Why Northumberland Fusiliers?

[Guest greatniece]

Can anyone suggest why a young man who was Sheffield born and bred would join the Northumberland Fusiliers when there were plenty of more local regiments? I understand that he had been rejected by the Sheffield Battalion as being too young as he was born in 1897. His name was George Richmond, Service number 27267 and like so many others his records must be part of the burnt series. We know he served in the 12th/13th Battalion and was captured at Heudecourt on 21.03.18. We would love to know which of the two original battalions he started out in plus any further information.

[HarryBettsMCDCM]

I think you may have given the answer in your question,as he was underage he may well have taken a trip to the Northumberland Fusiliers recruiting depot to enlist where he wouldn't have been known!

Or he may have been working in that area,however there is often little reason why men enlisted in Regiments that have little or no "Local" connection.

[Graham Stewart]

Greatneice,

As Harry said there is little reason as to why this actually went on, because in the case of George Richmond he is one of a large group of men from Rotherham & Sheffield to go to the Northumberland Fusiliers, so he wasn't on his own in this case.

It would appear that in many cases as depots/battalions filled up with recruits, so the surplus was sent to the next nearest depot to fill out any battalions being formed there and this is best explained in the book "The Kitcheners Armies" by Victor Wallace Germains.

The notion that county regiments always recruited locally even before the Great War, is sadly a myth as recruiters were given lists of units that required men and often enough that unit was from another county.

As an example the 2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers were actually based in Hillsborough Barracks, Sheffield from October 1910 until October 1913, with a detachment at Pontefract. During that time quite a few Yorkshiremen would have enlisted into the N.F., and this may have been one factor that encouraged Yorkshiremen to join them in August 1914.

Graham.

[Guest greatniece]

Thanks Harry and Graham. Mystery over!

Greatniece

[Chris_Baker]

Not necessarily. If he was a conscripted soldier - enlisted from 1916 onward - he would have been posted to any unit that needed a replacement. The "logical" connection between place and regiment was broken.

To be sure, track down his medals documents and, if you can, his service record.

[Graham Stewart]

Chris,

The only time their was a county/regimental connection was during the rush from August to December 1914, when County regiments were filled to overflowing with men from their regimental recruiting area. Prior to August 1914 that connection was in name only, although some regiments faired better than others at recruitng locally.

After the Great War the link between county/regiment did infact become stronger and in some regiments like the Northumberland Fusiliers & Durham Light Infantry they were virtually impossible to enlist into without family connections, a tradition that continued up until the 1960's.

This tradition was only disrupted during World War II, again with the introduction of conscription and the need to fill out units as quickly as possible after receiving battle casualties.

In the case of 27267 Pte George Richmond I suspect from his regimental number that he was a 1915 enlistment and a volunteer rather than a conscript.

Graham.