My records for the 3rd (militia) Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment are incomplete but I publish below a sample run between 1895 and 1908.
6194 joined on 21st October 1895
6301 joined on 21st January 1896
6657 joined on 4th January 1897
7062 joined on 4th January 1898
7520 joined on 3rd January 1899
8146 joined on 4th January 1900
8622 joined on 2nd January 1901
9014 joined on 3rd January 1902
9381 joined on 5th January 1903
9706 joined on 12th January 1904
9997 joined on 11th October 1904
A new numbers series commenced when the battalion reached 9999
1 joined on 13th October 1904
94 joined on 4th January 1905
447 joined on 3rd January 1906
827 joined on 23rd January 1907
The militia gave way to the Special Reserve in 1908 and men who had been serving with the militia and who wanted to join the Special Reserve, retained their old militia numbers. Thus, when you look at the numbers of men joining in 1908, there is a real mixture of old militia numbers and new numbers issued for the first time. So for instance, 1193 Alexander Burnett and 120 Samuel Gaw both joined the Special Reserve in 1908. Alexander was a new recruit who joined in January that year, whilst Samuel, who joined eight months later, was a seasoned old hand who was joining up to complete his six years' service which had begun with the 3rd (militia) Battalion in 1905.
As for the number series used by the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, it was simply a continuation of the same series which had been used by the 3rd (militia) Battalion; a practice which appears to have been widely adopted throughout the British Army.
With the exception of Burnett and Gaw whose records survive in WO 364, all the other records referenced above survive in the WO 96 militia series, which are, since I published this post, now online courtesy of Find My Past .
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
Showing posts with label Find My Past. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Find My Past. Show all posts
31 January 2011
12 January 2011
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.
"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.
10 September 2010
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.
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.
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.
25 August 2010
Findmypast
I've always found Ancestry invaluable for WW1 records (and for records a good deal earlier than this, for that matter), but it's worth pointing out that Findmypast is the only genealogical company which has the WO 97 series (British Army Pensions) and the final tranche of this series is due for release next month.
The WO 97 series is broken down as follows:
1760-1854 184,650 records, 1,003,794 images
1855-1872 96,434 records, 437,825 images
1873-1882 97,515 records, 540,423 images
1883-1900 312,921 records, 2,218,687 images
1901-1913 303,000 records, approx 2,100,000 images
Following hot on the heels of WO 97 will be another critical series, WO 96; half a million militia records going back as far as 1806 and comprised of nearly three and a half million images.
Unfortunately, records from the WO 97 series are not currently available as part of Find My Past's free trial, but the series is certainly one that should not be overlooked by those with ancestors who served in the regular British Army between 1760 and 1913.
Pictured above, James Goodson photographed in 1902 shortly after he joined the Royal Artillery. I interviewed him, aged 104, at the Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond in the 1990s and when I get a chance, I'll post a transcript of that meeting on my WW1 veterans' blog.
I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.
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