8th (Lanark) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

The 8th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was another of those Territorial Force which did not start numbering from 1 in 1908. Formerly the 9th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, it later became the 4th Volunteer Batttalion, HLI and continued with the 4th VB number series when the 8th HLI was born in April 1908. It was the only HLI Territorial Force battalion to adopt this practice.

5053 Pte James Dudgeon joined the 8th HLI on the 28th April 1908. His number though, dates way back to the 5th February 1902. By March 1908 the 4th VB was numbering at 5683 and I'll pick up the tale at this point.

This post will look at numbering in the 8th HLI between 1908 and December 1914. As usual, all of the information recorded below is taken from surviving service records in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives. These records can also be accessed via Ancestry.co.uk.

5683 joined the 4th VB HLI on the 20th March 1908
6060 joined the 8th HLI on 18th June 1908
6147 joined on 19th January 1908
6605 joined on 10th February 1908
6853 joined on 6th February 1911
7083 joined on 14th April 1912
7196 joined on 30th January 1913
7554 joined on 19th February 1914
7628 joined on 6th August 1914
7844 joined on 28th September 1914
7860 joined on 2nd October 1914
7893 joined on 2nd Novembber 1914
8016 joined on 23rd December 1914

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, the 8th HLI was allocated numbers within the range 305001 to 330000. 305005, for instance, was issued to William Speirs whose original TF number, recorded on his attestation papers when he joined the TF on 28th April 1908, was 5229. This number, in turn, had originally been issued to William when he joined the Volunteer Force in 1903 or Pre-April 1904.

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Royal Welsh Fusiliers - 3rd Bn 1908

The creation of the Special Reserve and Extra Reserve in 1908, marked the end of the Militia. As far as the infantry was concerned, of the 124 infantry militia battalions on the establishment, 74 became 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalions and 27 became 4th or 5th (Extra Reserve) Battalions. The remaining 23 militia battalions, 15 in Great Britain and eight in Ireland, were disbanded.

The Royal Welsh Fusiliers was one of those regiments to lose a militia battalion and it is interesting to see how this was dealt with by the RWF in 1908.

Men who had been serving with the 3rd Militia Battalion retained their militia numbers when they joined the newly created 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion. Thus, for example, William Griffiths, who had been given the number 1766 when he joined the 3rd Militia Battalion way back in January 1893, was still 1766 William Griffiths when he joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion on 28th June 1908. 2296 Llewellyn Edward, who had joined the militia in 1897, was still 2296 on 28th June 1908, and so on.

But what about those men who had originally joined the 4th Militia Battalion but who still wanted to serve with the new 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion? Both the militia battalions had issued numbers to their recruits from separate number series. To also allow the old 4th Militia men to retain their original numbers would lead to duplication of numbers in the same battalion, and so 4th Militia men were issued with new numbers.

The old 3rd Militia Battalion numbers cease in the 35** range, and then the old 4th Battalion men start appearing. Here is a sample from my data. Numbers in square brackets are the years in which the men originally joined their militia battalions.

3507 William Barker, formerly 3507 3rd Militia Bn [1907]
3559 Richard Hughes, formerly 3428 4th Militia Bn [1905]
3584 John Griffiths, formerly 3327 4th Militia Bn [1904]
3593 Thomas Johnson, formerly 3135 4th Militia Bn [1902]
3599 Owen Edward Williams, formerly 3529 4th Militia Bn [1906]
3603 Ellis Evans, formerly 2336 4th Militia Bn [1895]
3655 Griffith Evans, formerly 3626 4th Militia Bn [1907]

As far as my incomplete data is concerned, the highest number for an old 4th Militia Battalion man joining the 3rd RWF is 3789. He joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in October 1908. The next man on my database is number 3897, a man with no prior militia service who joined the Special Reserve on 2nd December 1908.

To summarise then:

1. Numbers up until 3507 at least, all appear to be ex 3rd Militia Battalion men
2. Numbers from at least 3559 through to 3789 all appear to be ex 4th Militia Battalion men
3. Numbers from at least 3897 all appear to be men with no prior militia service

The "appear to be" 'clause' above, is purely to allow for exceptions - and there often "appear to be" exceptions when it comes to regimental numbering. As usual though, I'll be happy to be corrected on any of the above. All of the data used in this post comes from surviving service records in WO 363 and WO 364 at the National Archives, also on line and accessible via a FREE trial with Ancestry.

The photograph, courtesy of David Langley, shows 3rd Battalion warrant officers and NCOs and dates to the 11th July 1915. Seated, left to right: Colour-Sergeant Jackson, RSM O'Leary, CSM Frederick Barter VC (although wearing the rank of colour sergeant in this photo), Acting Sergeant-Major Schofield, and QMS Holloway. CSM Barter had been awarded his VC for his actions at Festubert in May 1915.

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Suffolk Regiment - 5th Battalion

I was in 5th Suffolk territory today. En route to Bury St Edmunds, the headquarters of the 5th Battalion (and also home to a splendid Boer War Memorial, above) I passed through Sudbury. In the days before the Territorial Force was formed, Sudbury was home to two companies of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, and the building which housed D Company is still standing and still in use by today's territorials. There, above the large red doorway, carved into stone, is the legend, "D Company, 2nd Vol Batt, Suffolk Regt". That gives me as good an excuse as any to write a little bit about the 5th Suffolk Regiment.

