V Platoon, B Coy, 23rd Manchester Regiment

These men all appear in the Manchester City Battalions, Book of Honour published by Sherratt and Hughes in 1916. I've had a copy on my shelf for years and it's a very useful reference work; essential in fact for anyone with an interest in the Manchester Regiment.

There were eight service battalions, numbering from the 16th through to the 23rd Battalion and the book features photos of the men in platoon order, with separate photos for officers, NCOs, and bands. The big frustration with the book is that although the photos are accompanied by lists of names of the men who appear, it is impossible - for the most part - to identify who is who. Apart from some ordering by rank, there appears to be no logic to the way in which the names are recorded. I've puzzled over this for years but I'm still no closer to arriving at an answer.

Nevertheless, it is possible to identify some men and the crop above is a good example of this. The man on the left wears the rank insignia of a company quartermaster sergeant. He is seated next to an officer - a lieutenant judging by his cuffs - and he in turn sits next to the company sergeant major. The book tells us that these men are Lt J E Rothband, 21529 CQMS J Hunt and 23015 CSM W Gorin.

Jacob (Jack) Eustace Rothband, above,  was killed in action at Mametz Wood on the 19th July 1916. He was 37 years old and is buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery at Mametz. Photo from British Jewry Book of Hnour 1914-1920.

21529 Warrant Officer Class 2 John Hunt later served in the Tank Corps with the number 75480. He died in 1919 and is buried under a  Commonwealth War Graves headstone in Boltonj (Heaton) Cemetery. He was 25 years old.

28515 CSM Walter Gorin was an old soldier who had originally joined the 3rd Gloucestershire regiment as an 18-year-old in 1897 and subsequently enlisted with the Grenadier Guards in 1899, serving in South Africa. He would be killed in action on the 20th July 1916 whilst serving with the 23rd Manchester Regiment.  The Manchester City Battalions book incorrectly records his regimental number as 23015.

I have added this photo to these men's profiles on my British Army Ancestors website. For more information on the numbering in these City Battalions, see my earlier posts:

16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions) 
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

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Manchester Regiment - PoW Other Ranks 1914

As we approach Christmas 2015, spare a thought for those men of the BEF who spent Christmas 1914 as prisoners of war. Whilst elsewhere an unofficial truce would take place along parts of the line, thousands of British soldiers captured in fighting in the early months of the war were beginning lengthy periods in captivity, and many would not make it home until 1918 or 1919.

The following men were all serving with the 1st or 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment when they became prisoners of war of the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. There are 108 names in this list.  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 1/208 is a five-page typed list of Manchester Regt men who were PoWs on or before 25th December 1914.  Sent by Lancashire County War Comforts Association on 6th January 1919.
2. B.O.2 1/209 is a single typed name of L C Trott giving address details.  Sent by Lancashire County War Comforts Association on 8th January 1919.
3. B.O.2 1/210 is a two-page typed list of Manchester Regt men who were PoWs on or before 25th December 1914.  Sent by Infantry Record Office No 1, No 3 District, Preston on 5th March 1919

There is obviously some duplication between 208 and 210 but note that 210 also gives the date of repatriation in most cases. My full transcription of this Manchester Regiment Prisoners of War roll call of other ranks (not reproduced here) also contains the battalion, and home address or next of kin 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.


