Royal Welsh Fusiliers - Boer War memorial - St Giles, Wrexham

 

I was in Wrexham not so long ago, and took the opportunity to stop by at St Giles Church. I'm glad I did so as there is a wealth of memorials to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (the old 23rd Foot) inside. Typically, in churches these days, many of the memorials are now half hidden or obscured, but there is a rather splendid memorial to those men who died during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 and the China campaign of 1900. In fact it is so good that I borrowed a step-ladder in order to photograph it head on rather than at an oblique angle. A very helpful church warden steadied the ladder for me at the bottom.

Where possible I have added the men's regimental numbers to their names and I will come to the numbering later.

1st Battalion

5515 Private P J Abbott
3949 Private W G Albach
3420 Private J Alsop
2802 Private A Andrews
3138 Private W Aston
5499 Private E L Averall
3663 Private T H Ballard
1104 Private S Barnes
5743 Private F Barnett
6152 Private F Bates
5687 Private C Baynham
5528 Private R Birkett
4149 Private G Brien
5814 Private E Broad
5543 Private A Burgess
6272 Private J T Cain
4070 Lance Corporal T J Chidley
3628 Private H Cliff
4200 Sergeant T J Cockram
4312 Private W Cowlard
2349 Private G Cox
2831 Private William Croucher
2527 Private A Davies
2753 Private J Davies
5980 Private J Davies
5767 Private S A T Davies
5696 Private T Davies
2901 Private W Davis
6274 Private A Dawes
4624 Private J Dixon
3652 Private W H Dodd
3331 Private J Edwards
5847 Drummer P Edwards
5834 Private E Evans
5787 Private E S Evans
2862 Corporal J Evans
3796 Private P Fallon
Second Lieutenant J C Farmer
5429 Private R Fitzpatrick
2957 Lance Corporal H M Garrett
5332 Private M Gelshon
6446 Private J Glover
862 Private J J Godfrey
6330 Private T W Gooding
2657 Sergeant J W Graham
6055 Private J Green
2898 Sergeant J H Hatton
5979 Private W G Hawkins
6140 Private A Highfield
6270 Private A C Hinks
5484 Private G Horne
5213 Corporal J Hosey
3313 Private M Huggins
5631 Private G Hughes
3355 Private J Hussey
5892 Private W J Jacobs
3455 Private D James
2402 Private C Jenkins
5527 Private W Jephcote
3611 Private C Jones
1232 Private G Jones
Private G L Jones
3288 Private J Jones
3826 Private R Jones
5910 Private W Jones
5349 Private W Jones
Private W Jones
2518 Private R G Joyce
971 Private S Leadbetter
5384 Private F Ledbrook
2625 Private J Lloyd
5646 Private J J Lloyd
6015 Private J Lockett
 Captain Richard Gordon Beresford Lovett
5220 Private A Lucas
2850 Lance Corporal F Maurice
3344 Lance Corporal P Miller
3387 Private G Morgan
5843 Private T J Morgan
3049 Lance Corporal A J Morris
6473 Private E L Morris
2778 Private W A Morris
821 Private F W Mott
5827 Private M Murphy
2361 Private B Murray
5900 Private J Parry
5830 Private C Payne
2316 Private W Perry
5721 Private S Pike
5953 Private J Plant
Private E J Pooltan
6495 Private H Purslow
4790 Sergeant J Rawle
1028 Private A Riley
2728 Private E Roberts
2600 Private P Roberts
5707 Private R J Roberts
Lieutenant G E S Salt
4104 Private W Saunders
6121 Private W Savage
1994 Private J Scott
5821 Private J Shipley
5463 Private C Smith
3050 Private G H Smith
2507 Private J Smith
2632 Private J Smith
Private J J S Smith
5403 Private W C Smith
3096 Private J Starkey
Lieutenant F A Stebbing
5764 Private T Stevens
4243 Private G Stroud
3539 Corporal B Sullivan
2987 Private P Thomas
5729 Private T Thomas
3824 Private W Thomas
5360 Private J J Thompson
5295 Private A Thomson
Lt-Col C C H Thorold
5156 Lance Corporal E Underwood
5854 Private E Vipond
5621 Private A Whiteside
5746 Private G Wilkinson
5751 Private L Williams
5584 Private O Williams
5538 Private W Williams
3145 Private W Williams
Second Lieutenant J R Williams-Ellis

2nd Battalion

It was the 2nd Battalion which took part in the operations in China and all of these men died there.