This post will look at numbering in the 5th Suffolk Regiment between 1908 and 1916. All of the number information below is taken from service records which survive in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives. You can view these there, or on-line via Ancestry which is offering a FREE 14-day trial.

Prior to 1908, the companies of the Suffolk Regiment's 2nd Volunteer Battalion were distributed as follows:

A Company: Stowmarket
B Company: Eye
C Company: Sudbury
D Company: Sudbury
E Company: Bury St Edmunds
F Company: Bury St Edmunds
G Company: Haverhill
H: Company: Newmarket

When the 5th Suffolk Regiment was born on the 1st April 1908, the distribution of its companies was slightly different:

A Company: Stowmarket, with a drill station at Eye
B Company: Beccles, with a drill station at Bungay
C Company: Hadleigh, with a drill station at Bildeston
D Company: Sudbury, with drill stations at Long Melford and Bures
E Company: Bury St Edmunds, with a drill station at Barrow
F Company: Bury St Edmunds, with a drill station at Lavenham
G Company: Haverhill, with a drill station at Clare
H: Company: Newmarket, with a drill station at Mildenhall

The battalion started numbering from 1 in 1908.

26 joined on 6th April 1908
654 joined on 18th January 1909
1062 joined on 21st February 1910
1167 joined on 6th March 1911
1504 joined on 27th March 1912
1690 joined on 25th January 1913
1944 joined on 20th February 1914
2080 joined on 10th August 1914
2190 joined on 2nd September 1914
2577 joined on 22nd October 1914
2715 joined on 14th November 1914
2876 joined on 15th December 1914
2964 joined on 2nd January 1915
3187 joined on 15th February 1915
3223 joined on 8th March 1915
3267 joined on 17th April 1915
3362 joined on 3rd May 1915
3519 joined on 1st June 1915
3656 joined on 26th July 1915
3752 joined on 20th November 1915
3774 joined on 25th January 1916
3832 joined on 8th February 1916
4062 joined on 1st March 1916
4545 joined on 12th April 1916
5189 joined on 31st May 1916
5636 joined on 17th July 1916
5697 joined on 4th August 1916
5719 joined on 4th September 1916
5848 joined on 12th October 1916
6285 joined on 11th November 1916

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in early 1917, the 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment was issued numbers within the block 240001 to 256000.

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

Suffolk Regiment titles from The Naval & Military Press:


History of the 12th (The Suffolk Regiment) 1685-1913

A very detailed history by an experienced author who observes that he was much assisted by the wealth of personal diaries, journals and varied reminiscences of the old 12th. There are informative appendices such as the succession of Colonels with biographies, succession of COs and Adjutants, and a chapter on uniform, equipment and the Colours.

During the almost 230 years covered by this history, the Suffolks served in India (Seringapatam is a principal battle honour), in Africa during the Kaffir and Boer Wars, in New Zealand in the Maori War, on the NW Frontier in the 2nd Afghan War, in the West Indies and Mauritius. Colour plates depict uniforms, battle scenes and the Colours in 1686 and 1849. CLICK HERE TO ORDER.


History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927

This volume begins on 1st January 1914 when the Suffolk Regiment consisted of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion, and the 4th, 5th and 6th (Cyclist) Battalions of the Territorial Force. After the outbreak of war sixteen more battalions were raised and added, and in 1917 the Suffolk Yeomanry converted into the 15th Battalion, making a grand total of twenty-three. Battalions of the Regiment served in France and Flanders, Gallipoli, Macedonia, Egypt and Palestine, and at home.

This book, based on war diaries, private diaries, letters and interviews, tells the stroies of the men who served. 6,650 officers and men died for King and Country and two VCs were won and 73 Battle Honours awarded.

Given the scope of this volume and space considerations there is no Roll of Honour and the list of Honours and Awards is a very limited one showing only some of the more important honours gained. Inevitably some battalions get fuller treatment than others but the main events are clearly described.

The narrative appears in chronological order, beginning in 1914 with the 1st Battalion moving from Egypt to Khartoum and the 2nd Battalion in the Curragh with 14th Brigade, 5th Division, one of the original BEF divisions. As the story unfolds so the various battalions on active service are brought into the picture and the part they played in the battles is described. One chapter is given to the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion at home and another to all the other battalions that did not go on active service. There is a comprehensive, 26-page index. CLICK HERE TO ORDER.


Diary of Colonel Bayly, 12th Regiment, 1796-1803 (Seringapatnam 1799)

Entertaining, if bloody, account of the 12th Regiment of Foot in India and their struggles against Tippoo Sultan. CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.


Centurions of a Century

Nostalgic look back at Britain’s military campaigns, battles and leaders as well as (Suffolk) regimental actions and regimental life, all spread over more than a hundred years. Published in 1914, the book deals with Britain's colonial wars up until the death of Queen Victoria. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.

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.

Volunteer Service Companies

I came across an excellent internet resource today: Records of the Scottish Volunteer Force 1859-1908. Click on the link in that last sentence and you can download it for free.

The following information regarding the birth of the Volunteer Service Companies and their composition, is taken from page 92 of this work.

"The reverses suffered by our arms in South Africa in December 1899 led to a call for more troops, and to a great outburst of national warlike enthusiasm, and accordingly, on January 2, 1900, a special Army Order was issued calling upon the volunteers to furnish their contingent of trained men to reinforce the army in the field.