9824 Private Thomas Addis
1972 Private George Appleton
1812 Private James Bailey
6539 Corporal J Beresford
1338 Private Thomas Berry
138 Private James Brown
9915 Private James Brown
2291 Corporal M J Brown
29 Private W T Brown
489 Sergeant M J Cahill
2542 Private J Campbell
9930 Private W Campbell
9954 Private P Carroll
9085 Private J Clarke
9135 Private J Clay
1549 Private H Cosgrove
7974 Private A Cronshaw
8662 Private Charles Cusworth
2091 Private P Daly
8581 Sergeant John Devonshire
7910 Private J Dickson
9074 Private W Downey
9585 Private W Edwards
3 Private Harold Elson
7938 Private W England
1530 Drummer J Eyres
2464 Private J Fenton
8103 Private H Fielding
173 Private J Foster
9024 Private George Fox
1074 Corporal Arthur Freeth
9983 Private J Fudge
9749 Private T Furber
8589 Private J Gettings
2529 Lance-Corporal Thomas Gill
7598 Private Edward Gorton
204 Pte Thomas Green
4498 Lance-Corporal J Gregory
1928 Lance-Corporal W C Hadfield
107 Private Robert Haigh
8142 Private W Hamer
9694 Private H Harland
8741 Private R Harrison
2629 Lance-Corporal W Heaton
535 Private James Henderson
8708 Private J S Hilditch
2611 Private J Hill
9861 Private Travis Hilton
2598 Private William Hilton
1991 Private William D Hodges
133 Private J Hollis
389 Pte Joseph Hopwood
9677 Private W Iveson
2618 Private A Jacobs
1527 Private T Keefe
2596 Private William Kelly
1218 Private Charles Kenny
878 Private T King
2637 Private G Langley
1802 Corporal S Leaberry
9955 Private John Leek
2495 Lance-Corporal W Leigh
2672 Private W G Lewis
1949 Lance-Corporal W Linney
273 Corporal J Lumby
9410 Lance-Corporal T Mackin
8648 Sergeant J Mannion
2014 Private D McBride
2308 Lance-Corporal D McKenna
9758 Lance-Corporal W McPherson
9923 Private T Molley
2528 Pte A Morgan
8601 Private J Morley
9552 Corporal J Morrow
2578 Lance-Corporal Herbert Moulding
8564 Private R Mulcahey
2521 Lance-Corporal F Mulholland
9133 Private S Mullen
7990 Private T Munro
8687 Private W Murphy
8616 Private J O'Donnell
1812 Corporal J Pailey
6800 Sergeant F G Pinchin
9402 Private Charles Porter
9854 Private J Reddy
38 Lance-Corporal A J Roberts
2633 Private C Rose
4426 Private John Rothwell
2772 Private S Ryan
177 Corporal J Ryder
9117 Private J Schofield
8603 Lance-Corporal R Shaw
2383 Driver William S Shelsher
8701 Private James Shirley
2336 Private N Sladen
9155 Bandsman C F Smith
8892 Private John Smith
2283 Corporal W H Smith
8468 Private John Snape
8502 Private T Taylor
8987 Private W Taylor
9881 Private A J Thompson
9764 Private George Tobin
1414 Lance-Corporal T Trott
1414 Lance-Corporal Thomas Trott
8013 Lance-Corporal E Walmsley
182 Private Thomas Ward
2370 Private E Williams
8786 Corporal Ernest Yates

The undated photograph on this post is courtesy of the Imperial War Museum and shows captured British soldiers in the prisoner of war camp Altengrabow, in the Prussian province of Saxony.

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

Manchester Regiment - Volunteer Service Companies

Special Army Order 29 of 2nd January 1900 stated:

"The regimental numbers given to the members of the Volunteer companies will form a portion of the regimental series, but, in order to avoid the confusion which would result from the assignment of numbers to Volunteers and ordinary recruits indiscriminately, and also to simplify future reference, the Volunteer numbering should run consecutively, with an interval of a clear thousand between the last number received by an ordinary recruit, at the date on which the Volunteer numbering begins, and the first Volunteer number."

The following year there was another Army Order. On 25th January 1901, Special Army Order 41 stated that fresh companies could be raised as above and those already in South Africa could stay if they wished to.

The Manchester Regiment fielded four Volunteer Service Companies during the Boer War and this post will look at numbering in those companies and how that numbering fitted in with numbering in the - at that stage - four regular battalions.

For some reason, the WO 363 class at the National Archives is awash with service records for the Manchester VSCs. Some other regiments appear to have no surviving VSC records at all. All the records mentioned below are at the National Archives and can also be viewed on-line at the Ancestry.co.uk website which is currently offering a FREE 14 Day Trial.

1st Volunteer Service Company
This VSC comprised numbers from 7001 through to 7197. First numbers were issued on the 9th February 1900 and the final numbers by 10th March 1900. Men joining the 1st VSC joined in sequential order according to the Volunteer Battalion they were serving with at the time. So 7001 through to 7026 are all 1st VB men; 7032 to 7057 are 2nd VB men, and so on. All Volunteers, in all VS companies, enlisted for one year only.

2nd Volunteer Service Company
Numbering in this VSC is a little more complicated. Numbers 7113 through to 7224 are all 2nd VCS men. So too are numbers from 8225 through to 8325, and the single number 8367.

7224 was issued to a VSC on the 10th March 1900. Meanwhile, numbering in the four regular battalions continued apace and by October 1901 the regiment was approaching 7000 (ie, the series of numbers that had already been allocated to VSC men the previous year).

