King's Royal Rifle Corps Numbering - R41818 - When did he join?

[Willywombat]

I'm hoping some kind soul with a knowledge of the KRRC may be able to assist me.

I'm trying to find the approximate date that Rifleman R41818 Leslie Yockney Lane transferred into the 2nd Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was previously with the 8th Gloucesters. A bit of Googling on KRRC numbers suggests that R44919 (only about three thousand away!) was a number allocated in March 1918, so I'm assuming R41818 must have been allocated sometime before then.

Can anyone shed any light?

Many thanks,

Bob.

[Black Sapper]

Presume that you've been here?

http://armyservicenu...yal Rifle Corps

R - King's Royal Rifle Corps. New Army men within the range R/1 to R/58003

Am I right that this is the guy who was aged 22 when he died on 25.09.1918, buried Bellicourt British Cemetery? Born 1896 Gloucestershire. Aged 15 in 1911 Census living in Hampstead, Gloucester with parents, Dad was a Bootmaker?

This woman from California is on Ancestry researching this family - she's related, but doesn't seem to be aware of Leslie Yockney Lane WW1 record?

http://connect.ancestry.co.uk/Profile/01442a27-0002-0000-0000-000000000000

I think that she may have been signed in on Ancestry yesterday so may well still be about?

I sent her a message suggesting she looks on this forum, so perhaps she'll turn up?

[Willywombat]

Well, actually I hadn't, so thanks for that - a useful resource that I've bookmarked for the future.

It confirms that my chap was a New Army Man (Yes - 8th Gloucesters) and he falls within the number sequence, so that's all good.

So, do any KRRC types out there know the joining dates of anyone with numbers close to R41818?

[Black Sapper]

I trawled & trawled forever ........... sorry but nothing concrete .....

#38806 – May 1917 Whitehall

#39588 – June 1917 Stratford, London

#41818 ----

#42955 – Feb 1918 approval & call up – enlisted earlier?

#44953 – 1918

#45971 – enlisted 06.12.1917

#46083 – August 1917 Lambeth

[Willywombat]

That's a help, and thanks for your efforts. At least it gives something of a timeframe to go by.

He enlisted at the start of the war and his date of entry into F&F is consistent with that of the 8th Gloucesters, so I'm confident he went overseas with them. It seems he spent a couple of years with them before being transferred, my guess being sometime in the latter half of 1917.

I tried the CWGC and MIC databases, hoping to find someone with a number close to his who was also 8th Glos (pointing to a block transfer to the KRRC), but no joy, so it may have been either block transfer or as an individual.

I'll keep looking!

[Black Sapper]

No problem - sitting here doing stuff like this is easy for a retired beach bum!

I decided to go look at the 207,000 entries for the SWB out of Winchester as they dealt with the Rifle Brigades & KRCC - this is a bit of what I got before I gave up?

Hope that it helps?

#R/39867 Rifleman William Archer, (KRRC) Enlisted 02.07.1917 & discharged SWB Sickness 01.09.1917

#R/41487 Private George Maltby (32^nd London Regt) KRRC enlisted 19.01.1917 & discharged SWB Sick 20.03.1918

#R/41818

#R41839 Rifleman Richard Thoms G Aston (Depot KRCC) enlisted 03.10.1916 & discharged 31.09.1919 Wounded

#R/41852 Rifleman William James Burgess (Depot KRRC) enlisted 15.02.1917 & discharged SWB 04.02.1919 Wounded

#R/41992 Private Eugene O Irish (15^th Res Bn KRRC) enlisted 27.06.1917 & discharged SWB Sick14.03.1918

Doesn't help much, does it?

[MBrockway]

You've set a very difficult challenge as the sequencing broke down somewhat with the start of the Group Scheme and conscription - as Black Sapper has discovered! (Been there in the SWB Lists myself, and got the same T-shirt, Old Chap!).

Very difficult to give a confident enlistment date beyond saying "late war".

Sorry.

Mark

[MBrockway]

.... so it may have been either block transfer or as an individual ....

Generally these block transfers were given A/ prefixes, though with the KRRC/RB Schema, there are always plenty of exceptions to perplex anyone who dares to make a definitive statement!

[Willywombat]

Thanks for all your help so far. I've not been sitting back letting poor old black Sapper do all the work (although talk about going the extra mile on someone else's behalf!)

This site has helped to identify numbers close to the one I'm looking at:

http://www.hut-six.co.uk/GreatWar/KRRC/King%27sRoyalRifleCorps_A.html

It's been a case of going through each page with a search term of "R418" and then putting the resulting names through Ancestry to search for service records, a CWGC record or something that might give a date of transfer. None have come up yet!

Mark, you may well be right and I might just have to settle for "late war"...

Thanks again, all!

[MBrockway]

It's been a case of going through each page with a search term of "R418" and then putting the resulting names through Ancestry to search for service records, a CWGC record or something that might give a date of transfer. None have come up yet!

Mark, you may well be right and I might just have to settle for "late war"...

Thanks again, all!

I've done similar in the past with Geoff's help.

Even if you do find a nearby soldier with an extant Service Record, you cannot 100% infer your man's transfer date from that.

We have found a lot of discrepancies.

You might be better researching the men in 8/Gloucesters to find a block of men that went into the KRRs.

Cheers,

Mark

[Black Sapper]

Willywombat, the woman from Ancestry contacted me, I've messaged you.

Seems that she's Leslie Yockney Lane's Great Great Granddaughter.

She gave you a contact e-mail address too.

[Willywombat]

Yes - I saw that and have replied.

Very much appreciated. You've gone the extra mile!

Thanks.