Showing posts with label cavalry numbering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cavalry numbering. Show all posts

19 November 2016

10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Hussars - Other Rank PoWs 1914


The list of 10th Hussars men who had become prisoners of war by December 1914 is tiny. It took the form of a two-page letter typed by Mrs E Mackenzie of the Tenth (PWO) Hussars Association and was sent to Sir Ernest Goodhart on the 19th December 1918. At the time of writing, at least six of the men were still being held in German camps.

At first glance, Corporal Addison looks to be the longest serving man here, assuming that is that the other men's numbers all belong to the regimental number series issued to the Corps of Hussars from 1907. That would place Corporal Addison as a 1907 enlistment, and all the other men a couple of years behind him, enlisting in 1909 and 1910.

On the other hand though - and this is where you need to be careful with line cavalry numbering - the numbers issued to all of the men except Corporal Addison could, in theory, have been issued to the 10th Hussars before 1907. This would make 4238 Sergeant Hawkes the longest serving man (enlisted 1899), with the other men enlisting between 1900 and 1906).

In actual fact, Lance-Corporal Arthur H Hawkes does indeed appear on medal rolls for the Queen's South Africa Medal and King's South Africa Medal and so he is the longest serving man in the list below.

909 Corporal Alfred H Addison 
4686 Private George R Bird 
6545 Private P Cairns 
5568 Private Joseph Cassidy 
5559 Private Arthur G Cater 
5590 Private H Grant 
4238 Sergeant H Hawkes 
5759 Corporal William R Miller 
5422 Private E Reeve

For more information on cavalry numbering and that crucial change from regimental numbering by regiment to regimental numbering by corps, have a look at my post on King's and Queen's Regulations, and in particular Army Order 289 of December 1906 which, for the modern day researcher, really is a vital document that should be pinned up somewhere where it won't be missed. Or alternatively, just bookmark this page.



Pictured above in about 1901, Prince Edward, HRH The Prince of Wales; Later King Edward VII, Colonel of the 10th Hussars.

I research soldiers! Contact me if you need help with your military ancestor.

30 December 2012

8th (King’s Royal Irish) Hussars


This post will look at numbering in the 8th (King’s Royal Irish) 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.

2214 joined on 17th March 1881
2270 joined on 29th March 1882
2419 joined on 29th May 1883
2606 joined on 29th August 1884
2700 joined on 8th June 1885
2937 joined on 21st January 1886
3117 joined on 3rd January 1887
3224 joined on 13th October 1888
3247 joined on 24th September 1889
3276 joined on 28th February 1890
3329 joined on 12th January 1891
3453 joined on 9th February 1892
3566 joined on 7th February 1893
3685 joined on 16th March 1894
3798 joined on 3rd October 1895
3817 joined on 10th April 1896
3881 joined on 13th April 1897
4117 joined on 10th May 1898
4318 joined on 5th January 1899
4780 joined on 9th January 1900
5282 joined on 5th January 1901
5560 joined on 3rd January 1902
6242 joined on 22nd June 1903
6333 joined on 1st December 1904
6373 joined on 18th January 1905
6833 joined on 4th July 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 8th 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 also, my posts on numbering in the Corps of Hussars 1907-1914, Queen's and King's Regulations: regimental numbering and cavalry numbering in 1906.

28 December 2012

7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards


This post will look at numbering in the 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards. I've compiled the information on this post by studying 7th 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 numbers below (all issued chronologically) and enlistment dates to estimate joining dates for other men who served with the 7th Dragoon Guards.

2319 joined on 8th February 1881
2458 joined on 3rd January 1882
2719 joined on 14th April 1883
2754 joined on 3rd February 1884
2836 joined on 12th March 1885
3039 joined on 10th February 1886
3517 joined on 28th February 1887
3651 joined on 23rd November 1888
3663 joined on 3rd January 1889
3752 joined on 10th February 1890
3829 joined on 6th April 1891
3984 joined on 22nd April 1892
4013 joined on 1st February 1893
4097 joined on 12th March 1894
4117 joined on 13th July 1895
4152 joined on 24th April 1896
4199 joined on 20th January 1897
4385 joined on 25th April 1898
4555 joined on 5th January 1899
4765 joined on 4th January 1900
5497 joined on 14th January 1901
5808 joined on 3rd January 1902
6423 joined on 4th February 1903
6518 joined on 1st July 1904
6579 joined on 16th January 1905
6876 joined on 16th January 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 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, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 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.

3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards


This post will look at numbering in the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards. The information on this post has been compiled from a study of 3rd 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).

