An embarkation list observation

The extract above comes from an embarkation list held in IOR/L/MIL/15/45 at The British Library. The men concerned formed part of a draft of two sergeants and 186 rank and file from the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment who set sail aboard HMS Serapis on the 8th December 1886 bound for India and the 2nd Battalion.

What's interesting about this extract is that all of these men attested for service on the 17th April 1885 and, before their regimental numbers were issued to them a couple of days later at Bristol, they were organised alphabetically by surname and then issued with their numbers. So 1055 Baker is followed by 1057 Ballinger who is followed by 1058 Barnes, and so on. 1056 would have been issued to someone whose surname falls between Baker and Ballinger and who was obviously not on this draft; there are other gaps as well.

17th April 1885 was obviously a good recruiting day for the Gloucestershire Regiment. Men issued with numbers 1055 to 1118 inclusive were all recruited on this day; not at all bad going considering the average monthly recruitment figure in line infantry regiments at the time was around 350.

The embarkation lists in  IOR/L/MIL/15/42-46 fill useful gaps in service records but have not been digitised and published online, although I have my own currently un-indexed copies from all five volumes.

Gloucestershire Regiment - PoWs 1914

The Gloucestershire Regiment men in the list which follows were all captured by the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. Those who survived the many years in captivity, would belatedly be sent Princess Mary's gift tin once they had returned to England. Most, if not all of these men should also have records on the International Committee of the Red Cross site.

Today, this list is catalogued at the Imperial War Museum under B.O.2 1/175 and B.O.2 1/176 and for most men also includes their date of capture and home address. The full transcription is available for sale as a download or CD for £20. Contact me if you would like to purchase a copy.

2120 Private W H Allen 
9186 Private F Apperley 
6708 Private F Aston 
7862 Private Cyril Benfield 
6513 Private H F Bennett 
386 Private W Bond 
6088 Private T Bridge 
7272 Private A Chapman 
9411 Private F Chappell 
9895 Private Bernard H W Chittenden 
6577 Private J Cole 
7688 Private G Cook 
7975 Private George H J Cook 
1266 Lance-Corporal H W Cross 
9710 Private W M Davis 
9591 Private Francis Charles Day 
7810 Private J Ellaway 
9845 Private T A Gardener 
7203 Private E W Green 
6067 Private J A Hanson 
2597 Private James Hartland 
6427 Private W Hatherall 
7005 Private Alfred Hobbs 
8313 Private John Hooper 
7658 Private F W Howell 
21 Private R H Jay 
623 Private J Keveren 
7853 Private J Kingscote 
8061 Private T Lawrence 
9829 Private A H Legg 
8028 Private Harry Leonard 
9657 Private J Monaghan 
6245 Private E Monk 
9587 Private W H Morgan 
7222 Private C Portlock 
7860 Private H Robins 
9059 Private T E Rolf 
9665 Private Frederick Saunders 
8119 Private J Simpkins 
7279 Private M Sullivan 
6634 Private George Thompson 
7865 Private John Trump 
8482 Private C Venn 
6714 Private J T Windridge 
588 Private E Woodland

Need help with your own British Army research? Read the RESEARCH page and then drop me line.

Gloucestershire Regiment - service battalions

This post will look at army service numbers in the Gloucestershire Regiment service battalions from 1914 until the end of 1915.

Numbering in these battalions is not at all straightforward and often, not at all sequential. It would appear, that when Britain went to war, initially at least, the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Gloucestershire Regiment drew numbers from a separate block. Thus 10044 issued on 9th August 1914, 10051 on 24th, 10060 on 25th, 10070 on 5th October 1914, 10090 on 25th November 1914, 10094 on 1st December 1914 and 10125 on 8th January 1915. In fact it would be tempting to suggest that all numbers beginning 100** went to regular enlistments. Tempting, but incorrect because 10027 was issued to a war-time enlistment on 10th August.

In any event, to the best of my ability, here's an approximation of numbers issued to men serving in the service battalions (and in the regular battalions as well from March 1915 and possibly earlier).

