined on 6th April 1891
3984 joined on 22nd April 1892
4013 joined on 1st February 1893
4097 joined on 12th March 1894
4117 joined on 13th July 1895
4152 joined on 24th April 1896
4199 joined on 20th January 1897
4385 joined on 25th April 1898
4555 joined on 5th January 1899
4765 joined on 4th January 1900
5497 joined on 14th January 1901
5808 joined on 3rd January 1902
6423 joined on 4th February 1903
6518 joined on 1st July 1904
6579 joined on 16th January 1905
6876 joined on 16th January 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 7th Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 1st (Royal) Dragoons to see how the numbering sequence worked for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 6th Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 4073 could point to a March 1899 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or December 1909 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons. Here, knowing the soldier's age might well help to rule one number series or the other.

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

6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)

This post will look at numbering in the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers). I've put the information on this post together by studying 6th Dragoon Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (on-line with Ancestry). Use the snapshot numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other 6th Dragoon Guardsmen.

1946 joined on 22nd October 1881
1985 joined on 17th January 1882
2025 joined on 14th June 1883
2090 joined on 25th March 1884
2252 joined on 20th April 1885
2456 joined on 22nd April 1886
2662 joined on 10th January 1887
2710 joined on 5th December 1888
2723 joined on 14th October 1889
2757 joined on 27th February 1890
2809 joined on 14th August 1891
2909 joined on 9th June 1892
3145 joined on 23rd May 1893
3248 joined on 2nd January 1894
3380 joined on 10th August 1895
3484 joined on 15th September 1896
3724 joined on 3rd March 1897
3926 joined on 4th June 1898
4016 joined on 19th January 1899
4333 joined on 24th April 1900
4569 joined on 29th January 1901
4789 joined on 28th January 1902
5126 joined on 31st January 1903
5278 joined on 17th December 1904
5834 joined on 27th June 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 completely 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 6th Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th Dragoon Guards and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on 1st (Royal) Dragoons to see how the numbering sequence worked for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 6th Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 4073 could point to a March 1899 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or December 1909 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons. Here, knowing the soldier's age might well help to rule one number series or the other.

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

5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards

This post will look at numbering in the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards. I've put the information on this post together by studying 5th Dragoon Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (on-line with Ancestry). Use the snapshot numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other 5th Dragoon Guardsmen.

2159 joined on 9th July 1881
2206 joined on 21st January 1882
2422 joined on 1st July1883
2589 joined on 31st August 1884
2816 joined on 21st July 1885
2872 joined on 21st February1886
3107 joined on 18th October 1887
3207 joined on 14th June 1888
3277 joined on 6th January 1889
3359 joined on 10th April 1890
3438 joined on 2nd January 1891
3692 joined on 26th February 1892
3983 joined on 4th May 1893
4197 joined on 22nd September 1894
4275 joined on 1st February 1895
4354 joined on 1st February 1896
4415 joined on 13th January 1897
4668 joined on 17th August 1899
4790 joined on 1st February 1900
5202 joined on 27th August 1902
5220 joined on 10th April 1904
5373 joined on 27th September 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 completely 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 5th Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on 1st (Royal) Dragoons to see how the numbering sequence worked for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 5th Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 5th Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 5th Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 5208 could point to a September 1902 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or October 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons. Here, knowing the man's age might well help to determine which year he joined.

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

Silver War Badge roll on Ancestry

This post really belongs over on my Army Ancestry blog, but as I've already posted there today about the Imperial War Museum's marvelous new Faces of the First World War project on flickr, I'll write about the SWB rolls here.

Pictured above is an extract from the Silver War Badge Roll for the East Surrey Regiment, and an old favourite of mine, Charles Sabourin.  Charles lost his right leg at Mons on the 23rd August 1914 and, taken prisoner by the Germans, was repatriated to England in early 1915, then spending several months convalescing at Chailey in Sussex.  You can read more about Charles Sabourin - and see a photo of him - on my Chailey 1914-1918 blog.

