Lancashire Fusiliers - 6th Battalion (TF)

This post will look at numbering in the 6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, between 1908 and 1914. All numbers and enlistment / joining dates below have been gleaned from a study of attestation papers in WO 363 and WO 364. These papers are also accessible on-line via Ancestry.co.uk which is currently offering a FREE 14-day trial.

I have previously referred to the 6th Lancashire Fusiliers in an earlier post which sought ot identify those Territorial Force battalions which, when the TF was formed in 1908, continued with the same number series which had been used by their Volunteer predecessors.

For instance, when Harry Jennings Sowray attested with the 6th LF on the 1st April 1908 he was 44 years old, a serving member with the 2nd Volunteer Battlion, Lancashire Fusiliers, and a time-expired regular having served with the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. His 'new' 6th LF number - 4988 - was the same number he'd been given when he joined the 2nd VB LF on the 2nd April 1892. Similarly, 5314 Abraham Grindrod who signed up with the 6th LF on the 28th April 1908, had originally been given that number when he joined the 2nd VB LF on the 22nd June 1894.

As far as new recruits were concerned, numbering in April 1908 probably started at around 7670, and I base this assumption only on the known enlistment of John Hynes who was given the number 7667 when he joined the 2nd VB on the 27th March 1908 - and carried on using it when he joined the 6th Battalion (TF) shortly afterwards.

7831 joined on 13th January 1909
8166 joined on 1st February 1910
8417 joined on 23rd January 1911
8548 joined on 6th March 1912
8774 joined on 3rd February 1913
9101 joined on 13th March 1914
9143 joined on 4th August 1914
9474 joined on 3rd September 1914
10420 joined on 21st October 1914
10432 joined on 30th November 1914
10466 joined on 3rd December 1914

Interestingly, by the time the TF was re-numbered in 1917, there were around fifty 6th Battalion men still serving who had previously seen service with the 2nd Volunteer Battalion. One of these men was Harry Jennings Sowray who was given the new number 240008 and who would have been, by then, around 53 years old. Nor was he the longest serving man on the 6th Battalion books in 1917. His number suggests that there were seven Other Ranks whose service pre-dated his own.

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The King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment - 1st & 2nd Battalions

This post will look at numbering in the regular battalions of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment between 1881 and 1914. The regiment was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment of Foot and was established as the newly formed regiment for North Lancashire. It started numbering from 1 in July 1881.

There are over 33,000 King's Own (Royal Lancaster) service and pension records (for this regiment - and its antecedents) in various War Office series held at the National Archives. Clicking on the link will take you to the results on Findmypast but you will need a subscription or Pay-Per-View credits to actually view the records.

10 joined on 9th July 1881
271 joined on 16th December 1882
397 joined on 2nd June 1883
599 joined on 21st March 1884
1012 joined on 12th March 1885
1632 joined on 22nd July 1886
1923 joined on 1st January 1887
2300 joined on 19th January 1888
2561 joined on 15th January 1889
2981 joined on 11th June 1890
3244 joined on 24th June 1891
3506 joined on 31st January 1892
4061 joined on 24th July 1893
4317 joined on 17th February 1894
4650 joined on 12th January 1895
5019 joined on 29th January 1896
5311 joined on 3rd May 1897
5671 joined on 14th April 1898
5923 joined on 24th March 1899
6288 joined on 2nd April 1900

The 1st Volunteer Battalion, The King’s Own, sent over 150 of its volunteers to South Africa to serve with the 2nd Battalion. Such was the number of men wishing to serve with the Volunteers that a 2nd Volunteer Battalion was formed and its headquarters was set up at Lancaster. Those volunteers who made it to South Africa fought in several actions and guarded prisoners at Ladysmith.

Numbers within the range to 7200 to 7352 were issued to men serving in the 1st VSC. Numbers 7353 to 7448 were issued to men serving with the 2nd VSC. Numbers 7449 to 7468 were issued to men serving with the 3rd VSC and – as stated on the QSA medal roll – the Volunteer Service Section.

