Sherwood Foresters - Other Rank PoWs 1914

There are 530 men on this list of Sherwood Foresters soldiers who were captured by the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. This data has been transcribed from the  following Imperial War Museum collections:

B.O.2 1/285: a thirty-page typed list of Sherwood Foresters Prisoners of War.  No date or sender.
B.O.2 1/286: a fifteen-page typed list of Sherwood Foresters Prisoners of War dated 6th Jan 1919 and date stamped 28 Jan 1919 by Lichfield Infantry Record Office. Addresses and ranks appear to pre-date information contained in B.O.2 1/285.

My full transcription of these men (not reproduced here) also contains the home address and/or next of kin address of all of the men. For more information about these so-called 'Princess Mary tin PoWs' see my 1914 PoWs page. The majority of these men will also have records published by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Searching is free; finding your man is another matter entirely.

The full transcription is available for sale for £25. Contact me if you would like to purchase a copy.

 I research soldiers! 

Contact me if you need help with your military ancestor.

9820 Lance-Corporal J Adams, 12242 Private J Addison, 9822 Private C H Allen, 8594 Private H Allen, 12013 Private A Allitt, 9445 Private W H Allott, 9565 Private P Altoft, 10060 Private C Anderson, 11972 Private H Ashall, 10013 Corporal W Ashmore, 9191 Private J Ashton, 8956 Private R Aspinall, 10374 Sergeant E Astill, 11913 Private J Astill, 11870 Private G Atkins, 8685 Private J Attenborough, 9909 Private F Attenborough, 11944 Private A Ault.

11402 Private A Bacon, 8825 Private J Bailey, 8703 Private J Bailey, 8541 Private T Bailey, 11906 Private W Bailey, 9321 Private A Ball, 8480 Private W Banks, 10000 Private W Barber, 12152 Corporal B Barker, 9362 Private B Barnaby, 8877 Private R Barnett, 10833 Private S Barnett, 12133 Private H Barrowcliffe, 12212 Private C W Bartholomew, 10076 Private A H Barton, 8773 Private J Beard, 10052 Private S Beardmore, 9142 Private J H Beardsmore, 8901 Private E Beasley, 10028 Corporal C E Beck,  9287 Private G F Beckett, 11826 Corporal N Bennett, 10718 Corporal R Bennett, 10955 Private S Bennett, 11478 Corporal W Berral, 9170 Corporal H Beswick, 9568 Private E Bewley, 9053 Private J Billyard, 9317 Private G Blakeway, 9186 Private J Bland, 11985 H B D Bohan 12161, Private H V Bond, 12172 Private A Bonsall, 9908 Private G Booth, 8517 Private J Bowler, 9875 Lance-Corporal W Bowman,9723 Private J Bradshaw, 6280 Corporal T Bradshaw, 9947 Private A E Braithwaite, 9136 Private J Brannan, 12053 Corporal L Bray, 8884 Lance-Corporal F Brentnall, 12258 Private W Brett, 11752 Corporal P Brinklow, 10298 Drummer W Brittle, 9048 Private G Broadhurst, 9543 Private T Brown, 9164 Private W Brownlow, 8706 Private T Bull, 8534 Corporal W Burbury, 9644 Sergeant P Burke, 9780 Private F Burman, 8641 Private W Burns, 12156 Private A Burrows, 11899 Private C Burton, 10067 Private W Burton, 9665 Private J Bush.

9231 Private J Campion, 9456 Corporal J Carter, 8634 Private P Chamberlain, 12225 Private F Chantry, 8849 Private C Chapman, 12169 Private H Chapman, 11409 Private H Cheek, 11827 Corporal T H Chell, 10015 Private C Chesterton, 9266 Private A China, 9489 Lance-Corporal A Clark, 10016 Private G Clarke, 9787 Private J Clarke, 12046 Lance-Corporal H J Clay, 12115 Private A Cole, 9899 Private C Colley, 11320 Private J W Collings,10164 Private W Collis, 9330 Private T Colson, 12124 Corporal F Coltman, 11828 Corporal W Comery, 9676 Lance-Corporal A Conley, 6995 Private F H Cooper, 12099 Private J W Cooper, 8939 Private A Corker, 11019 Private A Corner, 11984 Private S Costall, 9563 Private H Cosway, 8832 Private E Cotteridge, 12227 Private N Cox, 5921 Sergeant H Cragg, 9751 Private T Crane, 8632 Private J Crawford, 9323 Private A Cresswell, 9451 Corporal C Crinage, 8546 Private G Crocker, 9892 Private R Crooks, 8628 Private J Cunningham, 11454 Corporal G Cutler, 9494 Private W Cutts, 12308 Private W H Cutts.

9792 Private B Davenport, 9219 Private J Davidson, 12138 Private W Davidson, 8797 Private C Davis,  11994 Private J Dawes, 6960 Private H Daykin, 9410 Private E Dennis, 9978 Private S Dennison, 11401 Private F G Dibden, 9363 Private E Dicken, 9383 Private E Dickerson, 9905 Private J Dickinson, 11774 Private H Dickson, 8664 Private H C Dobbs, 9083 Private H J Doncaster, 9638 Private A Dove, 8813 Private J Drake, 12126 Private W Drakefield, 10707 Private W Drury, 9547 Private W Drury, 9483 Private W Dudson.

12052 Private Charles Arthur Earl, 9530 Private William Henry Eatherington, 8526 Corporal W F Ellicock, 9745 Private E Elms, 11682 Drummer F Else, 10124 Private E Elsmore.

