7th (Queen's Own) Hussars

This post will look at numbering in the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars between 1881 and 1906. The cavalry regiments were unaffected by Cardwell's Army reforms; however, in keeping with the parameters of this blog, my starting point is 1881.

The database and information on this blog have been compiled as a result of studying service records in WO 97 (British Army pensions to 1913), WO 363 (WW1 service records) and WO 364 (WW1 pension records). All of these series are now online. Click on the links for further information.

2342 joined on 7th Janruary 1881
2405 joined on 19th December 1882
2406 joined on 2nd March 1883
2546 joined on 13th June 1884
2709 joined on 7th September 1885
2858 joined on 26th January 1886
3153 joined on 22nd January 1887
3320 joined on 17th September 1888
3350 joined on 26th January 1889
3481 joined on 23rd October 1890
3516 joined on 12th January 1891
3675 joined on 13th January 1892
3977 joined on 15th February 1893
4132 joined on 28th March 1894
4215 joined on 23rd October 1895
4231 joined on 30th January 1896
4244 joined on 18th February 1897
4436 joined on 7th November 1898
4590 joined on 31st January 1899
5007 joined on 10th January 1900
5526 joined on 3rd January 1901
5976 joined on 1st January 1902
6679 joined on 21st November 1903
6789 joined on 18th January 1904
6834 joined on 4th October 1905
7045 joined on 2nd April 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were separated; each of the three line cavalry corps – dragoons, hussars, and lancers – beginning a new number series which started at 1 and was to extend to 49,999.

What this meant for the 7th Hussars was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the all of the Hussars regiments:

3rd (King's Own) Hussars
4th (Queen's Own) Hussars
7th (Queen's Own) Hussars
8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars
10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars
11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars
13th Hussars
14th (King's) Hussars
15th (King's) Hussars
18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars
19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars
20th Hussars

See my post on numbering in the Corps of Hussars 1907-1914. For further background, also see my posts on Queen's & King's Regulations: regimental numbering and  cavalry numbering in 1906.

6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)

This post will look at numbering in the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers). I've put the information on this post together by studying 6th Dragoon Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (on-line with Ancestry). Use the snapshot numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other 6th Dragoon Guardsmen.

1946 joined on 22nd October 1881
1985 joined on 17th January 1882
2025 joined on 14th June 1883
2090 joined on 25th March 1884
2252 joined on 20th April 1885
2456 joined on 22nd April 1886
2662 joined on 10th January 1887
2710 joined on 5th December 1888
2723 joined on 14th October 1889
2757 joined on 27th February 1890
2809 joined on 14th August 1891
2909 joined on 9th June 1892
3145 joined on 23rd May 1893
3248 joined on 2nd January 1894
3380 joined on 10th August 1895
3484 joined on 15th September 1896
3724 joined on 3rd March 1897
3926 joined on 4th June 1898
4016 joined on 19th January 1899
4333 joined on 24th April 1900
4569 joined on 29th January 1901
4789 joined on 28th January 1902
5126 joined on 31st January 1903
5278 joined on 17th December 1904
5834 joined on 27th June 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 completely changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were separated; each of the three line cavalry corps – dragoons, hussars, and lancers – beginning a new number series which started at 1 and was to extend to 49,999.

What this meant for the 6th Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th Dragoon Guards and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on 1st (Royal) Dragoons to see how the numbering sequence worked for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 6th Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 6th Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 4073 could point to a March 1899 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or December 1909 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons. Here, knowing the soldier's age might well help to rule one number series or the other.

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

5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards

This post will look at numbering in the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards. I've put the information on this post together by studying 5th Dragoon Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (on-line with Ancestry). Use the snapshot numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other 5th Dragoon Guardsmen.

2159 joined on 9th July 1881
2206 joined on 21st January 1882
2422 joined on 1st July1883
2589 joined on 31st August 1884
2816 joined on 21st July 1885
2872 joined on 21st February1886
3107 joined on 18th October 1887
3207 joined on 14th June 1888
3277 joined on 6th January 1889
3359 joined on 10th April 1890
3438 joined on 2nd January 1891
3692 joined on 26th February 1892
3983 joined on 4th May 1893
4197 joined on 22nd September 1894
4275 joined on 1st February 1895
4354 joined on 1st February 1896
4415 joined on 13th January 1897
4668 joined on 17th August 1899
4790 joined on 1st February 1900
5202 joined on 27th August 1902
5220 joined on 10th April 1904
5373 joined on 27th September 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 completely changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were separated; each of the three line cavalry corps – dragoons, hussars, and lancers – beginning a new number series which started at 1 and was to extend to 49,999.

What this meant for the 5th Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on 1st (Royal) Dragoons to see how the numbering sequence worked for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 5th Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 5th Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 5th Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 5208 could point to a September 1902 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or October 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons. Here, knowing the man's age might well help to determine which year he joined.

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