6665 joined on 4th January 1901
7003 joined on 17th February 1902
7652 joined on 5th January 1903
8079 joined on 11th January 1904
8489 joined on 9th January 1905
8847 joined on 9th March 1906
9134 joined on 1st January 1907
9800 joined on 20th August 1908
10076 joined on 21st April 1909
10178 joined on 14th February 1910
10439 joined on 20th April 1911
10649 joined on 3rd May 1912
10836 joined on 3rd January 1913
11105 joined on 3rd February 1914

In August 1914, Britain went to war, and the newly forming service battalions all drew their numbers from the same series that had previously been the sole preserve of the two regular battalions. Latterly, service battalions prefixed their numbers with the letter K/, although this practice does not appear to have been used consistently.

All information on this post comes as a result of trawling through service records held in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives, and to a lesser extent the WO 97 series, also held at TNA. Ancestry.co.uk is currently offering a 14 day FREE trial (which means you can look at WO 363 and WO 364), whilst an almost complete collection of the WO 97 series is accessible via findmypast.co.uk. Note that pre 1914 pension records are accessible online via Findmypast whilst service and pension records for the First World War have been digitised by Findmypast and Ancestry - separate searches for service records and pension records. Note that there are different versions of these indexes, Findmypast having indexed more records than you'll find on Ancestry.

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

The Royal Scots - 1st & 2nd Battalions - 1881-1914

This post will look at numbering in the two regular battalions of The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) between 1881 and 1914. The regiment was formed on the 1st July 1881 from the 1st, or The Royal Scots Regiment. The regiment was established as the county regiment for Berwickshire, Edinburgh (Midlothian), Haddingtonshire (East Lothian) and Linlithgow (West Lothian). It started numbering from 1 in 1881.

All of these records survive. Findmypast has over 28,000 Royal Scots First World War service records and over 11,000 Royal Scots service records from before the First World War. This latter selection includes officers' records. Clicking on the links will take you to the search results.

Here are the regimental number joining dates for the Royal Scots from 1881.

191 joined on 3rd September 1881
679 joined on 21st October 1882
795 joined on 29th March 1883
1358 joined on 17th January 1884
1840 joined on 7th January 1885
2267 joined on 11th March 1886
2485 joined on 1st January 1887

On 1st May 1887, Berwickshire was transferred to the district administered by the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

2798 joined on 23rd February 1888
3198 joined on 15th January 1889
3499 joined on 20th January 1890
4016 joined on 8th January 1891
4312 joined on 9th March 1892
4820 joined on 3rd July 1893
4998 joined on 9th January 1894
5289 joined on 26th March 1895
5578 joined on 17th February 1896
5891 joined on 11th January 1897
6317 joined on 14th January 1898
6652 joined on 16th January 1899
7020 joined on 3rd January 1900

The Second South African War 1899-1902
During the South African War, 117 men from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Edinburgh (City) Rifle Volunteer Corps served with the Royal Scots in South Africa. The regiment raised three volunteer service companies in all, and on 17th February 1900, the 1st VSC comprising Captain R W Campbell, Lieutenant M W Henderson, Lieutenant R G W Adams and 112 men, embarked aboard SS Gascon for South Africa.

Numbers within the range 8073 to 8185 were issued in early 1900 to men joining the 1st Volunteer Service Company.

Numbers within the range 7169 to 7457 were issued to some 1st VSC men, but primarily to men joining the 2nd VSC (referred for the most part on the Queen’s South Africa medal roll as “M” Volunteer Company). These numbers appear to follow on sequentially from numbers being issued to men joining the Royal Scots as ordinary recruits and do not take cognizance of Army Order 29’s stipulation regarding the “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.”

Numbers 8186 through to 8297 were all issued in 1900 to men who joined the 3rd Volunteer Service Company.

7369 joined on 15th January 1901
7958 joined on 13th February 1902
8400 joined on 17th January 1903
8777 joined on 4th January 1904
9170 joined on 2nd February 1905
9535 joined on 2nd April 1906
10038 joined on 15th May 1907
10198 joined on 4th January 1908
10457 joined on 7th January 1909
10580 joined on 1st February 1910
10850 joined on 30th January 1911
11024 joined on 2nd January 1912
11346 joined on 1st January 1913
11562 joined on 11th February 1914

The First World War

When Britain went to war in August 1914, men joining the new service battalions were issued with numbers from the same series that had, up until that point, been the sole preserve of the regiment’s two regular battalions.

Recruitment rates 1881-1911

During the first ten years of its existence, the Royal Scots recruited well over 4,000 men, an annual recruitment rate (calculated between July 1881 and January 1891) of 401 men; the fourth best performance in the British Army.