2036 joined on 3rd January 1881
2064 joined on 31st August 1882
2203 joined on 4th April 1883
2313 joined on 8th March 1884
2455 joined on 5th February 1885
2736 joined on 10th July 1886
3094 joined on 11th November 1887
3154 joined on 14th January 1888
3204 joined on 18th January 1889
3284 joined on 13th March 1890
3398 joined on 2nd January 1891
3533 joined on 26th January 1892
3608 joined on 21st May 1894
3624 joined on 23rd April 1895
3658 joined on 21st January 1896
3778 joined on 12th January 1897
3985 joined on 25th January 1898
4185 joined on 6th February 1899
4355 joined on 4th January 1900
4855 joined on 5th February 1901
5108 joined on 4th January 1902
5430 joined on 13th March 1903
5460 joined on 31st January 1904
5538 joined on 16th January 1905
5617 joined on 3rd January 1906

Army Order 289 of December 1906 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 3rd 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), 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 2nd Dragoon Guards  to see the numbering sequence for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 3rd Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 3rd Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 3rd Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose number is 5482 could point to a 1st September 1904 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or January 1911 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.

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

23 December 2012

2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays)


This post will look at numbering in the 2nd Dragoon Guards (The Queen’s Bays). The information on this post has been compiled from a study of the 2nd 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).

2325 joined on 7th March 1881
2412 joined on 20th October 1882
2492 joined on 20th April 1883
2603 joined on 30th January 1884
2846 joined on 20th February 1885
3220 joined on 1st September 1886
3360 joined on 19th September 1887
3398 joined on 8th December 1888
3435 joined on 19th April 1889
3522 joined on 2nd April 1890
3735 joined on 31st August 1891
3810 joined on 23rd January 1892
4191 joined on 20th April 1893
4249 joined on 30th January 1894
4281 joined on 10th February 1896
4306 joined on 3rd June 1897
4505 joined on 11th May 1898
4785 joined on 20th March 1899
5119 joined on 7th March 1900
5714 joined on 26th September 1901
5869 joined on 2nd January 1902
6390 joined on 25th March 1903
6514 joined on 10th September 1906

I have some notable gaps in the sequence above with nothing for 1895 (when recruitment appears to have slowed to a trickle) and nothing either for 1904 and 1905. 1902 was a bumper year for recruitment with around 400 men joining the regiment. This drive certainly slowed the following year which also saw a number of transfers in from the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers).

Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this Army Order, 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 2nd Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards, 3rd (Prince of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) to see the numbering sequence for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 2nd Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 2nd Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 2nd Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4610 could point to a September 1898 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.

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

1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards


This post will look at numbering in the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards. The information on this post has been compiled from a study of 1st King’s (Dragoon) Guards and, from 1907, corps of Dragoons’ service records in WO 97 (British Army Pensions 1760-1913) (on-line with Findmypast) and WO 363 (British Army Service Records 1914-1920) and WO 364 (British Army Pensions) (on-line with Ancestry).

2337 joined on 22nd April 1881
2412 joined on 21st November 1882
2460 joined on 24th September 1883
2574 joined on 9th September 1884
2654 joined on 13th February 1885
3069 joined on 9th October 1886
3126 joined on 8th January 1887
3306 joined on 15th November 1888
3342 joined on 9th February 1889
3442 joined on 21st June 1890
3471 joined on 20th October 1891
3499 joined on 10th June 1892
3592 joined on 20th June 1893
3745 joined on 8th January 1894
3851 joined on 3rd April 1895
3960 joined on 12th August 1896
4018 joined on 23rd January 1897
4171 joined on 31st March 1898
4415 joined on 8th March 1899
4568 joined on 1st January 1900
5061 joined on 4th February 1901
5581 joined on 19th April 1902
5830 joined on 27th January 1903
5856 joined on 11th April 1904
5892 joined on 6th March 1905
6443 joined on 26th September 1906

Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this Army Order, 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 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers), 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards, 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. See my post on the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) to see the numbering sequence for the Corps of Dragoons post 1906.

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards and all other regiments of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4610 could point to a 1900 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.

When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.

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

22 December 2012

6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons


This post will look at numbering in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. The information on this post has been compiled as a result of examining service records in WO 97 (online with Findmypast) and WO 363 and WO 364 (online with Ancestry).

