Dorsetshire Regiment 1881-1914 - 1st and 2nd Battalions

The Dorsetshire Regiment was formed on 1st July 1881; the 1st Battalion from the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot, and the 2nd Battalion from the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot.

There are over 28,000 Dorsetshire 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 Dorsetshire 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 newly formed regiment was established as the county regiment for Dorsetshire and started numbering from 1 in 1881.

6 joined on 5th July 1881
262 joined on 6th February 1882
465 joined on 2nd March 1883
1089 joined on 13th June 1884
1555 joined on 11th April 1885
2306 joined on 28th December 1886
2320 joined on 10th January 1887
2681 joined on 1st June 1888
2792 joined on 7th January 1889
2998 joined on 13th January 1890
3162 joined on 6th January 1891
3446 joined on 13th June 1892
3693 joined on 22nd March 1893
4310 joined on 5th March 1894
4607 joined on 7th January 1895
4805 joined on 16th January 1896
5350 joined on 26th March 1897
5645 joined on 18th January 1898
5872 joined on 5th April 1899
6114 joined on 27th February 1900

The Dorsetshire Regiment fielded one volunteer service company during the South African War. It did not leave “… an interval of a clear thousand between the last number received by an ordinary recruit… and the first Volunteer number” but carried straight on from where regular numbering left off. Numbers 6020 to 6101 were all 1st VSC men who joined in January 1900, so too were the drafts numbered 7108 to 7126 who joined in 1901.  The 1st VSC sailed for South Africa aboard the SS Devon on 29th March 1900.

6367 joined on 9th September 1901
6422 joined on 17th January 1902
6674 joined on 4th March 1903
7142 joined on 11th February 1904
7533 joined on 25th January 1905
7990 joined on 18th July 1906
8280 joined on 30th January 1907
8440 joined on 3rd January 1908
8657 joined on 2nd January 1909
8915 joined on 5th April 1910
9094 joined on 27th February 1911
9318 joined on 17th January 1912
9500 joined on 6th January 1913
9784 joined on 9th June 1914
9828 joined on 5th August 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 21st March 1891, The Dorsetshire Regiment recruited 3,162 men, a below average rate of 330 soldiers a year and one which placed the regiment in the fortieth position out of sixty-nine infantry recruiting regiments. Nevertheless, it was to be the regiment’s most successful recruiting period.

Recruitment in the 1890s tailed off considerably, the regiment adding just over 3,205 men between January 1891 and September 1901; or a rate of 300 men per annum for the decade. It would be a similar picture in the next decade too.

Between September 1901 and February 1911, the regiment added a further 2,727 men to its ranks, an average of 290 men per year for the decade. From being 38th in the 1880s, the regiment fell to sixty-first position in the 1890s, climbing one position to sixtieth in the first ten years of the 1900s.

In total, between 1st July 1881 and 27th February 1911, The Dorsetshire Regiment recruited 9,094 men, well below the national average (355) at just 307 men a year.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Bengal
1882 Chatham
1885 Malta
1886 England
1888 Malta
1889 Egypt
1893 Meean Meer
1895 Bangalore
1897 Tirah
1898 Nowshera
1902 Feroxepore
1906 Gosport
1909 Farnborough
1911 Blackdown
1913 Belfast
1914 France and Flanders (from August)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Cherat
1885 Aden
1887 Malta
1888 Portsmouth
1891 Plymouth
1893 Enniskillen
1898 Crete
1899 Malta
1899 South Africa
1902 Portland
1904 Colchester
1906 Madras
1910 Poona
1914 Mesopotamia (from November)

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The Sherwood Foresters - 1st & 2nd Battalions - 1881-1914

This post will look at numbering in the two regular battalions of The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) between 1881 and 1914. The regiment was formed on 1st July 1881; the 1st Battalion from the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot, and the 2nd Battalion from the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot. The newly formed regiment was established as the county regiment for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and started numbering from 1 in 1881.

