The photo, source unknown, shows men of the 9th Royal Scots at their annual camp, on this occasion at Aberdour, in 1909.
This post will look at regimental numbering in the 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers between 1908 and 1914. The Special Reserve and the Extra Reserve were the natural heirs to the militia battalions which, for the most part, they replaced in 1908. My 2009 article on the Creation of the Special Reserve in 1908 may be helpful here.
The Royal Munster Fusiliers had three militia
battalions (the 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions) and these survived in all but name
when the Special Reserve was introduced in 1908. Men who were then serving with
the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, were asked if they wanted to continue to serve
with the newly formed 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and men who were then
serving with the 4th and 5th (Militia) Battalions, were asked if they wanted to
continue to serve with the newly formed 4th & 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalions.
Men joining the militia and special/extra reserve
were not career soldiers. The Army Book for the British Empire, published in
1893 provided a useful overview of the militia when it noted:
"Its object is to maintain in the United Kingdom a trained body of
men available "in case of imminent national danger or great
emergency" to supplement the regular army in the defence of the country.
"It offers military service to the class of men willing to give it
for a month in the year for training of for the term of their engagement on
emergency, but whose avocations do not lead them to become either regular
soldiers or volunteers."
Most 1914 Star rolls show plenty of evidence of
Special Reserve and Extra Reserve men who served alongside career soldiers.
Sometimes their numbers are prefixed by the number of their battalion -
typically a 3/ or 4/ in most line infantry regiments - but just as often there
will be no prefix.
In 1908 the regular battalions were numbering in
the 8000 range whereas the 5th Battalion, picking up the old militia numbering sequence,
was numbering in the 5000s. When these 4th Battalion men were called up as
drafts for the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions from August 1914, they retained
their original 5th Battalion regimental numbers.
Here are some sample regimental numbers and joining
dates for the 5th Royal Munster Fusiliers. Use this information to
estimate when a man would have joined this battalion.
5319 joined on the 28th
December 1908
5357 joined on the 28th
February 1909
5529 joined on the 16th
May 1910
5629 joined on the 17th
February 1911
5845 joined on the 7th
November 1912
5994 joined on the 12th
December 1913
6031 joined on the
14th April 1914
6119 joined on the 18th
August 1914
6216 joined on the 15th September 1914
Do also read of some of the articles towards the bottom of the Army Service Numbers 1881-1918 index.
This post will look at regimental numbering in the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers between 1908 and 1914. The Special Reserve and the Extra Reserve were the natural heirs to the militia battalions which, for the most part, they replaced in 1908. My 2009 article on the Creation of the Special Reserve in 1908 may be helpful here.
The Royal Munster Fusiliers had three militia
battalions (the 3rd, 4th and 5th battalions) and these survived in all but name
when the Special Reserve was introduced in 1908. Men who were then serving with
the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, were asked if they wanted to continue to serve
with the newly formed 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and men who were then
serving with the 4th and 5th (Militia) Battalions, were asked if they wanted to
continue to serve with the newly formed 4th & 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalions.
Men joining the militia and special/extra reserve
were not career soldiers. The Army Book for the British Empire, published in
1893 provided a useful overview of the militia when it noted:
"Its object is to maintain in the United Kingdom a trained body of
men available "in case of imminent national danger or great
emergency" to supplement the regular army in the defence of the country.
"It offers military service to the class of men willing to give it
for a month in the year for training of for the term of their engagement on
emergency, but whose avocations do not lead them to become either regular
soldiers or volunteers."
Most 1914 Star rolls show plenty of evidence of
Special Reserve and Extra Reserve men who served alongside career soldiers.
Sometimes their numbers are prefixed by the number of their battalion -
typically a 3/ or 4/ in most line infantry regiments - but just as often there
will be no prefix.
In 1908 the regular battalions were numbering in
the 8000 range whereas the 4th Battalion, picking up the old militia numbering sequence,
was numbering in the 4000s. When these 4th Battalion men were called up as
drafts for the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions from August 1914, they retained
their original 4th Battalion regimental numbers.