Private J Barker
Private J Bartram
Private A Burgoyne
Private J Cook
Private J Corben
Private W Crew
Private T Davies
Private H Dunbar
Private A Fisher
Private R Griffith
Sergeant G Hammerton
Private T Hanlon
Private C Heaton
Private W W Huddleston
Corporal B Hughes
Private T C Hughes
Private J Jones
Private P Jones
Private R Jones
Private R Jones
Colour Sergeant R Kirby
Private M Mansfield
Private G Martin
Private T Morgan
Private J Newberry
Private H Paddon
Private C Porter
Private J Porter
Private F Power
Private J Robinson
Private H W Scott
Private J Sheppard
Private W Smith
Private W Sweeney
Private J Thomas
Private J Thomas
Private J Thomlinson
Private W Wilkinson
Private C Wogan

These men all served with the 3rd (Militia) Battalion in South Africa

Lieutenant R W Bate
1379 Private N Cummings
2883 Private H Davies
1806 Company Quartermaster
Sergeant W Denton Private J Dunbar
2269 Private W Edwards
2084 Private J Foley
Private E L Jones
2750 Private W Jones
1760 Private M Kelly
Private G Reilly
1296 Private T Roberts
2223 Private L Rowlands
2344 Private C Thomas
2051 Private D O Watkins
Private E Williams
2096 Private W Williams

These men all served with the 4th (Militia) Battalion in South Africa

1787 Private W Evans
1812 Private J Gelder
Private J I Jones
2554 Private W Kelly
2823 Private T Mailen
1621 Private J Nolan
Private F Taylor
Private H Thomas
Private W H Williams

These men all served with the 1st Volunteer Service Company in South Africa

7376 Private H Brocklehurst
7384 Private A Holt
7464 Private J H Jones
7400 Private A Rogers
7402 Private G Stokes
7590 Private L A Wright

These men all served with the 2nd Volunteer Service Company in South Africa

7357 Private S Bailey
7496 Corporal P W Evans
7341 Private J Gallier
7471 Private T Jones
7554 Private T Lloyd
7373 Private H Parry
7347 Private N Roberts
7331 Private H Wynne

These men all served with the 3rd Volunteer Service Company in South Africa

7302 Private H Deverell
7417 Sergeant C Jones
 Private J Lewis
7522 Private H Roberts

Note the very obvious higher digit numbers for those men who served with the Volunteer Service Companies. I explained the reason behind this on another post all about Volunteer Service Companies in the Boer War. For the other men, the regulars in the 1st and 2nd Battalions all drew their numbers from a single number series. There are some very long-serving men listed here whose numbers date back to the early 1880s. The 3rd and 4th Battalions each had a separate numbering series. and again, the difference between these number series and the series issued to the men of the regular battalions and the VSCs is very evident. I have to say, that it is also entirely coincidental.

5th (Flintshire) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers

This post will look at numbering in the 5th (Flintshire) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers between the battalion's formation in April 1908 and January 1915.  Like its sister battalions, the 6th (Carnarvonshire and Anglesey) Battalion and the 7th (Merioneth & Montgomery) Battalion, the battalion was administered by two County Associations; in its case, the Flintshire Association (which administered seven companies), and the Denbigh Association (which administered one company, as well as the entire 4th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers).

The battalion had its origins as the 1st Admin Battalion of Flintshire Rifle Volunteers which was formed with headquarters at Rhyl in August 1860.  In 1874, the 1st to 5th Carnarvonshire Corps were added and the battalion became the 1st Flintshire and Carnarvon Royal Volunteer Corps.  Ten years later, General Order 78 of June 1884 redesignated the battalion as the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers. By 1896 the establishment of the battalion had reached sixteen companies and this was reduced to eight the following year when the Carnarvonshire personnel were removed to form the 3rd Volunteer Battalion (later the 6th RWF).