The Silver War Badge roll is probably the most comprehensive of all the WW1 medal rolls and now you can search them on Ancestry - but only if you have a premium membership.

Typical information you'll get from these rolls will be the man's name, number, regiment, battalion, date of enlistment, date of discharge, cause of discharge and sometimes, the man's age or his date of birth.  The badge number is always given and the rolls tend to be organised in badge number order. The East Surrey roll above does not give the battalion or the man's age. However, the London Regiment extract below, gives both.

With a bit of care, it is also possible to use the information on the SWB rolls to determine enlistment dates for a soldier you are researching.  Care should be taken however, because although the man's date of enlistment may be given, the regiment he was discharged from may not necessarily be the regiment he originally joined.

However, looking at the East Surrey Roll we see the following numbers and enlistment dates:

8505 on 1st February 1905
7487 on 15th September 1902
9733 on 6th November 1908
10864 on 29th April 1914
10536 on 1st October 1912
6738 [Charles Sabourin] on 31st October 1900
8860 on 7th August 1906...

As it happens, all of these numbers are spot on for The East Surrey Regiment for the dates given, the majority of these men presumably having gone out with the BEF in August 1914 and, like Charles Sabourin, being wounded - or falling sick - shortly afterwards.

So all in all another great resource from Ancestry but it's a pity that more and more of the military stuff on their site seems to be falling into the premium rate category.  I'm lucky that I can afford to subscribe at that level and I personally still think that it's a bargain, but then again I'm a heavy Ancestry user and now that these SWB rolls have appeared, I shall be an even heavier one.

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

Royal Engineers 1881-1914

This post will look at numbering in the Corps of Engineers, regular enlistments only, between 1881 and 1914. With such a huge corps, any study of numbering such as this can only provide a brief snapshot. Nevertheless, this may prove of some assistance in helping to narrow down enlistment dates for numbers covered within this vast range.

The Corps of Royal Engineers was formed in 1856 from the Royal Engineers and the Royal Sappers and Miners. Typical terms of enlistment for the regiment changed over the years.

The information on this post has been compiled as a result of examining service records in WO 97 (online with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (online with Ancestry). Note that Findmypast has also indexed WO 363/4 (and uncovered an additional half a million names).
  Establishment information from Scarlet into Khaki by Lt-Col James Moncrieff Grierson (Greenhill Books 1988).

16995 joined on 2nd May 1881
17483 joined on 13th June 1882
17625 joined on 4th October 1883
18971 joined on 27th May 1884
19753 joined on 9th April 1885
20829 joined on 3rd March 1886
22091 joined on 19th September 1887
23152 joined on 25th September 1888
23596 joined on 1st February 1889
24832 joined on 12th May 1890
26081 joined on 12th September 1891
26307 joined on 22nd January 1892
27354 joined on 7th February 1893
28032 joined on 23rd February 1894
28773 joined on 1st January 1895
29999 joined on 25th February 1896

A new number series commences:
1 joined on 31st March 1896
3 joined on 7th April 1896
4 joined on 8th April 1896
601 joined on 8th January 1897
800 joined on 6th May 1897
1007 joined on 30th June 1897
1641 joined on 17th February 1898