9811 Private A Farmer, 9944 Private C Farrant, 9129 Private W Farrow, 9028 Private J Fawcett, 11260 Private G Fearis, 11882 Private A Fell, 9830 Private A Fisher, 10836 Private L Fisher, 9394 Private T Fitzgerald, 7330 Private G Fletcher, 10612 Corporal W Fletcher, 10129 Lance-Corporal John Flint, 10139 Lance-Corporal E W Ford, 9481 Private A Fowler, 9235 Private J Fowler, 12101 Private W Fox, 12042 Private E Frost, 9637 Sergeant H Fulton.

11917 Private A Gale, 10654 Private E Gale, 12193 Private J H Garner, 9771 Private W H Gasson, 10711 Sergeant J Geary, 12209 Private J Geddes, 9926 Sergeant Charles George, 6457 Private W Gerrard, 8668 Private A Giddings, 10167 Private J W Gilbert, 8622 Lance-Corporal A Gill, 9509 Private J Gilliatt, 10006 Private T W L Gothard, 9943 L/Cpl Thomas Grant, 10582 Private W Green, 10292 Corporal T E Greenhalgh, 10798 Private A Greenwood, 15183 Private R Gribble, 9233 Private William Grierson, 12122 Private E Grigg, 7194 Private J Grimwood.

8709 Private J Hackett, 10880 Private T Hall, 9697 Private G Hallam, 12058 Private G H Hallam, 12044 Corporal J F Hallam, 11196 L/Cpl William James Hallam, 10165 Sergeant A Handley, 12106 Lance-Corporal A Hanson, 8844 Private J Harding, 9741 Private H Hardy, 9627 Private H Harker, 10625 Private J Harris, 9148 Private G Harrison, 9662 Private W Harrison, 10109 Private E Harvey, 12155 Corporal E Harvey, 9687 Sergeant Harvey, 8760 Private T Hatherley, 12154 Private T A Hawley, 10090 Private W Haycox, 9273 Private W H Hazard, 8766 Lance-Corporal G Heard, 9803 Private H Heard, 10043 Private Thomas Hemsley, 9699 Lance-Corporal L Henshaw, 10091 Pte William Henry Herbert, 3858 Private Charles Herrington, 10250 Private F Herrod, 11420 Private W Heslop, 8574 Private A Heys, 12210 Lance-Corporal C Hibbert, 10593 Private G Hibbert, 8940 Private G Hickey, 8538 Sergeant J Hickton, 9419 Private Walter H Hilditch, 9275 Private T Hill, 10881 Sergeant G H Hillier, 15909 Private T C Hillyard, 10180 Private A Hodgkinson, 11829 Private S F Hodson, 9139 Sergeant J Hoey, 10093 Private W Hollis, 8433 Private W Holloway, 8636 Private W Holloway, 9399 Private W Hooton, 12234 Private J W Hopewell, 9791 Private F Hornbuckle, 8511 Private J Hoult, 8646 Private F Housley, 10122 Corporal E Howard, 9138 Private J Howie, 9990 Private J Huskins.

9250 Private G Jackson, 9907 Sergeant W Jamieson, 18812 Private A Johnson, 12074 Private J Johnson, 12201 Private W Johnson, 12213 Private E Jones, 12102 Private F Jones, 11916 Private L Jones, 11832 Corporal F Jordan, 9352 Lance-Corporal Keeley, 10524 Sergeant Keeton, 9742 Corporal Kelly, 11456 Sergeant Kelly, 9910 Private Kerr, 8590 Private Kershaw, 11995 Private King 12314 Private Kirk, 11015 Private Kirkham, 12085 Private Knowles, 9462 Private Knowles, 8872 Private Kyle

10229 Private James Henry Lane, 8871 Lance-Corporal W Langham, 11979 Private S Lea, 9831 Private W Lee, 9319 Private Sydney Leigh, 9290 Private W Lester, 10089 Private J H Ley,  9370 Private A Litchfield, 8406 Private E Lomas, 9081 Private George Oliver Lowe, 12031 Private B Lye, 10021 Private D Lynch, 10648 Private C Lyons.

8840 Private J Maddocks, 9252 Private Maddocks, 9521 Private F Mahon, 12005 Private T Mahon, 10036 Private S Mantle, 10458 Lance-Sergeant B Marriott, 9369 Private J Marriott, 8518 Private F Marsh, 9874 Private L Marsh, 11855 Lance-Corporal F Marshall, 10912 Private J Marshall, 9738 Sergeant W Marshall, 10853 Corporal Mason, 11585 Private E Matthews, 9477 Private J Matthews, 9657 Private Matthews, 10370 Corporal F Mawson, 8730 Private J H May, 10132 Private J S McCulloch, 12061 Lance-Corporal McNulty, 9765 Private John Charles Mead,  11179 Corporal C W Mee, 8472 Private F Mee, 10664 Private S Mee, 11149 Private T Mee, 9573 Private W Mellors, 10637 Corporal Merriman, 11965 Private T Merry, 9849 Lance-Corporal W H Merry, 9593 Private W Midwood, 12011 Private Albert Miller, 10221 Private T C Miller, 9840 Private Miller, 12017 Private Morris, 10501 Private A Morritt, 10320 Sergeant Mortimer, 9708 Corporal H Moss, 12108 Private Mullins, 8600 Private C Mycock.

8681 Private Abraham Naden, 11429 Private J Naden, 9243 Private W Neal, 9187 Lance-Corporal Eric E Needham, 12037 Private H Needham, 10930 Corporal W H Needham, 8821 Private J Newbold, 9756 Private William George Newbold, 9999 Private P Newborn, 11887 Private W Newbury, 9686 Private A Newton, 12111 Private W Newton, 8820 Private E Niblett, 8593 Private Leonard Nicholas, 10653 Corporal J Nicholls, 11863 Private R Nobles, 6299 Private J North.

11566 Private W O'Brien, 10243 Private Frank O'Connor, 10814 Private R O'Connor, 10668 Lance-Corporal R Oldfield, 9060 Private T Oscroft, 8804 Private A Owen.