I have compiled the information on this post as a result of examining service records in WO 97 (online with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (online with Ancestry). Note that Findmypast has also indexed WO 363/4 (and uncovered an additional half a million names).

In fact, there are over 43,000 Sherwood Foresters 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 Sherwood Foresters 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.

10 joined on 6th July 1881
221 joined on 21st February 1882
451 joined on 2nd January 1883
726 joined on 11th January 1884
1017 joined on 7th January 1885
1363 joined on 11th February 1886
1886 joined on 24th March 1887
2229 joined on 5th January 1888
2494 joined on 15th January 1889
2749 joined on 27th February 1890
3125 joined on 8th April 1891
3469 joined on 10th January 1892
3978 joined on 16th January 1893
4624 joined on 21st March 1894
4993 joined on 15th January 1895
5358 joined on 21st February 1896
5559 joined on 16th February 1897
5784 joined on 7th January 1898
6200 joined on 7th March 1899
6519 joined on 16th February 1900

The Sherwood Foresters raised three volunteer service companies during the South African War and issued numbers as follows:

1st VSC: numbers within the range 7331 to 7553
2nd VSC: numbers within the range 7443 to 7587
3rd VSC: numbers within the range 7592 to 7619

On 23rd February 1900, the 1st VSC embarked aboard the SS Avondale Castle for South Africa. It comprised Captain Turner Lee, Lieutenant Kingdom, Lieutenant R K Ellis, Lieutenant F A C Wright and 113 men.

6808 joined on 16th January 1901

In 1902 the regiment’s name was changed to The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment). Numbering was unaffected by the title change.

7310 joined on 3rd May 1902
8565 joined on 6th January 1903
9058 joined on 8th January 1904
9770 joined on 17th February 1905
9980 joined on 12th January 1906
10241 joined on 15th January 1907
10730 joined on 7th April 1908
11182 joined on 4th February 1909
11277 joined on 8th January 1910
11567 joined on 6th March 1911
11897 joined on 13th June 1912
11998 joined on 17th January 1913
12197 joined on 21st February 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 8th April 1891, The Sherwood Foresters recruited 3,125 men, an average of 318 men each year. Of the sixty-nine infantry regiments recruiting at this time, The Sherwood Foresters was the fifty-second most successful infantry recruiter.

The pattern improved dramatically over the following decade and up until the 16th January 1901, the regiment added close to 3,700 men to its books, a high average of 378 new recruits a year and a rate which saw the regiment leap up the recruiting table to be the fourteenth most successful infantry recruiter.

The trend continued into the next decade as well and by March 1911 the regiment had issued number 11567 to its latest recruit; an average recruitment rate for the decade of 468 men; the eighth best recruitment rate for an infantry regiment in the British Isles.

Overall, the Sherwood Foresters’s recruitment rate for the period July 1881 to March 1911 was an impressive 388 men per annum; a rate which made it the thirteenth most successful infantry recruiter in the United Kingdom.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Chatham
1882 Athlone
1885 Kilkenny
1888 Limerick
1889 Colchester
1894 Curragh
1898 Malta
1899 South Africa
1902 Hong Kong
1904 Singapore
1906 Bangalore
1909 Secunderabad
1912 Bombay
1914 France & Flanders (from November)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Aldershot
1882 Gibraltar
1882 Egypt
1882 Lucknow
1888 Sikkim
1888 Lucknow
1892 Umballa
1894 Solon
1897 Sitapore
1897 Tirah
1897 Sitapore
1898 Aden
1899 Malta
1902 Parkhurst
1904 Aldershot
1907 Kinsale
1909 Fermoy
1910 Plymouth
1913 Sheffield
1914 France & Flanders (from September)

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

The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) - 1st & 2nd Battalions

This post will look at numbering in the two regular battalions of The Black Watch between 1881 and 1914. 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 (on line courtesy of Find My Past).

In fact, there are over 28,000 Black Watch 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 Black Watch 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 Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) was formed on the 1st July 1881; the 1st Battalion from the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (The Black Watch), and the 2nd Battalion from the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot. The newly formed regiment was established as the county regiment for Fifeshire, Forfarshire and Perthshire. It started numbering from 1 in July 1881.