Here are some sample regimental numbers and joining
dates for the 4th Royal Munster Fusiliers. Use this information to
estimate when a man would have joined this battalion.
2876 (a former
militia man) joined on the 2nd August 1908
6160 joined on the 27th
June 1910
6297 joined on the 25th
November 1911
6607 joined on the 16th
March 1912
6917 joined on the 26th
May 1913
7268 joined on the
17th July 1914
7325 joined on the
8th August 1914
7481 Joined on the
10th September 1914
7587 joined on the
15th October 1914
Do also read of some of the articles towards the bottom of the Army Service Numbers 1881-1918 index.
This
post will look at regimental numbering in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion
of the Royal Munster Fusiliers between 1908 and 1914. The Special Reserve and
the Extra Reserve were the natural heirs to the militia battalions which, for
the most part, they replaced in 1908. My 2009 article on the Creation of the Special Reserve in
1908 may be helpful here.
The Royal Munster Fusiliers had three militia
battalions (the 3rd, 4th and 5th battalions) and these survived in all but name
when the Special Reserve was introduced in 1908. Men who were then serving with
the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, were asked if they wanted to continue to serve
with the newly formed 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and men who were then
serving with the 4th and 5th (Militia) Battalions, were asked if they wanted to
continue to serve with the newly formed 4th & 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalions.
Men joining the militia and special/extra reserve
were not career soldiers. The Army Book for the British Empire, published in
1893 provided a useful overview of the militia when it noted:
"Its object is to maintain in the United Kingdom a trained body of
men available "in case of imminent national danger or great
emergency" to supplement the regular army in the defence of the country.
"It offers military service to the class of men willing to give it
for a month in the year for training of for the term of their engagement on
emergency, but whose avocations do not lead them to become either regular
soldiers or volunteers."
Most 1914 Star rolls show plenty of evidence of
Special Reserve and Extra Reserve men who served alongside career soldiers.
Sometimes their numbers are prefixed by the number of their battalion -
typically a 3/ or 4/ in most line infantry regiments - but just as often there
will be no prefix.
In 1908 the regular battalions were numbering in
the 8000 range whereas the 3rd Battalion, picking up the old militia numbering sequence,
was numbering in the 3000s. When these 3rd Battalion men were called up as
drafts for the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions from August 1914, they retained
their original 3rd Battalion regimental numbers.
Here are some sample regimental numbers and joining
dates for the 3rd Royal Munster Fusiliers. Use this information to
estimate when a man would have joined this battalion.
3766 had originally
joined the militia in January 1908 and retained this number from April 1908.
3867 joined on the
6th January 1909
4159 joined on the
13th April 1910
4256 joined on the
8th April 1911
4352 joined on the
7th February 1912
4462 joined on the
8th February 1913
4564 joined on the
8th August 1914
Do also read of some of the articles towards the bottom of the Army Service Numbers 1881-1918 index.
Both West Yorkshire Regiment militia battalions survived in all but name when the Special Reserve was created in 1908. Men who were then serving with the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, were asked if they wanted to continue to serve with the newly formed 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and men who were then serving with the 4th (Militia) Battalion, were asked if they wanted to contunue to serve with the newly formed 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion.
Men joining the militia and special/extra reserve were not career soldiers. The Army Book for the British Empire, published in 1893 provided a useful summary of the militia when it noted:
"Its object is to maintain in the United Kingdom a trained body of men available "in case of imminent national danger or great emergency" to supplement the regular army in the defence of the country.
"It offers military service to the class of men willing to give it for a month in the year for training of for the term of their engagement on emergency, but whose avocations do not lead them to become either regular soldiers or volunteers."
Most 1914 Star rolls show plenty of evidence of Special Reserve and Extra Reserve men who served alongside career soldiers. Sometimes their numbers are prefixed by the number of their battalion - typically a 3/ or 4/ in most line infantry regiments - but just as often there will be no prefix.