I should say at the outset that the range of numbers between these dates is approximately 16,000 and I have only looked at a relatively small sample of these; probably no more than 500 records or less than five per cent. The information below comes from service records held in the WO 363 and WO 364 series. To that extent it's accurate but, as the data I have is incomplete, it should be regarded at best, as a rough guide.

100** to 116** issued August 1914
117** to 120** issued August and September 1914
121** to 150** issued September 1914
151** issued October 1914
152** issued August and September 1914
153** to 155** issued November 1914
156** to 157** No data
158** issued October 1914
159** to 160** No data
161** issued September and December 1914
162** to 163** issued December 1914
164** issued August and December 1914
165** to 166** issued December 1914
167** issued March and April 1915
168** to 170** No data
171** issued November 1914
172** to 173** issued December 1914
174** issued August 1914
175** issued January 1915
176** No data
177* issued January 1915
178** issued March 1915
179** to 180** No data
181** issued January & February 1915
182** to 186** issued February 1915
187** to 188** issued March 1915
189** to 190** issued January 1915
191** to 195** issued March 1915
196** issued March and April 1915
197** issued March 1915
198** issued May 1915
199** issued June 1915
200** issued April 1915
201** issued May 1915
202** issued June 1915
203** to 205** issued April 1915
206** to 214** issued May 1915 (except 210** and 213** issued May and June)
215** to 217** No data
218** issued July and August 1915
219** issued August 1915
220** to 221** No data
222** issued February 1916
223** to 224** No data
225** issued June 1915
226** to 228** issued in September, October and November 1915
229** to 232** issued June 1915
233** issued July 1915
234** numbers in this range appear in July and November 1915
235** numbers in this range appear in July and November 1915 and January 1916
236** issued July 1915
237** to 238** issued in August 1915
239** issued August & September 1915
240** issued September & October 1915
241** issued October 1915
242** issued August 1915
243** to 244** issued August & September 1915
245** issued September 1915
246** issued October 1915
247** numbers in this range appear in September, October and November 1915 and January 1916
248** issued October & November 1915
249** issued November 1915
250** issued January 1916
251** issued January 1916 and November 1915
252** to 255** issued November 1915
256** issued November and December 1915
257** to 259** No data
260** issued November and December 1915
261** to 262** issued January 1916

In conclusion, whilst sequential army service number patterns certainly appear for at least some months, and overall there is an evident sequential progression ending at 262** in January 1916; it would be unwise to date with certainty a man's number without further study of either other numbers in the same immediate range, or the original medal rolls held at the National Archives.

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:

1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment
3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
4th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
6th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.


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

GLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT IN THE WAR 1914-1918

The Naval and Military Press has re-published this work and has this to say about it:

"As the subtitle states these are the records of the 1st (28th Foot), 2nd (61st Foot)), 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th, 5th and 6th (First-Line T.A.) Battalions, in other words this is the history of the battalions of the regiment which existed prior to the outbreak of war. The one appendix lists the twenty-four battalions that existed during the war, indicating the theatre of war in which they served and in which division. Eight of these battalions did not serve overseas, and of the rest only one (7th Service Battalion) did not serve on the Western Front, it went with 13th Division to Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Persia. Total losses amounted to 8,100, 72 battle honours were awarded and in the appendix is shown which honours were awarded to which battalion."In August 1914 the 1st Battalion was stationed in Bordon, part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, and was among the first British troops to disembark in Le Havre, on 13th August. The first quarter of this book is concerned with the doings of the 1st Battalion which saw action in the early battles of the war - Mons and the retreat, the Marne, the Aisne, First Ypres and Givenchy.
"The 2nd Battalion was in China when war broke out and came home to join the newly formed 81st Brigade, 27th Division which arrived in France in December 1914 and in November 1915 was transferred to Salonika, where it remained for the rest of the war. Three chapters of the book deal with the operations in that theatre of war.

"The three Territorial battalions were in the South Midland Division, later the 48th which crossed to France at the end of March 1915 and fought on the Western Front till November 1917, when it was sent to Italy where it remained till the armistice. The final chapter gives the account of operations in that theatre."The author, a well known military historian, was probably the most prolific among the writers of regimental and divisional histories, some thirteen in all, and this account reflects the skill of the writer in producing a very readable narrative, which draws on the Battalion Diary, on individual accounts of actions, some quite lengthy, and makes use of footnotes to give casualty details in addition to those contained in the text, various comments, and items of information from other sources to confirm or add to the main text. The maps are good. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of honours and awards."