2071 joined on 7th April 1880
2153 joined on 12th January 1881
2222 joined on 22nd June 1882
2324 joined on 26th June 1883
2377 joined on 8th February 1884
2482 joined on 6th February 1885
2686 joined on 18th May 1886
2738 joined on 11th July 1887
2831 joined on 11th February 1888
2940 joined on 4th January 1889
3042 joined on 11th January 1890
3075 joined on 2nd January 1891
3240 joined on 6th October 1892
3274 joined on 16th January 1893
3486 joined on 10th August 1894
3515 joined on 2nd July 1895
3567 joined on 11th March 1896
3742 joined on 4th November 1897
4042 joined on 12th October 1898
4096 joined on 27th February 1899


Note that, although out of sequence numerically, the majority of numbers in the range 5001 to 5178 were also issued in late 1899 and early 1900. These were allocated to recalled reservists from other Dragoon and Dragoon Guards regiments who, on recall, were sent not to their own regiments but transferred straight into the 6th Dragoons. How much say the men had in the matter is unknown. There are exceptions to this numbering schema, however - see 5004 below - and I have published a separate post on 6th Dragoons transfers in the Boer War.


4366 joined on 10th April 1900
4559 joined on 16th March 1901
4722 joined on 3rd January 1902
5004 joined on 29th April 1903
5199 joined on 10th June 1904
5368 joined on 6th March 1905
5553 joined on 5th March 1906

Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering for cavalry of the line. Prior to this Army Order, 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 Dragoons was that from late December 1906 they began a new number sequence which they shared with the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) and the 1st (King’s), 2nd (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s), 4th (Royal Irish), 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s), 6th (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. The following numbers and joining dates are snapshots taken from my database of this new Corps of Dragoons numbering sequence:

155 joined 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards on 29th January 1907
1598 joined the 5th Dragoon Guards on 27th January 1908
3003 joined the 3rd Dragoon Guards on 8th February 1909
4132 joined the 2nd Dragoons on 13th January 1910
5530 joined the 2nd Dragoon Guards on 12th January 1911
6624 joined the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards on 24th January 1912
D/7785 joined the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards on 11th January 1913
8707 joined the 5th Dragoon Guards on 27th January 1914

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons up until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 6th Dragoons and all other regiments of Dragoons and Dragoon Guards from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 6th Dragoons man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4610 could point to a 1901 joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.

When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.

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

2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)


This post will look at numbering in the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys). I 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 doing so).

2291 Kames Kirkaldy joined on 2nd April 1880
2397 Alexander Dickson joined on 27th January 1881
2425 John Watt joined on 29th May 1882
2476 George Walter Price joined on 2nd March 1883
2661 Thomas Foster joined on 11th November 1884
2702 Robert Hunter joined on 20th March 1885
2785 William Rolph joined on 9th January 1886
3001 Horace William Jenkins joined on 17th August 1887
3055 Owen Deary joined on 23rd January 1888
3346 Edward George Morgan joined on 13th March 1889
3426 Charles Innes joined on 10th February 1890
3548 John Cameron joined on 2nd February 1891
3653 Charles James Betts joined on 2nd January 1892
3826 William John Reeves joined on 24th July 1893
3992 George William Francis Cunningham joined on 30th August 1894
4070 John Sloan joined on 8th March 1895
4276 John Lockhart joined on 17th March 1896
4392 Thomas Hornsby joined on 11th August 1897
4420 James Bowman joined on12th January 1898
4772 George Collings joined on 30th October 1899
4964 John Brake joined on 28th March 1900
5243 George Cartrwright (aka George Richardson) joined on 4th March 1901
5497 Richard Bain joined on 14th January 1902
5755 John Henry Shepherd joined on 24th January 1903
5938 William Swallow, formerly 3980 1st (Royal) Dragoons, transferred on 1st July 1904
6026 William Anderson joined on 15th March 1905
6230 John Burns joined on 12th January 1906

Army Order 289 of December 1906 changed the numbering as far as cavalry of the line was concerned. Prior to this Army Order, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were differentiated, and each corps of line cavalry was to use a separate number series extending to 49,999.

What this meant for the 2nd Dragoons was that from late December 1906 they now shared one number sequence with the 1st and 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons and the 1st (King’s), 2nd (Queen’s Bays), 3rd (Prince of Wales’s), 4th (Royal Irish), 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s), 6th (Carabiniers) and 7th (Princess Royal’s) Dragoon Guards. The following numbers and joining dates are snapshots taken from my database of this new Corps of Dragoons numbering sequence:

