Seaforth Highlanders - PoW other ranks 1914

There are just 37 Seaforth Highlanders recorded on this 'Princess Mary tin archive' listing. These are men who were captured by the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. I transcribed this collection from original lists held at the Imperial War Museum and have been publishing edited versions on this blog for some while. The men listed here all appear under reference B.O.2 1/261 and B.O.2 1/262.  

B.O.2 1/261 is a single-page typed list of Seaforth Highlander Prisoners of War, sent on 8th January 1919 by Infantry Ofice, No 1 District, while B.O.2 1/262 is a two-page typed list of Seaforth Highlander Prisoners of War, sent on 25th December 1918 by the Seaforth Highlanders Association. Many of the names appear in both lists, some with alternative home addresses.

All of the men listed here were captured whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion and other information recorded, but not published here, gives home address and in some cases, next of kin. Three of these men died whilst incarcerated.

You can read more about this collection on my 1914 Prisoners of War page. 

7099 Private William Barton 
8159 Private William Bell 
7686 Private G Brown 
1343 Private Harold Bruce 
547 Private James Buchanan 
7656 Private Thomas Clarke 
8133 Private A Crawford 
9717 Private R Crawford 
520 Private Robert Davidson 
8738 Private H Day 
7590 Private Martin Fechlie 
3/7917 Private C McD Flynn 
9105 Private H Fraser 
9023 Private Hamish Fraser 
8797 Private John Fraser 
7739 Private William Fraser 
7740 Private Frank Hammil 
7699 Lance-Corporal Andrew Horsbrugh 
Private James Kemp 
1022 Private G Macfarlane 
10670 Private Alexander Macintosh 
9293 Private J McCook 
8295 Private J McCulloch 
9180 Private D McDonald 
1022 Private G Mcfarlane 
972 Private J McIver 
9205 Private Malcolm McLean 
631 Private George McPherson 
772 Private William Monteith 
948 Private T H Poole 
830 Private S H Ring 
647 Private W Shields 
9176 Corporal A Ure 
9503 Private F Venables 
7817 Corporal A Watson 
8274 Corporal J F Watt 
7884 Private R Young

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S/11087 - Seaforth Highlanders

Another enquiry, this time from Les concerning a Seaforth Highlander enlistment with the number S/11087.

The message reads:

"I have a copy of his MIC card showing Regimental Number S/11087 and the fact that he was awarded the Victory and British medals. The reference is G/104 B10 Page 615. He enlisted with the Seaforth Highlanders. I do not know which battalion he was in. Family stories are that he spent time in India but I cannot trace any exact dates for joining / leaving or if he indeed went to France. Any clues or direction?"

The first thing to note is that the fact that he was awarded the British War and Victory Medals indicates that he served overseas in a theatre of war.

The number dates to around the 20th October 1915 and was issued to Ernest Bond. There is little to be gleaned from the MIC although the S/ prefix indicates a wartime service enlistment. The regiment raised four service battalions, the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th; the latter becoming a reserve battalion. None of these battalions served in India although the 1st Garrison Battalion, formed in July 1916, moved to Salonika the following month. It's possible that he served with one of these service battalions or indeed with the 1st or 2nd Battalions. The 1st Battalion had been in India pre WW1 but Ernest's number rules him out as being a regular (unless he had served pre WW1, been discharged and then re-enlisted in October 1915). The 1st Seaforths served in France and latterly Mesopotamia (from July 1915) and finally Palestine (from January 1918). The 2nd Battalion fought in France and Flanders.

You should check the medal rolls to see if there is a battalion noted but unfortunately there is nothing in his number to indicate which battalion (or indeed battalions) he served with.

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Seaforth Highlanders numbering 1900-1906

I have previously published sample numbers and joining dates for the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders. I also mentioned that there were some peculiarities, and I'd like to expand upon that now.

Seaforth numbering trundles along quite happily and sequentially until March 1900, by which time the regiment was numbering in the 7300s. By the end of March, however, numbers in the 8200 range start appearing and these continue into 1901 when again, certainly by March 1901, numbers in the 9500 range start surfacing - and keep on going, at least until January 1902. By June 1902 (and probably a good deal earlier) we're back in the 7000s again and numbering continues sequentially from there.