The Gloucestershire Regiment - 6th Battalion

Like the 4th Gloucesters, the 6th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment was a Bristol-based battalion. It had its origins in the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment.

In early 1914, HQ and A to H Companies were all located at St Michael's Hill, Bristol (Ray Westlake: The Territorial Force 1914) and the battalion recruited men from the Bristol area.

Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 6th Gloucesters.

118 (an old 2nd VB man) joined on 2nd April 1908
897 joined on 9th February 1909
1351 joined on 23rd March 1910
1538 joined on 16th January 1911
1742 joined on 22nd January 1912
1994 joined on 27th January 1913
2123 joined on 8th March 1914
2218 joined on 4th August 1914
2993 joined on 5th September 1914
3380 joined on 29th October 1914
3404 joined on 9th November 1914
3518 joined on 7th December 1914
3603 joined on 6th January 1914
3708 joined on 2nd March 1915
3755 joined on 13th April 1915
3952 joined on 1st May 1915
4400 joined on 14th June 1915
4476 joined on 1st July 1915
4620 joined on 6th August 1915
4679 joined on 30th September 1915
4716 joined on 7th October 1915
4818 joined on 2nd November 1915
4972 joined on 18th December 1915
5013 joined on 1st February 1916
5063 joined on 9th March 1916
5569 joined on 5th May 1916

I'm going to stop at May 1916, partly because my data thins out from here on in and partly because from this point in time, numbering in the battalion becomes far less reliable from a sequential point of view. Number 5824 joined the battalion on 1st August 1916 but the previous month, number 6139 was issued to a man who transferred from the 6th Devons (and he was later re-numbered 267355).

March 1916 saw a huge influx of men into the battalion, at least 400 by my reckoning; the vast majority of these men going into the third line (or 3/6th) battalion which had been formed in 1915. The 2/6th Battalion had been formed in September 1914.

When the Territorial Force re-numbered in 1917, the 6th Gloucesters was allocated numbers in the range 265001 to 290000. Here are some sample army service numbers and joining dates for this series of numbers.

265006 originally joined on 1st April 1908
265032 originally joined on 14th June 1909
265060 originally joined on 17th January 1911
265212 originally joined on 24th June 1913
265252 originally joined on 30th April 1914
265238 originally joined on 4th August 1914
265614 originally joined on 1st September 1914
265945 originally joined on 26th October 1914
265952 originally joined on 3rd November 1914
266106 originally joined on 24th April 1915
266466 originally joined on 14th June 1915
266609 originally joined on 19th October 1915
266653 originally joined on 2nd November 1915
266800 originally joined on 9th March 1915

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:
1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment
3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
4th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
The Service Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.

The Gloucestershire Regiment in the War 1914-1918


Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!


The Naval and Military Press has re-published this work and has this to say about it:

"As the subtitle states these are the records of the 1st (28th Foot), 2nd (61st Foot), 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th, 5th and 6th (First-Line T.A.) Battalions...

"The three Territorial battalions were in the South Midland Division, later the 48th which crossed to France at the end of March 1915 and fought on theWestern front till November 1917, when it was sent to Italy where it remained till the armistice. The final chapter gives the account of operations in that theatre.

"The author, a well known military historian, was probably the most prolific among the writers of regimental and divisional histories, some thirteen in all, and this account reflects the skill of the writer in producing a very readable narrative, which draws on the Battalion Diary, on individual accounts of actions, some quite lengthy, and makes use of footnotes to give casualty details in addition to those contained in the text, various comments, and items of information from other sources to confirm or add to the main text. The maps are good. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of honours and awards."

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!

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

The Gloucestershire Regiment - 5th Battalion

The 5th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, was a Territorial Force Battalion formed in April 1908. It had its origins in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment.

By February 1914, the distribution of 5th Battalion companies was as follows: HQ and A and B Companies were at Gloucester, C Company: Stroud, D Company: Tewkesbury, E and F Companies: Cheltenham, G Company: Dursley, H Company: Campden.

Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 5th Gloucesters.

717 24th September 1908
1106 joined on 30th September 1909
1245 joined on 2nd March 1910
1339 joined on 29th January 1911
1598 joined on 15th March 1912
1758 joined on 29th January 1913
2104 joined on 30th March 1914
2473 joined on 28th August 1914
2849 joined on 7th September 1914
3336 joined on 13th October 1914
3406 joined on 3rd November 1914
3734 joined on 4th December 1914
3822 joined on 23rd January 1915
3878 joined on 2nd February 1915
3949 joined on 16th March 1915
4106 joined on 17th April 1915
4198 joined on 8th May 1915
4359 joined on 1st June 1915
4474 joined on 9th July 1915
4498 joined on 4th August 1915
4533 joined on 4th September 1915
4570 joined on 12th October 1915
4615 joined on 3rd November 1915
4719 joined on 6th December 1915
4767 joined on 15th January 1916
4790 joined on 8th February 1916
5013 joined on 14th March 1916
5265 joined on 27th April 1916
5300 joined on 2nd May 1916
5443 joined on 1st July 1916
5492 joined on 4th August 1916

I'm going to stop at this point as from here on in, with men transferring into the 5th Battalion from other Gloucestershire Regiment battalions, and from other regiments, the data becomes far less sequential (for instance, 5965 also joined on the 1st July 1916, transferring from the 6th King's Liverpool Regiment).

There were also supernumerary companies attached to the 5th Gloucestershire Regiment, these filled with local National Reservists. These men were at first numbered in the same series noted above, although from July 1915 they were allocated a separate series beginning at 20000. Thus 20003 joined on 13th July 1915 and 20095 on 26th October 1915. Supernumerary Company men who had previously been given four digit numbers from the main series were not re-numbered when the five digit series was introduced.

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, the 5th Gloucestershire Regiment was allocated numbers within the range 240001 to 265000. Here are some numbers and dates from this six digit series.

240009 originally joined on 5th April 1908
240198 originally joined on 29th January 1913
240371 originally joined on 1st April 1914
240642 originally joined on 26th August 1914
240913 originally joined on 11th September 1914
241133 originally joined on 27th October 1914
241191 originally joined on 26th November 1914
241225 originally joined on 21st December 1914
241269 originally joined on 2nd February 1915
241304 originally joined on 29th March 1915
241316 originally joined on 17th April 1915
241403 originally joined on 27th May 1915
241482 originally joined on 9th July 1915
241496 originally joined on 10th August 1915
241522 originally joined on 12th October 1915
241624 originally joined on 6th December 1915
241650 originally joined on 15th January 1916
241800 originally joined on 14th March 1916
241985 originally joined on 17th July 1916

Again, I'll stop the data at this point. Well worth a visit for anybody with a Gloucestershire Regiment interest, is the Soldiers of Gloucestershire website which includes searchable databases of 19th Century and WW1 Gloucestershire Regiment men. Key in the numbers above to reveal brief details about the men, or read their service and pension records or medal index cards via the Ancestry.co.uk website.

WW1 poet Ivor Gurney was a 5th Gloucestershire man. His original number was 3895 which means that he must have joined the battalion between 2nd and 24th February 1915 (3908 joined on 24th February 1915). He was later re-numbered 241281.

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:

1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

4th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

6th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

The Service Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.

The Gloucestershire Regiment in the War 1914-1918

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!


The Naval and Military Press has re-published this work and has this to say about it:

"As the subtitle states these are the records of the 1st (28th Foot), 2nd (61st Foot)), 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th, 5th and 6th (First-Line T.A.) Battalions, in other words this is the history of the battalions of the regiment which existed prior to the outbreak of war. The one appendix lists the twenty-four battalions that existed during the war, indicating the theatre of war in which they served and in which division. Eight of these battalions did not serve overseas, and of the rest only one (7th Service Battalion) did not serve on the Western Front, it went with 13th Division to Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Persia. Total losses amounted to 8,100, 72 battle honours were awarded and in the appendix is shown which honours were awarded to which battalion.