Numbers 8225 through to 8257 were all issued in 1901. 8227 was issued on the 4th February 1901 and I'm guessing that the other numbers also date to close to that time. Presumably the authorities realised that numbering in the regular battalions would soon reach 7000 and they took the decision in early 1901 to give a clear break of 1000 from the last VSC number they had issued in March 1900 (7224).

3rd Volunteer Service Company
This VCS comprised numbers from 8236 through to 8366, all of which were issued in February and (I'm guessing) March 1901.

4th Volunteer Service Company
This VSC comprised numbers from 8376 to 8462. These numbers were issued between 17th February and 4th March 1902.

8463, the next number in line, was issued to a regular soldier who joined on the 2nd January 1903.

My thanks to Stuart Wilson, David Langley, Graham Stewart and Mike C in Canada, for their input - via correspondence on this blog and elsewhere - regarding VSCs generally and the Manchester Regiment specifically. The AO reference above is taken from the privately published Regimental and Army Numbers of the British Line Infantry Soldier from AD. 1800 to 2008 by Langley and Stewart.

Also see my blog post on the regular battalions of The Manchester Regiment.

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

The 10th Manchester Regiment

The 10th Manchesters, headquartered at Oldham, was a Territorial Force battalion which, prior to 1908, had been the 6th Volunteer Battalion, the Manchester Regiment. I list below, sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 10th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment.

240 joined on 7th April 1908
517 joined on 28th January 1909
1056 joined on 3rd March 1910
1243 joined on 11th May 1911
1378 joined on 4th July 1912
1581 joined on 9th October 1913
1668 joined on 30th January 1914
1947 joined on 14th August 1914
2086 joined on 3rd September 1914
3044 joined on 2nd October 1914
3079 joined on 3rd November 1914
3101 joined on 2nd January 1915
3294 joined on 26th February 1915
3337 joined on 22nd March 1915
3356 joined on 6th April 1915
3458 joined on 7th May 1915
3661 joined on 3rd June 1915
3792 joined on 2nd July 1915
3838 joined on 18th August 1915
3851 joined on 4th September 1915
4023 joined on 4th October 1915
4285 joined on 8th November 1915
4454 joined on 9th December 1915
4517 joined on 21st January 1916
4785 joined on 17th February 1916
5056 joined on 10th March 1916
5232 joined on 20th April 1916
5253 joined on 1st May 1916
5423 joined on 24th July 1916

My data currently stops short here. I'll add to this though, in due course.

When the Territorial Force re-numbered in 1917, the 10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, was allocated numbers within the block 375001 to 400000. Here are some six digit numbers for the 10th Manchesters.

375003 originally joined on 1st April 1908 (and was almost certainly a 6th VB man to boot)
375074 originally joined on 19th July 1909
375102 originally joined on 13th April 1911
375144 originally joined on 9th May 1912
375234 originally joined on 8th December 1913
375310 originally joined on 9th February 1914
375553 originally joined on 4th September 1914
375983 originally joined on 13th October 1914
376069 originally joined on 18th January 1915
376199 originally joined on 6th April 1915
376262 originally joined on 7th May 1915
376397 originally joined on 3rd June 1915
376469 originally joined on 2nd July 1915
376545 originally joined on 27th September 1915
376679 originally joined on 11th November 1915
376841 originally joined on 16th February 1916
377179 originally joined on 20th April 1916
377316 originally joined on 25th July 1916
377597 originally joined on 9th August 1916
377662 originally joined on 18th September 1916
377929 originally joined on 17th October 1916

There was a third series of numbers used by this battalion and that was for (mostly) National Reservists who joined Supernumerary Companies attached to the 10th Battalion. These men, who had often seen previous military experience - and in many cases, several years earlier - signed up for one year's service in the United Kingdom on Army Form. E.514. My data for these men is not extensive, but James Brierley, who joined up at Oldham on 23rd July 1915, is a typical Supernumerary Company man. He was 49 years old and indicated that he had previously served with the 4th King's Lancaster Regiment. When the Royal Defence Corps was formed the following year, he transferred to it, assigned to No. 309 Protection Company. His army service number as a 10th Bn Supernumerary man was 20063. When he joined the RDC (on 29th April 1916) he received a new number: 27064.