Peace-time Establishment in 1899

1. One Pontoon or Bridging battalion consisting of two companies comprised of a total of 199 officers and men and 64 saddlehorses and draught horses.
2. One Telegraph battalion consisting of two sections: one at Aldershot traiuned exclusivley for service in the field, the other in the south of England employed for telegraphic service in the country.
3. One Mounted Detachment Field Depot quartered at Aldershot to train drivers for the field companies. Comprised of 115 officers and men and 33 horses.
4. Two Field Parks comprised in total of 33 NCOs and men and 21 horses.
5. One Balloon section at Aldershot comprised of two officers and 40 NCOs and men.
6. Eight Field Companies (Nos, 7, 11, 12, 17, 23, 26, 37, 38. Four Field Companies were on the higher Establishment and four on the lower. Of the higher companies, two were at Aldershot, one at Chatham and one at the Curragh Camp in Ireland. Of the lower companies, two were at Aldershot, and one each at Shornecliffe and the Curragh. Higher establishment companies each consisted of three officers, 182 NCOs and men and 26 horses. Lower establishment companies each consisted of three officers, 95 men and 21 horses.
7. Eighteen Fortress Companies (Nos 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 15, 18, 20, 24, 25, 29, 31, 32, 36, 41, 42 and 43). Each company consisted of three officers and 92 or 93 NCOs and men.
8. Two Railway Companies: one at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, one near Chatham, each consisting of two officers and 65 men.
9. Twelve Submarine Mining Companies (Nos 4, 21, 22, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40 and M). Companies 4, 30 and M were stationed at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Chatham respectively and comprised 510 NCOs and men in total. These three companies were known as the "central companies", training recruits for the submarine mining companies and operating electric search lights in the naval ports. The other nine companies were stationed at different fortified naval ports and comprised between 44 and 65 men. Each submarine company was commanded by three officers.
10. One Coast battalion organised into 11 sections and comprised of 14 officers and 190 men stationed at those ports which only had militia or volunteer submarine mining sections.
11. Four Survey Companies (Nos 13, 14, 16 and 19) comprised of 24 officers and 454 NCOs and men.
12. Eight Depot Companies (A, B, C, D, E, F, G and N) garrisoned at Chatham and comprising 20 officers and 818 NCOs and men.

War-time establishment in 1899

In times of war, a field company of engineers (197 officers and men) was added to every Division of infantry. A mounted detachment (116 officers and men) was added to every cavalry division. In addition, to every army corps, as Corps Engineers, was added a field company (197 officers and men), a pontoon company (200 officers and men), a staff and four sections of the telegraph battalion (226 officers and men), a field park (43 officers and men), a railway company (147 officers and men) and a balloon section (48 officers and men).

2631 joined on 2nd January 1899
4319 joined on 6th February 1900
7679 joined on 6th February 1901
9788 joined on 3rd January 1902
12142 joined on 8th January 1903
13806 joined on 17th May 1904
15623 joined on 22nd March 1906
16173 joined on 16th February 1907
17948 joined on 24th September 1908
18313 joined on 12th January 1909
19801 joined on 25th January 1910
21130 joined on 2nd February 1911
22616 joined on 2nd March 1912
24416 joined on 12th April 1913
25895 joined on 15th January 1914

For a good summary of the Royal Engineers during the First World War, see The Royal Engineers on The Long, Long Trail website.

Also see my post on a range of Royal Engineers numbers: Royal Engineers 108**.

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

The Militia Reserve

I've just picked up a copy of Scarlet into Khaki which is really a most excellent book, detailing as it does, the British Army at the turn of the 19th Century. I was particularly interested to read the short paragraph on the Militia Reserve and quote from it below. I had always thought that this body of men was a reserve for the Militia. Not so:

"The militia reserve is not, what it's name seems to imply, a reserve for the militia, but for the regular army. It consists of militia-men, whose number must not exceed a quarter of the establishment of a battalion of infantry, or a third of a battalion of garrison artillery; and who bind themselves, in return for a bounty of £1 a year, to remain with the militia either 6 years or the whole time of their service. In case of war they enter the regular army on the same terms as the army-reserve men and can be employed in every quarter of the world. On entering the militia-reserve the men must be between 29 and 34 years of age, and must have passed through two drill periods of the militia; they are liable to be called out to a yearly practice of 56 days. Service in the militia-reserve cannot be extended beyond the age of 34. If called out to continuous service they are to be regarded as regular soldiers, and are discharged earlier or later on the same terms as the men of the army-reserve. In times of peace the men of the militia reserve stand on the same footing as the other militia men, and join in the yearly practice of their militia district."