"In August 1914 the 1st Battalion was stationed in Bordon, part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, and was among the first British troops to disembark in Le Havre, on 13th August. The first quarter of this book is concerned with the doings of the 1st Battalion which saw action in the early battles of the war - Mons and the retreat, the Marne, the Aisne, First Ypres and Givenchy.

"The 2nd Battalion was in China when war broke out and came home to join the newly formed 81st Brigade, 27th Division which arrived in France in December 1914 and in November 1915 was transferred to Salonika, where it remained for the rest of the war. Three chapters of the book deal with the operations in that theatre of war.

"The three Territorial battalions were in the South Midland Division, later the 48th which crossed to France at the end of March 1915 and fought on theWestern front till November 1917, when it was sent to Italy where it remained till the armistice. The final chapter gives the account of operations in that theatre.

"The author, a well known military historian, was probably the most prolific among the writers of regimental and divisional histories, some thirteen in all, and this account reflects the skill of the writer in producing a very readable narrative, which draws on the Battalion Diary, on individual accounts of actions, some quite lengthy, and makes use of footnotes to give casualty details in addition to those contained in the text, various comments, and items of information from other sources to confirm or add to the main text. The maps are good. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of honours and awards."

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!

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

The Gloucestershire Regiment - 4th Battalion

The 4th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, was a Territorial Force battalion which was born on 1st April 1908. Its predecessor was the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment. The battalion, also known as the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment was entirely composed of men from the Bristol area. In early 1914 its headquarters and A to E Companies were based at Queen's Road, Clifton, Bristol. F Company was at St George, Bristol and G and H Companies were also Bristol-based. (Company information courtesy of Ray Westlake's The Territorial Force 1914).

The 4th Gloucesters started numbering from 1 in 1908. Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates between 1908 and 1916.

311 (an old 1st VB volunteer) joined on 23rd April 1908
819 joined on 7th April 1909
1056 joined on 9th February 1910
1191 joined on 16th January 1911
1514 joined on 18th January 1912
1798 joined on 21st January 1913
1953 joined on 2nd March 1914
2068 joined on 5th August 1914
2332 joined on 1st September 1914
2807 joined on 5th October 1914
3176 joined on 5th November 1914
3664 joined on 1st December 1914
3778 joined on 6th January 1915
3911 joined on 1st February 1915
4069 joined on 13th March 1915
4247 joined on 1st April 1915
4609 joined on 12th May 1915
4778 joined on 3rd June 1915
4863 joined on 3rd July 1915
4953 joined on 9th August 1915
4984 joined on 21st September 1915
4996 joined on 1st October 1915
5122 joined on 5th November 1915
5261 joined on 11th December 1915
5286 joined on 12th January 1916
5330 joined on 29th February 1916
5362 joined on 2nd March 1916
5768 joined on 27th April 1916
5889 joined on 6th May 1916
6048 joined on 14th June 1916
6165 joined on 13th July 1916
6205 joined on 6th September 1916
6558 joined on 5th October 1916
6868 joined on 9th November 1916

When the Territorial Force re-numbered in 1917, the 4th Gloucesters were allocated numbers within the range 200001 to 240000. Here are some sample numbers and original joining dates for men who received six digit numbers.

200032 originally joined on 15th February 1909
200110 originally joined on 21st November 1911
200175 originally joined on 21st June 1912
200214 originally joined on 23rd January 1913
200365 originally joined on 5th August 1914
200511 originally joined on 1st September 1914
200767 originally joined on 10th October 1914
200920 originally joined on 5th November 1914
201101 originally joined on 17th December 1914
201193 originally joined on 25th January 1915
201212 originally joined on 1st February 1915
201289 originally joined on 5th April 1915
201416 originally joined on 3rd May 1915
201495 originally joined on 3rd June 1915
201557 originally joined on 30th July 1915
201564 originally joined on 5th August 1915
201619 originally joined on 7th October 1915
201686 originally joined on 5th November 1915
201781 originally joined on 17th January 1916
201808 originally joined on 29th February 1916
201942 originally joined on 18th March 1916
202158 originally joined on 9th May 1916
202467 originally joined on 11th October 1916

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:

1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment
3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
6th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
The Service Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.

