South Wales Borderers 1881-1914 - 1st and 2nd Battalions

The information contained this post has been compiled as a result of looking at service records in WO 97, WO 363 and WO 364. All of these series, joy of joys, are now online via subscription or pay per view. Clicking on the links will take you to these pay-sites. My online correspondent, Greenwich Pensioner (GP), has also contributed data for 1907-1908 and I am grateful to him for his research.

There are over 28,000 South Wales Borderers pensionand 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 South Wales Borderers' 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 South Wales Borderers was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 24th (the 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot.

The newly formed regiment was established as the county regiment for Brecknockshire, Cardiganshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnor and started numbering from 1 in 1881.

12 joined on 12th August 1881
263 joined on 29th June 1882
732 joined on 26th June 1883
985 joined on 8th January 1884
1433 joined on 7th April 1885
1725 joined on 21st January 1886
2169 joined on 5th April 1887
2355 joined on 16th February 1888
2621 joined on 26th April 1889
3237 joined on 28th April 1890
3598 joined on 13th January 1891
3910 joined on 22nd January 1892
4150 joined on 13th March 1893
4520 joined on 10th January 1894
4851 joined on 10th January 1895
5188 joined on 25th January 1896
5551 joined on 12th January 1897
5894 joined on 18th March 1898
6076 joined on 13th January 1899
6623 joined on 9th March 1900

The South Wales Borderers raised two complete volunteer service companies during the South African War and one volunteer service section comprising one officer and 31 men. Numbers were allocated as follows:

1st VSC: numbers within the ranges 6720 to 6738 and 7502 to 7612
2nd VSC: numbers within the range 7613 to 7727
3rd VSC: numbers 7731 to 7761

The 1st VSC departed home locations on 29th January 1900 and by May that year had joined the 2nd Battalion at Osfontein in South Africa. The 2nd VSC was mobilized at Brecon on the 15th February and arrived at Cape Town on the 16th April 1901.

6977 joined on 1st April 1901
7257 joined on 16th April 1902

7358 Thomas William Boon oined on 6th August 1902
7848 John Potter Booty oined on 29th December 1902
7868 joined on 8th January 1903

8313 Frederick Davies joined on 29th December 1903
8341 joined on 28th January 1904

8634 James Williams joined on 28th December 1904
8841 joined on 31st July 1905

9003 Albert Edward Webber joined on 30th December 1905
9246 joined on the 3rd July 1906

9488 Godfrey Charles Tomkins joined on 31st December1906

1907-1908

By 1905, the 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers was in Karachi and a number of drafts from the UK were sent to Karachi during the time frame 1907-8 (about 450 men in all). When it was time for the 1st to come back to the UK, and for the 2nd Battalion to deploy overseas to South Africa (Pretoria), around 250 men were transferred to the 2nd so that the new overseas battalion was well up to strength.

The majority of the following numbers and names from 1907 and 1908 are reproduced here thanks to research undertaken by GP.

9495 Thomas Thomas joined on 8th January 1907

9510 joined on 29th January 1907
9579 Alfred Walker joined on 11th July 1907
9605 Ernest Charles Andrew joined on 24th August 1907
9607 Morgan Hopkins joined on 21st August 1907
9610 Harry Jenkins joined on 26th August 1907
9613 Albert William Powell joined on 22nd August 1907
9614 John Carlton joined on 29th August 1907
9616 Noah Francis joined on 30th August 1907
9617 William Gabb joined on 29th August 1907
9621 William Gough joined on 4th September 1907
9624 Walter Nash joined on 2nd September 1907
9630 Bedwin Robert Watson joined on 3rd September 1907
9637 David Williams joined on 3rd September 1907
9641 Arthur Ernest Peacock joined on 5th September 1907
9642 William Storer joined on 5th September 1907
9643 Joseph Humphries joined on 6th September 1907
9644 Osborn James Hales joined on 4th September 1907
9645 Will F Manning joined on 4th September 1907
9648 Alfred Smith joined on 5th September 1907
9656 James Camplin joined on 7th September 1907
9664 William Pope joined on 9th September 1907
9669 Eugene McCarthy joined on 11th September 1907
9679 Alfred E Box joined on 11th September 1907
9680 Henry George Spencer joined on 12th September 1907
9683 Sidney Ernest Collins joined on 12th September 1907
9686 William Joseph Powell joined on 12th September 1907
9690 George Warner joined on 16th September 1907
9696 William Suggett joined on 16th September 1907
9700 Isaac Rees Evans joined on 18th September 1907
9704 Peter Blake joined on 19th September 1907
9715 Evan John Davies joined on 23rd September 1907
9720 Eric Leslie Bowyer joined on 23rd September 1907
9726 Edgar William Wall joined on 23rd September 1907
9729 Nathan John Goat joined on 24th September 1907
9739 Alfred Ernest Mayhew joined on 12th October 1907
9745 Alfred Gibbons joined on 19th October 1907
9746 Thomas Davies joined on 21st October 1907
9750 John Hudson joined on 22nd October 1907
9752 Francis John Court joined on 24th October 1907
9758 Joseph Jennings joined on 5th November 1907
9769 Thomas Jones joined on 22nd November 1907
9785 John Dillon joined on 30th December 1907