By 1901 however, fourth had turned to twenty-fourth with the regiment adding 3,700 men to the 28th August 1901; an annual average of 348 men per annum.

Recruiting dropped away again in the early 1900s but nevertheless, by 30th January 1911, the regiment was issuing number 10850 to its latest recruit, an annual average of 335 men recruited.

Sources

All of the number and joining date information posted here, has been compiled as a result of looking at service records in the WO 363, WO 364 and WO 97 series at the National Archives. The first two series are on-line via Ancestry and Findmypast whilst WO 97 is only available on Findmypast. Both sites continue to be invaluable resources for the military historian.

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

Further Reading

The following titles are all available from Naval & Military Press. Descriptions courtesy Naval & Military Press.

Regimental Records of the Royal Scots, the First or Royal Regiment of Foot 1590-1911
This huge history covers the entire early years of the regiment from their garrisoning of Tangier in 1680. The regiment fought in the Duke of Marlborough's four great victories at Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet, the expedition to Louisburg, the retreat to Corunna, the Peninsular war battles of Busaco, Vittoria Salamanca, San Sebastian, and the Nive; the Waterloo campaign, the Crimean War and the Boer War. This book contains all you would expect in such a record: not only detailed accounts of all the campaigns and actions, but officers' rolls, marching songs, regimental crests and insignia, uniform illustrations, and portraits of the regiment's colonels.

Diary of Services of the First Battalion during the Boer War
This brief volume is a battalion history of the 1st Royal Scots' deployment in South Africa. It is illustrated with rare photographs and includes a Roll of Honour and casualty list.

Royal Scots 1914-1919
An impressive history by the author of The History of the 9th (Scottish) Division, also an impressive piece of work. The first chapter in the book is by way of an introduction to all the battalions which constituted the Regiment, the locations of the existing battalions and the creation of all the wartime battalions. In an appendix there is a brief account of all the battalions that remained in the UK, and another deals with the 19th Labour and 1st Garrison Battalion. This leaves the rest of the book devoted to the fifteen front line battalions which, between them, saw service in France and Flanders, Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine and Macedonia.

The book is arranged on a chronological basis with each chapter covering a specific period of time whether on the Western Front any other front where the Regiment fought (for example there are three chapters on Gallipoli covering that campaign from start to finish), and the fortunes of every battalion involved in that particular period are described. There is no Roll of Honour nor list of Honours and Awards though citations for the seven VC winners form a separate appendix. 825pp and 33pp index.

Findmypast

I've always found Ancestry invaluable for WW1 records (and for records a good deal earlier than this, for that matter), but it's worth pointing out that Findmypast is the only genealogical company which has the WO 97 series (British Army Pensions) and the final tranche of this series is due for release next month.

The WO 97 series is broken down as follows:

1760-1854 184,650 records, 1,003,794 images
1855-1872 96,434 records, 437,825 images
1873-1882 97,515 records, 540,423 images
1883-1900 312,921 records, 2,218,687 images
1901-1913 303,000 records, approx 2,100,000 images

Following hot on the heels of WO 97 will be another critical series, WO 96; half a million militia records going back as far as 1806 and comprised of nearly three and a half million images.

Unfortunately, records from the WO 97 series are not currently available as part of Find My Past's free trial, but the series is certainly one that should not be overlooked by those with ancestors who served in the regular British Army between 1760 and 1913.

Pictured above, James Goodson photographed in 1902 shortly after he joined the Royal Artillery. I interviewed him, aged 104, at the Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond in the 1990s and when I get a chance, I'll post a transcript of that meeting on my WW1 veterans' blog.

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

Militiaman's Small Book (1892)

Courtesy of my good pal Graham Stewart - to whom, many thanks - I am posting an example of a militiaman's Small Book from 1892. The Small Book, which was to be retained by the militiaman, gives useful detail and information about the expectations of a recruit and also some of the more pertinent rules and regulations pertaining to his service.












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East Yorkshire Regiment - 4th Battalion

This post will look at numbering in the 4th (Territorial Force) Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment between 1908 and December 1914. Information on this post has been compiled as a result of trawling through service records in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives. 