By February 1914, the distribution of the companies (headquartered at Flint) was as follows:

A Company: Mold
B Company: Hawarden, with a drill station at Buckley
C Company: Rhyl, with a drill station at St Asaph
D Company: Holywell, with a drill station at Mostyn
E Company: Flint, with a drill station at Bagillt
F Company: Caergwrle
G Company: Colwyn Bay
H Company: Connah's Quay

The battalion formed part of the North Wales Infantry Brigade with the Welsh Division.

Although at this point in time I have nothing more than gaps in my database to base the following theory on, I suspect that as far as  numbering in the battalion was concerned, the Flintshire companies all drew numbers from one series whilst the Denbighshire company - probably G Company based at Colwyn Bay - began its numbering at 2000, only later falling into line with numbering in the other seven companies. For now though, sample enlistment dates and numbers (for all companies except G Company) from 1908 to Jan 1915 as follows:

322 joined on April 10th 1908
623 joined on April 20th 1909
810 joined on 22nd September 1910
842 joined on 2nd March 1911
978 joined on 23rd March 1912
1174 joined on 4th March 1913
1442 joined on 26th March 1914
1546 joined on 4th August 1914 (the day Britain declared war on Germany)
2208 joined on 15th September 1914
2290 joined on 2nd October 1914
2442 joined on 10th November 1914
2561 joined on 30th November 1914
2627 joined on 4th January 1915

As far as the Denbighshire company is concerned, Soldiers Died in The Great war lists the following men:

2011 Pte Robert Jones, Died at Malta on 18th September 1915
2032 CQMS Ernest William Reckless, DoW at Sea on 23rd August 1915

I suggest both of these men were 1908 enlistments.  Furthermore, there is a MIC for 2061 W T Williams whose enlistment date is given as 4th February 1909 and one for 2106 J M F Lyon Smith who enlisted on the 28th February 1912. I have no date for 2122 Thomas Roberts, but his renumbered TF number is 240582 which would normally have suggested September 1914 to me... had it not been for 2131 John Power whose MIC clearly states a joining date of 12th February 1913 (albeit the enlistment date on a MIC is just that: an enlistment date rather than the date the man joined the regiment he was being discharged from). 2143 John Owen Jones joined the 5th Battalion on the 12th November 1913, and so on.  There's not a lot to go on, but enough for me to be as certain as I can be that the 5th Battalion, just like the 6th and 7th Battalions of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers operated two numbering systems - up until a point - this purely because the battalions were administered by more than one County Association.

When the Territorial Force was renumbered in 1917, the 5th RWF  - all of the men in all of the companies - was allocated numbers within the range 240001 to 265000.

I've borrowed the photograph on this post from the website of the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum.  It shows the Machine-Gun section of the 5th (Flintshire) Battalion in 1915.

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Royal Welsh Fusiliers 1881-1914 - 1st & 2nd Bns

This post will look at numbering in the two regular battalions of The Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Service records for all of the sample numbers and dates below survive in the series WO 363 and WO 364 at the National Archives (and also online at Ancestry.co.uk) and WO 97 (also on line courtesy of Find My Past).

There are over 49,000 Royal Welsh Fusiliers service andpension 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 Royal Welsh Fusiliers 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 Royal Welsh Fusiliers was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers). and was established as the county regiment for Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Merionethshire. It started numbering from 1 in July 1881.