9789 Michael Reed joined on 31st December 1907
9790 Robert Carver joined on 4th January 1908
9791 William Ludwick joined on 4th January 1908
9805 Ernest Cruise joined on 17th January 1908
9818 Fred Round joined on 16th January 1908
9861 Ernest Reuben Loveridge joined on 29th April 1908
9908 Gerbert Cockeran joined on 20th July 1908
10226 James Joyce joined on 18th December 1908
10238 joined on 15th January 1909

10296 Arthur Richard Hall joined on 13th December 1909
10492 joined on the 12th August 1910

10586 Ernest Jones joined on 2nd January 1911
10648 joined on the 6th July 1911

10723 William David Price joined on 29th December 1911
10818 joined on 28th May 1912

10966 Charles Edward Powell joined on 11th December 1912
11041 joined on 5th May 1913

11103 Timothy Burke joined on 24th November 1913
11109 Cecil Jones joined on 14th January 1914
11115 joined on 5th February 1914

11213 Edward Timbury joined on 27th July 1914
11218 Hector Clapton joined on 7th August 1914

The First World War

When Britain went to war in August 1914 an attempt appears to have been made to differentiate between those men who were enlisting for war-time service only and those men who were enlisting during war-time, but under regular terms of enlistment.

By August 1914, The South Wales Borderers had three separate number series running: one for the two regular battalions, one for the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and one for the Territorial Brecknockshire Battalion. Quite a simple differentiation on the face of it, but the South Wales Borderers numbering is far from straightforward from August 1914 onwards.

Numbers prefixed with the number 3/ start appearing on attestation papers of men who were joining up for a career in the army. The 3/ appears to be a red herring, a way of differentiating perhaps, between war-time only enlistments and regular enlistments. However, the same prefix also appears – as it might be expected to do - on some 3rd Battalion numbers. Thus, for example 3/11283 joined up for seven years with the colours and three years on the reserve on the 2nd September 1914. However, the same number had already been issued to a man joining the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in March 1913.

At the same time, some men who were joining up for war-time service only were issued with numbers from the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, even though their papers are clearly not those of Special Reservists but rather men signing up for active service for three years or duration.

In summary, and ignoring the 3/ prefix, it looks as though numbers up until around 12300 were held back for men who wanted to join the SWB as career soldiers whilst numbers higher than this were issued to war-time only recruits.

Recruitment rates 1881-1911

Between 1st July 1881 and 25th February 1891, The South Wales Borderers recruited 3,598 men, a good average of 375 men each year. Of the sixty-nine infantry regiments recruiting at this time, The South Wales Borderers was the seventeenth most successful infantry recruiter.

Recruitment in the 1890s dipped for the regiment and by April 1901 it was issuing number 6977 to its latest career soldier, an average recruitment rate of 330 men per annum and put the regiment in thirty-eighth place out of the sixty-nine infantry regiments recruiting at the time.

