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.
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.
This post will look at numbering in the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards. The information on this post has been compiled from a study of 1st King’s (Dragoon) Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (British Army Pensions 1760-1913) (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 (British Army Service Records 1914-1920) and WO 364 (British Army Pensions) (on-line with Ancestry).
2337 joined on 22nd April 1881
2412 joined on 21st November 1882
2460 joined on 24th September 1883
2574 joined on 9th September 1884
2654 joined on 13th February 1885
3069 joined on 9th October 1886
3126 joined on 8th January 1887
3306 joined on 15th November 1888
3342 joined on 9th February 1889
3442 joined on 21st June 1890
3471 joined on 20th October 1891
3499 joined on 10th June 1892
3592 joined on 20th June 1893
3745 joined on 8th January 1894
3851 joined on 3rd April 1895
3960 joined on 12th August 1896
4018 joined on 23rd January 1897
4171 joined on 31st March 1898
4415 joined on 8th March 1899
4568 joined on 1st January 1900
5061 joined on 4th February 1901
5581 joined on 19th April 1902
5830 joined on 27th January 1903
5856 joined on 11th April 1904
5892 joined on 6th March 1905
6443 joined on 26th September 1906
Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this Army Order, 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 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) to see the numbering sequence for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.
Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4610 could point to a 1900 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.
When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
This post will look at numbering in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. 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).
2071 joined on 7th April 1880
2153 joined on 12th January 1881
2222 joined on 22nd June 1882
2324 joined on 26th June 1883
2377 joined on 8th February 1884
2482 joined on 6th February 1885
2686 joined on 18th May 1886
2738 joined on 11th July 1887
2831 joined on 11th February 1888
2940 joined on 4th January 1889
3042 joined on 11th January 1890
3075 joined on 2nd January 1891
3240 joined on 6th October 1892
3274 joined on 16th January 1893
3486 joined on 10th August 1894
3515 joined on 2nd July 1895
3567 joined on 11th March 1896
3742 joined on 4th November 1897
4042 joined on 12th October 1898
4096 joined on 27th February 1899
Note that, although out of sequence numerically, the majority of numbers in the range 5001 to 5178 were also issued in late 1899 and early 1900. These were allocated to recalled reservists from other Dragoon and Dragoon Guards regiments who, on recall, were sent not to their own regiments but transferred straight into the 6th Dragoons. How much say the men had in the matter is unknown. There are exceptions to this numbering schema, however - see 5004 below - and I have published a separate post on 6th Dragoons transfers in the Boer War.
4366 joined on 10th April 1900
4559 joined on 16th March 1901
4722 joined on 3rd January 1902
5004 joined on 29th April 1903
5199 joined on 10th June 1904
5368 joined on 6th March 1905
5553 joined on 5th March 1906
Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this Army Order, 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 Dragoons was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and the 1st (King’s), 2nd (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s), 4th (Royal Irish), 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s), 6th (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. The following numbers and joining dates are snapshots taken from my database of this new Corps of Dragoons numbering sequence:
155 joined 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards on 29th January 1907
1598 joined the 5th Dragoon Guards on 27th January 1908
3003 joined the 3rd Dragoon Guards on 8th February 1909
4132 joined the 2nd Dragoons on 13th January 1910
5530 joined the 2nd Dragoon Guards on 12th January 1911
6624 joined the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards on 24th January 1912
D/7785 joined the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards on 11th January 1913
8707 joined the 5th Dragoon Guards on 27th January 1914
Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 6th Dragoons and all other regiments of Dragoons and Dragoon Guards from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 6th Dragoons man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4610 could point to a 1901 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.
When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
This post will look at numbering in the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys). I compiled the information on this post 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 in doing so).
2291 Kames Kirkaldy joined on 2nd April 1880
2397 Alexander Dickson joined on 27th January 1881
2425 John Watt joined on 29th May 1882
2476 George Walter Price joined on 2nd March 1883
2661 Thomas Foster joined on 11th November 1884
2702 Robert Hunter joined on 20th March 1885
2785 William Rolph joined on 9th January 1886
3001 Horace William Jenkins joined on 17th August 1887
3055 Owen Deary joined on 23rd January 1888
3346 Edward George Morgan joined on 13th March 1889
3426 Charles Innes joined on 10th February 1890
3548 John Cameron joined on 2nd February 1891
3653 Charles James Betts joined on 2nd January 1892
3826 William John Reeves joined on 24th July 1893
3992 George William Francis Cunningham joined on 30th August 1894
4070 John Sloan joined on 8th March 1895
4276 John Lockhart joined on 17th March 1896
4392 Thomas Hornsby joined on 11th August 1897
4420 James Bowman joined on12th January 1898
4772 George Collings joined on 30th October 1899
4964 John Brake joined on 28th March 1900
5243 George Cartrwright (aka George Richardson) joined on 4th March 1901
5497 Richard Bain joined on 14th January 1902
5755 John Henry Shepherd joined on 24th January 1903
5938 William Swallow, formerly 3980 1st (Royal) Dragoons, transferred on 1st July 1904
6026 William Anderson joined on 15th March 1905
6230 John Burns joined on 12th January 1906
Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering as far as cavalry of the line was concerned. Prior to this Army Order, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were differentiated, and each corps of line cavalry was to use a separate number series extending to 49,999.
What this meant for the 2nd Dragoons was that from late December 1906 they now shared one number sequence with the 1st and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons and the 1st (King’s), 2nd (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s), 4th (Royal Irish), 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s), 6th (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. The following numbers and joining dates are snapshots taken from my database of this new Corps of Dragoons numbering sequence:
30 Ernest Dear the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 9th January 1907
1598 Edward Sidney Bast joined the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 27th January 1908
3011 Norman Smith joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoons) on 9th February 1909
4248 John Cullen joined the Corps of Dragoons (3rd Dragoon Guards) on 2nd February 1910
5530 Ernest Bowen joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoon Guards) on 12th January 1911
6546 Charles James Bishop joined the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 1st January 1912
D/7785 Albert Henry Long joined the Corps of Dragoons (4th Dragoon Guards) on 11th January 1913
8620 John Dunnett joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoons) on 6th January 1914
Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 2nd Dragoons until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 2nd Dragoons and all other regiments of Dragoons and Dragoon Guards from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 2nd Dragoons man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4567 could point to a late 1890s joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.
When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
If, between the years 1881 and 1913 (and except for a blip during the Boer War years), recruitment into some infantry of the line regiments appears to have been conducted at a snail's pace, it was slower still in the cavalry regiments.
Here are some rough recruitment rates for the Corps of Dragoons between 1881 and 1906
1st King's Dragoon Guards
Approximately 155 men recruited per annum
2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen's Bays)
Approximately 154 men recruited per annum
3rd (Princess of Wales) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 150 men recruited per annum
4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 117 men recruited per annum
5th (Prince Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 128 men recruited per annum
6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)
Approximately 138 men recruited per annum
7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards
Approximately 180 men recruited per annum
1st (Royal) Dragoons
Approximately 146 men recruited per annum
2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)
Approximately 156 men recruited per annum
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
Approximately 143 men recruited per annum
I've calculated the above simply by subtracting the first numbers on my Dragoons army service numbers database from the last numbers and then dividing by the number of years. So for instance, for the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2087 joined on 5th March 1881 and 5879 joined on 5th September 1906. 5879 minus 2087 = 3792. Divide that by the 26 years it took to climb from 2087 to 5879 and you arrive at 145.846...
Recruitment into the regular army was an extremely slow affair for most of the time.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
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