"For each battalion serving in South Africa a selected company was directed to be raised from its affiliated volunteer battalions and sent out so serve with it, and to be placed under the orders of its commanding officer. Each company was to be composed of 1 captain, 2 subalterns, 1 serjeant-instructor as pay serjeant, 4 serjeants, 2 buglers, 5 corporals, 99 privates and 2 stretcher-bearers, or 116 of all ranks and an equal number of "waiting companies" was to raised and maintained at home. Each volunteer battalion was to form a complete section at least.

"To surmount the difficulties of the Volunteer Act, the men were to be enlisted for the regular army for a period of one year or the duration of the war, those taken for the "waiting companies" being transferred to the reserve until required for service. The conditions of enlistment were that men should be not under 20 or more than 35 years of age, 1st class (volunteer) shots, efficient in the years 1898 and 1899, of good character, medically fit, and, by preference, unmarried. They were to be paid, rationed, clothed and equipped as soldiers of the regular battalions (though continuing to wear the designation of their volunteer battalions on their shoulder straps), and were to be granted wound pensions as for the regular army. On completion of their term of service they were to be granted £5 as a gratuity, besides any special gratuity issued for the war. The corps to which the men belonged was to be given a sum of £9 to cover the cost of equipment of each volunteer, and the men were to be borne as supernumerary to their corps and to be considered as "efficients", the corps continuing to draw the full capitation grant for them.

"Needless to say, this call was met with alacrity in Scotland, end eleven special service companies were quickly formed, one for each regiment with one battalion in the field and two for the Gordon Highlanders, both regular battalions of which were at the seat of war, the London Scottish being affiliated with the local volunteer battalions of that regiment in the formation of the service companies. The companies sailed for South Africa in February or early March 1900.

"On January 25 1901, before the year's service of the first companies had expired, a call for companies to replace those was made and responded to and on March 3 1901, the formation of 8 volunteer cyclist companies was called for, one of them to be furnished by the Scottish volunteers..."

The image on this post was originally published in The Graphic of 1902 and shows men from an unknown VSC of the Hampshire Regiment. The image also appears HERE on the South African Military History Society website.

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21st Hussars 1874-1896

This post will look at numbering in the 21st Hussars.

My data for the cavalry regiments goes back further than 1881 and so I'm going to start in 1874 which is where my data for this regiment currently begins. Service records for all of the following numbers survive in WO 364 and WO 363 at the National Archives. These records can also be viewed on line via Ancestry which is currently offering a FREE 14 day trial. Plenty of cavalry records also survive in WO 97, the Chelsea Pensioner series.

1370 joined on 28th November 1874
1412 joined on 5th October 1876
1784 joined on 24th July 1878
1940 joined on 26th May 1880
2016 joined on 3rd February 1881
2131 joined on 3rd January 1883
2414 joined on 23rd February 1885
2486 joined on 21st January 1886
2733 joined on 25th January 1887
2998 joined on 22nd February 1888
3132 joined on 21st October 1889
3225 joined on 9th September 1890
3331 joined on 4th July 1891
3472 joined on 28th July 1892
3590 joined on 14th February 1893
3857 joined on 28th September 1894
3955 joined on 25th August 1895
3977 joined on 21st November 1896

In 1897 the regiment was re-designated the 21st Lancers and so as far as this post is concerned, the 21st Hussars story ends here. See HERE for the 21st Lancers.

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.

Manchester Regiment - Volunteer Service Companies

Special Army Order 29 of 2nd January 1900 stated:

"The regimental numbers given to the members of the Volunteer companies will form a portion of the regimental series, but, in order to avoid the confusion which would result from the assignment of numbers to Volunteers and ordinary recruits indiscriminately, and also to simplify future reference, the Volunteer numbering should run consecutively, with an interval of a clear thousand between the last number received by an ordinary recruit, at the date on which the Volunteer numbering begins, and the first Volunteer number."

The following year there was another Army Order. On 25th January 1901, Special Army Order 41 stated that fresh companies could be raised as above and those already in South Africa could stay if they wished to.

The Manchester Regiment fielded four Volunteer Service Companies during the Boer War and this post will look at numbering in those companies and how that numbering fitted in with numbering in the - at that stage - four regular battalions.

For some reason, the WO 363 class at the National Archives is awash with service records for the Manchester VSCs. Some other regiments appear to have no surviving VSC records at all. All the records mentioned below are at the National Archives and can also be viewed on-line at the Ancestry.co.uk website which is currently offering a FREE 14 Day Trial.

1st Volunteer Service Company
This VSC comprised numbers from 7001 through to 7197. First numbers were issued on the 9th February 1900 and the final numbers by 10th March 1900. Men joining the 1st VSC joined in sequential order according to the Volunteer Battalion they were serving with at the time. So 7001 through to 7026 are all 1st VB men; 7032 to 7057 are 2nd VB men, and so on. All Volunteers, in all VS companies, enlisted for one year only.

2nd Volunteer Service Company
Numbering in this VSC is a little more complicated. Numbers 7113 through to 7224 are all 2nd VCS men. So too are numbers from 8225 through to 8325, and the single number 8367.

