Hi there,
I’ve been looking into the service history of several ancestors. I know that (in the case of where the service record doesn’t survive) understanding which battalions/regiments a particular service number was allotted to can be really useful. Can anyone help me in this regard? I’m particularly interested in:
48225 - RGA (ancestor was in 56th Siege Battery at some stage)
235355 - 1st Battalion KORL (ancestor was previously in Middlesex Regiment)
315212 - 1/5th Battalion LRB (ancestor was previously in 2/11th London Regiment with service number 821479)
I’m hoping this makes sense but happy to explain further if unclear.
Hello and welcome to the dugout.
The answer to your question lines to some extent in the terms under which the man was enlisted, and the corps in which he served.
Regular army numbers for a particular corps or regiment do not usually trace to a unit. The RGA number is a good example of that. It may be possible to spot a likely unit from patterns shown by service records of men numbered nearby, or in some cases they will be given by the man’s entry in the campaign medal roll.
Territorial Force numbers do relate to a unit. The KORL and LRB numbers are examples, although with the 1st KORL being a regular unit, the implication is that the man was transferred into it from a Territorial unit.
A complicated subject. Does that help at all?
Hi Chris, thank you very much for this explanation, I really appreciate it!