All very interesting but it's the italicised sentence (my italics) that I'm particularly interested in. A man recalled from the Army Reserve retained his army number but what about the Militia Reserve man? What number did he use? Did he use his original militia number when fighting with a regular battalion, for argument's sake, of his county regiment?

The Militia Reserve for each regiment appears to have maintained its own separate series of numbers and whilst records for these men can be difficult to find in WO 363 and WO 364, they do exist. Later this year however, Find My Past will be publishing the complete WO 96 series of Militia records on-line; an event which looks certain to keep me pre-occupied for some time.

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

Campaign Medal & Award Rolls 1793-1949

I've just been alerted to the UK Military Campaign Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1949 which is  new on Ancestry. I know a number of medal collectors read this blog, and this Ancestry release will be of particular interest to them - as it is to me. This from Ancestry:

"This database contains lists of more than 2.3 million officers, enlisted personnel and other individuals entitled to medals and awards commemorating their service in campaigns and battles for the British Army between 1793 and 1949. The original medal rolls were compiled by the War Office and are housed at the National Archives of the UK in Kew, Surrey. The rolls include medals awarded for British campaigns in Europe, India, Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, West and Central Africa, China, the Middle East, and elsewhere during the height of the British Empire. The collection does not include WWI or WWII medal and award rolls.
"While medal rolls do not provide very detailed information, the records can include the name, date, and location of a campaign or service, the soldier’s name, and the regiment or unit name and regimental number. Most rolls were arranged by campaign (or battle), then regiment, rank and surname.

"The records in this collection can be searched by name, campaign, service location and date, and regimental number. Volumes may also be browsed by region, campaign, and regiment or unit."

This is a very nice addition to Ancestry's offering. It is however, only available as part of the Premium or Worldwide subscription packages. Also see: UK Naval Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1972.

You can find some medal rolls freely available online.  Check these FREE medal rolls online which I have drawn attention to on my Army Ancestry blog.

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

The King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment - 1st & 2nd Battalions

This post will look at numbering in the regular battalions of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment between 1881 and 1914. The regiment was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment of Foot and was established as the newly formed regiment for North Lancashire. It started numbering from 1 in July 1881.

There are over 33,000 King's Own (Royal Lancaster) service and pension 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.

10 joined on 9th July 1881
271 joined on 16th December 1882
397 joined on 2nd June 1883
599 joined on 21st March 1884
1012 joined on 12th March 1885
1632 joined on 22nd July 1886
1923 joined on 1st January 1887
2300 joined on 19th January 1888
2561 joined on 15th January 1889
2981 joined on 11th June 1890
3244 joined on 24th June 1891
3506 joined on 31st January 1892
4061 joined on 24th July 1893
4317 joined on 17th February 1894
4650 joined on 12th January 1895
5019 joined on 29th January 1896
5311 joined on 3rd May 1897
5671 joined on 14th April 1898
5923 joined on 24th March 1899
6288 joined on 2nd April 1900

The 1st Volunteer Battalion, The King’s Own, sent over 150 of its volunteers to South Africa to serve with the 2nd Battalion. Such was the number of men wishing to serve with the Volunteers that a 2nd Volunteer Battalion was formed and its headquarters was set up at Lancaster. Those volunteers who made it to South Africa fought in several actions and guarded prisoners at Ladysmith.

Numbers within the range to 7200 to 7352 were issued to men serving in the 1st VSC. Numbers 7353 to 7448 were issued to men serving with the 2nd VSC. Numbers 7449 to 7468 were issued to men serving with the 3rd VSC and – as stated on the QSA medal roll – the Volunteer Service Section.

6665 joined on 4th January 1901
7003 joined on 17th February 1902
7652 joined on 5th January 1903
8079 joined on 11th January 1904
8489 joined on 9th January 1905
8847 joined on 9th March 1906
9134 joined on 1st January 1907
9800 joined on 20th August 1908
10076 joined on 21st April 1909
10178 joined on 14th February 1910
10439 joined on 20th April 1911
10649 joined on 3rd May 1912
10836 joined on 3rd January 1913
11105 joined on 3rd February 1914

In August 1914, Britain went to war, and the newly forming service battalions all drew their numbers from the same series that had previously been the sole preserve of the two regular battalions. Latterly, service battalions prefixed their numbers with the letter K/, although this practice does not appear to have been used consistently.