7224 was issued to a VSC on the 10th March 1900. Meanwhile, numbering in the four regular battalions continued apace and by October 1901 the regiment was approaching 7000 (ie, the series of numbers that had already been allocated to VSC men the previous year).

Numbers 8225 through to 8257 were all issued in 1901. 8227 was issued on the 4th February 1901 and I'm guessing that the other numbers also date to close to that time. Presumably the authorities realised that numbering in the regular battalions would soon reach 7000 and they took the decision in early 1901 to give a clear break of 1000 from the last VSC number they had issued in March 1900 (7224).

3rd Volunteer Service Company
This VCS comprised numbers from 8236 through to 8366, all of which were issued in February and (I'm guessing) March 1901.

4th Volunteer Service Company
This VSC comprised numbers from 8376 to 8462. These numbers were issued between 17th February and 4th March 1902.

8463, the next number in line, was issued to a regular soldier who joined on the 2nd January 1903.

My thanks to Stuart Wilson, David Langley, Graham Stewart and Mike C in Canada, for their input - via correspondence on this blog and elsewhere - regarding VSCs generally and the Manchester Regiment specifically. The AO reference above is taken from the privately published Regimental and Army Numbers of the British Line Infantry Soldier from AD. 1800 to 2008 by Langley and Stewart.

Also see my blog post on the regular battalions of The Manchester Regiment.

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

7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

The 7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was the natural heir to the 5th Volunteer Battalion, Gordon Highlanders and was headquartered at Banchory. It was administered by two Territorial Force County Associations and, certainly until 1914, ran two distinct series of numbers - the first series starting at 1, the second series starting at 2000.

In 1914, the disposition of the battalion's companies was as follows:

A Company:
Banchory; drill stations at Durris and Torphins
B Company:
Portlethen
C Company:
Stonehaven
D Company:
Laurencekirk; drill stations at Auchenblae, Bervie, Fettercairn, Fordoun and Marykirk
E Company:
Ballater, drill stations at Crathie and Braemar
F Company:
Aboyne; drill stations at Tarland, Finzean and Logie Coldstone
G Company:
Kemnay; drill stations at Skene, Blackburn, Monymusk and Echt
H Company:
Peterculter; drill station at Countesswells.

Numbering in the battalion, pre 1917, appears to follow a fairly logical and sequential path but the re-numbering certainly does not and is a hotch-potch (for want of a better technical term) of numbers from both series and with no apparent logic.

As an example of this, see below the first 100 numbers from the six digit block allocated to the 7th Gordon Highlanders (290001 to 315000). I searched for the medal index cards (MICs) on Ancestry and then, armed with these numbers and names, went looking for service records in the WO363 and WO364 series.

The first thing to say is that for 42 men in that first re-numbered sequence of 100, I found no MICs at all. This high failure rate could be due to a number of factors including mis-transcribed numbers, cards not yet uploaded onto the Ancestry website (although I understand that these particular MICs should all now be present), missing MICs, and of course no entitlement to medals because the man or men concerned neither served overseas nor received a silver war badge.

Of the 58 MICs I did find, enlistment dates were recorded on five cards (dates which should always be treated with caution as they may not necessarily refer to the same regiment / battalion - see Donald McLaren below as a possible example of this). I subsequently found no records at all in the WO 363 series but did locate five records in the WO 364 pension series. My commentary is below. Links are to the main Ancestry website which is currently offering a FREE 14-day trial.

290001 - Not Found
290002 - Not Found
290003 - Not Found
290004 - Not Found
290005 (formerly) 29 William Hendry
290006 - Not Found
290007 (formerly) 5 William Lamb
290008 (formerly) 36 John Milne
290009 (formerly) 45 James Robertson
290010 (formerly) 555 George W Dunbar
290011 - Not Found
290012 (formerly) 558 Fred Davison
290013 (formerly) 51 Andrew Taylor

290014 (formerly) 53 Douglas G Wilson
Only two pages from Douglas Wilson's service record survive in WO 364. His pensioner's record card gives his enlistment date as 5th August 1914 but this is clearly incorrect and is probably his date of embodiment rather than enlistment. Douglas Wilson was born in 1879 and I think it likely that he was a pre 1908 5th VB man who enlisted with the 7th Gordons in April 1908.

290015 - Not Found
290016 (formerly) 560 James Wallace
290017 (formerly) 561 Angus Cooper
290018 - Not Found
290019 - Not Found
290020 (formerly) 103 William L Bain
290021 - Not Found
290022 - Not Found
290023 (formerly) 565 John Tough
290024 (formerly) 267 David Milne
290025 (formerly) 271 Douglas Wilson
290026 (formerly) 568 Samuel McPherson
290027 - Not Found
290028 - Not Found
290029 - Not Found
290030 (formerly) 311 Charles Duncan
290031 (formerly) 76 James A Jamieson

290032 (formerly) 61 John Jamieson
John Jamieson's MIC gives his enlistment date as 1st April 1908 and he was almost certainly on old 5th VB man.