Prior to April 1908, the 4th East Yorkshire Regiment was the 1st Volunteer Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment and numbering in that battalion had reached the 7000s by March 1908. The newly formed 4th Battalion commenced a new number series from 1 in April 1908.

209 joined on 8th April 1908
804 joined on 10th May 1909
1072 joined on 4th April 1910
1210 joined on 23rd March 1911
1386 joined on 30th May 1912
1517 joined on 15th April 1913
1768 joined on 24th March 1914
2084 joined on 5th August 1914

A second, reserve battalion was formed in September 1914. The 4th Battalion now became the 1/4th Battalion whilst the reserve battalion became the 2/4th. The same series of numbers was used for both battalions and would continue to be used when a 3/4th Battalion was formed in June 1915.

2567 joined on 21st September 1914
2679 joined on 6th October 1914
2858 joined on 2nd November 1914
3181 joined on 2nd December 1914

The battalion originally consisted of eight companies. Headquarters and companies A to F were located at Londesborough Barracks, Hull. Companies G and H recruited from East Hull. In August 1914 the battalion formed part of the York and Durham Light Infantry Brigade with the Northumbrian Division.

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Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) 1908-1914

This post will look at numbering in the Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers) between 1908 and 1914.

The regiment started numbering from 1 in April 1908, those men transferring from the Hampshire Imperial Yeomanry being issued with new numbers (although their original numbers, neatly crossed out) appear on many attestation papers . The majority of 1908 enlistments were men who had formerly served in the Imperial Yeomanry. For example, Albert Charles Blanchard who was given the number 24 was originally number 880 and had enlisted in 1901.

The regiment was headquartered at Winchester and formed part of the 1^st South Western Mounted Brigade. Its four squadrons were disposed as follows:

A Squadron: Portsmouth

B Squadron: Winchester
C Squadron: Southampton
D Squadron: Bournemouth

The regiment raised two reserve battalions during the First World War. The 2/1st Battalion was formed in October 1914 and remained in the UK until May 1918 when it moved to Ireland. The 3/1st was formed in 1915 as a training unit and never went overseas. All of the numbers and dates below are taken from surviving service records in the WO 363 and WO 364 records' series at the National Archives, and also on-line through Ancestry.

492 George Lester joined on 17th February 1909
578 John Henderson Sparkman joined on 10th March 1910
668 Henry Bundy joined on 7th April 1911
749 Stewart Allin joined on 23rd January 1912
812 Ralph Norris joined on 16th January 1913
950 William Jennings joined on 24th March 1914
988 Reginald Maynard joined on 7th August 1914
1145 Philip Berry joined on 17th September 1914
1235 William Burleton joined on 5th October 1914
1383 Alfred Butler joined on 9th November 1914
1527 Jack Bartlett joined on 14th December 1914

For more information on this regiment see the Hampshire Yeomanry Wikipedia page and also The Long, Long Trail.

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1st London transfers, November 1916

Here's an interesting case study from the 1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) The London Regiment.

Numbers in the low 7000s were issued to men transferring to the 1st London Regiment from other London Regiment battalions – and mostly the 2/2nd Londons. 7049 James William Bowles is a typical example of these transfers.

James originally attested on the 2nd February 1916. He was a waiter by trade, 36 years old and living at 24 Marden Road, Bermondsey. He was called up to the 2nd City of London Regiment on the 18th August 1916 and given the number 6998. His service record states his locations as follows:

Home: 29.2.16 to 29.2.16 [his original attestation date]
Home: 18.8.16 to 22.11.16 [his mobilization date followed by the ensuing weeks and days in England]
Expeditionary Force France: 23.11.16 to 23.4.17
Home: 24.4.17 to 4.10.17 [returned home due to a severe gunshot wound sustained to his left arm on the 9th April 1917]

James’s statement of services records that he was posted to the Base Depot of the 1/1 London Regiment on the 24th November 1916 and transferred to the 1/1st London Regiment on the same day. This implies therefore, that he had arrived in France with the 2nd London Regiment and been transferred the following day to the 1st London Regiment. That being the case, I would have thought that it should have been his 2nd London Regiment number - 6998 - which should appeared on his medal index card as this is the unit with which he apparently arrived overseas. The medal index card however, makes no reference at all to the 2nd City of London Battalion. A clerical error, or am I missing something obvious?

James Bowles's service record is accessible on-line via the Ancestry website. The medal index card reproduced here is Crown Copyright.