9255 Private F Palmer, 11098 Corporal F Parfitt, 11208 Private E W Parr, 11648 Corporal W Parrish, 10816 Private J W Partridge, 10502 Private A Pattison, 18250 Private Robert Peace, 10290 Private Robert Peace, 10638 Private A Peach, 9123 Private F Pearson, 9855 Private A Peck, 9063 Private Bertie Penney, 6366 Corporal Frank Perkins, 9366 Corporal Frank Perkins, 10161 Private H Perkins, 9322 Private W Perry, 12322 Sergeant Percy Phillips, 9057 Private E Pike, 9759 Private A Platts, 11592 Corporal A Pleasance, 8586 Private W Plenty, 9798 Private W Plumtree, 10094 Acting Sergeant H Potter, 12001 Private E Poxon, 8918 Private W Pratt, 9761 Private V Pritchard, 8587 Private J H Pryor, 10765 Private O Pursglove, 11765 Corporal W Pykett.

12018 Private H S Raby, 11850 Private F Radford, 8785 Lance-Corporal G Radford, 12279 Private S Radford, 10198 Private S A Radford, 10133 Private C Rasdall, 9737 Private J Read, 12084 Private A Reaney, 9620 Private B Redgate, 9971 Sergeant W Reid, 9017 Private J Renshaw, 12033 Corporal J W Revill, 18971 Lance-Corporal A Rhodes, 11775 Private G Richardson, 11766 Private G H Rick, 9996 Private L Rippon, 9711 Corporal F Roberts, 8717 Private J Roberts, 10585 Lance-Corporal W Roberts, 11692 Sergeant G Robinson, 9504 Private J W Robinson, 9249 Private J Robottom, 9650 Private G Rockley, 9561 Private J Rockley, 8990 Private Thomas Rogers, 10128 Private E Rollett, 9157 Private W Rose, 11124 Corporal A E Ross, 9132 Private E Rowe.

9931 Private S Sault, 11039 Private J W Sawyer, 9511 Private W Sawyer, 11878 Private H Scott, 6537 CSM J Seagrave, 9736 Private A Sedgewick, 11793 Private W Sellars, 10096 Private A Seymour, 8359 Sergeant A Seymour, 9390 Private C Shakespeare, 10251 Lance-Corporal A Sharpe, 11952 Private A Shaw, 7319 Sergeant E Shaw, 11613 Private W H Shaw, 9970 Lance-Corporal E Shearman, 11822 Private E Shenton, 9283 Private W Shepherd, 12163 Private W Sheriff, 10029 Private J Sherlock, 9211 Private H Shilcock, 12081 Private W P Shilton, 10138 Private W Shirt, 11867 Private Ernest Arthur Sibbert, 12034 Corporal J Simms, 9883 Private C Singleton, 9691 Private J Slack, 10072 Private R Smalley, 9635 Private H Smeeton, 9316 Private A Smith, 8468 Private E Smith, 9922 Corporal F Smith, 9693 Private G Smith, 11861 Private G A Smith, 8601 Private J Smith, 8544 Private J Smith, 10114 Lance-Corporal J H Smith, 12162 Corporal P Smith, 1468 Private S C Smith, 9520 Private Thomas Smith, 12057 Private W Smith, 8402 Corporal W Smith, 9012 Private F Soar, 9690 Private Frederick Sowter, 8961 Private W Spencer, 9411 Corporal J Spray, 9402 Corporal C Spybey, 11680 Private C Staples, 10046 Corporal E Staples, 9392 Private J Staples, 4464 Sergeant John Staples, 8881 Lance-Corporal A Stapleton, 9867 Private J Startin, 9230 Private G Steadman, 12103 Private W Steele, 8560 Private F Stevens, 12168 Private A Stevenson, 9628 Private E Stevenson, 9877 Private W Stevenson, 11757 Private S Stewardson, 12129 Corporal H Straw, 9572 Private T Stroud, 9707 Lance-Corporal J Stubbs, 12110 Lance-Corporal H Styring, 11455 Private S Swain, 12144 Private H Swift, 11002 Private J L Symons.

12125 Private A Tanner, 10838 Private A Taylor, 10819 Private F Taylor, 9532 Private Frank Taylor, 12107 Private Fred Taylor, 10922 Sergeant G Taylor, 10963 Sergeant L Taylor, 6932 Sergeant James Tebbutt, 9415 Private E Theobald, 11562 Sergeant C Thompson, 9897 Private F Thompson, 9010 Private G Thorley, 6973 CSM H Thorpe, 11140 Corporal F Tindall, 10431 Sergeant P Tingle, 9997 Private F Tombs, 10235 Private G Tomlinson, 6547 Lance-Corporal H Tongue, 8934 Private T Toole, 9684 Corporal J Topham, 10918 Corporal A Towle, 5901 Sergeant T Toy, 8727 Corporal H Trussell, 12303 Private W Tulley, 9103 Private J Tunnicliffe, 11963 Private D Turner, 5169 CSM J Turner, 10208 Private R Turner, 8694 Lance-Corporal F Tyers.

9924 Sergeant Allan Walden, 9335 Private C Walker, 11999 Corporal J Walker, 9870 Private S Walker, 12223 Sergeant W Walker, 8898 Private G H Walters, 8470 Private J Ward, 10353 Sergeant C Wardle, 9100 Sergeant C Watson, 12255 Private H Watson, 12060 Private W Watts, 8700 Private C Weaver, 9534 Private J Webber, 9408 Private E Welch, 9014 Corporal H Wells, 9227 Private Herbert Wells, 12093 Private Albert West, 9435 Private Arthur West, 11871 Private S West, 9688 Private C Weston, 9418 Private F Whitehurst, 10852 Private C Whittington, 5941 Private G Whitworth, 8401 Private A Wilde, 11628 Corporal W Wilkes, 9912 Corporal J Williamson, 10105 Lance-Corporal F Wilson, 10693 Private H A Wilson, 11877 Private W Winfield,  Private T Winston, 9557 Private T Winterton, 9772 Private A Withers, 9318 Corporal F A Wood, 12304 Private Thomas Wood, 9558 Private C Woodhouse, 8914 Private H Woodward, 8670 Sergeant G Wright, 8448 Private J W Wright, 9151 Private W E Wright, 8638 Private W E Wright, 9160 Private W Wyld.

