Raster Scanning Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 I am reliably informed that 37 recruiting books dating from WW1 are held in the above repositary. Covering the 31st Regimental District Area, there are details of around 100,000 men who enlisted or were conscripted in 1914/15 & 16. Details include Regiment, Name, Initial, Age, Height, Chest, Weight, Complexion, Eyes, Hair, Distinguishing Marks, Occupation, Place of Birth, Date of Attestation, Where and by whom, Name of Recruiter, Recruiting Agent, Medical Officer, Accepted / Rejected & by whom, Remarks. The following areas are mentioned on the covers. Kingston, Epsom, Mitcham, Wimbledon, Richmond, Weybridge, Croydon, R O Woolwich, Wandsworth, Upper Norwood, Peckham, VAD 3rd Battalion E Surrey Regiment, VAD Supplementry Reserve, HAC, and S London Reserve. This seem to be a wonderful source of information and as I was not aware of it I thought I would post the info here. Has anyone used them? I would be interested in further info. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavinH Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 About 12 years ago I did tackle these recruitment books. The majority are not indexed, and so each one takes a long time to search. I think I got through about 25 of them (In a day?), but I'm not entirely sure of this now. I did manage to find my Great Grandfather listed. He lived in Mitcham and enlisted in Kingston. I'll dig out my notes over the weekend, and post what information was shown. Regards Gavin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 John, These books are now stored at the Surrey History Centre in Woking - Goldsworth Road to be exact, as are all records for Surrey in WW1. As Gavin syas they are not indexed and IMHO you are lucky if you strike gold - I didn't Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulianB Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 listed by name ?, parish ?, regiment. It sounds very useful. The obvious question is do they exist for other counties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 I have been told that they are unique for Surrey, but you never know there may be some dusty forgotten shelf in some archive................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavinH Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 I don't remember the names being listed in any apparent order. They are probably in chronological order of enlistment, with a seperate volume being kept by each recruitment centre, but I am guessing. I do remember that a couple of volumes had contemporary indexes, but that the majority did not. Gavin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raster Scanning Posted 26 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Thanks for the replies so far. Gavin I would be interested to see what you recorded. Ian thanks for the update on location. Julian, I have read that the only other ones are for the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and cover October 1905-October 1916. These are held in their museum at Bodmin. If ever there was a worthwhile project, it would be indexing these for simple use. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Are these books for men who lived and enlisted in Surrey, just lived in Surrey and enlisted elsewhere, or just enlisted in Surrey and lived elsewhere? Robert Stark enlisted in London at the Central Recruiting Office in Whitehall, but lived in Surrey. His brother Sydney was conscripted, so perhaps he would be in the books. I am particularly interested in Sydney Stark, because his records at the PRO do not exist, whereas Robert's do and I have some of that information for him. Thank you. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Cynthia, They are for men who enlisted in Surrey but their coverage is patchy. I have seen men mentioned in the books who lived in Liverpool for example but enlisted in Guildford. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 If ever there was a worthwhile project, it would be indexing these for simple use. John, I look forward to reading the fruits of your labour in due course. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 26 August , 2004 Share Posted 26 August , 2004 Thanks, Ian. I guess I won't have time on my trip to go through these unindexed rolls! How would the conscripts have been handled in these books? Obviously they did not enlist per se, but if they are included, would they be in a separate section? That would make my search easier! Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raster Scanning Posted 28 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 28 August , 2004 If ever there was a worthwhile project, it would be indexing these for simple use. John, I look forward to reading the fruits of your labour in due course. Ian I have been on my 7th Beds Rgt 'project' for over 20 years, I will tackle this job when that is finised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen White Posted 28 August , 2004 Share Posted 28 August , 2004 John, These books are now stored at the Surrey History Centre in Woking - Goldsworth Road to be exact, as are all records for Surrey in WW1. As Gavin syas they are not indexed and IMHO you are lucky if you strike gold - I didn't Ian Ian To the best of your knowledge do you know if these books would cover the villages surrounding Guildford.I am particularly interested in my wifes home village of Shere,where i am researching the names from the local memorial.I am having a little difficulty with one or two of the names. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavinH Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 Further to my previous post, I have now found my original notes. The entry for my Great Grandfather showed the following info: Name Age Height Girth Weight Distinctive marks Occupation Place of birth Date of attestation Place of attestation By whom Name of recruiter Examing medical officer Approved or rejected Home address. Regards Gavin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fair Posted 29 August , 2004 Share Posted 29 August , 2004 This set of registers is being put into a database as we speak. See this thread. I for one am looking forward to seeing the completed database. Perhaps the pal 'borstal' would be able to give an update? I know that nothing was expected before the end of this year. regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 9 September , 2004 Share Posted 9 September , 2004 I emailed the Surrey History Centre in Woking today to see if they could give me an idea of any sort of organisation to the registers. Since I know that Sydney Stark was conscripted in early 1916, I wonder if I would get lucky enough to find a chronology of sorts by year? What do you say to that, Ian and Gavin? Since I am over on holiday, the luxury of time is not really mine! At least if I only had to go through the 1916 registers, I might be able to do that. Thank you. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia Posted 10 September , 2004 Share Posted 10 September , 2004 I got an answer from the Surrey History Service today that may be of interest to those of us searching these records, particularly in regard to indexing! Of course, like Ian, no luck for me, either! Here is what I received: RECRUITMENT REGISTERS Thank you for your e-mail of 8 September concerning the 31st Regimental District Recruitment Registers. We do hold these registers, reference no. 2496/1-44, which cover the recruiting area of the East Surrey Regiment, which was basically north-east Surrey and south London, between 1908-1929. Numbers 2496/8-18 cover the 1916 period. These registers are currently being indexed, so I checked the CD-Rom of the registers already indexed, which includes 8, 10-18, for Sidney Charles Stark, but without success. Since 2496/9, was indexed at the time it was compiled, I also checked this volume, but also without success. It may be that he is mentioned in one of the other volumes which are yet to be indexed, or that he lived outside the 31st Regimental District. If you have not already done so you may wish to contact The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, TW9 4DU (Tel: 020 8876 3444; email: nquiry@nationalarchives.gov.uk; website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ), who hold the War Office papers, including medal rolls and the surviving service records for soldiers of the First World War. Unfortunately they do not carry out research, but there is a list of record researchers on their website, who you can hire, if you are unable to go there yourself. Alternatively you might try the Royal Logistic Corps Museum, Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey, GU16 6RW, telephone no. 01252 833371, email rlcmuseum@btconnect.com, who, although they do not hold records on individual soldiers, may also be able to help you. You are welcome to visit Surrey History Centre and details of our location, opening times and facilities can be found on our website, http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistoryservice. If you do decide to visit and you do not possess a Surrey Library Card or County Archive Research Network (CARN) ticket, you will need to bring some means of identification with you that shows your name and address (driving licence, utilities bill, etc) so that we may issue you with a reader's ticket. Please note that pens, coats and bags are not allowed in the research area but lockers and a refreshment area are provided for your convenience. This may be helpful to anyone doing research specifically on the East Surreys. Cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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