290033 - Not Found
290034 (formerly) 86 Andrew Walker
290035 - Not Found
290036 - Not Found
290037 (formerly) 134 William Blackhall
290038 (formerly) 139 Walter C Cruse
290039 (formerly) 127 George McDonald
290040 (formerly) 157 George Reith
290041 - Not Found
290042 - Not Found
290043 - Not Found
290044 - Not Found
290045 (formerly) 253 J A McLaren
290046 (formerly) 304 William Stewart
290047 (formerly) 2136 William Anderson
290048 - Not Found
290049 (formerly) 2141 George Duthie
290050 (formerly) 2165 James Lorimer
290051 (formerly) 2167 John Lorimer

290052 (original number unknown) John Sinclair
John Sinclair's MIC gives his enlistment date as 17th May 1915 which again would appear to be incorrect and may again reflect a date of embodiment. As no original number is given on his MIC however, it is virtually impossible to tell when this man originally joined the 7th Gordons.

290053 (formerly) 2179 Frank Shivas
290054 - Not Found

290055 (formerly) 2135 William Watson
Joined on 1st April 1908, an old 5th VB man.

290056 (formerly) 2224 Robert G Bain
290057 - Not Found
290058 (formerly) 2216 Robert Dowers
290059 - Not Found
290060 - Not Found
290061 (formerly) 2009 Donald Coutts
290062 (formerly) 2011 John Cumming
290063 (original number unknown) Frank Duguid
290064 (formerly) 2015 Robert Ewan
290065 - Not Found
290066 (formerly) 2031 Alexander McIntosh
290067 (formerly) 2189 John McHardy
290068 - Not Found
290069 (formerly) 2220 Joseph Coutts
290070 (formerly) 2313 Peter Lamont
290071 - Not Found
290072 - Not Found
290073 (formerly) 2250 William Findlater
290074 - Not Found
290075 - Not Found
290076 - Not Found
290077 (formerly) 2205 William Harper Henderson
290078 - Not Found
290079 (formerly) 2069 Gordon Smith
290080 (formerly) 361 James C Greig
290081 (formerly) 2357 Charles Dunbar
290082 - Not Found

290083 620 George Wood Main
George Wood's MIC gives an enlistment date of 2nd December 1913 and this is confirmed by surviving papers in WO 364.

290084 360 William Dunbar
290085 N/A A Lawson
290086 (formerly) 356 James McGregor

290087 (formerly) 358 Donald G McLaren
Donald McLaren's MIC gives an enlistment date of 3rd March 1910 (but see below).

290088 (formerly) 327 Robert Masson
Robert Masson's service record in WO 364 gives a joining date of 28th March 1910. This, sequentially, is at odds with Donald McLaren's original three digit number and it may be that McLaren previously served with another battalion or regiment before joining the 7th Gordons. (Or it could simply be another number anomaly).

290089 (formerly) 357 Joseph R Robb
290090 (formerly) 328 Victor Valentine
290091 (formerly) 341 William Fraser
290092 - Not Found
290093 - Not Found
290094 - Not Found
290095 (formerly) 351 William Emslie
290096 - Not Found
290097 - Not Found
290098 (formerly) 2368 Alexander Cruickshank

290099 (formerly) 2328 George Ross
George Ross's MIC gives an enlistment date of 14th March 1910 which fits in perfectly with other 7th Gordons numbers I have for this four digit series.

290100 - Not Found

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Seaforth Highlanders numbering 1900-1906

I have previously published sample numbers and joining dates for the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Seaforth Highlanders. I also mentioned that there were some peculiarities, and I'd like to expand upon that now.

Seaforth numbering trundles along quite happily and sequentially until March 1900, by which time the regiment was numbering in the 7300s. By the end of March, however, numbers in the 8200 range start appearing and these continue into 1901 when again, certainly by March 1901, numbers in the 9500 range start surfacing - and keep on going, at least until January 1902. By June 1902 (and probably a good deal earlier) we're back in the 7000s again and numbering continues sequentially from there.

Not for the first time, I am at a loss to explain why there were these big leaps in numbering. There doesn't appear to be any pattern as far as place of enlistment is concerned and neither does there in terms of the enlistment periods for which men were signing up. If anyone can suggest an explanation, or provide me with additional confirmed enlistment dates and corresponding numbers for the period below, please do so.

Here though, for what it's worth, are my rough estimates on Seaforth numbering for the period 1900 to 1906, this information based on the dates and numbers recorded on attestation papers of the time.

28th March 1900
7361 joins
31st March 1900 - 14th Jan 1901
Numbers in the range 8273 to 8515 are issued
25th March 1901 - 20th Jan 1902
Numbers in the range 9561 to 9911 are issued
5th June 1902 - 21st November 1903
Numbers in the range 7604 to 8188 are issued. Numbers 8273 to 8515 have already been issued in 1900 and 1901.
19th January 1904 to October 17th 1906
Numbers in the range 8689 to 9524 are issued. Numbers 9561 to 9911 have already been issued in 1901 and 1902.
20th November 1906
10021 joins

From here on in, numbering returns to a sequential pattern without gaps, albeit the Seaforths, A&S Highlanders and the Gordon Highlanders would abandon their number series in 1908 and commence a new series beginning at 1.

Attestation papers for all these numbers - and many more besides - are accessible on-line as part of a FREE 14 day trial with Ancestry.co.uk.

I've borrowed the photograph on this page from Roger Clarke's family history website. It shows 1822 Corporal Thomas Hunter Dawson Cheeper of the 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. Hunter Cheeper (as he was known) was born on the 8th February 1898 and judging by his number, joined the 4th Seaforths two or three days before Britain went to war in August 1914. He would have been sixteen years old at the time, and was probably no more than 17 or 18 years old when this photo was taken. Nevertheless, he arrived in France on the 7th November 1914 and appears to have served throughout, ending the war as Second Lieutenant, and staying on with the British Army. He would also serve his King and Country during WW2.