30 Ernest Dear the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 9th January 1907
1598 Edward Sidney Bast joined the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 27th January 1908
3011 Norman Smith joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoons) on 9th February 1909
4248 John Cullen joined the Corps of Dragoons (3rd Dragoon Guards) on 2nd February 1910
5530 Ernest Bowen joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoon Guards) on 12th January 1911
6546 Charles James Bishop joined the Corps of Dragoons (5th Dragoon Guards) on 1st January 1912
D/7785 Albert Henry Long joined the Corps of Dragoons (4th Dragoon Guards) on 11th January 1913
8620 John Dunnett joined the Corps of Dragoons (2nd Dragoons) on 6th January 1914

Noting the distinction between the regimental sequence used by the 2nd Dragoons until the end of 1906 and the corps sequence used by the 2nd Dragoons and all other regiments of Dragoons and Dragoon Guards from late 1906 is an important distinction to note. Researching a 2nd Dragoons man, for instance, whose hypothetical number is 4567 could point to a late 1890s joining date if the number falls within the regimental sequence, or 1910 if the man enlisted with the corps of Dragoons.

When the First World War erupted an additional General Service number sequence was introduced (recruits’ numbers being prefixed with GS/) whilst career cavalrymen continued to use the corps number series from which I’ve given examples in this post.

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

7 April 2012

19th (QAOR) Hussars 1881-1906



This post will look at numbering in the 19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Hussars between 1881 and 1906.  The cavalry regiments, of course, were unaffected by Cardwell's reforms which saw the majority of the infantry regiments being redesignated along territorial or county lines.  However, I'll stick to my convention of using 1881 as a starting point for these line cavalry regiments although my data goes back a good deal further than this. 

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.

2096 joined on 10th January 1881
2122 joined on 19th January 1882
2455 joined on 4th April 1883
2467 joined on 23rd February 1884
2669 joined on 9th April 1885
2868 joined on 25th January 1886
2896 joined on 7th January 1887
3074 joined on 11th April 1888
3319 joined on 3rd January 1889
3533 joined on 3rd February 1890
3711 joined on 23rd July 1891
3814 joined on 1st February 1892
3938 joined on 19th January 1893
4009 joined on 20th January 1894
4179 joined on 28th August 1895
4413 joined on 3rd February 1896
4525 joined on 3rd February 1897
4557 joined on 7th December 1898
4592 joined on 16th December 1899
4876 joined on 4th May 1900
5118 joined on 28th January 1901
5516 joined on 9th June 1902
5598 joined on 25th March 1903
5609 joined on 1st June 1904
5930 joined on 6th April 1905
6203 joined on 8th March 1906

My last number on my 19th Hussars database prior to the change in numbering is 6300 on 4th October 1906. In late 1906 or early 1907 numbering in the cavalry changed and numbers were allocated to corps rather than to individual regiments within those corps. For further reading see:

1. Queen's & King's Regulations: regimental numbering.
2. Cavalry numbering in 1906.

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

5 April 2012

18th Hussars - 1881-1906



This post will look at numbering in the 18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars between 1881 and 1906.  1881 is an arbitrary date chosen purely to conform to the parameters of this blog.  The regiment though, was raised in 1858 (although two cavalry regiments had formerly been numbered 18th. See the sketch details on the image above for a brief outline of the regiment's history up until the Second South African War of 1899-1902.

1906 is chosen as the end date because it was from late 1906 or early 1907 that the line cavalry regiments stopped numbering by individual regiment and started numbering by corps instead.

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.

2450 joined on 10th January 1881
2497 joined on 15th August 1882
2534 joined on 9th january 1883
2665 joined on 5th January 1884
2783 joined on 2nd January 1885
3050 joined on 1st July 1886
3132 joined on 1st April 1887
3204 joined on 28th January 1888
3398 joined on 26th March 1889
3614 joined on 28th January 1890
3706 joined on 27th February 1891
3801 joined on 4th January 1892
3958 joined on 25th October 1892
4017 joined on 11th January 1893
4206 joined on 3rd May 1894
4407 joined on 10th January 1895
4564 joined on 24th August 1896
4623 joined on 1st October 1897
4691 joined on 20th June 1898
4801 joined on 13th february 1899
5281 joined on 11th August 1900
5810 joined on 17th January 1901
6102 joined on 16th July 1902
6247 joined on 9th February 1903
6328 joined on 19th April 1904
6460 joined on 13th January 1905
6667 joined on 14th January 1906

The last number in my database for this cavalry regiment before the Hussars started numbering by corps is 6900 which was issued on the 6th November.  There would have been another seven weeks worth of numbering in this regiment - another twenty to thirty recruits perhaps - and then it was all change in numbering for the line cavalry.  When the numbering changed to numbering by corps, one number series was effectively shared by all the Hussars regiments, another number series by the Dragoons, a third number series by the Lancers.

