Service Number

[w.longmore]

Hi folks, I am trying to find what battelion of the South Staffs Regt my GF would have served with and I am told that some experts on the Sth. Staffs can work this out from the Service number which is 14794. He enlisted 7-10-1914 and was medicaly discharged 13-12-1917. Thanks in advance,

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

Not Directly,His number appears to be from an early volunteer enlistment{one of Kitchener's "K" Volunteers}& consequently he could have been posted to any Battalion;however,his MiC should have an embarkation date which may suggest a Battalion if it corresponds with the arrival of a particular Battalion @ the Front/Overseas,failing that the Medal Roll {reference to whit is shown on the MiC} often give the Battalion served in on the Roll page,by the recipients name.

[w.longmore]

Hi folks, I am trying to find what battelion of the South Staffs Regt my GF would have served with and I am told that some experts on the Sth. Staffs can work this out from the Service number which is 14794. He enlisted 7-10-1914 and was medicaly discharged 13-12-1917. Thanks in advance,

Hi Harry, Thanks for the reply, according to the MIC The theatre of war was 1, I think the Western Front, The date of entry there was 3-9-1915. Also on the MIC is Corps. first line reads S Staffs R Rank Pte, Regd No 14794. The second line reads, Notts & Derby R and again Regd No is TR/6/13091.

For the Victory and War medals Rolls No is F/106B page 5 and for the 1915 Star is Roll F/9/C page 4

There is another sheet which seems to be a discharge paper. On it is name Longmore Joseph, Corps T Res 14th (Wr/Dr/Or I'm not sure what this is, It could be Wr or Dr or Or) Then comes his number and rank TR/6/13091 Pte. Enlistment date 7-10-1914 Discharge 13-12-1917 then cause of discharge is 392 XVI KR 2BI W (a medical discharge). Would the 2BI W be the type of wound? Down at the bottom is Action taken Lio 7/a/591.

As far as I know He enlisted in the S Staffs Regt and went to the front, was wounded sent to hosp. and after recuperation was transferred to the nearest Training reserve battalion 0which was the Sherwood Forresters (Notts & Derby R) for medical asessment and declared Unfit and so discharged

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

Sadly the date of embarkation does not help in this Case,as none of the S.Staffs Bns arrived/embarked for France{WF} on that date{all before},which suggests that he was probably part of a Re~inforcement draft,to the 1st,2nd,1/5th,1/6th,7th,8th or 9th Battalions,being the Battalions that served on that Front,no doubt a Staffs expert might know when drafts arrived & be able to pinpoint your Man's probable Battalion.

[Andrew Hesketh]

Although this is not your main query, the T.R.6/ prefix for the Notts & Derby Regiment, is one used by members of the 51st (Graduated), 52nd (Graduated) and 53rd (Young Soldier) battalions of that regiment.

T.R./6/ followed by a 5 digit number beginning with 13, would heavily suggest that he went to the 52nd which received a batch of men numbered T.R./6/13*** in late 1916 or very early 1917 (I've still not quite pinned down the precise date). From what I can gather most of these men were Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire in origin.

There's a liitle more detail of the 52nd in the relevant part of my website (see signature below).

Hope that helps a little.

[w.longmore]

Although this is not your main query, the T.R.6/ prefix for the Notts & Derby Regiment, is one used by members of the 51st (Graduated), 52nd (Graduated) and 53rd (Young Soldier) battalions of that regiment.

T.R./6/ followed by a 5 digit number beginning with 13, would heavily suggest that he went to the 52nd which received a batch of men numbered T.R./6/13*** in late 1916 or very early 1917 (I've still not quite pinned down the precise date). From what I can gather most of these men were Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire in origin.

There's a liitle more detail of the 52nd in the relevant part of my website (see signature below).

Hope that helps a little.

Sir, Thank you for your reply, It is much appreciated and every little helps a lot. my story so far = My GF born 1889, enlisted Oct 1914 in the Sth. Staffs regt. regd number 14794 went to France 3-9-1915. At some stage he gets wounded and sent back to England. He is then transferred to the Notts & Derby Regt. with the number TR6/13091, It looks like 14th something. He is then married on the 10-12-1917 in his home town Brockmoor in Brierley Hill, West Mid. and Medicaly Discharged on the 13-12-1917.

Best regards and thanks again

[Graham Stewart]

Andrew,

The pre-fix TR/6/**** does actually belong to the Training Reserve Battalions from No.6 Regimental, Northern Command formed in September 1916 and pre-dates those Graduated and Young Soldier Battalions. These numbers were issued by Officers I/C Records in blocks of 4,000 per battalion. On transfer to another unit, a man would be issued with a new number(ACI 1526 of 6th Aug 1916).

Only three Notts & Derby Bn's went to the Training Reserve, these were the 13th(Reserve); 14th(Reserve) & 19th(Reseve)Bn's, N&D. The 13th & 14th(Reserve)Bns,N&D became the 12th & 13th Training Reserve Battalions, 3rd(Reserve)Bde stationed at Brockton, Staff's. The 19th(Reserve)Bn,N&D was absorbed by other units of the 19th(Reserve)Bde at Newcastle.

Graham.

[Andrew Hesketh]

Graham,

I perhaps did not make myself clear enough, but I wasn't suggesting that the TR6 prefix belonged to the Notts & Derbys - the phrase I used was 'one used by'. There is ample evidence of men coming from the training reserve with to the 'Graduated'and 'Young' battalions and retaining their TR6 number. From what you say Graham, should that have happened, or should a new number have been allotted?

Thanks also for the comments on the 13th, 14th and 19th. Again, there is more detail on my website, but the Newcastle location for the 19th was new to me, so thanks for that.