All information on this post comes as a result of trawling through service records held in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives, and to a lesser extent the WO 97 series, also held at TNA. Ancestry.co.uk is currently offering a 14 day FREE trial (which means you can look at WO 363 and WO 364), whilst an almost complete collection of the WO 97 series is accessible via findmypast.co.uk. Note that pre 1914 pension records are accessible online via Findmypast whilst service and pension records for the First World War have been digitised by Findmypast and Ancestry - separate searches for service records and pension records. Note that there are different versions of these indexes, Findmypast having indexed more records than you'll find on Ancestry.

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

7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

The 7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was the natural heir to the 5th Volunteer Battalion, Gordon Highlanders and was headquartered at Banchory. It was administered by two Territorial Force County Associations and, certainly until 1914, ran two distinct series of numbers - the first series starting at 1, the second series starting at 2000.

In 1914, the disposition of the battalion's companies was as follows:

A Company:
Banchory; drill stations at Durris and Torphins
B Company:
Portlethen
C Company:
Stonehaven
D Company:
Laurencekirk; drill stations at Auchenblae, Bervie, Fettercairn, Fordoun and Marykirk
E Company:
Ballater, drill stations at Crathie and Braemar
F Company:
Aboyne; drill stations at Tarland, Finzean and Logie Coldstone
G Company:
Kemnay; drill stations at Skene, Blackburn, Monymusk and Echt
H Company:
Peterculter; drill station at Countesswells.

Numbering in the battalion, pre 1917, appears to follow a fairly logical and sequential path but the re-numbering certainly does not and is a hotch-potch (for want of a better technical term) of numbers from both series and with no apparent logic.

As an example of this, see below the first 100 numbers from the six digit block allocated to the 7th Gordon Highlanders (290001 to 315000). I searched for the medal index cards (MICs) on Ancestry and then, armed with these numbers and names, went looking for service records in the WO363 and WO364 series.

The first thing to say is that for 42 men in that first re-numbered sequence of 100, I found no MICs at all. This high failure rate could be due to a number of factors including mis-transcribed numbers, cards not yet uploaded onto the Ancestry website (although I understand that these particular MICs should all now be present), missing MICs, and of course no entitlement to medals because the man or men concerned neither served overseas nor received a silver war badge.

Of the 58 MICs I did find, enlistment dates were recorded on five cards (dates which should always be treated with caution as they may not necessarily refer to the same regiment / battalion - see Donald McLaren below as a possible example of this). I subsequently found no records at all in the WO 363 series but did locate five records in the WO 364 pension series. My commentary is below. Links are to the main Ancestry website which is currently offering a FREE 14-day trial.

290001 - Not Found
290002 - Not Found
290003 - Not Found
290004 - Not Found
290005 (formerly) 29 William Hendry
290006 - Not Found
290007 (formerly) 5 William Lamb
290008 (formerly) 36 John Milne
290009 (formerly) 45 James Robertson
290010 (formerly) 555 George W Dunbar
290011 - Not Found
290012 (formerly) 558 Fred Davison
290013 (formerly) 51 Andrew Taylor

290014 (formerly) 53 Douglas G Wilson
Only two pages from Douglas Wilson's service record survive in WO 364. His pensioner's record card gives his enlistment date as 5th August 1914 but this is clearly incorrect and is probably his date of embodiment rather than enlistment. Douglas Wilson was born in 1879 and I think it likely that he was a pre 1908 5th VB man who enlisted with the 7th Gordons in April 1908.