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The 7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers

The 7th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was administered by two County Associations. The Montgomery County Association administered the headquarters at Newtown and four companies of the battalion, whilst the Merioneth County Association administered the other four companies.

As far as numbering in the battalion was concerned, each County Association issued numbers to new recruits from two different number series. Merioneth CA issued numbers beginning at 2000 in April 1908, whilst Montgomery CA issued numbers beginning at 1 in April 1908. Both associations ran their number series sequentially until the Montgomery series was abandoned (or discontinued) at around 1205. I don't yet have an accurate date when this series was stopped but it was certainly post September 1914 (which was when 1144 was issued).

When it came to renumbering the battalion in 1917, the 7th Battalion issued numbers from the block 290001 to 315000. Those Montgomery men who were still serving (or still 'on the books') when the re-numbering exercise took place, were issued with numbers first. When all of these men had been given new six digit numbers, the next number along went to the longest serving man from the Merioneth companies.

My lowest six digit number for a Merioneth County man is 290366 which was issued to a man who had originally joined the battalion on the 29th April 1908. It's reasonable to assume therefore that of the approximately 1205 men who'd originally joined a Montgomery-administered company, around 360 were still 'on the books' in early 1917, (and close to half of this number were men who'd joined the battalion before the First World War began).

Finally, publishing this post on the 7th Battalion, presents me with an opportunity to also publish the attached undated photograph of 7th RWF men which was taken in Ingatestone in Essex, and which I picked up in an Ingatestone antique shop at least twenty years ago.

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

8th Royal Scots

The 8th Battalion of the Royal Scots Regiment was a Territorial Force battalion administered by three separate County Associations. In order to differentiate between each, three separate number series were used for this single battalion.

The Territorial Year Book for 1909 reports:

"Hon Col Sir G D Clerk VD; O.C. Lt-Col Master of Polwarth VD; Adj Captain N K Charteris, Royal Scots; Hdqrs Haddington; strength 29 officers, other ranks 787. Former Volunteer units, 6th and 7th V Bns, R Scots; Camp 1908, number trained for 8 days 355, for 15 days 295. South Africa 1901; uniform scarlet, facings blue."

In February 1914, the battalion, headquartered at Haddington, was distributed as follows:

A Company: Haddington
B Company: Tranent
C Company: Prestonpans
D Company: North Berwick
E Company: Dalkeith
F Company: Loanhead
G Company: Peebles
H Company: Innerleithen

Men joining companies A, B, C and D were issued with sequential numbers from the series 1-3999. These four companies (and one squadron of the Lothians and Border Horse Yeomanry)were administered by the Haddington County Association .

Men joining companies E and F were issued with sequential numbers from the series 4000 through to 6999. These two companies were administered by the Midlothian County Association (which also administered the 7th Battalion, Royal Scots and the Midlothian Battery of the 1st Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery).

Men joining companies G and H were issued with sequential numbers from the series 7000 through to, presumably 9999. These two companies were administered by the Peebles County Association. In 1909, according to the Territorial Year Book published that year, the strength of these two companies was eight officers (establishment: seven) and 128 men (establishment 235).

In early 1915 the Territorial Force infantry battalions were doubled up and reduced from eight to four. Nevertheless, the county associations still maintained their respective number series up until 1917 when the Territorial Force as a whole, was re-numbered. When this exercise took place, the 8th Royal Scots was allocated six digit numbers within the range 325001 to 350000 and within this, again, the three county associations were differentiated as follows:

Haddington: 325001 - 330000
Midlothian: 330001 - 335000
Peebles: 335001 - 340000 (presumably)

What all of this means to the modern day researcher is that it should be possible to at least narrow down the company to which an 8th Royal Scots soldier must have belonged; a potentially useful tip.

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

The Mavericks - Territorial Force infantry

In August 2008 I published a post here which I titled The Mavericks. For want of a better term I'm going to stick to that and use it to outline below, those Territorial Force infantry battalions which had idiosyncratic numbering sequences. Some, like the 5th Londons, continued with the number series that had been in place for their Volunteer predecessors.  Other battalions operated more than one number series - initially at least - largely because more than one County Association had a hand in administering them.

Bedfordshire Regiment - 5th Battalion
Black Watch - 5th Battalion
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) - 5th Battalion
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) - 8th Battalion
Gordon Highlanders - 6th Battalion
Gordon Highlanders - 7th Battalion
Highland Light Infantry - 8th Battalion
King's Own Scottish Borderers - 4th Battalion
King's Own Scottish Borderers - 5th Battalion
Lancashire Fusiliers - 6th Battalion
London Regiment - 5th (City of London) Battalion (London Rifle Brigade)
Royal Scots - 8th Battalion
Royal Scots Fusiliers - 4th Battalion
Royal Scots Fusiliers - 5th Battalion
Royal Welsh Fusiliers - 5th Battalion
Royal Welsh Fusiliers - 6th Battalion
Royal Welsh Fusiliers - 7th Battalion
Seaforth Highlanders - 5th Battalion
South Staffordshire Regiment - 5th Battalion
Welsh Regiment - 4th Battalion

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

Army number prefixes

This post will look at army number prefixes, and in particular, letter prefixes. Contributions and corrections will be particularly welcomed.