25 joined on 16th November 1881
73 joined on 15th January 1882
486 joined on 29th May 1883
644 joined on 8th January 1884
907 joined on 7th January 1885
1310 joined on 16th January 1886
1896 joined on 8th April 1887
2153 joined on 11th May 1888
2326 joined on 16th January 1889
2681 joined on 5th March 1890
3181 joined on 9th May 1891
3511 joined on 26th March 1892
3913 joined on 18th March 1893
4309 joined on 5th June 1894
4568 joined on 7th January 1895
4896 joined on 20th January 1896
5287 joined on 7th May 1897
5548 joined on 27th January 1898
5980 joined on 21st March 1899
6281 joined on 5th January 1900

During the South African War, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers raised three volunteer service companies and allocated numbers to the men joining these as follows:

1st VSC: numbers within the range 7301 to 7517
2nd VSC: numbers within the range 7343 to 7593
3rd VSC: numbers 8000 to 8039

6669 joined on 24th July 1901
7039 joined on 10th January 1902
7753 joined on 4th May 1903
8061 joined on 18th May 1904
8636 joined on 31st January 1905
9016 joined on 16th January 1906
9353 joined on 7th February 1907
9725 joined on 1st January 1908
10255 joined on 25th August 1909
10307 joined on 8th January 1910
10543 joined on 4th January 1911
10959 joined on 19th February 1912
11063 joined on 29th December 1913
11415 joined on 17th April 1914

The First World War
When Britain went to war in August 1914, men joining the new service battalions were issued with numbers from the same series in use by the two regular battalions.

Recruitment rates 1881-1911
Between 1st July 1881 and 9th May 1891, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers recruited 3,181 men, an average of 321 men each year. Of the sixty-nine infantry regiments recruiting at this time, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment was the forty-seventh most successful infantry recruiter.

The pattern improved the following decade and up until the 24th July 1901, the regiment added close to 3,500 men to its books, an average of 343 men a year and a change in fortunes which saw the regiment finishing the decade as the twenty-seventh most successful infantry recruiter during this period.

Recruiting in the regiment improved still further in the 1900s and by 4th January 1911, the regiment issued number 10543 to its latest recruit. On average, since the regiment was formed in July 1881 it could boast an annual recruitment rate of 357 men.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1915
1881 Dum-Dum (India)
1885 Burma
1887 Lucknow
1891 Hazara expedition
1892 Bengal
1894 Nowshera
1896 Aden
1897 Devonport
1899 South Africa
1903 Lichfield
1905 Aldershot
1907 Cork
1910 Dublin
1912 Portland
1914 Malta
1914 France & Flanders (from September)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1914
1881 Plymouth
1883 Templemore
1885 Fermoy
1887 Galway
1889 Curragh
1891 North Wales
1892 Aldershot
1896 Malta
1898 Crete
1899 Hong Kong
1900 Tientsin and Beijing
1900 Hong Kong
1902 Chakratta
1907 Schwebo
1911 Quetta
1914 France & Flanders (from August)

See also:

3rd (Special Reserve Battalion) Royal Welsh Fusiliers
7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalion (TF) Royal Welsh Fusiliers

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Old Soldier Sahib - Frank Richards DCM, MM

Old Soldiers Never Die - Frank Richards DCM, MM

Nothing of Importance - 1st RWF October 1915 to June 1916

Frank Richards DCM MM

Essential reading for anybody with an interest in life in the British Army in the early years of the twentieth century. Frank Richards joined the 2nd Bn, RWF in 1901 serving in India and Burma during the first period of his "seven and five" and later, recalled to the regiment as a reservist on the outbreak of war in 1914, serving on the Western Front until 1918. I have read and re-read both of Richards memoirs many times and the two editions above, both from Naval & Military Press, are as good a place as any to start. My personal favourite is the less well known, Old Soldier Sahib.

Royal Welsh Fusiliers - 3rd Bn 1908

The creation of the Special Reserve and Extra Reserve in 1908, marked the end of the Militia. As far as the infantry was concerned, of the 124 infantry militia battalions on the establishment, 74 became 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalions and 27 became 4th or 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalions. The remaining 23 militia battalions, 15 in Great Britain and eight in Ireland, were disbanded.

The Royal Welsh Fusiliers was one of those regiments to lose a militia battalion and it is interesting to see how this was dealt with by the RWF in 1908.