Not for the first time, I am at a loss to explain why there were these big leaps in numbering. There doesn't appear to be any pattern as far as place of enlistment is concerned and neither does there in terms of the enlistment periods for which men were signing up. If anyone can suggest an explanation, or provide me with additional confirmed enlistment dates and corresponding numbers for the period below, please do so.

Here though, for what it's worth, are my rough estimates on Seaforth numbering for the period 1900 to 1906, this information based on the dates and numbers recorded on attestation papers of the time.

28th March 1900
7361 joins
31st March 1900 - 14th Jan 1901
Numbers in the range 8273 to 8515 are issued
25th March 1901 - 20th Jan 1902
Numbers in the range 9561 to 9911 are issued
5th June 1902 - 21st November 1903
Numbers in the range 7604 to 8188 are issued. Numbers 8273 to 8515 have already been issued in 1900 and 1901.
19th January 1904 to October 17th 1906
Numbers in the range 8689 to 9524 are issued. Numbers 9561 to 9911 have already been issued in 1901 and 1902.
20th November 1906
10021 joins

From here on in, numbering returns to a sequential pattern without gaps, albeit the Seaforths, A&S Highlanders and the Gordon Highlanders would abandon their number series in 1908 and commence a new series beginning at 1.

Attestation papers for all these numbers - and many more besides - are accessible on-line as part of a FREE 14 day trial with Ancestry.co.uk.

I've borrowed the photograph on this page from Roger Clarke's family history website. It shows 1822 Corporal Thomas Hunter Dawson Cheeper of the 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. Hunter Cheeper (as he was known) was born on the 8th February 1898 and judging by his number, joined the 4th Seaforths two or three days before Britain went to war in August 1914. He would have been sixteen years old at the time, and was probably no more than 17 or 18 years old when this photo was taken. Nevertheless, he arrived in France on the 7th November 1914 and appears to have served throughout, ending the war as Second Lieutenant, and staying on with the British Army. He would also serve his King and Country during WW2.

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Gordon Highlanders - 1st & 2nd Battalions

This post will look at army service numbers issued to men joining the two regular battalions of the Gordon Highlanders. The regiment was formed on 1st July 1881. The 1st Battalion had previously been the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot whilst the 2nd Battalion was formed from the old 92nd Regiment of Foot. This post will look at numbering in these battalions between July 1881 and August 1914.

There are over 30,000 Gordon Highlanders service and pensionrecords (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 Gordon Highlanders 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.

219 joined on 14th September 1881
351 joined on 25th July 1882
1002 joined on 4th May 1883
1354 joined on 12th March 1884
1748 joined on 13th February 1885
2073 joined on 13th March 1886
2492 joined on 15th March 1887
2904 joined on 5th January 1888
3104 joined on 12th January 1889
3392 joined on 16th April 1890
3614 joined on 2nd January 1891
4237 joined on 9th June 1892
4840 joined on 18th July 1893
5089 joined on 27th June 1894
5315 joined on 29th January 1895
5615 joined on 3rd March 1896
5946 joined on 11th March 1897
6397 joined on 8th February 1898
6685 joined on 6th March 1899
7102 joined on 4th January 1900
7696 joined on 5th March 1901
8671 joined on 27th May 1902
8873 joined on 19th March 1903
9267 joined on 5th January 1904
9656 joined on 3rd January 1905
10053 joined on 18th June 1906
10269 joined on 8th January 1907
10560 joined on 9th January 1908

In 1908 the regiment, by now numbering in the 10500s, abruptly abandoned the series which had served it so well since 1881, and started a new series from 1. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the Seaforth Highlanders and the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders also did exactly the same thing that year. There was no reason - that I can see - for the three regiments to have done this. By 1908 King's Regulations permitted infantry regiments to continue with the same regimental number series until they approached 19,999, and all three regiments were well short of that figure. In any event, when I get to the bottom of this little conundrum, I'll post again here. In the meantime though:

274 joined on 2nd March 1909
420 joined on 21st February 1910
647 joined on 22nd February 1911
886 joined on 17th January 1912
1181 joined on 26th February 1913
1307 joined on 3rd January 1914

By August 1914, the battalions were numbering in the 1500s and when the new service battalions began forming, men who joined up as war-time only enlistments were given numbers from the same series that had been used by the regulars, albeit these war-time enlistment numbers prefixed (for the most part) with the letter S/.