22 joined on 14th July 1881
1152 joined on 18th February 1882
2074 joined on 22nd March 1883
2222 joined on 16th January 1884
2566 joined on 8th January 1885
2852 joined on 5th January 1886
3177 joined on 2nd February 1887
3658 joined on 19th January 1888
3882 joined on 16th May 1889
4049 joined on 11th March 1890
4530 joined on 22nd April 1891
4962 joined on 28th March 1892
5290 joined on 4th July 1893
5460 joined on 8th January 1894
5916 joined on 28th January 1895
6359 joined on 25th February 1896
6642 joined on 18th March 1897
6874 joined on 13th January 1898
7226 joined on 14th March 1899
7228 joined on 27th February 1900

During the South African War the Black Watch raised three Volunteer Service Companies. Men joining the 1st VSC in January 1900 were issued numbers in continuance of the series then in use for the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions and not allowing the clear one thousand digit gap that had been stipulated in AO 29 of the 2nd January that year. Numbers in the range 7540 to 7666 were issued to these men and on the 17th February 1900, the 1st VSC comprising three officers: Captain Cook, Lieutenant Hunter and Lieutenant McArthur,and 114 men embarked aboard SS Gascon for South Africa.

Men joining the 2nd VSC were issued numbers from within a wide range of numbers which I had originally noted as within the range 8522 to 9024. More work needed here.

Men joining the 3rd VSC in January 1902 were issued numbers between 9083 and 9176.

Meanwhile, numbering of regular enlistments in the regular battalions continued apace:

8083 joined on 16th January 1901
8525 joined on 2nd January 1902
9424 joined on 13th January 1903
9735 joined on 11th January 1904
9999 enlisted on 29th September 1904

A new number series commences
Queen’s regulations for the Army, 1895 had stated: “The regimental series of numbers will commence with 1. The numbers will be given in sequence, according to the date of application. When the series approaches 9,999, application should be made to the Adjutant-General in sufficient time to obtain authority to commence a new series.” The new King’s Regulations of 1904 which permitted infantry regiments to number up to 19,999 came too late for the Black Watch which reached 9,999 in September 1904 and immediately started a new series from 1.

12 enlisted 2nd October 1904
182 joined on 20th March 1905
495 joined on 18th January 1906
876 joined on 5th April 1907
1243 joined on 30th March 1908
1580 joined on 28th January 1909
1791 joined on 4th February 1910
1955 joined on 6th January 1911
2333 joined on 10th April 1912
2560 joined on 18th August 1913
2652 joined on 20th January 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 that had, up until that point, been the sole preserve of the regiment’s two regular battalions. The only difference between men enlisting for war-time service only and those enlisting as career soldiers, was that the former’s numbers were supposed to be prefixed with the letter S/.

Recruitment rates 1881-1911

Between 1st July 1881 and 22nd April 1891, The Black Watch recruited 4,530 men, a very high average of 461 men each year. Of the sixty-nine infantry regiments recruiting at this time, The Black Watch was the most successful Scottish regiment and the third most successful infantry recruiter over all.

The following decade though, was not so kind. Recruiting dipped to a yearly average of 364 men with the Black Watch recruiting nearly a thousand men less than it had done the in the 1880s. Between the 22nd April 1891 and 16th January 1901, the regiment recruited 3,553 men.