Many army numbers carried letter prefixes, a lot of these being introduced during the First World War. Some prefixes, like the letter “G”, used to prefix the numbers of men in various Home Counties battalions who enlisted during 1914-1918 for General Service, were very common; others less so. Prefixes were normally expressed on army paperwork as G/1234 or G1234 and may be represented on medals as G-1234. A word of warning however: the use of prefixes was often inconsistent.

Number prefixes were also used by some regiments to identify the particular battalion that a man served with. The 3/ and 4/ prefixes are common for Special Reserve and Extra Reserve recruits, and during World War One, many service battalions (the so-called "Pals' Battalions" in particular) followed suit. For example, a man serving with the 15th (Service) Battalion (1st Leeds) West Yorkshire Regiment, would have his number expressed as 15/1234 – usually.

On 18th May 1915, Army Council Instruction 144 attempted to deal with the problem of duplicate numbering by instructing that where such duplication existed, a soldier's regimental number would be prefixed by the number of the battalion in which he was serving thus, for example, 5/3492. Men joining after this date were to have the number of the battalion they first joined, prefixed before their army number. In both cases, the prefix would remain the same for as long as the man remained with that particular regiment, regardless of whether he was subsequently posted to another battalion in that regiment.

The following list of letter prefixes is not exhaustive but it could provide clues as to which unit or battalion a man served with. The sources for this list are too numerous to mention - a lot have come from discussions on the Great War Forum - and many have come through my own trawling through records at the National Archives and on Ancestry.

I would be happy to be corrected regarding inaccuracies or omissions. Please do leave comments.

The photo above shows L/10419 Pte Albert Edward Padgham of The Royal Sussex Regiment. His L/ prefix clearly marks him as a regular soldier and the number dates to August 1914; a time when war-time only Royal Sussex Regiment enlistments were being given a whole variety of different prefixes (see below). Albert Padgham died of wounds on the 24th August 1916. You can read more about him on my Chailey 1914-1918 site.

Army Service Numbers - Letter Prefixes

A - Army Service Corps (old Special Reserve).
A - King’s Royal Rifle Corps (WW1). Numbers A/1 to A/3919 were issued to Army Reservists whose numbers had been re-allocated, or previously discharged Army Reservists who were re-enlisting. Later in the war numbers A/200000 to A/205598 were allocated to men who had been posted from the Training Reserve
A - Royal Scots Fusiliers, 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.
A - Army Ordnance Corps
A - Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
A - King's Own Scottish Borderers, 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
A - Highland Light Infantry 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
A (HT) - Army Service Corps, Horse Transport Special Reserve
ARMR - Army Ordnance Corps Armourer
ASC - Army Service Corps

B - The Rifle Brigade (WW1). Numbers B/1 to B/3514 were issued to Army Reservists whose numbers had been re-allocated, or to previously discharged Army Reservists who were re-enlisting.
B - Army Service Corps, Special Reserve
B - Royal Fusiliers, 26th (Bankers) Battalion
B - Scottish Rifles, 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion
B (HT) - Army Service Corps, Horse Transport Special Reserve Territorial Force (TF)

C - King's Royal Rifle Corps (WW1). Some 1914-1918 service battalions, starting from the 16th (Church Lads) Battalion but extending to the 21st (Yeoman Rifles) inclusive
C - Royal Munster Fusiliers, 1st Garrison Battalion (Cork)
C (MT) - Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport Special Reserve
CAT - Army Service Corps, Caterpillar Mechanical Transport
CH - Royal Marines, Chatham Division Royal Marine Light Infantry
CHT - Army Service Corps, Corps of Horse Transport
CMT - Army Service Corps, Corps of Motor Transport

D - Dragoons & Dragoon Guards
D – Royal Dublin Fusiliers
DG - Dragoon Guards
DEAL - Royal Marines, Deal Depot
DEPOT / D - Royal Marine Light Infantry. Deal Depot Permanent Staff
DM - Army Service Corps, Driver, Mechanical Transport.
DM2 - Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport Learners. Discontinued in November 1916.

E - Royal Fusiliers, 17th (Empire) Battalion
E - Army Service Corps, Forage Department
EKent - East Kent Regiment (prior to the 1902 introduction of the L/ prefix for this regiment)
ES - East Surrey Regiment (prior to the 1902 introduction of the L/ prefix for this regiment)

F – Middlesex Regiment, 17th and 23rd (Football) Battalions
F - Army Service Corps, Forage Department

G - Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1st, 2nd and 3rd Garrison Battalions.
G - Found on various Home Counties’ Regiments’ Service battalions, WW1
G - Royal Fusiliers; General Service enlistment, WW1

G4 - Found on some WW1 enlistments into the 4th (Extra Reserve) Bn, East Surrey Regt
GS – General Service enlistment, WW1
GS - Cavalry regiments; General Service enlistment, WW1
GSR - General Special Reserve; WW1
GS/RS - General Service Royal Sussex (see Albert Henry Gaston as an example)
GSSR - General Service Special Reserve, WW1. Certainly used by The Royal Sussex Regiment and the Royal West Kent Regiment
GYM – Army Gymnastic Staff

