This article will look at the expansion of the British infantry regiments in 1914 and the effect it had on the numbering series already in use at the time.
Typically, in 1914, a British infantry regiment might consist of two “regular” battalions of career soldiers, a third (special reserve) battalion, and perhaps one or more Territorial Forces battalions. Generally speaking, men joining the Special Reserve signed up for a six-year service and immediately underwent six months of training with the obligation to complete an additional three to four weeks of training each year thereafter. . Similarly, men joining the Territorial Force, signed up to four years of service in the home or Territorial only.
They typically met every Saturday night (hence the term “Saturday Night Soldiers”) and attended a two-week training camp every July or August. Men joining the Territorial Force were not required to serve abroad, but could volunteer to do so by assuming an Imperial Service obligation.
In July 1914 the Royal Sussex Regiment consisted of the following battalions:
1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions
3rd Battalion (Special Reserve)
4, 5 and 6 (Territorial Forces Battalions)
The 1st and 2nd Battalions shared a series of numbers which had begun when the regiment was formed in July 1881 and started from 1. The prefix L/ was also generally used for men joining these two regular battalions.
The 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve) had a separate number series that was a continuation of the number series that had been used by its predecessor, the 3rd Battalion (Militia). Special Reserve and Additional Reserve battalions replaced the militia in 1908 and although some of the newly formed Special Reserve and Additional battalions began numbering from 1, many simply continued the old series of militia. The 3rd Royal Sussex Regiment fell into this category and further, older militiamen who now enlisted in the 3rd Battalion, were allowed to keep their old militia numbers. Thus, for example, 9759 Pte George Walter Mynett, who joined the 3rd Royal Sussex Regiment on 14 June 1908, was a former militiaman who had originally joined the 3rd (Militia) Battalion – and became he had been assigned the number 9759- in September 1906.
The 4th, 5th and 6th (Territorial Force) Battalions each had a separate series of numbers beginning at 1. The 4th and 5th Battalions were formed in April 1908 and the 6th. battalion in 1911.
When Britain went to war with Germany in August 1914, and particularly after Kitchener’s appeal in late August 1914 for 100,000 volunteers, recruiting offices across the country were inundated. Army authorities not only had to decide where to place the men, they also had to decide how to number them. Let me stay with the Royal Sussex Regiment for the moment because, apart from anything else, whoever was in charge of numbering in the Royal Sussex Regiment seems to have been quite farsighted and certainly well organised.
What the Royal Sussex Regiment did, and what a few other regiments did as well (The Buffs, The Queens and Royal West Kents also followed similar patterns) was to start a whole new series of numbers for men who joined just for service in times of war. At the same time, the old series of numbers for men who wished to join under the usual conditions of ordinary or special reservation were maintained.
In August 1914, the normal terms of enlistment for a man joining the 1st and 2nd Battalions were seven years with the colors and five in the Reserve. Now, however, with men going through recruiting stations to sign up for a war many believed would end by Christmas, less stringent wartime terms were clearly needed. Hubert Henry Allsopp reported to Bexhill on 17 August for three years or the duration of the war (with the agreement, written in fine print, that if the war was to last less than three years, “he may be discharged from immediate .”)
Hubert received the number G/147. The G stood for General Services and he scribbled on his certification documents, confirming this, are the initials GSSX or Sussex General Services. He would later be posted to the 8th and then the 7th Battalion, retaining his G/ prefix number. The G/ series began in August 1914 and would continue throughout the war.
At the same time that Hubert and thousands like him were joining the newly formed service battalions, that is, wartime-only service battalions, other new recruits were joining the 3rd Special Reserve Battalion. A new series was also started for these men who started GSSR/ or General Service Special Reserve. This series, along with the Special Reserve series, would disappear by the end of the year. The last number in my database for a number with a GSSR prefix is 931, which was issued on November 5, 1914.
Another number series was started for the men who joined the South Down battalions. These were service battalions like the 7th, 8th and 9th battalions, but were created by Colonel Claude Lowther MP, owner of Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex. Recruitment began on 9 September, and by the end of the year enough men had volunteered to form three battalions. A fourth reserve battalion would also be formed later. All men who joined the South Down battalions were given a number prefixed with SD/ (for South Down). Numbering started from 1 in September 1914.
Finally, add to the mix, those older men joining the supernumerary companies attached to the 4th and 5th Territorial Battalions (at least one more number series per battalion) and you now have ten separate army number series in use, such as go on:
1st Series: 1st and 2nd (Regular) Battalions, prefixed L/
2nd series: 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve) – preceded, if any, with 3/ or SR/
3rd series: 4th Battalion (Territorial Force)
4th series: 5th Battalion (Territorial Force)
5th series: 6th Battalion (Territorial Force)
Sixth series: Enlistments in service battalions in wartime only, with the prefix G/ or GS/
7th series: wartime-only enlistments in 3rd Battalion – with prefix GSSR/
8th Series: 11th, 12th and 13th (South Down) Battalions, prefixed SD/
9th series: supernumerary company men attached to the 4th (TF) Battalion
Tenth series: supernumerary company men attached to the 5th Battalion (TF)
A similar expansion would occur in virtually every other regiment in the British Army, and you can read more about these quirks and idiosyncrasies on my Army Service Numbers blog.