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The Cheshire Regiment - 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion

I've been looking a little more closely at the Special and Extra Reserve Battalions, and thought that I'd post something about the Cheshire Regiment's 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion.

To understand numbering in this battalion, we need to go back beyond 1908 and look at numbering in the regiment's 3rd and 4th Militia Battalions. Both of these battalions had each started an independent number series which began at 1 in July 1881 and continued sequentially from then. By 1907 however, recruitment into the 3rd Battalion had well and truly outpaced recruitment into the 4th.

The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of 1907 reduced the British Army's 124 Infantry Militia battalions to 101, with the surviving Militia battalions converted into Special and Extra Reserve battalions. The 4th Cheshire Regiment was one of the 23 infantry Militia battalions which was disbanded. As for the men who had served in those battalions, they were offered the chance to transfer into the new Special Reserve and Extra Reserve battalions, that 'transfer' taking the form of a new attestation.

Unlike the majority of newly created Territorial Force battalions which did - despite an apparent lack of instruction from County Associations or elsewhere - start new number series from 1 in 1908, the vast majority of Special and Extra Reserve battalions simply carried on with the number series that had been in use by their Militia predecessors. The Cheshire Regiment was no exception.

Those men who had served in the 3rd Militia Battalion retained their numbers. Those men who had served in the 4th Militia Battalion were, to all intents and purposes, regarded as new recruits and were re-numbered from the point at which numbering in the 3rd Battalion had ceased in January 1908. We also see of course, men with no prior military service joining the newly formed Special Reserve battalion.

In terms of attestation dates, men joining from the 3rd Militia Battalion all have the same date recorded on their papers - 21st June 1908 - whilst other recruits had their actual attestation dates recorded. I've compiled the following list of men joining the Cheshire Regiment's 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in 1908 by digging through surviving pension (WO 364) and service (WO 363) records. These are accessible on microfilm at the National Archives in London and also on-line via Ancestry.co.uk (which is STILL offering a FREE 14-day trial).

Dates in square brackets are the dates on which the men originally joined the miltia battalions.

6248 John Andrews ex 3rd Militia Bn, [circa 1901] attested 21/06/08
7117 Henry Bennett, 3rd Militia Bn [04/02/1904], attested 21/06/08
7320 James Barnes, 3rd Militia Bn [05/03/1905], attested 21/06/08
7599 Joseph Breeze, 3rd Militia Bn, [25/09/1906]attested 21/06/08
7838 Alfred Beswick, 3rd Militia Bn [02/01/1908], attested 21/06/08
7853 Fred Oldham, 3rd Militia Bn [13/01/1908], attested 21/06/08
7860 John Booth, No prior service, attested 22/01/1908
7867 Frank Jones, No prior service, attested 29/01/1908
7876 James Dixon, 4th Militia Bn, attested 03/02/1908
7879 Edmond Burns, 4th Militia Bn, attested 03/02/1908
7900 Reuben Wilkinson, 4th Militia Bn, attested 04/02/1908
8039 John Kelly, 4th Militia Bn [1897], attested 03/02/1908
8072 Samuel Anderson, 4th Militia Bn, attested 01/05/1908
8180 Frank Atherton, 4th Militia Bn, attested 03/02/1908
8300 George Ainscough, No prior service, 28/07/1908
8325 John Robbins, No prior service, 07/10/1908

This numbering procedure was certainly adopted by other regiments - see my recent post on the 3rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers for instance - although I have yet to uncover any official instruction (it it exists) informing regiments that this was what they should do.

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The Day that Sussex died - 30th June 1916

I've covered the South Down battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment in previous posts, but on the Day that Sussex died - 30th June 1916 - I thought it would be fitting to just drill down a little and look at one or two of the men.

On the 30th June 1916 the South Down battalions attacked towards a German position in Richebourg known as the Boar's head. The action, intended to be a diversionary assault for the main action further south the following day, resulted in over 1100 casualties for the three South Down battalions.

The sequence of numbers below is just a small group mostly centred on Chailey and Newick. NO IDENTIFIABLE SD/ RESULT means that I have been unable to find a confirmed medal index card for that particular number. In addition, b. = born, e. = enlisted, 12th = 12th Battalion, KiA = Killed in Action, DoW = Died of Wounds.