290015 - Not Found
290016 (formerly) 560 James Wallace
290017 (formerly) 561 Angus Cooper
290018 - Not Found
290019 - Not Found
290020 (formerly) 103 William L Bain
290021 - Not Found
290022 - Not Found
290023 (formerly) 565 John Tough
290024 (formerly) 267 David Milne
290025 (formerly) 271 Douglas Wilson
290026 (formerly) 568 Samuel McPherson
290027 - Not Found
290028 - Not Found
290029 - Not Found
290030 (formerly) 311 Charles Duncan
290031 (formerly) 76 James A Jamieson

290032 (formerly) 61 John Jamieson
John Jamieson's MIC gives his enlistment date as 1st April 1908 and he was almost certainly on old 5th VB man.

290033 - Not Found
290034 (formerly) 86 Andrew Walker
290035 - Not Found
290036 - Not Found
290037 (formerly) 134 William Blackhall
290038 (formerly) 139 Walter C Cruse
290039 (formerly) 127 George McDonald
290040 (formerly) 157 George Reith
290041 - Not Found
290042 - Not Found
290043 - Not Found
290044 - Not Found
290045 (formerly) 253 J A McLaren
290046 (formerly) 304 William Stewart
290047 (formerly) 2136 William Anderson
290048 - Not Found
290049 (formerly) 2141 George Duthie
290050 (formerly) 2165 James Lorimer
290051 (formerly) 2167 John Lorimer

290052 (original number unknown) John Sinclair
John Sinclair's MIC gives his enlistment date as 17th May 1915 which again would appear to be incorrect and may again reflect a date of embodiment. As no original number is given on his MIC however, it is virtually impossible to tell when this man originally joined the 7th Gordons.

290053 (formerly) 2179 Frank Shivas
290054 - Not Found

290055 (formerly) 2135 William Watson
Joined on 1st April 1908, an old 5th VB man.

290056 (formerly) 2224 Robert G Bain
290057 - Not Found
290058 (formerly) 2216 Robert Dowers
290059 - Not Found
290060 - Not Found
290061 (formerly) 2009 Donald Coutts
290062 (formerly) 2011 John Cumming
290063 (original number unknown) Frank Duguid
290064 (formerly) 2015 Robert Ewan
290065 - Not Found
290066 (formerly) 2031 Alexander McIntosh
290067 (formerly) 2189 John McHardy
290068 - Not Found
290069 (formerly) 2220 Joseph Coutts
290070 (formerly) 2313 Peter Lamont
290071 - Not Found
290072 - Not Found
290073 (formerly) 2250 William Findlater
290074 - Not Found
290075 - Not Found
290076 - Not Found
290077 (formerly) 2205 William Harper Henderson
290078 - Not Found
290079 (formerly) 2069 Gordon Smith
290080 (formerly) 361 James C Greig
290081 (formerly) 2357 Charles Dunbar
290082 - Not Found

290083 620 George Wood Main
George Wood's MIC gives an enlistment date of 2nd December 1913 and this is confirmed by surviving papers in WO 364.

290084 360 William Dunbar
290085 N/A A Lawson
290086 (formerly) 356 James McGregor

290087 (formerly) 358 Donald G McLaren
Donald McLaren's MIC gives an enlistment date of 3rd March 1910 (but see below).

290088 (formerly) 327 Robert Masson
Robert Masson's service record in WO 364 gives a joining date of 28th March 1910. This, sequentially, is at odds with Donald McLaren's original three digit number and it may be that McLaren previously served with another battalion or regiment before joining the 7th Gordons. (Or it could simply be another number anomaly).

290089 (formerly) 357 Joseph R Robb
290090 (formerly) 328 Victor Valentine
290091 (formerly) 341 William Fraser
290092 - Not Found
290093 - Not Found
290094 - Not Found
290095 (formerly) 351 William Emslie
290096 - Not Found
290097 - Not Found
290098 (formerly) 2368 Alexander Cruickshank

290099 (formerly) 2328 George Ross
George Ross's MIC gives an enlistment date of 14th March 1910 which fits in perfectly with other 7th Gordons numbers I have for this four digit series.

290100 - Not Found

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