Recruitment picked up again in the early years of the twentieth century. The Black Watch added 3871 men to its books between January 1901 and January 1913 and finished the decade as the thirteenth most successful British Army infantry recruiter.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Edinburgh
1882 Egypt
1885 Sudan
1889 Malta
1892 Gibraltar
1893 Egypt
1893 Mauritius (half battalion)
1893 South Africa (half battalion)
1897 Subathu (entire battalion)
1899 Sitapur
1901 South Africa
1902 Edinburgh
1904 Fort George
1906 Curragh
1908 Limerick
1911 Edinburgh
1912 Aldershot
1914 France & Flanders (from August)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1914
1881 Portsmouth
1884 Aldershot
1889 Belfast
1892 Limerick
1894 Glasgow
1897 York
1899 South Africa
1902 Umballa
1905 Solon
1906 Dalhousie
1908 Barian (northern Punjab)
1911 Calcutta
1914 Bareilly
1914 France & Flanders (from October)

The photo

I've borrowed the image on this post from the Royal Highlanders website and I hope this acknowledgement will be sufficient to permit me to re-publish it here. It shows those men of the 3rd (Dundee Highland) Volunteer Battalion who served with the 1st VSC during the 2nd South African War. The men are named as follows:

Rear (left to right) - Private J. Kelly, Private J. Gray, Private A. Greig, Bugler A. Chalmers, Private J. Duncan, and Private H. Harris.

Middle (left to right) - Lance Corporal D. Florence, Private J. Jack, Private W. Cosgrove, Private J. Cameron, Private H. Low, Lance Corporal A. Malcolm.

Front (left to right) - Corporal J. Burt, Lance Sergeant G. Brander, Sergeant J. Gegan, Lieutenant Harry Kebel Smith (Dundee), Lance Sergeant L. Bisset, Corporal W. Carnegie, Corporal W. Donaldson.

Not Shown - Private E. S. High, Private T. Sprunt, Private J. G. Sweeney, and Private D. T. Thomson.

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Further Reading

History of the Black Watch in the Great War 1914-1918

The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), entered the Great War with two regular, one Special Reserve battalion (the 3rd) and four Territorial Force (TF) battalions (4th to 7th). By the end of the war the total had grown to twenty-two battalions (Becke), twenty-five according to the History's foreword. Thirty thousand served in the Regiment in France, Belgium, Salonika, Palestine and Mesopotamia and of these 8,390 died. The Regiment was awarded 69 Battle Honours. Three VCs were won and a fourth was awarded to a Black Watch officer in 1917 whilst he was commanding the 1st Lincolnshire Regiment.

This three-volume history is outstanding. Vol 1 deals with the Regular and the Special Reserve battalions, Vol 2 the TF battalions and Vol 3 the New Army (Service or Kitchener) battalions. Common to all three volumes are the Preface, Foreword (by the Colonel of the Regiment) and the page listing the Regiment's Battle Honours. In each volume the battalions are treated separately and for all the front line battalions, following the narrative describing their war service there are the same six appendices: Record of Officers' Service, Summary of Casualties, Officer casualty list, Other Rank casualty list, Honours and Awards and finally the list of Actions and Operations. In Volume 1 there is a seventh appendix to the 1st and 2nd Battalion narratives - a list of Other Ranks of each battalion who were commissioned during the war. In the case of the TF the second and third line battalions, which did not leave the UK, all are dealt with together. There is a bonus in Volume 2; at the end there is a section on the Royal Highlanders of Canada represented by the 13th, 42nd and 73rd Canadian Infantry Battalions, giving a brief account of their actions with appendices showing for each battalion a summary of killed, list of Honours and Awards and list of Actions and Operations. As regimental histories go, this is as detailed as they come.

Note. Original sets of these books sell for upwards of £200 which makes these modern re-prints something of a bargain.

With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia (2nd Battalion)

On the outbreak of  the First World War, the 2nd Battalion, Black Watch was stationed in Bareilly, India, where it had been since the end of the Boer War. On mobilization it formed part of the Bareilly Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Division and went to France with the Indian Corps, landing in France in October 1914. At the end of 1915 the Indian Corps was withdrawn from France and sent to Mesopotamia where the battalion arrived on the last day of 1915< Before the week was out it was in action at Shaikh Saad (6th-8th Jan 1916) where it had some 60 killed. The Official History speaks of 400 casualties in the battalion.