Recruitment in the regiment picked up in the first decade of the twentieth century and by July 1911 the regiment had issued number 10648 to its latest recruit; an above-average recruitment rate for the 1900s of 358 men.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Colchester
1883 Kilkenny
1885 Curragh
1887 Dublin
1889 Aldershot
1893 Egypt
1895 Gibraltar
1897 Chakratta
1903 Dalhousie
1905 Karachi
1909 Quetta
1910 Chatham
1913 Bordon
1914 France and Flanders (from August)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1914

1881 Sheffield
1883 Mullingar (India)
1888 Cork
1891 Devonport
1892 Secunderabad
1897 Bellary
1899 Ahmednagar
1901 Subathu
1904 Quetta
1906 South Africa
1908 (Sep) - 1910 (Jan) Pembroke Dock
1910 (Jan) - 1912 (Oct) Pretoria
1912 (Oct) - 1914 (Sept) Tientsin, China

1914 Tsingtao / Hong Kong
1915 (Jan) UK

The photo on this blog is an anachronism and shows men of the 24th Regiment of Foot in 1879.  Image taken from Historik Orders.

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

Further reading:

The South Wales Borderers, 24th Foot 1689-1937

Historical records of the 24th Regiment (South Wales Borderers)

History of the South Wales Borderers 1914-1918

4th Suffolk Regiment - 1908-1914

I was writing up some notes last night on a 4th Suffolk man with whom I had corresponded in the 1980s. I have already posted on this blog regarding the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment, and also the 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. Here then is a snippet from my database of 4th Battalion men.

The 4th (Territorial Force) Battalion succeeded the 1st Volunteer Battalion which could trace its origins back to July 1859 with the formation of two companies raised in Ipswich. Over the next few years, more companies were added and the battalion supplied seventy-four men (three of whom died) for service in Suffolk Regiment volunteer service companies during the Second South African War. By 1907, the 1st VB had nine companies and 826 men out of an establishment of 1048 and would increase this number over the next couple of years.

By early 1914, The 4th Suffolk Regiment was headquartered at Portman Road, Ipswich with companies A to D also based in the town. Company E was the Lowestoft company and Company F was based at Halesworth with a drill station at Saxmundham. Fremlingham was home to Company G, which had a drill hall at Woodbridge, and Company H was located at Leiston with a drill station at East Bridge. The battlalion was originally part of the Norfolk and Suffolk Infantry Brigade with the East Anglian Division.

145 Arthur Reed joined on the 2nd April 1908. He was a serving member with the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
766 Charles Button joined on the 11th February 1909
1102 Stanley London Mayhew joined on the 20th January 1910
1210 Thomas Charles Baker joined on 6th February 1911
1761 James Henry Cain joined on 23rd October 1913
1854 Harry Howard joined on 14th February 1914
1980 John Stocks joined on 3rd August 1914
2225 William Samuel John Smith joined on 1st September 1914
2327 Jack Reason joined on 5th October 1914
2730 John Henry Brown joined on the 13th November 1914
3018 Henry Williams joined the 2/4th Battalion on 14th December 1914

All of the above number/date information from surviving service records in WO 363 and WO 364 - online courtesy of Ancestry.co.uk.

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.

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

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.

Cheshire Regiment 1881-1914 - 1st & 2nd Battalions -

This post will look at regimental numbering in the Cheshire Regiment which was formed on 1st July 1881 from the 22nd (the Cheshire) Regiment of Foot.

There are over 63,000 Cheshire Regiment 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 Cheshire 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. George Henry Byrom (pictured above) was a Cheshire Regiment Special Reservist captured in 1914. You can read more about him by clicking on his name.

The newly formed regiment was established as the county regiment for Cheshire and started numbering from 1 in 1881.