The Gloucestershire Regiment in the War 1914-1918




The Naval and Military Press has re-published this work and has this to say about it:

"As the subtitle states these are the records of the 1st (28th Foot), 2nd (61st Foot)), 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th, 5th and 6th (First-Line T.A.) Battalions, in other words this is the history of the battalions of the regiment which existed prior to the outbreak of war. The one appendix lists the twenty-four battalions that existed during the war, indicating the theatre of war in which they served and in which division. Eight of these battalions did not serve overseas, and of the rest only one (7th Service Battalion) did not serve on the Western Front, it went with 13th Division to Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Persia. Total losses amounted to 8,100, 72 battle honours were awarded and in the appendix is shown which honours were awarded to which battalion.

"In August 1914 the 1st Battalion was stationed in Bordon, part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, and was among the first British troops to disembark in Le Havre, on 13th August. The first quarter of this book is concerned with the doings of the 1st Battalion which saw action in the early battles of the war - Mons and the retreat, the Marne, the Aisne, First Ypres and Givenchy.

"The 2nd Battalion was in China when war broke out and came home to join the newly formed 81st Brigade, 27th Division which arrived in France in December 1914 and in November 1915 was transferred to Salonika, where it remained for the rest of the war. Three chapters of the book deal with the operations in that theatre of war.

"The three Territorial battalions were in the South Midland Division, later the 48th which crossed to France at the end of March 1915 and fought on theWestern front till November 1917, when it was sent to Italy where it remained till the armistice. The final chapter gives the account of operations in that theatre.

"The author, a well known military historian, was probably the most prolific among the writers of regimental and divisional histories, some thirteen in all, and this account reflects the skill of the writer in producing a very readable narrative, which draws on the Battalion Diary, on individual accounts of actions, some quite lengthy, and makes use of footnotes to give casualty details in addition to those contained in the text, various comments, and items of information from other sources to confirm or add to the main text. The maps are good. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of honours and awards."

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!

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

The Gloucestershire Regiment - 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion

Prior to 1908 the Gloucestershire Regiment had two Militia battalions, the 3rd and the 4th. When the Special Reserve was formed in 1908, the 4th Militia Battalion was disbanded and men from it and from the 3rd Militia Battalion were encouraged to transfer to the newly formed 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion.



Unlike many Special and Extra Reserve Battalions which, when they were formed, simply continued with the old militia series of numbers that had been in use, the 3rd Gloucestershire Regiment started numbering from 1.



Recruiting for the militia as a whole, ceased on 15th January 1908 and from the following day, all enlistments were for the Special Reserve. See my earlier posts on the creation of the Special Reserve and the Special Reserve appendices for the full detail.



The first number currently on my database for the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment is number 57 who joined on 20th January 1908 having previously served with the 4th Militia Battalion. The last number on my database is currently 3279 who joined on 3rd November 1914.



In that first year, 1908, over 700 men enlisted with the 3rd Gloucesters (number 711 joined on 30th December 1908) but then recruitment slowed dramatically, averaging roughly 300 recruits a year (for instance, less than 800 men joined up between 1st January 1909 and 10th January 1912).



Here then, are some army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 3rd Gloucesters between 1908 and 1914.



57 joined on 20th January 1908
721 joined on 1st January 1909
1059 joined on 1st March 1910
1323 joined on 2nd May 1911
1517 joined on 10th Janaury 1912
1815 joined on 11th January 1913
2015 joined on 27th March 1914
2104 joined on 13th August 1914
2616 joined on 3rd September 1914
3219 joined on 15th October 1914
3271 joined on 3rd November 1914



Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!


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

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:

1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

4th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
6th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

The Service Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.

The Gloucestershire Regiment - 1st and 2nd Battalions

The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Gloucestershire were born on 1st July 1881 and were formed from the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, respectively. 

There are over 38,000 Gloucestershire Regiment pension and service 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. Some of these records can also be viewed on-line on Ancestry although Findmypast has by far the most comprehensive service record collection.

Use the regimental numbers and dates on which these were issued, below, to determine parameters for when your own Gloucestershire Regiment ancestor would have joined up. Note though that these numbers are only for regular enlistments. Special Reserve and Territorial Force battalions operated completely separate regimental number sequences.