8900 Private F Yeomans, 5342 Sgt-Major S G Yeomans, 8865 Private H Young.

'A' Special Company, 1st Battalion, Special Brigade, Royal Engineers

This photograph was taken in France in August 1916 and shows men of 'A' Special Company, 1st Battalion, Special Brigade, Royal Engineers; a gas company. All of these men had transferred into the Royal Engineers from infantry battalions and the man I was researching is Samuel Athron who stands on the back row, far left.

Helpfully, Samuel had identified the forenames of eight of his companions, with the missing man - Larrat Sarcan, back row, far right - identified on the reverse.

Using Samuel Athron's new regimental number as the starting point, and running some simple searches on my British Army Ancestors website, I was quickly able to identify ALL of his companions in this photograph. I started with the uncommon names like Stronach, Sarcan and Walby and, identifying a pattern with the first three digits of the Royal Engineers numbers, plus the prior service with infantry units, quickly mapped out more details. Here are the men:

128749 2nd Cpl Samuel Athron; formerly 21844 York & Lancaster Regiment

128748 Pioneer Horace R Webster; formerly 24053 York & Lancaster Regiment

128729 Pioneer Arthur Hudson; formerly 24043 York & Lancaster Regiment

128336 Pioneer John A Murray; formerly 24391 Worcestershire Regiment

129349 Pioneer Larrat W Sarcan; formerly 22240 York & Lancaster Regiment

129599 Sgt John Stronach; formerly 1411 Gordon Highlanders

128747 Pioneer Harold F Walby; formerly 24056 York & Lancaster Regiment

128574 Pioneer Peter Makin; formerly 26946 KOYLI 

129073 2nd Cpl Gladstone Stoker; formerly 27677 Northumberland Fusiliers

128742 Pioneer Leonard Smalley; formerly 24047 York & Lancaster Regiment

Arthur Hudson and John Stronach both have surviving service records. Note too that the majority of the men have connections with northern regiments, with 60% of this small sample having formerly served with the York & Lancaster Regiment. 

The Special Cylinder Companies of the Royal Engineers were formed as part of the British Army's response to the German gas attacks of 1915 and there are distinct patterns of regimental numbering within these companies. In other words, it is mostly possible to identify the particular gas company that a man served with, from his regimental number.

A fascinating photo, courtesy of Samuel's son, David Athron, and a nice research project to work on. I am particularly pleased that I was able to identify all of the men in this photo and I have added their individual head and shoulders shots to the British Army Ancestors gallery.

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15th Hussars - Other Rank PoWs 1914

These men of the 15th Hussars were all captured on or before the 25th December 1914. Read more about this data source on my 1914 PoWs page. This data has been transcribed from the Imperial War Museum's collection, specifically item B.O.2 1//161 which is a five-page hand-written letter (two lists, with many identical details but some unique information against some men) dated 13th Jan 1919.   My full transcription of these men (not reproduced here) also contains the home address of all of the men.

The full transcription is available for sale as part of a Hussars PoW roll - 350+ names in all - for £20. Contact me if you would like to purchase a copy.

For more information about these so-called 'Princess Mary tin PoWs' see my 1914 PoWs page. The majority of these men will also have records published by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Searching is free; finding your man is another matter entirely.

3401 Corporal F Abbott, 728 Lance-Corporal F Aspinall, 4502/40335 Private W Atkins. 

7323 Private W Baker, 8640 Lance-Corporal G Ball, 123 Private F G Batt, 10189 Private J Blake, 2342 Private F A Butler.

4562/40345 Private W Cameron, 7318 Private G Causey, 7476 Private M Crow.

7362 Private E Dallard, 4742 Trumpeter Day.

8308 Private H Edwards.

8607 Private H Fudge.

7368 Corporal C Garforth, 4774/46407 Lance-Corporal Charles Gogarty, 746 Trumpeter G Goode, 5968 Private H Grant.

7403 Private G Hill.

656 Private A Johnson, 2494 Lance-Corporal F Johnson, 496 Private F W Johnson. 

4507/46336 Lance-Corporal A Lyons.

4412/46318 Saddler D McDonald, 4710 Private A McFarlane.

4475 Private W S Nicholson.

124 Private F Painter, 3564/46295 Private W Parsons, 3211 Private F Pearce, 3172 Private W Pearce, 1836 Private J Phillips.

4501 Cpl Ernest J Roffey, 4501 Corporal W Roffey, 4725/46387 Private J Rooke.

998 Private G Slack, 1055 Saddler C Stunt.

2616 Private G J Trump.

1033 Private W Webb, 5450 Private H Wells, 7231 Trumpeter Whitmore, 7332 Private G Wingrove, 4756/46398 Sergeant Ernest V Winyard.

566 Private A Young.

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Happy Birthday - 10 years old

I see that this Army Service Numbers 1881-1918 blog is ten years old today and as I launched it when I was living in India, it seems fitting that the image on this post should be from the Durbar that took place in Delhi in 1911. The new King Emperor George V and his wife Queen Mary were regally entertained with all the pomp and ceremony one might have expected.