Men who had been serving with the 3rd Militia Battalion retained their militia numbers when they joined the newly created 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion. Thus, for example, William Griffiths, who had been given the number 1766 when he joined the 3rd Militia Battalion way back in January 1893, was still 1766 William Griffiths when he joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion on 28th June 1908. 2296 Llewellyn Edward, who had joined the militia in 1897, was still 2296 on 28th June 1908, and so on.

But what about those men who had originally joined the 4th Militia Battalion but who still wanted to serve with the new 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion? Both the militia battalions had issued numbers to their recruits from separate number series. To also allow the old 4th Militia men to retain their original numbers would lead to duplication of numbers in the same battalion, and so 4th Militia men were issued with new numbers.

The old 3rd Militia Battalion numbers cease in the 35** range, and then the old 4th Battalion men start appearing. Here is a sample from my data. Numbers in square brackets are the years in which the men originally joined their militia battalions.

3507 William Barker, formerly 3507 3rd Militia Bn [1907]
3559 Richard Hughes, formerly 3428 4th Militia Bn [1905]
3584 John Griffiths, formerly 3327 4th Militia Bn [1904]
3593 Thomas Johnson, formerly 3135 4th Militia Bn [1902]
3599 Owen Edward Williams, formerly 3529 4th Militia Bn [1906]
3603 Ellis Evans, formerly 2336 4th Militia Bn [1895]
3655 Griffith Evans, formerly 3626 4th Militia Bn [1907]

As far as my incomplete data is concerned, the highest number for an old 4th Militia Battalion man joining the 3rd RWF is 3789. He joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in October 1908. The next man on my database is number 3897, a man with no prior militia service who joined the Special Reserve on 2nd December 1908.

To summarise then:

1. Numbers up until 3507 at least, all appear to be ex 3rd Militia Battalion men
2. Numbers from at least 3559 through to 3789 all appear to be ex 4th Militia Battalion men
3. Numbers from at least 3897 all appear to be men with no prior militia service

The "appear to be" 'clause' above, is purely to allow for exceptions - and there often "appear to be" exceptions when it comes to regimental numbering. As usual though, I'll be happy to be corrected on any of the above. All of the data used in this post comes from surviving service records in WO 363 and WO 364 at the National Archives, also on line and accessible via a FREE trial with Ancestry.

The photograph, courtesy of David Langley, shows 3rd Battalion warrant officers and NCOs and dates to the 11th July 1915. Seated, left to right: Colour-Sergeant Jackson, RSM O'Leary, CSM Frederick Barter VC (although wearing the rank of colour sergeant in this photo), Acting Sergeant-Major Schofield, and QMS Holloway. CSM Barter had been awarded his VC for his actions at Festubert in May 1915.

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The 7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers

The 7th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was administered by two County Associations. The Montgomery County Association administered the headquarters at Newtown and four companies of the battalion, whilst the Merioneth County Association administered the other four companies.

As far as numbering in the battalion was concerned, each County Association issued numbers to new recruits from two different number series. Merioneth CA issued numbers beginning at 2000 in April 1908, whilst Montgomery CA issued numbers beginning at 1 in April 1908. Both associations ran their number series sequentially until the Montgomery series was abandoned (or discontinued) at around 1205. I don't yet have an accurate date when this series was stopped but it was certainly post September 1914 (which was when 1144 was issued).

When it came to renumbering the battalion in 1917, the 7th Battalion issued numbers from the block 290001 to 315000. Those Montgomery men who were still serving (or still 'on the books') when the re-numbering exercise took place, were issued with numbers first. When all of these men had been given new six digit numbers, the next number along went to the longest serving man from the Merioneth companies.

My lowest six digit number for a Merioneth County man is 290366 which was issued to a man who had originally joined the battalion on the 29th April 1908. It's reasonable to assume therefore that of the approximately 1205 men who'd originally joined a Montgomery-administered company, around 360 were still 'on the books' in early 1917, (and close to half of this number were men who'd joined the battalion before the First World War began).

Finally, publishing this post on the 7th Battalion, presents me with an opportunity to also publish the attached undated photograph of 7th RWF men which was taken in Ingatestone in Essex, and which I picked up in an Ingatestone antique shop at least twenty years ago.

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