In terms of the data, it is actually depressingly representative of South Down data as a whole - two repetitive dates: 30th June 1916 and 3rd September 1916 - featuring heavily. Men joining the South Down battalions were organised broadly alphabetically by surname and then numbered, as can be seen from the segment below. Click on the individual name links below to read more about the men on my WW1 Remembrance blog and Chailey 1914-1918 website.

SD/1630 NO IDENTIFIABLE SD/ RESULT
SD/1631 Pte Percy Bish
SD/1632 Pte Sydney Arthur Brooks 12th b.Newick e.Brighton KiA 30/06/1916
SD/1633 Pte William Jared Brooks b.Newick e.Brighton
SD/1634 Pte William Thomas Brown
SD/1635 Pte Albert John Cushman
SD/1636 Pte Laurence Davis 12th e.Brighton KiA 30/06/1916
SD/1637 Pte Charles Hodges 12th b.Newick e.Lewes KiA 30/06/1916
SD/1638 Pte Ernest Larkin 12th b.Hurstmonceux e.Lewes KiA 02/06/1917
SD/1639 Pte Fred'k Charles Maple 12th b.Wiston e.Hove KiA 01/09/1917
SD/1640 Cpl William D Mead
SD/1641 Pte John E Mitchell
SD/1642 Pte H Moore
SD/1643 L/Cpl Ernest William Plummer 12th b.Ringmer e.Lewes DoW 03/09/1916
SD/1644 NO IDENTIFIABLE SD/ RESULT
SD/1645 NO IDENTIFIABLE SD/ RESULT
SD/1646 Pte Thomas Morris Warren 12th b.Lavant e.Bognor 11/11/1914; disch wounds 24/10/1917
SD/1647 Sgt William Wilkinson

Remembering the men of the South Down battalions on this, the 94th anniversary of the Day that Sussex Died. William Jared Brooks, pictured.

Read more about numbering in the South Down battalions:

11th (Service) Battalion, (1st South Down), Royal Sussex Regiment
12th (Service) Battalion, (2nd South Down), Royal Sussex Regiment
13th (Service) Battalion, (3rd South Down), Royal Sussex Regiment

Read more about the history of the South Down battalions - Lowther's Lambs.

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Etaples - February 1917

I was going through some old copies of Stand To! The journal of The Western Front Association, and came across this interesting map of Etaples in February 1917. Posting this here on a blog about Army Service Numbers is a little tenuous, but I felt it was just too good not to share. Here, for the first time that I recall seeing (and that includes the winter of 1986 when this issue of Stand To! would have dropped onto my doormat) is a map showing where various Infantry Base Depots, hospitals, and a good deal more were located. I've often seen reference to the IBDs on service papers, but never really had a clue where in Etaples they were located. Now, thanks to The Western Front Association and Julian Putowski who wrote the original article in Stand To! 18, I know.


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1st Home Counties Field Ambulance, RAMC

According to The Long, Long Trail, in 1914 each infantry Division had three Field Ambulances, each of which was divided into three Sections. Section A comprised 65 men and section B and C comprised 128 men in total. You can read more about Field Ambulances and the breakdown of the Sections, by clicking on the link above.

This post is concerned with numbering in the 1st Home Counties Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, between 1908 and August 1914. All of the numbering information in this post has been gleaned from service records in WO 363 and WO364 at the National Archives. These same records can also be accessed on-line via Ancestry which is currently offering a FREE 14-DAY TRIAL.

There were three Home Counties Field Ambulances in all. The 1st was headquartered at Maidstone in Kent, the 2nd at Ashford in Kent and the 3rd at Surbiton in Surrey. All three HCFAs used separate number series and all three maintained separate number series when the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917.

I don't know for certain, but I suspect that none of the HCFAs started numbering from 1 in 1908. A lot of those early Territorial Force attestations are by men who had previously been serving as Volunteers, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that serving Volunteers retained their old numbers whilst new recruits were given the next number along from the old Volunteer series.

There was obviously some thought given to numbering however, because in January 1912 we see the old series abandoned and a new series beginning at 2000 for the 1st HCFA. The same thing happened with the 2nd and 3rd HCFAs. The second started a new series from 2500 (around March 1912) and the 3rd HCFA started a new series from 3000 (around February 1913).