The regiment started numbering from 1 from 1st July July 1881. Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for regular soldiers enlisting with the Gloucestershire Regiment between July 1881 and August 1914.

39 joined on 17th October 1881
134 joined on 25th March 1882
572 joined on 7th July 1883
704 joined on 6th March 1884
1287 joined on 5th March 1885
1528 joined on 22nd June 1886
2093 joined on 21st March 1887
2391 joined on 28th August 1888
2599 joined on 5th March 1889
3050 joined on 15th November 1890
3098 joined on 23rd January 1891
3598 joined on 15th June 1892
3988 joined on 9th June 1893
4268 joined on 24th January 1894
4641 joined on 13th August 1895
4852 joined on 14th August 1896
5129 joined on 21st October 1897
5256 joined on 9th March 1898
5502 joined on 13th January 1899
5752 joined on 3rd January 1900
6088 joined on 11th January 1901
6415 joined on 23rd April 1902
6737 joined on 9th February 1903
7480 joined on 12th March 1904
8070 joined on 24th November 1905
8266 joined on 21st August 1906
8484 joined on 8th April 1907
8686 joined on 20th January 1908
9231 joined on 13th October 1909
9259 joined on 24th January 1910
9501 joined on 21st April 1911
9697 joined on 17th August 1912
9808 joined on 13th March 1913
9937 joined on 17th February 1914
10044 joined on 9th August 1914

Although I have no documentary evidence to support this, looking at number patterns for the newly formed Gloucestershire Regiment service battalions in August and September 1914, it appears that men joining these battalions were - for the most part - allocated numbers in the 101** range and above. Certainly, men joining up for regular terms of enlistment post August 1914 and into early 1915 were given numbers which continued in the 100** range. Thus 10070 joined on 5th October 1914, 10090 on 25th November 1914 and 10094 on 1st December 1914.

The theory is not foolproof. 10027 Albert Elliott (a Boer War veteran with the 5th Warwickshire Militia Battalion) joined up for three years with the colours on 10th August 1914 and there are undoubtedly others too who confound my attempted logic above.

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!

Also see my other posts on the Gloucestershire Regiment:

3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

4th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
6th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment

The Service Battalions, The Gloucestershire Regiment

View Gloucestershire Regiment service records, pension records and medal index cards on-line.


The Naval and Military Press has re-published this work and has this to say about it:

"As the subtitle states these are the records of the 1st (28th Foot), 2nd (61st Foot)), 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th, 5th and 6th (First-Line T.A.) Battalions, in other words this is the history of the battalions of the regiment which existed prior to the outbreak of war. The one appendix lists the twenty-four battalions that existed during the war, indicating the theatre of war in which they served and in which division. Eight of these battalions did not serve overseas, and of the rest only one (7th Service Battalion) did not serve on the Western Front, it went with 13th Division to Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Persia. Total losses amounted to 8,100, 72 battle honours were awarded and in the appendix is shown which honours were awarded to which battalion.

"In August 1914 the 1st Battalion was stationed in Bordon, part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, and was among the first British troops to disembark in Le Havre, on 13th August. The first quarter of this book is concerned with the doings of the 1st Battalion which saw action in the early battles of the war - Mons and the retreat, the Marne, the Aisne, First Ypres and Givenchy.

"The 2nd Battalion was in China when war broke out and came home to join the newly formed 81st Brigade, 27th Division which arrived in France in December 1914 and in November 1915 was transferred to Salonika, where it remained for the rest of the war. Three chapters of the book deal with the operations in that theatre of war.

"The three Territorial battalions were in the South Midland Division, later the 48th which crossed to France at the end of March 1915 and fought on theWestern front till November 1917, when it was sent to Italy where it remained till the armistice. The final chapter gives the account of operations in that theatre.

"The author, a well known military historian, was probably the most prolific among the writers of regimental and divisional histories, some thirteen in all, and this account reflects the skill of the writer in producing a very readable narrative, which draws on the Battalion Diary, on individual accounts of actions, some quite lengthy, and makes use of footnotes to give casualty details in addition to those contained in the text, various comments, and items of information from other sources to confirm or add to the main text. The maps are good. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of honours and awards."

Search British Army WW1 Records HERE!




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