London Recruiting Offices

[BrianAW]

Hello

My Grandfather enlisted in Sept 1914. According to the 1911 census he was living in Rotherhithe. He served in the Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment. I'm trying to understand the enlistment process by which he ended up in that Regiment. Anyone help?

Cheers

BrianAW

[charlie962]

Welcome to the Forum Brian.

 

If you look at the site LongLongTrail (see menu at top of this page) you will find lots of info on the life of a soldier.

Here is the link

 

Don't hesitate to come back here with specific questions not answered by the LLT.

 

Charlie

 

 

[johnboy]

He may not had a choice. He did not have tto enlist [if he did] where he lived . It might have been in the area where he worked, A lot of town hallls were used as recruitment offices, His name year of birth and number would be helpful

Edited 20 May , 2018 by johnboy

[kenf48]

Welcome to the forum.  As noted above we could probably help more with a name and Regimental number.

 

Generally speaking at that stage of the war there was a surge in recruitment following the newspaper reports and propaganda of the ‘rape of Belgium’.   A man wishing to volunteer would go to a recruiting office, probably Southwark Town Hall or Bermondsey , or the local Drill Hall for the TF, and on attestation receive a day’s pay, or the King’s Shilling, and a ration allowance.

 

After a medical he would then, with other recruits who enlisted that day,  be put on a train to the Queen’s  Depot at Stoughton Barracks, Guildford and on arrival there posted to a Kitchener or (War) Service Battalion.  It also appears a number of men from Rotherhithe enlisted in the Special Reserve and were posted to the Queen’s.

 

Rotherhithe was part of Surrey and historically within the recruitment area for the Queen’s (Surrey Docks?) as pre-war Service Records show.

 

The 22nd Bn (County of London) Regiment also had an affiliation with the Queen’s, becoming the 6th Queen’s in 1938.  This Battalion although a separate entity in 1914 was based in Jamaica Road,  Bermondsey.  

 

It was not, therefore unusual that a recruit from Rotherhithe should find himself in either the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) or the East Surrey Regiments.

 

Ken