James Brierley's service record survives in the WO 363 series which can be accessed on-line via Ancestry.co.uk

Read my other posts on The Manchester Regiment:

The Manchester Regiment, The Regular Battalions 1881-1914
The Manchester Regiment, Special & Extra Reserve Battalions 1908-1914

5th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
6th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
7th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
8th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
9th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)

Manchester Regiment Service Battalion numbers 1914-1916
16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions)
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

A Manchester Pal's War - 9814 Pte Harry Bardsley, 18th Manchesters

Caveat
It is wrong to assume that numbering sequences in battalions always followed a sequential pattern. They didn't. As the war progressed and casualties grew, large numbers of men were often transferred from one battalion to another and allocated numbers within blocks which did not fit the sequential patterning seen to date. This becomes particularly evident in most battalions from 1916 onwards. For an example of this, see my post on the 23rd London Regiment.


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

The 9th Manchester Regiment

Before Lord Haldane's changes took place in 1908, the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment (a Territorial Force battalion), was the 3rd Voilunteer Battalion, Manchester Regiment. It was headquartered at Ashton-under-Lyne.

Here are some sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the 9th Manchesters.

5 joined on 1st April 1908
946 joined on 28th June 1909
1123 joined on 1st November 1910
1150 joined on 15th May 1911
1273 joined on 25th March 1912
1404 joined on 17th March 1913
1576 joined on 20th January 1914
1997 joined on 4th August 1914
2122 joined on 1st September 1914
2475 joined on 5th October 1914
2845 joined on 2nd November 1914
3183 joined on 1st December 1914
3189 joined on 4th January 1915
3316 joined on 9th February 1915
3451 joined on 7th April 1915
3710 joined on 3rd May 1915
3858 joined on 15th June 1915
3997 joined on 20th September 1915
4027 joined on 2nd October 1915
4233 joined on 13th November 1915
4279 joined on 13th December 1915
4295 joined on 20th January 1916
4431 joined on 8th February 1916
4626 joined on 2nd March 1916
4886 joined on 6th May 1916
5273 joined on 15th July 1916

When the 9th Manchester Regiment re-numbered in 1917, it did so within the range 350001 to 375000.

There is an excellent website devoted to the Ashton Territorials. Click HERE to read more about the men of the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment.

Caveat
It is wrong to assume that numbering sequences in battalions always followed a sequential pattern. They didn't. As the war progressed and casualties grew, large numbers of men were often transferred from one battalion to another and allocated numbers within blocks which did not fit the sequential patterning seen to date. This becomes particularly evident in most battalions from 1916 onwards. For an example of this, see my post on the 23rd London Regiment.

Find 9th Manchester service records, pension records and medal index cards with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!

Read my other posts on the Manchester Regiment:

The Manchester Regiment, The Regular Battalions 1881-1914
The Manchester Regiment, Special & Extra Reserve Battalions 1908-1914

5th Bn, The Manchester Regiment (TF)
6th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
7th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
8th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
10th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)

Manchester Regiment Service Battalion numbers 1914-1916
16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions)
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

A Manchester Pal's War - 9814 Pte Harry Bardsley, 18th Manchesters


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

The 8th Manchester Regiment

The 8th Manchesters, headquartered at Ardwick, was a Territorial Force battalion which, prior to 1908, had been the 5th (Ardwick) Volunteer Battalion, the Manchester Regiment. I list below, sample army service numbers and corresponding joining dates for the Ardwick Battalion. Please note the caveat at the end of this post.

801 joined on 11th March 1909
1398 joined on 25th November 1910
1407 joined on 9th January 1911
1504 joined on 8th January 1912
1760 joined on 2nd June 1913
1901 joined on 16th January 1914
2318 joined on 5th August 1914
2459 joined on 1st September 1914
3053 joined on 1st October 1914
3418 joined on 14th December 1914
3456 joined on 5th January 1915
3578 joined on 2nd February 1915
3658 joined on 22nd March 1915
3725 joined on 7th April 1915
3914 joined on 3rd May 1915
4207 joined on 14th June 1915
4406 joined on 8th July 1915
4522 joined on 20th August 1915
4534 joined on 12th September 1915
4713 joined on 2nd October 1915
5087 joined on 22nd November 1915
5128 joined on 3rd December 1915
5178 joined on 20th January 1916
5288 joined on 1st February 1916
5664 joined on 24th March 1916
5899 joined on 18th May 1916
5936 joined on 26th June 1916
6853 joined on 5th December 1916
7225 joined on 10th January 1917

When the Territorial Force re-numbered in 1917, the 8th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, was allocated numbers within the block 300001 to 350000. Here are some six digit numbers for the 8th Manchesters.

