Here is a sample sequence of army service numbers and enlistment / joining dates for the 12th London Regiment between the years 1909 and 1916. There is an inconsistency in sequential numbering in this battalion. When it reached number 7999 in July 1916, the battalion went back to 6000, continued numbering up until 6999 in November 1916 and then reverted to 8000. I'd be interested to hear an explanation from anybody as to why this is, although looking at my database for this battalion, there appears to be a corresponding jump from the 5000s to the 7000s in May/June 1916. It's almost as if somebody 'forgot' or 'missed out' the numbers between 6000 and 6999 when men were enlisting in May/June 1916.
Another inconsistency in this battalion is the numbering in 1908 which is a good deal more chaotic than in most of the other London Regiment battalions for this period. Thus number 7 joined on 1st April (straight from the 22nd Middlesex VRC), 239 joined on 23rd June, 379 on 29th June, 417 on 26th October, 439 on 12th August, 510 on 1st April...
For this reason, I'll start my sample overview of the 12th Londons from 1909, by which time the numbering appears to have settled down.
545 joined on 1st January 1909
1192 joined on 10th January 1910
1295 joined on 9th January 1911
1440 joined on 2nd April 1912
1558 joined on 29th January 1913
1848 joined on 13th January 1914
2007 joined on 5th August 1914
2954 joined on 7th September 1914
3453 joined on 1st March 1915
3646 joined on 6th April 1915
4125 joined on 7th August 1915
4202 joined on 11th September 1915
4274 joined on 16th October 1915
4307 joined on 30th November 1915
4542 joined on 14th December 1915
4696 joined on 12th January 1916
4988 joined on 1st February 1916
5445 joined on 25th March 1916
5718 joined on 6th May 1916
7514 joined on 20th June 1916
7633 joined on 10th July 1916
6094 joined on 7th August 1916
6454 joined on 22nd September 1916
6459 joined on 11th October 1916
6605 joined on 1st November 1916
8031 joined on 23rd November 1916
When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, The 12th Londons re-numbered within the block 470001 to 490000.
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RANGERS’ HISTORICAL RECORDS From 1859 to the Conclusion of the Great War
This from the Naval & Military Press:
"This book is laid out in five parts. The first takes the history of the Regiment from 1859 to the outbreak of the Great War and the remaining four consist of one each to the First Battalion, the Scond Battalion, the Amalgamated Battalion and finally the Depot and Reserve battalion during the war. There is a list of honours and awards but no roll of honour nor index.
"The foundation of the Rangers as a unit of the Volunteer Force was laid in 1859 and the first part of the book contains a brief record of their history from 1859 until the outbreak of war, including descriptions of dress and equipment and names of officers and the Rangers's part in the South African War. On formation of the Territorial Force in 1908 the battalion became “The Rangers,” the 12th (County of London Battalion), The London Regiment, in the 3rd Brigade of the 1st London Division.
"In December 1914 the battalion left the division and landed in Le Havre on Xmas Day and joined GHQ troops (Line of Command) till February 1915 when it was transferred to 84th Brigade, 28th Division. It sustained heavy casualties during Second Ypres. Then it moved down to Gommecourt and in that ill-fated attack suffered 560 casualties. There is an error on page 48 where the other division in that attack is referred to as the ‘48th’; it should, of course, be ‘46th’.
"A second-line battalion (2/12th) was formed in September 1914 (the original battalion became 1/12th) and went to France in February 1917 with 175th Brigade, 58th Division and the third part of the book describes its formation, training and actions at the front. A year later, in February 1918, the two battalions amalgamated to become 12th London (Rangers) in the 58th Division and fought with that division for the rest of the war. The chapters in each part of the book were written by various contributors who were present during the events they describe, which include activities out of the line. The list of contents names the authors of each chapter.
"The maps are good and there is some good detail in the narrative, including identification of officers and other ranks in the action. Soldiers Died lists 1140 dead in addition to fifty officers. Twenty eight battle honours were awarded.
Read my other posts on numbering in the London Regiment battalions:
City of London Battalions
1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
3rd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
4th (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
5th (City of London) Battalion (Rifle Brigade)
6th (City of London) Battalion (Rifles)
7th (City of London) Battalion
8th (City of London) Battalion (Post Office Rifles)
County of London Battalions
9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
10th County of London) Battalion (Hackney) [Originally Paddington Rifles]
11th (County of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles)
13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensington)
14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish)
15th (County of London) Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles)
16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
17th (County of London) Battalion (Poplar & Stepney Rifles)
18th (County of London) Battalion (London Irish Rifles)
19th (County of London) Battalion (St Pancras)
20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath & Woolwich)
21st (County of London) Battalion (First Surrey Rifles)
22nd (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
23rd (County of London) Battalion
24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion
28th (County of London) Battalion (Artists Rifles)
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