24 joined on 31st October 1881
73 joined on 20th January 1882
396 joined on 17th January 1883
984 joined on 11th January 1884
1391 joined on 5th January 1885
2165 joined on 1st February 1886
2498 joined on 12th January 1887
2617 joined on 26th November 1888
2675 joined on 1st July 1889
2868 joined on 15th January 1890
3277 joined on 7th March 1891
3562 joined on 6th January 1892
4224 joined on 7th April 1893
4629 joined on 13th February 1894
5041 joined on 9th April 1895
5204 joined on 8th February 1896
5394 joined on 15th February 1897
5669 joined on 22nd February 1898
6158 joined on 20th February 1899
6443 joined on 1st November 1900

During the South African War, The Cheshire Regiment raised three volunteer service companies. Men joining these companies were issued with numbers in the following ranges:

1st VSC: numbers within the range 7330 to 7526
2nd VSC: numbers within the range 7447 to 7578
3rd VSC: numbers within the range 7765 to 7780

On 17th February 1900, the 1st VSC comprising three officers – Captain S Thornley, Lieutenant J Bates and Lieutenant J S Craig – and 113 men, embarked for South Africa aboard SS Gascon.

6488 joined on 7th February 1901
6772 joined on 19th February 1902
7084 joined on 5th February 1903
7419 joined on 22nd February 1904
7868 joined on 7th February 1905
8099 joined on 11th January 1906
8232 joined on 21st January 1907
8850 joined on 8th January 1908
9170 joined on 16th February 1909
9408 joined on 7th February 1910
9658 joined on 27th June 1911
10002 joined on 26th November 1912
10103 joined on 27th May 1913
10523 joined on 3rd May 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 7th March 1891, The Cheshire Regiment recruited 3,277 men, an average of 336 soldiers a year. Although still well below the national average for the decade, this was nevertheless to be the regiment’s best showing.

By 7th February 1901, the regiment had enlisted its 6,488th recruit and could claim an average recruitment rate for the decade of 324 men. A little over ten years later and the average recruitment rate had dropped again, this time to 307 men per annum. In total, between 1st July 1881 and 27th June 1911, The Cheshire Regiment recruited 9,658 men, well below the national average (353) at 322 men a year.

1st Battalion stations 1881-1914
1881 Guernsey
1883 Portland
1885 Gibraltar
1886 Egypt
1887 Burma
1891 Belgaum
1895 Bellary
1897 Secunderabad
1901 Quetta
1903 Bombay
1904 Lichfield
1909 Belfast
1912 Londonderry
1914 France & Flanders (from August)

2nd Battalion stations 1881-1915

1881 Bengal
1885 Solon
1887 Burma
1889 Sheffield
1892 Aldershot
1895 Buttevant
1898 Limerick
1899 South Africa
1902 Aldershot
1904 Madras
1909 Schwebo (Burma)
1911 Jubbulpore
1915 France & Flanders (from January)

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

Further Reading

The History of the Cheshire Regiment in the Great War

The Cheshire Regiment - The First Battalion at Mons and the Miniature Colour

Cheshire Bantams - 15th, 16th & 17th Battalions, The Cheshire Regiment

War Record of the 1/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment, August 1914 - June 1919

The Royal Scots - 1st & 2nd Battalions - 1881-1914

This post will look at numbering in the two regular battalions of The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) between 1881 and 1914. The regiment was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 1st, or The Royal Scots Regiment. The regiment was established as the county regiment for Berwickshire, Edinburgh (Midlothian), Haddingtonshire (East Lothian) and Linlithgow (West Lothian). It started numbering from 1 in 1881.

All of these records survive. Findmypast has over 28,000 Royal Scots First World War service records and over 11,000 Royal Scots service records from before the First World War. This latter selection includes officers' records. Clicking on the links will take you to the search results.

Here are the regimental number joining dates for the Royal Scots from 1881.

191 joined on 3rd September 1881
679 joined on 21st October 1882
795 joined on 29th March 1883
1358 joined on 17th January 1884
1840 joined on 7th January 1885
2267 joined on 11th March 1886
2485 joined on 1st January 1887

On 1st May 1887, Berwickshire was transferred to the district administered by the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

2798 joined on 23rd February 1888
3198 joined on 15th January 1889
3499 joined on 20th January 1890
4016 joined on 8th January 1891
4312 joined on 9th March 1892
4820 joined on 3rd July 1893
4998 joined on 9th January 1894
5289 joined on 26th March 1895
5578 joined on 17th February 1896
5891 joined on 11th January 1897
6317 joined on 14th January 1898
6652 joined on 16th January 1899
7020 joined on 3rd January 1900

The Second South African War 1899-1902
During the South African War, 117 men from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Edinburgh (City) Rifle Volunteer Corps served with the Royal Scots in South Africa. The regiment raised three volunteer service companies in all, and on 17th February 1900, the 1st VSC comprising Captain R W Campbell, Lieutenant M W Henderson, Lieutenant R G W Adams and 112 men, embarked aboard SS Gascon for South Africa.