This account covers about 18 months, to the capture of Samarrah on 24th April 1917 when the winter campaign of 1916-17 came to an end. There are not many battalion histories dealing solely with the war in Mesopotamia (there was only one British division in that theatre, the 13th) and that makes this narrative interesting, not only from the point of view of the numerous actions in which the battalion was involved, but also because of the descriptions of the country, the inhabitants and the conditions in which they fought - the casualty lists shows disease, heat stroke and suffocation among the causes of death.

Two of the chapters consist of articles written by the CO. The full casualty roll of the other ranks is given from 1st Jan 1916 to 15th Jun 1917 with the names arranged in regimental number order, starting with 72 Sgt T.Archer. It shows the date, cause and place of death and place of burial; many of these are shown as on the battlefield with grid reference. There is also a full list of officers who served in the battalion showing in each case dates of movements such as date and place of embarkation and disembarkation, date of any casualty.

The Royal Highland Regiment, The Black Watch, Formerly 42nd and 73rd Foot, medal roll 1801-1911

This is an extremely useful resource for historians, medallists and genealogists. Here are nominal rolls of officers and men of the two regiments present at the various campaigns and battles for which medals were awarded. Prior to 1881 they were two separate regiments and the lists are shown under 42nd and 73rd Foot. In 1881 they became the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Black Watch and are listed accordingly.

This detailed record Covers the Peninsula War and Waterloo and continues with the Kaffir Wars, Crimean War, Indian Mutiny, Gold Coast, Egypt, Suakin, Sudan and on to South Africa (1899-1902). Where there were clasps awarded for battles in a campaign the entitlement to a particular clasp is shown. A remarks/comments column provides additional information on individuals such as deaths, casualties, discharges, desertions, forfeitures. Victoria Cross awards (with citations), and those of the DSO, DCM, MSM and LSGC constitute separate lists as do awards to Volunteers and Territorials. Also included are the affiliated Royal Highlanders of Canada (5th Regiment) and the New South Wales Scottish Rifle Regiment.

VSC duplications

This from my forthcoming book on regimental numbers issued to men joining the infantry regiments of the British Army between 1881 and 1914. The work covers all sixty-nine infantry regiments and augments and updates much of the information published on this blog.

Volunteer Service Companies - South African War

Army Order 29

"... 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."

Not all regiments heeded the instruction in AO 29, mixing in Volunteers (who enlisted for one year or the duration) with regular soldiers. For those regiments which did conform, we see corresponding gaps in numbering sequences in future years; those gaps taking account of numbers already issued to men joining the VSC companies. Unfortunately the confusion doesn’t end here. There is evidence of duplication of numbers in some regiments, the same number issued to a VSC man being issued again later to a regular enlistment.

For example, Private W Herley, serving with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, volunteered for South Africa in January 1900 and was given the number 8906 when he joined the 1st Volunteer Service Company, Lancashire Fusiliers. Fast forward to June 1902 and we see the same number issued to George Barton when he joined up for three years with the Colours and nine on the Reserve. Similarly, 8920 Private Lawrence Syrett was given his number when he joined the 1st VSC on the 29th January 1900. The same number was also issued to William Cartwright when he joined up for regular service on the 11th June 1902.

There is also evidence of numbers from within VSC number ranges re-surfacing for regular enlistments some years later. Take, for instance, the 2nd Volunteer Service Company of the Bedfordshire Regiment which, in 1901, issued numbers within the range 7915 to 7955. Twenty-two men were given numbers within this range and numbers 7946, 7948 and 7949 were all issued to volunteers. For some reason number 7947 was not used but neither was it forgotten. It appears much later, in February 1904; issued to Isaac Brown of Wellingborough who signed up with the regiment for three years with the Colours and nine on the reserve. The Bedfordshire Regiment also duplicated numbers. 7962 was issued to Private E Smith when he joined the 3rd Volunteer Service Company in 1901. The same number was issued again on the 23rd February 1904 when George Glasspool Swan signed up as a regular.

The photo shows men of the 3rd VSC, The Black Watch, (courtesy Ian Edwards) and is taken from his tribute website to the 5th (Angus & Dundee Battalion), The Black Watch.

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