300019 originally joined in 1908, probably April. Actually this man originally joined the 5th (Ardwick) Volunteer Battalion on 20th March 1903 and, one assumes, must have been one of the longest serving members of the 8th Battalion by the time he was re-numbered in 1917.

300216 originally joined on 26th January 1914
300379 originally joined on 6th August 1914
300493 originally joined on 4th September 1914
300728 originally joined on 1st October 1914
300944 originally joined on 5th January 1915
301042 originally joined on 22nd March 1915
301077 originally joined on 9th April 1915
301885 originally joined on 3rd May 1915
301401 originally joined on 22nd June 1915
301502 originally joined on 26th July 1915
301548 originally joined on 18th September 1915
301644 originally joined on 8th October 1915
301757 originally joined on 5th November 1915
301883 originally joined on 14th February 1915
303347 joined on 31st January 1917 (having previously served with a different Manchester regiment Battalion)
303589 joined on 19th April 1917
303816 joined on 21st May 1917
303842 joined on 11th June 1917

Local men who had previously joined the National Reserve, now attested with the 8th Manchesters to work with supernumerary companies attached to the 8th Battalion. Surviving attestation papers for these men generally also give their National Reserve numbers. However, on joining the supernumerary companies – and there were certainly No. 1 Supernumerary Company and No. 3 Supernumerary Company – they were given new numbers. The lowest number on my limited database for these men is in the 600s (issued in December 1914), but I presume that recruitment started in September 1914, as it had done for men joining supernumerary companies attached to the 6th Battalion. By July 1915, numbering of these men had reached at least 1572 (8th July 1915).

Read my other posts on the Manchester Regiment:

The Manchester Regiment, The Regular Battalions 1881-1914
The Manchester Regiment, Special & Extra Reserve Battalions 1908-1914

5th Bn, The Manchester Regiment (TF)
6th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
7th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
9th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
10th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)

Manchester Regiment Service Battalion numbers 1914-1916
16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions)
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

A Manchester Pal's War - 9814 Pte Harry Bardsley, 18th Manchesters

CaveatIt is wrong to assume that numbering sequences in battalions always followed a sequential pattern. They didn't. As the war progressed and casualties grew, large numbers of men were often transferred from one battalion to another and allocated numbers within blocks which did not fit the sequential patterning seen to date. This becomes particularly evident in most battalions from 1916 onwards. For an example of this, see my post on the 23rd London Regiment.

Find 8th Manchester service records, pension records and medal index cards with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!


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

Manchester Regiment - Service Battalion numbers to 1916

Having posted about the initial allocation of blocks of army service numbers to the 16th, 17th and 18th Manchesters; the 19th, 20th and 21st Manchesters, and the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Manchesters, I'll turn my attention for this post, to numbering in other Manchester Regiment service battalions and also subsequent numbering in the Pals Battalions.

The information contained in this post is based on assumptions having studied hundreds of service records for Manchester Regiment enlistments. The medal rolls of the various Manchester Regiment battalions would inevitably give a more accurate picture and as always, I will be happy to be corrected on any assumptions made here which are patently incorrect.

As I mentioned in my post on numbering in the regular battalions of the Manchester Regiment, by June 1914, numbering had reached the 2800s. (I have number 2837 on my database who joined the Manchester Regiment on 25th June 1914). When Britain went to war with Germany in August 1914 and men heeded the call to enlist, the new "Service" battalions which were created generally issued numbers to men which were from the series already in use for the regular battalions. Typically, with army service numbers, not all regiments followed this practice. The East Surrey Regiment, for instance, started a new series for service enlistments, prefixed with the letter G/ and continued with the old series of numbers for those men who joined up during wartime for the regular term of enlistment. See my post on the 1st & 2nd Battalions, East Surrey Regiment. Pals Battalions also generally (but not always) had separate allocations of numbers within a main block, or a completely new series altogether. The Sussex Regiment Southdowns battalions are a good example of the latter, all of their numbers prefixed with SD/. See my posts on the 11th (1st South Down) Battalion, 12th (2nd South Down) Battalion and 13th (3rd South Down) Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment.

But as far as the Manchester Regiment in 1914 is concerned, men joining the newly formed 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Battalions were given numbers from the series which, up until then, had been used by the Regular 1st and 2nd Battalions.