Numbers within the range 8073 to 8185 were issued in early 1900 to men joining the 1st Volunteer Service Company.

Numbers within the range 7169 to 7457 were issued to some 1st VSC men, but primarily to men joining the 2nd VSC (referred for the most part on the Queen’s South Africa medal roll as “M” Volunteer Company). These numbers appear to follow on sequentially from numbers being issued to men joining the Royal Scots as ordinary recruits and do not take cognizance of Army Order 29’s stipulation regarding the “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.”

Numbers 8186 through to 8297 were all issued in 1900 to men who joined the 3rd Volunteer Service Company.

7369 joined on 15th January 1901
7958 joined on 13th February 1902
8400 joined on 17th January 1903
8777 joined on 4th January 1904
9170 joined on 2nd February 1905
9535 joined on 2nd April 1906
10038 joined on 15th May 1907
10198 joined on 4th January 1908
10457 joined on 7th January 1909
10580 joined on 1st February 1910
10850 joined on 30th January 1911
11024 joined on 2nd January 1912
11346 joined on 1st January 1913
11562 joined on 11th 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 that had, up until that point, been the sole preserve of the regiment’s two regular battalions.

Recruitment rates 1881-1911

During the first ten years of its existence, the Royal Scots recruited well over 4,000 men, an annual recruitment rate (calculated between July 1881 and January 1891) of 401 men; the fourth best performance in the British Army.

By 1901 however, fourth had turned to twenty-fourth with the regiment adding 3,700 men to the 28th August 1901; an annual average of 348 men per annum.

Recruiting dropped away again in the early 1900s but nevertheless, by 30th January 1911, the regiment was issuing number 10850 to its latest recruit, an annual average of 335 men recruited.

Sources

All of the number and joining date information posted here, has been compiled as a result of looking at service records in the WO 363, WO 364 and WO 97 series at the National Archives. The first two series are on-line via Ancestry and Findmypast whilst WO 97 is only available on Findmypast. Both sites continue to be invaluable resources for the military historian.

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

Further Reading

The following titles are all available from Naval & Military Press. Descriptions courtesy Naval & Military Press.

Regimental Records of the Royal Scots, the First or Royal Regiment of Foot 1590-1911
This huge history covers the entire early years of the regiment from their garrisoning of Tangier in 1680. The regiment fought in the Duke of Marlborough's four great victories at Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet, the expedition to Louisburg, the retreat to Corunna, the Peninsular war battles of Busaco, Vittoria Salamanca, San Sebastian, and the Nive; the Waterloo campaign, the Crimean War and the Boer War. This book contains all you would expect in such a record: not only detailed accounts of all the campaigns and actions, but officers' rolls, marching songs, regimental crests and insignia, uniform illustrations, and portraits of the regiment's colonels.

Diary of Services of the First Battalion during the Boer War
This brief volume is a battalion history of the 1st Royal Scots' deployment in South Africa. It is illustrated with rare photographs and includes a Roll of Honour and casualty list.

Royal Scots 1914-1919
An impressive history by the author of The History of the 9th (Scottish) Division, also an impressive piece of work. The first chapter in the book is by way of an introduction to all the battalions which constituted the Regiment, the locations of the existing battalions and the creation of all the wartime battalions. In an appendix there is a brief account of all the battalions that remained in the UK, and another deals with the 19th Labour and 1st Garrison Battalion. This leaves the rest of the book devoted to the fifteen front line battalions which, between them, saw service in France and Flanders, Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine and Macedonia.

The book is arranged on a chronological basis with each chapter covering a specific period of time whether on the Western Front any other front where the Regiment fought (for example there are three chapters on Gallipoli covering that campaign from start to finish), and the fortunes of every battalion involved in that particular period are described. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of Honours and Awards though citations for the seven VC winners form a separate appendix. 825pp and 33pp index.