Confusingly, for those with an interest in West Yorkshire Regiment regimental numbers, the series used by the 4th Battalion pretty much kept pace with the series used by the 3rd Battalion, but both were distinct series and that is important to remember. Also important to note is that when these men were called up as drafts for the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions from August 1914, they retained their original 3rd and 4th Battalion regimental numbers.
Here are some sample regimental numbers and joining dates for the 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment:
This post will look at numbering in the 4th (Territorial Force) Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment between 1908 and 1914. Information on this post has been compiled as a result of looking at service records in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives; now also widely available online from various providers.
The 5th East Yorkshire Regiment had no Volunteer Force predecessor although it got off to a flying start in April 1908 when 90 NCOs and men who had formerly served with the Cyclist Company of the 1st Volunteer Battalion signed up to the newly formed 5th (Cyclist) Battalion. The newly formed 5th Battalion, which was headquartered at Park Street, Hull commenced a new number series from 1 in April 1908 and drew its men from the following areas:
The 6th Durham Light Infantry was headquartered at Bishop Auckland and its eight companies drew men from the following locations:
A Company: Bishop Auckland, with a drill station at Coundon; B Company: Bishop Auckland with a drill station at West Auckland; C Company: Spennymore; D Company: Crook, with a drill station at Willington; E Company: Stanhope, with drill stations at Rookhope and Wolsingham; F Company: Barnard Castle, with a drill station at Staindrop; G & H Companies drew men from Consett. The battalion was part of the Durham Light Infantry Brigade in the Northumbrian Division.
Here are some sample regimental numbers for the 6th Durham Light Infantry. These were issued sequentially, beginning at No 1 on the 1st April 1908. The vast majority of early recruits would have been men who were serving with the 2nd Volunteer Battalion.
192 joined on the 7th April 1908
1005 joined on the 30th March 1909
1161 joined on the 21st February 1910
1317 joined on the 26th January 1911
1531 joined on the 29th March 1912
1786 joined on the 8th February 1913
2003 joined on the 2nd March 1914
2238 joined on the 7th August 1914
Use the regimental numbers above to estimate when a man would have joined this battalion between 1908 and August 1914. For example, if your man had the number 1500 and came from Crook, he would have joined in the first quarter of 1912 and would have probably served in D Company.
Remember. I research soldiers! Drop me a line if you need help
To search for photos of your Durham Light Infantry ancestors, check my British Army Ancestors website.
The 7th Battalion was a Territorial Force unit which had been formed out of the old 2nd Volunteer Battalion. In 1908, as The Territorial Year Book for 1909 records, the 7th Battalion strength comprised 24 officers and 808 men. The following year, The Territorial Year Book for 1910 recorded that the strength of the 7th Battalion had risen to 23 officers and 980 men.
The battalion was headquartered at Coventry, and A, B, C & D Companies all drew their recruits from Coventry. E Company recruited in Rugby, F Company recruited in Leamington, G Company recruited in Warwick (and had a drill station at Kenilworth), and H Company recruited in Nuneaton. Pre 1914-1918 the battalion formed part of the Warwickshire Infantry Brigade in the South Midland Division. Here are some sample regimental numbers and joining dates for the the 7th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment:
935 joined on the 6th April 1908
1106 joined on the 1st March 1909
1280 joined on the 18th July 1910
1325 joined on the 8th February 1911
1484 joined on the 26th February 1912
1756 joined on the 14th March 1913
2110 joined on the 18th February 1914
2678 joined on the 5th September 1914
Use the
regimental numbers above to estimate when a man would have joined this
battalion between 1908 and August 1914. For example, if your man had the number
1500 and came from Coventry, he would have joined in, approximately, March 1913
and would have served in A, B, C or D Company.
Remember. I research soldiers! Drop me a line if you need help
To search for photos of
your Royal Warwickshire Regiment ancestors, check my British Army Ancestors website.