I should add that not all men made it into a battalion. Some men, on being allocated a number, were posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot and then discharged either the same day or very shortly afterwards. In most cases the reason for discharge is because the man was "not likely to become an efficient soldier" but there were also other reasons, such as a man "having made a mis-statement of age" which could cause him to be discharged.

In the table which follows below, I'm going to refer to these men as Depot (D) enlistments. They weren't 3rd Battalion enlistments because the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, certainly up until November 1914 at least, was still using a separate numbering series. What follows then is a table listing the numbers (in blocks of 100), the battalions these numbers were issued to, and the dates they were issued. Again, I refer readers to the second paragraph of this post. What follows becomes more complex as the months and years progress. There are gaps in my data where further data is required, and I have indicated these gaps.

2800s-6100s
Issued in August & September 1914 to men joining D, 11th, 12th and 13th Bns.
6200s-7800s
Issued between August 1914 and June 1915 to men joining the 16th Manchester (1st City Battalion.
7900
Further data required.
8000-9400s
Issued between August 1914 and February 1915 to men joining the 17th Manchester (2nd City) Battalion.
9500s-9700s
Issued in September & October 1914 to men joining D, 11th, 12th and 13th Bns.
9800s-11300s
Issued between August 1914 and July 1915 to men joining the 18th Manchester (3rd City) Battalion.
11400s- 12900s
Issued between September 1914 and May 1915 to men joining the 19th Manchester (4th City) Battalion.
13000s-13900s
Issued in October and November 1914 to men joining D, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Bns.
14000s-15400s
Issued between November 1914 and June 1915 to men joining the 24th Manchester (Oldham Pioneers) Battalion.
15500s-16900s
Issued between November 1914 and January 1915 to men joining D, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Battalions.
17000s-18400s
Issued between November 1914 and May 1915 to men joining the 20th Manchester (5th City) Battalion.
18500s-19900s
Issued between November 1914 and May 1915 to men joining the 21st Manchester (6th City) Battalion.
20000s-21400s
Issued between November 1914 and May 1915 to men joining the 22nd Manchester (7th City) Battalion.
21500s-22900s
Issued between November 1914 and March 1915 to men joining the 23rd Manchester (8th City) Battalion.

The 25th, 26th and 27th Reserve Battalions

At this point, because the numbering now leaps briefly into 1916, I'll mention the 25th (Reserve), 26th (Reserve) and 27th (Reserve) Battalions. These three battalions, all formed in September 1915, were local reserve battalions for the 16th-18th, 19th-21st and 22nd-24th Battalions respectively. Numbering within these reserve battalions reflects the numbering patterns within the Pals battalions that the reserve battalions were feeding into. So it's common, when looking at numbering in each reserve battalion, to see three different patterns of numbers.

For the 27th (Reserve) Battalion, for instance, numbers within the series being used for the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Battalions appear. The men were 27th Battalion enlistments but to all intents and purposes their numbers "belonged" to the series being used by the 22nd, 23rd or 24th Battalions and their service numbers are generally prefixed with 22/, 23/ and 24/ rather than 27/.

Now, back to the numbering sequences.