H - Hussars
H - North Irish Horse

J - Royal Fusiliers 38th, 39th 40th, 42nd (Judean) Battalions

K - Royal Lancaster Regt, The King's Own (WW1)
K - King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, 1914 enlistments, 11th - 14th Battalions
K - Royal Fusiliers 22nd (Kensington) Battalion

L - Lancers
L - Regular enlistments. I have always assumed that L represents "Line" but I would be pleased to stand corrected. This prefix first starts appearing in 1902 and is found on regular enlistments into the following regiments: The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), East Surrey Regiment, Middlesex Regiment, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), Royal Fusiliers, Royal Sussex Regiment and the Royal West Kent Regiment. All of these regiments, with the exception of the Royal Fusiliers, formed the Number 10 Grouped Regimental District. My thanks to David Langley for his inputs on this prefix.
L - Royal Artillery, WW1 enlistment
L - (King's) Liverpool Regiment
LSR - Royal Sussex Regiment Special Reserve, enlisted under regular terms

M - Army Service Corps. Mechanical Transport
M1 & M2 - Army Service Corps
M2 - Army Service Corps. Electricians
MS – Army Service Corps. Mechanical Specials
MT – Army Service Corps. Mechanical Transport

N - National Reserve (East Surrey Regiment amongst others)

O - Rifle Brigade. Numbers O/1 to O/984 did not appear at the front until 1917.
O – Army Ordnance Corps

P – Rifle Brigade, 16th (Service) Battalion (St Pancras) and the 17th (Reserve) Battalion which was a reserve battalion for the 16th.
P - Military Foot Police & Military Mounted Police
P - Dragoon Guards
PET - Army Service Corps. Petroleum Dept
PLY - Royal Marines Plymouth Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry

PLY/RMP - Royal Marine Police. Plymouth
PO - Royal Marines. Portsmouth Division, Royal Marine Light Infantry
PO/RMP - Royal Marine Police. Portsmouth
PS - Royal Fusiliers. 18th, 19th, 20th & 21st (Public Schools) Battalions
PS - Middlesex Regiment. 16th (Public Schools) Battalion
PW - Middlesex Regiment. 18th, 19th & 26th (Public Works) Battalions (Later Labour Corps)

R - Army Service Corps. Remounts
R - King's Royal Rifle Corps. New Army men within the range R/1 to R/58003
RMA - Royal Marines. Royal Marine Artillery
RMB - Royal Marines. Royal Marine Band
RME - Royal Marines. Royal Marine Engineers
RS & R/TS - Army Service Corps. Remount Specials
RS - Royal Sussex (see Albert Henry Gaston as an example)
RX - Army Service Corps Army Remount Section

S - Army Service Corps. Supply Branch
S - Devonshire Regiment (allegedly, although I have personally not come across any S/ prefix Devons numbers)
S - Royal Army Medical Corps
S - Royal Artillery
S - Highland Regiments, WW1 enlistment
S - Rifle Brigade, WW1 enlistment
S - Royal Munster Fusiliers
S - Army Ordnance Corps
S1, 2, 3, 4 - Army Service Corps. 1st/2nd/3rd/4th New Armies Supply (S4 Labour)
SB –Royal Fusiliers. 10th (Stockbrokers) Battalion
SD –Royal Sussex Regiment. 11th, 12th and 13th (South Down) Battalions and the 14th (Reserve) Battalion.
SE - Army Veterinary Corps (Special Enlistment for duration of 1914-1918 War)
SP - Royal Fusiliers. 23rd & 24th (Sportsman's) Battalions
SPTS – Royal Fusiliers. 23rd & 24th (Sportsman's) Battalions
SR – Special Reserve
SRGS - Special Reserve General Service (found on some East Surrey Regiment records)
SR/GSES - Special Reserve / General Service East Surrey (WW1 enlistments into the East Surrey Special and Extra Reserve)
SR3 - Special Reserve (found on some East Surrey Regiment records)
SS – Army Service Corps. Supply Special (butchers, bakers, clerks etc)
SRMT – Army Service Corps. Special Reserve Motor Transport
STK – Royal Fusiliers. 10th (Stockbrokers) Battalion

T - Army Service Corps. Horse Transport
T - Army Ordnance Corps
T - Territorial Force
T1 & 2/ (SR) - Army Service Corps. Enlisted Special Reserve for New Armies
T1, T2, T3 & T4 - Army Service Corps. Horse Transport
TF - Territorial Force.
TR – Training Reserve
TS – Army Service Corps. Transport Specials (trade)
TSR – Army Service Corps . Transport Special Reserve
TZ - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Tyne Division 1914-1918 enlistment

W - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Wales Division
W – Cheshire Regiment, 13th (Service) Battalion (Wirral)
W - 38th (Welsh) Division, Royal Artillery
W - Military Prison Staff Corps 1902-1906 (Army Order 241. December 1901)
W - Military Provost Staff Corps (Army Order 114. 1906).
WF - Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Appears on some attestation papers from the mid 1890s
WR - Royal Engineers. (Waterways & Railways)

Y - King’s Royal Rifle Corps (WW1). Y/1 to Y/1905 were issued to men enlisting for one year as Special Reservists and men enlisting for three years’ short service.

Z - Rifle Brigade (WW1). Numbers Z/1 to Z/2997 were issued to men enlisting for one year as Special Reservists and men enlisting for three years’ short service.

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