Queen Victoria's army and the armies of her son, King Edward VII, and his son, King George V, remain a passion for me. In the last ten years I have written over 500 posts for this blog, not to mention countless posts for my other blogs. Last year, I launched a new initiative, British Army Ancestors, a site where you can upload photographs of your soldier ancestors and which also works rather well as a fast free search of over 11.6m British Army records sourced from The National Archives and elsewhere. It's free to search but you'll need to pay to view records.

In the meantime, I will continue to post information on this blog and I welcome comments, although the sheer volume of correspondence I receive means that sometimes my responses are delayed. 

So thanks for supporting this blog and in the meantime, "Happy Birthday to Army Service Numbers 1881-1918, Happy Birthday to Army Service Numbers 1881-1918..."

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Somerset Light Infantry - regimental number analysis

Some while back I posted a list of men of the Somersetshire Light Infantry who had been captured by the Germans on or before Christmas Day 1914. You can read my Somerset Regiment PoWs post by clicking on the link. Anyway, here are those men again in regimental number order:

4661 Sergeant Patrick Williams, 4789 Sergeant H Lugg  

5324 Private G Hawthorne, 5446 Lance-Corporal W Knight, 5456 Private F Allen, 5569 Private O Veale, 5806 Sergeant W Tooze, 5878 Private W Fear, 5968 Sgt Bugler J Prince  

6029 Private T Biggs, 6188 Private J Duxberry, 6296 Private W J Crockson, 6359 Private R Roberts, 6453 Private P Garter, 6590 Private G Morgan, 6596 Private C Webber, 6609 Private J Appleton,  6637 Private W Chapman, 6653 Private J Mounce, 6661 Private James S Wilkins, 6681 Private G Willis, 6689 Private T Murley, 6700 Private S Dyer, 6703 Private G Wills, 6712 Private J Arthur,  6739 Private Arthur Burt, 6774 Private C Bailey, 6778 Private P Phillips, 6926 Private J Anderson  6950 Private C Bullock, 6956 Private Frank Stone, 6960 Private H Soper, 6975 Private W Coleman, 6997 Corporal D Gillespie, 6999 Private W Oates  

7004 Private J Dredge, 7028 Corporal J Willis, 7043 Private J Branchflower, 7045 Private A Ford, 7061 Private W Baldwin, 7092 Private H Gunningham, 7101 Private C Holder, 7103 Private A Gray, 7108 Private A Gray, 7129 Private H Gillard, 7167 Corporal W Care, 7196 Private D Golden, 7227 Private J Tucker, 7234 Private F Long, 7274 Lance-Corporal T Smale, 7279 Private H Burt, 7289 Private R Kates, 7303 Private J Meadon, 7307 Private C Hacker, 7315 Private A Bowsher, 7338 Corporal E Davies, 7341 Private E Derrick, 7344 Private C Greet, 7360 Private T Hampshire,7360 Private T Humphries, 7361 Private P Francis, 7369 Private S Summerhayes, 7412 Private F Smith, 7413 Private J Houlding, 7418 Private G Hann, 7421 Lance-Sergeant C Wills, 7464 Private J Ford,  7471 Private H Joyce, 7478 Private C Stokes, 7489 Private Albert S Pitt  7498 Private J Derrick  7505 Private W Harding  7512 Corporal C H A Dally, 7534 Private T Whalley 7545 Private A Wathen  7563 Private H Nash  7570 Private F J Young, 7576 Private T French, 7581 Private W Cousins, 7613 Private L Grant, 7615 Private H Compton, 7620 Private F Stokes, 7634 Private F Weston, 7667 Private C Pafford, 7667 Private W Coombs, 7690 Private F Parsons, 7727 Private E Kerby, 7732 Private A Garland, 7741 Private Charles Barber, 7778 Sergeant W Ford, 7792 Private W Hill, 7795 Private H Hawkins, 7823 Private W Jones, 7824 Private J Langdon 7835 Private George Popham  7843 Private V Tout  7903 Lance-Corporal W Spencer  7918 Private C O'Hare, 7933 Private W J Sawyer, 7936 Lance-Corporal C Craven, 7940 Private A Drew, 7964 Private F Chapman, 7978 Private Frederick McCready, 7987 Lance-Corporal James S White, 7990 Private S Balbin, 7990 Private S H Belbin, 7996 Private B Wallace  

8035 Private A Dawson, 8037 Private E Squires, 8059 Lance-Corporal J Lee, 8185 Sergeant E Rogers, 8198 Lance-Corporal J Davis, 8263 Lance-Corporal J Butler, 8294 Corporal A Phipps, 8328 Private J Stoker, 8343 Private F Mitchell, 8346 Corporal A Heath, 8354 Private F Hucklesby, 8409 Private L Hartridge, 8429 Private F Lewis, 8496 Private F Pugsley, 8498 Private C Weeks, 8574 Private J Withers, 8604 Lance-Corporal E Hayward, 8609 Corporal F Cobb, 8735 Private D Hall, 8742 Private P Smart, 8834 Private A Whitlock, 8843 Lance-Corporal E Goodman, 8942 Private C Medhurst, 8955 Private B Furzer, 8962 Bugler J West, 8981 Lance-Corporal C Bird, 9057 Private W Sullivan, 9074 Lance-Corporal F Pocock, 9109 Corporal R Collins, 9125 Private C Williams, 9149 Private W Rainey, 9150 Private J Oliver, 9166 Private P A Phillips, 9191 Lance-Corporal W Dunster, 9203 Private W Clifford, 9213 Private E J Masters, 9220 Bugler A Bell, 9254 Private W Margetts, 9327 Private W Phillips, 9329 Private W Randell, 9366 Lance-Corporal W E Morgan, 9373 Lance-Corporal J Hawkins, 9399 Private W H Webb, 9412 Private R Wiltshire, 9418 Private F Cox, 9426 Private L Everall, 9463 Private R Buller, 9481 Bugler A White, 9482 Private S Hines, 9513 Private F Phillips, 9515 Private H Trask, 9517 Lance-Corporal Harry Sarsfield, 9519 Private J Havard, 9523 Private E W Davidge, 9527 Private H King, 9531 Private P Harris, 9545 Lance-Corporal A Cross,  9547 Lance-Corporal E Hopkins, 9552 Private A James, 9553 Private J Smith, 9568 Lance-Corporal S Southwood, 9583 Private S Cossins, 9595 Private E Poole, 9618 Private W Porter, 9626 Private Thomas J Legg, 9632 Private W Taylor, 9636 Private S Driscoll, 9637 Private A English, 9641 Private A E Hanks, 9641 Private A Hawks, 9656 Private Samuel S Sims, 9675 Private J Hollick,  9677 Private H Day, 9682 Private A Peppin,  9684 Private F Linham, 9694 Private H Burgess, 9726 Private T Reynolds,  9727 Private G Garland,  9731 Private M Hargett. 