The romanticised image (above) of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders storming a hill at Elandslaagte during the Boer War is taken from the British Battles website page that deals with that action.

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From The Naval & Military Press


Life of a Regiment: The History of the Gordon Highlanders from its Formation in 1794 to 1816. Vol 1. Click the link to read more about this work. Volume 2, dealing with the regiment from 1816 to 1898 is HERE.

Seaforth Highlanders - 1st & 2nd Battalions

This post will look at army service numbers to men joining the regular battalions - the 1st and 2nd Battalions - of the Seaforth Highlanders between 1881 and August 1914.

The Seaforth Highlanders were born in July 1881. The 1st Battalion was formerly the 72nd (Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, whilst the 2nd Battalion was formerly the 78th (Highlanders - Ross-shire Buffs) Regiment of Foot. The newly created 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion was born out of the old Highland Rifle Militia.

The regiment started numbering from 1 in July 1881 and continued steadily and sequentially over the next 33 years. In 1908, and for some reason which I am yet to get to the bottom of, the regiment, by now numbering in the 10500s, abruptly abandoned the series which had served it so well since 1881, and started a new series from 1. It wasn't alone in doing this: the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and the Gordon Highlanders also did exactly the same thing that year. There was no reason - that I can see - for the three regiments to have done this. By 1908 King's Regulations permitted infantry regiments to continue with the same regimental number series until they approached 19,999, and all three regiments were well short of that figure.

It would be tempting to suggest that this was a highland regiment phenomenon, but the argument soon falls down. The Gordons, The A&S Highlanders and the Seaforths were the only three infantry regiments in the British Army to (unnecessarily) commence new number series for their regular battalions in 1908.

The records that follow are just a small sample from a far larger database. There are over 26,000 Seaforth Highlanders service and pension records (for this regiment - and its antecedents) in various War Office series held at the National Archives. Clicking on the link will take you to the results on Findmypast but you will need a subscription or Pay-Per-View credits to actually view the records. 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 Seaforth Highlanders 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.

70 joined on 6th September 1881
587 joined on 11th February 1882
704 joined on 8th January 1883
947 joined on 12th January 1884
1500 joined on 7th January 1885
2041 joined on 5th April 1886
2447 joined on 18th May 1887
2738 joined on 10th January 1888
2985 joined on 2nd March 1889
3344 joined on 28th July 1890
3486 joined on 19th January 1891
4229 joined on 7th May 1892
4470 joined on 9th January 1893
4783 joined on 3rd January 1894
5220 joined on 18th May 1895
5467 joined on 11th January 1896
6145 joined on 25th May 1897
6356 joined on 5th December 1898
6869 joined on 30th November 1899
7361 joined on 26th March 1900
7604 joined on 5th June 1902
7827 joined on 2nd January 1903
8716 joined on 5th February 1904
9295 joined on 27th November 1905
9343 joined on 26th January 1906
10118 joined on 22nd January 1907
10584 joined on 29th January 1908

New number series begun in 1908. See above.

209 joined on 7th January 1909
462 joined on 4th January 1910
733 joined on 19th June 1911
982 joined on 12th January 1912
1228 joined on 7th August 1913
1435 joined on 5th August 1914

By 5th August Britain had been at war with Germany for precisely one day. When the new service battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders were formed, they too would draw their numbers from the same series that had, up until that point in time, been used by the two regular battalions. War-time enlistments though, would have their numbers prefixed with S/.

Finally, a word of warning. Whilst the numbers I have shown above follow a sequential pattern, it would be wrong to assume that this was always the case. It wasn't. As far as the Seaforths are concerned, from March 1900, numbers in the 8000s began to be used and from March 1901, numbers in the 9000s. I've expanded upon this HERE.

The image on this post is taken from The Regimental Records of the British Army 1660-1901, an excellent reference work by J S Farmer (illustrated by R Simkin), first published in 1901 and re-printed by Crecy in 1984.

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