Here then, are sample numbers and joining dates - one per year - for the 1st Home Counties Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps:

354 joined on 15th April 1908
510 joined on 10th February 1909
650 joined on 14th June 1910
706 joined on 17th March 1911
755 joined on 5th January 1912
2013 joined on 31st January 1912
2112 joined on 19th February 1913
2236 joined on 8th May 1914
2301 joined on 8th August 1914, later 493215

When the Territorial Force renumbered in 1917, the 1st HCFA was allocated numbers within the block 493001 to 495000.

The photograph on this page shows men of the 2nd Welsh Field Ambulance (headquarted at Cardiff) and was taken at Aberystwyth in 1915. I've borrowed the image from the Parry family history at Rootsweb.

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VSC duplications

This from my forthcoming book on regimental numbers issued to men joining the infantry regiments of the British Army between 1881 and 1914. The work covers all sixty-nine infantry regiments and augments and updates much of the information published on this blog.

Volunteer Service Companies - South African War

Army Order 29

"... 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."

Not all regiments heeded the instruction in AO 29, mixing in Volunteers (who enlisted for one year or the duration) with regular soldiers. For those regiments which did conform, we see corresponding gaps in numbering sequences in future years; those gaps taking account of numbers already issued to men joining the VSC companies. Unfortunately the confusion doesn’t end here. There is evidence of duplication of numbers in some regiments, the same number issued to a VSC man being issued again later to a regular enlistment.

For example, Private W Herley, serving with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, volunteered for South Africa in January 1900 and was given the number 8906 when he joined the 1st Volunteer Service Company, Lancashire Fusiliers. Fast forward to June 1902 and we see the same number issued to George Barton when he joined up for three years with the Colours and nine on the Reserve. Similarly, 8920 Private Lawrence Syrett was given his number when he joined the 1st VSC on the 29th January 1900. The same number was also issued to William Cartwright when he joined up for regular service on the 11th June 1902.

There is also evidence of numbers from within VSC number ranges re-surfacing for regular enlistments some years later. Take, for instance, the 2nd Volunteer Service Company of the Bedfordshire Regiment which, in 1901, issued numbers within the range 7915 to 7955. Twenty-two men were given numbers within this range and numbers 7946, 7948 and 7949 were all issued to volunteers. For some reason number 7947 was not used but neither was it forgotten. It appears much later, in February 1904; issued to Isaac Brown of Wellingborough who signed up with the regiment for three years with the Colours and nine on the reserve. The Bedfordshire Regiment also duplicated numbers. 7962 was issued to Private E Smith when he joined the 3rd Volunteer Service Company in 1901. The same number was issued again on the 23rd February 1904 when George Glasspool Swan signed up as a regular.

The photo shows men of the 3rd VSC, The Black Watch, (courtesy Ian Edwards) and is taken from his tribute website to the 5th (Angus & Dundee Battalion), The Black Watch.

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Royal Scots Fusiliers - 3rd (Special Reserve) Bn

This post will look at numbering in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers between its formation in 1908 and the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.
The 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion was the natural heir of the 3rd Militia battalion and like the majority of Special and Extra Reserve battalions, continued with the same number series that had been used by its militia ancestor. A glance at 1908 enlistments for the 3rd (SR) Battalion shows a whole range of numbers dating way back into the 1890s.

Coincidentally, the regiment's two Territorial Force Battalions - the 4th and 5th Battalions - when they were formed in April 1908, also continued with the number series that had been in use by their Volunteer Battalion predecessors.

All of the information below is taken from surviving service records in the WO 363 and WO364 series at the National Archives - and now available on-line via Ancestry.co.uk.

4111 joined on 2nd August 1908 (but he had originally joined the 3rd Militia Battalion in March 1899 and the number dates to then).
5617 joined on 15th May 1909
5937 joined on 2nd April 1910
6162 joined on 13th April 1911
6342 joined on 22nd February 1912
6571 joined on 9th June 1913
6678 joined on 5th January 1914
6831 joined on 8th August 1914

Also see my post on numbering in the regular battalions of the Royal Scots Fusiliers between 1881 and 1914.

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Harry Hall - For King & Country

I've been looking at numbers issued to men of the 5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, and I thought it would make an interesting and illustrative case study to focus on one of the men I found yesterday.