Using my post on Somersetshire regimental numbers as a reference source it should, on the face of it, be a relatively easy task to work out when the men above enlisted. 4661 Sergeant Williams is the longest serving man here and his number indicates that he joined the regiment in May or June 1896. At the other end of the scale, 9731 Private Morley Hargett can only have joined the regiment in May 1914. These men were thus a mixture of seasoned old hands - many of these men recalled from the army reserve - and recent recruits; men who in the normal; course of events should still have been completing their training rather than facing Von Kluck's army in Belgium.

But there were other men in the same regiment who served overseas alongside these career soldiers and these were the men of the Special Reserve. Whereas a career soldier joined the army for 12 years - a combination of colour service and reserve service - a man joined the Special Reserve for a period of six years and did all his soldiering, very much on a part-time basis, at home in the UK. Nevertheless, these men were aware that in the event of war they could be called out to replace casualties in the regular battalions. And this is precisely what happened.

The Special Reserve, heirs to the militia which had ceased to exist in 1908, had their own regimental number series (often the same number series that had been used by the militia) and in many cases there was a duplication of numbers which were also being used by the regular battalions. So in the case of the Somerset Light Infantry, for instance, numbers in the 6000s were being issued to men enlisting as career soldiers (destined for the 1st and 2nd Battalions) between 1901 and 1903 whilst numbers in the 6000s, but from an entirely different number series, were being issued to men of the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion who joined the regiment between 1909 and 1914. 

In some cases these men of the Special Reserve are easy enough to spot because their numbers are prefixed with the number 3/. However, this convention was not universally adopted and it still catches people out or makes like difficult when trying to understand precisely when a man joined up. I'm paraphrasing here, but I'm often asked questions along the lines of "My grandfather had the number 6300 which according to your site would have been issued to him in 1902 when he was nine years old!" The answer, of course, is that grandad was a member of the Special Reserve and he joined the regiment in 1913 when he was 20.

The photo on this post is of 8037 Ernest Squires, a career soldier, who appears in the list above and spent most of the war in a German PoW camp.

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V Platoon, B Coy, 23rd Manchester Regiment

These men all appear in the Manchester City Battalions, Book of Honour published by Sherratt and Hughes in 1916. I've had a copy on my shelf for years and it's a very useful reference work; essential in fact for anyone with an interest in the Manchester Regiment.

There were eight service battalions, numbering from the 16th through to the 23rd Battalion and the book features photos of the men in platoon order, with separate photos for officers, NCOs, and bands. The big frustration with the book is that although the photos are accompanied by lists of names of the men who appear, it is impossible - for the most part - to identify who is who. Apart from some ordering by rank, there appears to be no logic to the way in which the names are recorded. I've puzzled over this for years but I'm still no closer to arriving at an answer.

Nevertheless, it is possible to identify some men and the crop above is a good example of this. The man on the left wears the rank insignia of a company quartermaster sergeant. He is seated next to an officer - a lieutenant judging by his cuffs - and he in turn sits next to the company sergeant major. The book tells us that these men are Lt J E Rothband, 21529 CQMS J Hunt and 23015 CSM W Gorin.

Jacob (Jack) Eustace Rothband, above,  was killed in action at Mametz Wood on the 19th July 1916. He was 37 years old and is buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery at Mametz. Photo from British Jewry Book of Hnour 1914-1920.

21529 Warrant Officer Class 2 John Hunt later served in the Tank Corps with the number 75480. He died in 1919 and is buried under a  Commonwealth War Graves headstone in Boltonj (Heaton) Cemetery. He was 25 years old.

28515 CSM Walter Gorin was an old soldier who had originally joined the 3rd Gloucestershire regiment as an 18-year-old in 1897 and subsequently enlisted with the Grenadier Guards in 1899, serving in South Africa. He would be killed in action on the 20th July 1916 whilst serving with the 23rd Manchester Regiment.  The Manchester City Battalions book incorrectly records his regimental number as 23015.

I have added this photo to these men's profiles on my British Army Ancestors website. For more information on the numbering in these City Battalions, see my earlier posts:

16th, 17th & 18th Manchesters (1st, 2nd and 3rd City Battalions) 
19th, 20th & 21st Manchesters (4th, 5th and 6th City Battalions)
22nd, 23rd & 24th Manchesters (7th & 8th City Battalions and the Oldham Pioneers)

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Royal Fusiliers - 18th, 19th, 20th & 21st (Public Schools) Battalions

It doesn't take a lot to sidetrack me. In this case, the distraction came about as a result of the most wonderful collection of photographs from the David Knights-Whittome photographic archive which has been published on flickr. Amongst the many portraits published are several hundred of soldiers who were photographed during the First World War, and of these the vast majority are of men who served with the Public Schools battalions of the Royal Fusiliers.

