Guest Marty7 Posted 14 August , 2008 Share Posted 14 August , 2008 As I'm very interested in the 8th. (service) battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, I would to like what the 'service' stands for. Is there a structual difference between a battalion and a 'service' battalion. tks + regards Marty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 14 August , 2008 Share Posted 14 August , 2008 Marty Our leader thinks of everything ! See the Long Long Trail at top left of this page: http://www.1914-1918.net/kitchen.htm Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Riley Posted 14 August , 2008 Share Posted 14 August , 2008 Welscome to the Forum. A 'Service' battalion was raised from absolute scratch as part of Kitchener's New Armies in 1914, technically as part of the Regular Army. They were not part of the Territorial Force that existed before the war. I think the establishment for a service battalion would have been the same as that for any other infantry battalion (in 1914 1001 soldiers, from memory, plus a few more for battalions entitled to pipers). In the early days of no uniforms and no equipment, the numbers could have varied widely. The 8th (Service) Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers formed at Lancaster in October 1914 as part of K3 (that is Kitchener's third 'hundred thousand'). They were in France by October 1915 Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty7 Posted 15 August , 2008 Share Posted 15 August , 2008 Sotonmate and Ian, tks for the info, will reply in future. rgds Marty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem49 Posted 15 August , 2008 Share Posted 15 August , 2008 Army Order 324, 1914. Augmentation of the Army - With reference to Army order II of 6th August 1914 (as amended by Army Order III of 7th August 1914) introducing special terms of enlistment into the regular army, His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the addition to the Army of six divisions and Army Troops. The composition and nomenclature of the new units and formations will be as shown in Appendix A. The establishment of each unit will follow War Establishments (Part I) 1914. The new battalions will be raised as additional battalions of the regiments of Infantry of the Line, and will be given numbers following consecutively on the existing battalions of their regiments. They will be further distinguished by the word "Service" after their number ..... steve m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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