23000s-23200s
Issued in June 1916 to men who had attested under the Derby Scheme (the great majority of these between 9th & 12th December 1915). Men with numbers in this range certainly appear as enlistments in Depot, 14th (Reserve), 25th (Reserve) and 26th (Reserve) Battalions.
23300s-24900s
Issued between January and July 1915 to men joining D, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Battalions.
25000s
Issued in January 1916. The examples I have seen of numbers in this range are to men who were posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot.
25100s-25400s
Issued in June 1916 to men who had attested under the Derby Scheme (the great majority of these between 9th & 12th December 1915). Men with numbers in this range certainly appear as enlistments in Depot, 14th (Reserve), 25th (Reserve), 26th (Reserve) and 27th (Reserve) Battalions.
25500s-25700s
Issued between May and October 1915 to men joining the 22nd Manchester (7th City) Battalion. 25800s-25900s
Issued in November 1915 to men joining the 23rd and 27th (Reserve) Battalions
26000s-26100s
Issued between May and August 1915 to men joining the 20th Manchester (5th City) Battalion
26200s-26300s
Issued between May and July 1915 to men joining the 17th Manchester (2nd City) Battalion
26400s
Issued in November 1915 to men joining the 25th (Reserve) Battalion, these men in turn, feeding into the 17th Manchester (2nd City) Battalion.
26500s-26600s
Issued between June and September 1915 to men joining the 19th Manchester (4th City) Battalion.
26700s-26900s
Issued between June and August 1915 to men joining the 21st Manchester (6th City) Battalions.
27000s
Further data required
27100s
Issued in June 1915 to men joining the 16th Manchester (1st City) Battalion
27200s-27400s
Issued in January and February 1916. I have examples of men posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot and in the 25th and 27th (Reserve) battalions who have numbers within this range.
27500s-27900s
Issued in July and August 1915 to men who were posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot (and therefore presumably the 11th-14th Battalions).
28000-28200s
Issued between July and November 1915 to men joining the 24th Manchester (Oldham Pioneers) Battalion (and the 27th Reserve Battalion).
28300s-28400s
Issued in December 1915 and January 1916 to men who joined the 23rd Manchester (8th City) Battalion (and the 27th Reserve Battalion)
28500s
Further data required
28600s-28700s
Issued between August and October 1915 to men who joined the 23rd Manchester (8th City) Battalion (and the 27th Reserve Battalion).
28800s
Issued in August 1915 to men joining the 20th Manchester (5th City) Battalion.
28900s
Issued in February 1916 to men joining the 27th (Reserve) Manchester Battalion; detsined for the 23rd (8th City) Battalion.
29000s-29300s
Issued in June 1916 to Derby Scheme men joining the 26th (Reserve) Battalion.
29400s-29800s
Issued in June 1916 to Derby Scheme men joining the 25th (Reserve) Battalion.
29900s-30400s
Issued between August and November 1915 to men who were posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot (and therefore presumably the 11th-14th Battalions).
30500s-30900s
Issued between August and October 1915 to men joining the 1st Garrison Battalion. From the data that I hold, it appears that the majority of these men transferred from other battalions, notably the City battalions of the King's Liverpool Regiment and also the 11th South Lancashire (St Helen's Pioneers) Battalion.
31000s-31900s
Further data required
32000s-32400s
Issued between November 1915 and January 1916 to men who were posted to the Manchester Regiment Depot (and therefore presumably the 11th-14th Battalions).
32500s
Further data required.
32600s-32700s
Issued in July 1916. Men who joined the Manchester Regiment Depot and the 26th Reserve Battalion have numbers in this range.

From the research I have conducted, it would appear that from around 32800 onwards, the system of allocating blocks of numbers to specific Manchester Regiment battalions (which was already looking shaky by 1916) was abandoned, but I stand to be corrected.

Read my other posts on the Manchester Regiment:

The Manchester Regiment, The Regular Battalions 1881-1914
The Manchester Regiment, Special & Extra Reserve Battalions 1908-1914

5th Bn, The Manchester Regiment (TF)
6th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
7th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
8th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
9th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)
10th Bn, Manchester Regiment (TF)

16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions)
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

A Manchester Pal's War - 9814 Pte Harry Bardsley, 18th Manchesters


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Caveat
It is wrong to assume that numbering sequences in battalions always followed a sequential pattern. They didn't. As the war progressed and casualties grew, large numbers of men were often transferred from one battalion to another and allocated numbers within blocks which did not fit the sequential patterning seen to date. This becomes particularly evident in most battalions from 1916 onwards. For an example of this, see my post on the 23rd London Regiment.


Find service records, pension records and medal index cards for the Manchesters with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!


The Manchesters





Re-published by The Naval & Military Press which states, "This is an unusual Great War Regimental history in that it was compiled halfway through the conflict, and also contains a huge amount of detail - including biographical notes - on the battalion’s officers and other ranks. It cover all units of the Manchester Regiment - Regulars, Militia; Special Reserve; Territorial and New Army volunteers; and contains Rolls of Honour of Officers, NCOs and men killed from the outbreak of war until early 1916. It is a little book - but a truly vast storehouse of information : names, dates, details - which is a must for anyone interested in the regiment and the war."


NATIONAL ROLL OF THE GREAT WAR Section XI - Manchester





The National Roll of the Great War has been re-printed by the Naval & Military Press This volume covers Manchester. Information for these volumes was supplied by the participants or relatives. It is not a complete reference work and neither are the entries always 100 per cent accurate. However, it can nevertheless still be a useful additional information source, giving little details such as the individual's home address. Some of these volumes are also now available on-line via the Ancestry website.