David Knights-Whittome had studios at Epsom and Sutton, and the 18th Royal Fusiliers, 19th Royal Fusiliers, 20th Royal Fusiliers and 21st Royal Fusiliers were all formed at Epsom on the 11th September 1914 by the Public Schools and University Men's Force. Unlike so many photographic portraits of the First World War, the majority of these images are named, the original glass plates having been stored in envelopes with the customers' names and date of studio visit recorded. For me, it's been a fascinating exercise trying to match up names to the men's medal index cards or service records. I've identified quite a few men already and I've been posting the results on my British Army Ancestors website.

The regimental numbering of these battalions is far from simple and does not reflect when a man joined up. What happened with these men is that having enlisted with the regiment they were then grouped alphabetically and then issued with their regimental numbers, all of these numbers prefixed with the letters PS/ for Public Schools. What follows should be taken as a rough guidance to regimental numbering in the four public schools battalions.

PS/1 to PS/1135
19th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers; numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/1136 to PS/1183 (and possibly to PS/1188)
19th Battalion, non-alphabetical
PS/1189 to PS/2281
18th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/2282 to PS/2398
Mostly unknown, some 18th Battalion men
PS/2399 to PS/3419
21st (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/3421 to PS/3615
Mostly alphabetical,and mostly 19th Battalion (albeit note that I only have 19 identified men within this regimental number range)
PS/3617 to PS/3682
19th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers; numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/3689 to PS/3960
18th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers; numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/3977 to PS/4298
21st (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, numbered alphabetically A-Z
PS/4301 to PS/4363
Mostly 19th Battalion but with some 21st Battalion as well; non-alphabetical listing
PS/4368 to PS/5824
Mostly 20th Battalion, alphabetical (albeit note that I only have 466 identified men within this large regimental number range)
PS/5827 to PS/5997
Mostly alphabetical but a mix of battalions

From PS/5997 onwards, the alphabetical by surname sequencing disappears and the men join various battalions. 

There are large gaps in my data - which I have largely compiled from medal rolls - and many of these gaps are as a result of men being commissioned. It should be remembered that these men were drawn from universities and public schools and somewhat belatedly it was realised that many of them could more usefully serve His Majesty's Army by becoming officers. Some men were commissioned having already done a stint overseas as other ranks in the Public Schools battalions but other men were pulled out of these battalions before they had ever set foot in France. That's one of the reasons that the Knights-Whittome archive is so fascinating because here, in many cases, are the only photos of soon-to-be officers, proudly posing in their privates' uniform.

There is still much more work for me to do on these Royal Fusiliers battalions, but it's an intriguing distraction from other projects.

The photo on this page is courtesy the David Knights-Whittome photographic archive and shows, left to right, Pte A Lancaster; PS/5756 Pte Thomas Thornber, 20th Battalion; currently unidentified.

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1st Battalion Rifle Brigade - Football team 1907-08

In a week when the England football team has fallen at another World Cup hurdle, here's a team photo from another era. As the caption states, these men all belong to the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade football team, and they won the Irish Army Cup by beating the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers 3.0 at Dublin in April 1908.

Helpfully, the photo names the players and I have added more details to some of these men, as follows:

Sgt William James Jelley (subsequently commissioned)

5111 Acting Corporal John Mears

3408 Acting Corporal George Vaughan Laidler

7423 Acting Corporal Walter Kempton

Lieutenant Christopher William Cookson

Rifleman A Knott

Acting Corporal T Smith

Sergeant Major Leonard Eastmead

7375 Acting Sergeant Fred Midlane

9578 Bandsman Joseph Gilbert

6180 Rifleman Frank Horrocks

6158 Rifleman Sylvester Carey

6926 Acting Corporal Arthur Patrick

Corporal T Gregory

In each case I searched for the men on my British Army Ancestors website and was able to identify the men from their regimental numbers or surviving records in various series. The longest serving man here was George Laidler who enlisted in 1894. Joseph Gilbert was the most recent recruit, enlisting in January 1903.

Incidentally the "Acting" ranks were, as far as I know, peculiar to the Rifle Brigade at this time. "Acting" in the Rifle Brigade would have been "Lance" in other regiments.

Rifle Brigade Chronicles - For Sale

Tragically, Lieutenant Cookson died the year after this photogrpah was taken. His obituary appears in the Rifle Brigade Chronicle for 1909:

Christopher William Cookson joined the Regiment from the Militia, 20 May 1905, and served with the 1st Battalion in Malta and Ireland.

The tragic circumstances of  his deatrh are still fresh in the minds of Riflemen. On 7 April 1909 he went with a brother officer to fish in Maine Water, Randalstown, which had been rented by the battalion from Lord O'Neill. He appears to have fallen into a deep hole and the water in his wading boots rendered swimming impossible, there was also a very swift current running, and his companion was powerless to help him, nearly losing his own life in his efforts to save his friend.

He was only 26 years of age, and was a very popular and promising officer.

Military Books for sale

I've added another tab to this site so that I can offer military books for sale.

The sudden and untimely death of my next door neighbour at the age of 51 has made me think quite a lot about what would happen to my effects were I to peg-it tomorrow. Would my books be sold on and achieve their true value or would they be taken to the nearest charity shop? Worse still, would they simply be thrown out?

Having had some of my books on shelves for the best part of 40 years, I'd be horrified to think that such a fate should befall them and so I'm going to start weeding them out and passing them on to a new audience.

I will add to the Books for Sale list as I go on. In the meantime, I've started with a great collection of Rifle Brigade Chronicles from 1890 to 1932. All of the 1890s volumes were sold within a few hours but there is still a huge amount of information to be found in those volumes which remain.