For further reading on numbering in the line cavalry regiments have a look at these posts:

The Queen's and King's Regulations affecting regimental numbers
Cavalry Numbering in 1906

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

3 April 2012

14th (King's) Hussars 1881-1906


This post will look at numbering in the 14th (King's) Hussars between 1881 and 1906. 1881 is an arbitrary date chosen to conform with the parameters of this blog, but as can be seen above, the regiment had a long history.  December 1906 was when numbering in the line cavalry changed from numbering by regiment to numbering by corps.

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.

2042 joined on 16th September 1881
2076 joined on 2nd January 1882
2151 joined on 16th March 1883
2361 joined on 2nd January 1884
2503 joined on 16th July 1885
2590 joined on 2nd June 1886
2664 joined on 27th April 1887
2774 joined on 18th January 1888
2850 joined on 24th January 1889
2948 joined on 21st January 1890
3056 joined on 4th March 1891
3151 joined on 8th July 1892
3221 joined on 11th January 1893
3303 joined on 24th January 1894
3408 joined on 2nd January 1895
3529 joined on 27th January 1896
3675 joined on 5th May 1897
3817 joined on 9th May 1898
4086 joined on 16th January 1899
4347 joined on 6th February 1900
4500 joined on 9th March 1901
4812 joined on 12th March 1902
5058 joined on 5th June 1903
5161 joined on 14th April 1904
5344 joined on 3rd February 1905
5562 joined on 1st January 1906

In late 1906 or early 1907, numbering in the cavalry changed and numbers were allocated to corps rather than to individual regiments within those corps. 

For further reading see:

1. Queen's & King's Regulations: regimental numbering
2. Cavalry numbering in 1906.

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21 March 2010

21st Lancers 1897-1906


In 1897 the 21st Hussars was re-designated the 21st Lancers. Read about numbering in the 21st Hussars HERE. Numbering in the 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers picked up from where the 21st Hussars left off, and this post will look at numbering in the regiment between 1897 and 1906.

All the numbers below are taken from service records which survive in the WO 363 and the WO 364 series at the National Archives. View them at Kew or on-line via Ancestry which is currently offering a FREE 14-day trial.

4032 joined on 15th January 1897
4208 joined on 9th September 1898
4250 joined on 28th January 1899
4785 joined on 21st February 1900
5089 joined on 2nd January 1901
5549 joined on 1st January 1902
6623 joined on 23rd February 1903
I currently have no data for 1904
6366 joined on 4th September 1905
6569 joined on 13th January 1906

In December 1906, Army Order 289 changed the way in which the cavalry were to number. Prior to this Army Order, all cavalry regiments had numbered individually by regiments. Now, line cavalry and household cavalry were differentiated, and each corps of line cavalry was to use a separate number series extending to 49,999. For more information on cavalry numbering and examples of cavalry attestations, see these previous posts:

Queen's & King's Regulations - numbering
Cavalry numbering in 1906
A cavalry numbering conundrum

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

9 June 2009

12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers



The image above shows men from the 12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers in Castle Street, Shrewsbury, on their return from the Boer war in 1902. Image borrowed from the Darwin Country website.

This post will look at numbering in the 12th Lancers between 1881 and 1906. Numbering in the regiment was unaffected by the Army Reforms of 1881. I'm going to start in 1882 and end in 1906, the last year cavalry of the line regiments numbered by regiment as opposed to corps. Read more about the changes in cavalry numbering, which was dealt with by Army Order 289 in December 1906.

2391 joined on 17th August 1882
2465 joined on 18th July 1883
2633 joined on 6th September 1884
2813 joined on 23rd November 1885
2877 joined on 6th February 1886
3053 joined on 30th December 1887
3076 joined on 13th October 1888
3192 joined on 16th August 1889
3331 joined on 21st April 1891
3572 joined on 23rd July 1892
3666 joined on 5th April 1893
3850 joined on 8th August 1894
3900 joined on 21st August 1895
3962 joined on 6th January 1896
4118 joined on 11th August 1897
4360 joined on 11th January 1898
4715 joined on 1st September 1899
4929 joined on 22nd March 1900
5370 joined on 9th January 1901
5620 joined on 28th January 1902
7494 joined on 27th October 1906

I currently have a gap in my data for 1903-1905 but even a cursory glance at the numbers above, re-enforces again just how slow recruitment into the regular British Army could be. I have drawn attention to this before on my posts regarding 1882 enlistments for the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards and also Corps of Dragoons recruitment: 1881-1906.


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