Harry Hall's badly damaged service record survives in the WO 363 (burnt documents) series. The first page is so badly burned that the number is missing and only the year - 1916 - can be seen. The attestation paper though is the Enrolment Paper, introduced after the Military Service Act was passed in 1916.

Harry Hall was 27 years and three months old, a farmer by trade and living at the Boat House, St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire. In answer to the question, "Have you ever served in any branch of His majesty's Forces..." the answer is given, "Yes, 1/5th King's Own Royal Lancs Regt. Served 5 years including 1 yr 245 days embodied service."

Burnt page two of his papers reveals that Harry was at Home between the 11th August 1916 and the 19th March 1917 and then with the BEF in France between the 20th March and the 12th May 1917.

Page three fills in a little more information and we see that Harry was immediately "promoted" lance-corporal (and the word "promoted" rather than "appointed" is used) on the 11th August 1916, the day he joined. He was also awarded a bounty of fifteen pounds, this allowed under Army Order 209 of 1916. The Army Order runs to four pages and was applicable to men who were retained in the Service or recalled to the Colours under the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), and also to soldiers who voluntarily undertook to continue to serve, or who re-enlisted or re-engaged.

We also discover on burnt page three that Harry was posted to the 8th KORL on the 9th April 1917 and that just over a month later, on the 12th May, he was killed in action whilst serving with this battalion.

It is only on page four of Harry's service record that we see his number for the first time - 1238 - and the 2/5th King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission gives his number as 240102 which is the new six digit number issued to Harry when the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917.

Harry's medical history sheet, page five of his burnt service record, state that he was enrolled on the 11th August 1916 and that his number was 1238, later 240102. We already have this information from previous pages but of course it doesn't show the whole picture. Harry did join up in August 1916 but the four-digit number is the number he was issued with when he originally joined the 5th Battalion back in 1911.

Pages six to ten of Harry's service record are either blank or repeat previous pages. Page 11 is Harry's discharge "in consequence of the termination of his engagement". This took place on the 5th April 1916. Harry's complexion at the time is described as fresh, his hair dark brown, and his eyes, blue. As to his military character - those parts that can be read - he is described as Very Good and "Total abstainer. Thoroughly reliable. Whilst a soldier performed his duties in an efficient [manner] to the complete satisfaction of [his commanding] officer."

Page 12 of Harry's service record gives some more dates:

Home 5.8.14 to 13.2.15
Ex Force France 14.2.16 [This is incorrect, is should be 14.2.15] to 30.3.16
Home 31.3.16 to 5.4.16

The dates 5th August 1914 to 5th April 1916 are the embodied service - 1 Yr and 245 days - which Harry stated on his 1916 enrollment paper (see third paragraph, above).

It is only on page 13 that we finally see Harry's original enlistment date (although we could have worked this out - in theory - from his date of discharge). The date is given as 6th April 1911.

In Summary then, Harry joined the 5th KORL on the 6th April 1911 and was given the number 1238. He joined up for a period of four years which meant that he was still a serving member of the Territorial Force when Britain went to war on the 4th August 1914. He was embodied the following day and, under section 87 (1) of the Army Act, was also required to serve one extra year. Thus, by 5th April 1916, Harry had served his four plus one years with the 5th KORL and was discharged on the termination of his engagement.

His freedom from Army life was however, short-lived, and just four months later he re-engaged and claimed his cash bounty in so doing. It is interesting that on his 1916 enrollment form, Harry states that his preferred branch of the army was the Royal Garrison Artillery. It's possible, that after a year in France with the PBI, Harry felt that the RGA might offer him better prospects of survival. The military authorities though, were having none of that and he was sent straight back to his old battalion and - this is the point - given back his old number.

Harry's story is of course, not unique. There were thousands of time-expired men who found themselves back in the army as a result of the Military Services Act of 1916; either re-engaging voluntarily, or being conscripted.

To finish Harry's story - and his service record can be accessed via Ancestry's FREE TRIAL - The Commonwealth War Graves Commission states that he was the son of Mr and Mrs T Hall of The Boat House, St. Michael's, Garstang, Preston, and at the time of his death he was 28 years old. Harry Hall has no known grave and is one of nearly 35,000 men commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France. Next Wednesday marks the 93rd anniversary of his death.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Machine-gunners at Arras courtesy the Imperial War Museum.

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