Regimental annuals and regimental chronicles provide a massive amount of detail and, if you're very lucky, may even include your other-rank ancestor's name as well. For even if, by chance, a service record does happen to survive for the person you are interested in, it is unlikely to mention that he took part in a tug-of-war match, or was a member of the 1st Battalion football team, or won a shooting medal.

The Rifle Brigade chronicles are full of fascinating information (and the trivia vbeloved of our Victorian and Edwardian ancestors) and most of them are profusely illustrated as well. Each battalion of the regiment submitted annual returns and so here you'll see who the officers were, where the battalion was stationed and what it was doing. Quite simply, they're essential reading but I have two sets, one complete set which stretches from 1890 to 1965 and the other which covers 1890 to 1932 (with a few gaps). They take up a lot of room and so I'm pleased to offer them for sale.

All of the photos on this page are taken from various issues of the Rifle Brigade Chronicle.

14th London Regiment - Other Rank PoWs 1914

These London Scottish men were all captured by the Germans before Christmas Day 1914. Their regimental numbers are interesting and tell their own story. 217 Corporal Flockhart is the longest served man here, followed by 374 Corporal Carey and 336 Sergeant McGilvray. All three men were almost certainly serving members of the Volunteer Force who transferred to the Territorial Force in April 1908, signing up for further periods of service thereafter.

These men's names appear in two list held by the Imperial War Museum, one list giving their original regimental numbers, the second list showing their new numbers - for those who were still living -  which were issued in 1917.

Corporal Flockhart died in captivity in November 1914, as did 2302 Private Jordan. 2538 Private Gilfillan died on the 6th December 1914 and 2235 Private Wilkins died in March 1915. Home addresses or next of kin addresses in the case of those men who died, are also included in this small sample.

For more information about these so-called 'Princess Mary tin PoWs' see my 1914 PoWs page. The majority of these men will also have records published by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Searching is free; finding your man is another matter entirely.

1777 Private R L Anderson.

2013 Private H S A Bailes, 1573 Private R S Baillie, 2109 Private S F R Baker.

374 Corporal G M M Carey.

1931 Private C A S Dewar.

776 Lance-Corporal C A Farquharason, 217 Corporal W S Flockhart.

2528 Private A Gilfillan, 758 Lance-Corporal J E A Grucky.

1680 Private C H Hart.

1423 Private E T Johnson, 2302 Private George Graeme Jordan.

2046 Private R A S Mackenzie, 2342 Private R M McCallum, 336 Sergeant G McGilvray, 2182 Private A Michie.

1661 Private H C Phelps, 1920 Private C A Prior, 2201 Private D B Pryce.

1546 Private R Quin.

2031 Private A B Stewart.

1561 Lance-Corporal R S Taylor.

2235 Private Leslie Guy Wilkins.

1002 Corporal S Young.

The image I have used on this post pre-dates the Territorial Force. For a good account of The London Scottish read A Stuart Dolden's Cannon Fodder. I had a copy which I bought when it was first published in the early 1980s, and also wrote to the author, receiving a nice response from him. Regrettably, I sold both the book and the letter with it some years ago.

Remember. I research soldiers!

Drop me a line if you need help. 

Royal Fusiliers - Public Schools battalions

I've been looking at the fascinating David Knights-Whittome photographic archive on Flickr, a series of named glass photographic plates - the majority of these being portraits of soldiers and nurses who served during the First World War - that were thankfully rescued from a skip before it was too late. I have only just scratched the surface - possibly an inappropriate metaphor - of this archive, and I suspect I have many hours of pleasure in store. 

The beauty of this archive, apart from the clarity of most of the plates, is that the majority were enclosed in envelopes which give basic details about the sitters. And from those basic details it is possible, without a lot of digging, in some cases, to flesh out more information.

Frank Eaden Cook - 19th April 1915

Take the example of F E Cook and J E Cook - two photos of each - whose photos appear next to each other in this online collection. No regimental details are evident from the photos but I had noticed that there are a lot of portraits of men who served with Royal Fusiliers Public Schools battalions and so I ran a free search on my British Army Ancestors website, typing F* E* Cook Royal Fusiliers into the search book. The asterisk here is a wildcard which allows results to be surfaced for F E Cook as well as Frank E Cook, Frederick Ernest Cook etc. 

There was a promising result for a Frank Eaden Cook, a corporal in the 20th Royal Fusiliers, with the regimental number 4669; later a lieutenant with the 10th Manchester Regiment. Seeing that the brothers had been photographed together I suspected that they had probably enlisted together as well. To try and prove this theory I next ran a search for 46* Cook Royal Fusiliers. Lo and behold, PS/4671 John E Cook, 20th Royal Fusiliers was returned in the results. A quick search of the 1911 census then revealed that his middle name was - as I suspected - also Eaden. Frank is recorded as a 20-year-old commercial traveller and John as a 19-year-old designer, both men working in the wool trade, as was their father. The family was living in Huddersfield.

John Eaden Cook - 19th April 1915

The number 4670 was issued to another unrelated 'Cook' and this, I suppose, is the point of this post. There is clear evidence in the 20th (Public Schools) Battalion of men being grouped together alphabetically by surname and then issued with regimental numbers. I am sure that it will be possible, armed with this fact, to identify and fill in more details on some of the other men in the David Knights-Whittome photographic archive, and I look forward to doing so. 

As for the brothers, sadly there is no happy ending to their story. John Eaden Cook was killed in action on the 20th July 1916 whilst serving with the 20th Royal Fusiliers. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Frank Eaden Cook won the MC with the Manchester Regiment but was also killed in action on the 20th October 1918. He is buried in Belle Vue British Cemetery, Briastre. 

Thus the Great War claimed the lives of Frederick and Eleanor Cook's two sons. I have added Frank Eaden Cook and John Eaden Cook to the British Army Ancestors' database.