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| Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy Tracking down a family member, specific serviceman or unit. Puzzled by paperwork or official terminology? This is the place to ask. |
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12-01-2006, 06:52 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Junior Member  Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 22
 | Army Number Block Allocations The following list might be of some use, hopefully. These are the number blocks allocated to the British Army in the pre-war years but was used right through to war's end. It can be used to identify with which unit a soldier first served. However, it does not mean that soldier served the entire war with that unit - or even for any great length of time. For instance, a soldier volunteering in 1939 might be assigned to The Queen's Royal Regt and given a number within their block. However, before he begins training the Army decides that he's better suited as a Royal Engineer and is transferred. That soldier would still retain his number from The Queen's. Nevertheless, it can be a start when researching a soldier's career as you can tell their initial unit upon enlistment - and also have a guess at when he or she actually joined (depending on where their number falls in sequence within that block). Royal Army Service Corps 1 - 294000 and 10660001 - 11000000 The Life Guards 294001 - 304000 294001 to 299000 1st Life Guards 299001 to 304000 2nd Life Guards Royal Horse Guards 304001 - 309000 Cavalry of the Line 309001 - 721000 (Inclusive 558471 to 558761 allocated to the Royal Armoured Corps extraordinary to the block of numbers later allocated) 309001 to 386000 Lancers 386001 to 528000 Dragoons 528001 to 721000 Hussars Royal Artillery (Field, Coastal & Anti-Aircraft) 721001 - 1842000 and 11000001 - 11500000 Royal Engineers 1842001 - 2303000 Royal Corps of Signals 2303001 - 2604000 Grenadier Guards 2604001 - 2646000 Coldstream Guards 2646001 - 2688000 Scots Guards 2688001 - 2714000 Irish Guards 2714001 - 2730000 Welsh Guards 2730001 - 2744000 Black Watch (The Royal Highland Regiment) 2744001 - 2809000 Seaforth Highlanders 2809001 - 2865000 Gordon Highlanders 2865001 - 2921000 Cameron Highlanders 2921001 - 2966000 Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2966001 - 3044000 Royal Scots 3044001 - 3122000 Royal Scots Fusiliers 3122001 - 3178000 The King's Own Scottish Borderers 3178001 - 3233000 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 3233001 - 3299000 Highland Light Infantry 3299001 - 3377000 East Lancashire Regiment 3377001 - 3433000 Lancashire Fusiliers 3433001 - 3511000 Manchester Regiment 3511001 - 3589000 Border Regiment 3589001 - 3644000 The Prince of Wales' Volunteers 3644001 - 3701000 The King's Own Royal Regiment 3701001 - 3757000 The King's Regiment 3757001 - 3846000 The Loyal Regiment 3846001 - 3902000 South Wales Borderers 3902001 - 3947000 Welch Regiment 3947001 - 4025000 The King's Shropshire Light Infantry 4025001 - 4070000 Monmouthshire Regiment 4070001 - 4103000 Herefordshire Regiment 4103001 - 4114000 Cheshire Regiment 4114001 - 4178000 Royal Welch Fusiliers 4178001 - 4256000 Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 4256001 - 4334000 East Yorkshire Regiment 4334001 - 4379000 The Green Howards 4379001 - 4435000 Durham Light Infantry 4435001 - 4523000 West Yorkshire Regiment 4523001 - 4601000 The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (The West Riding) 4601001 - 4680000 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 4680001 - 4736000 York & Lancaster Regiment 4736001 - 4792000 Lincolnshire Regiment 4792001 - 4848000 Leicestershire Regiment 4848001 - 4904000 South Staffordshire Regiment 4904001 - 4960000 Sherwood Foresters 4960001 - 5038000 North Staffordshire Regiment 5038001 - 5094000 Royal Warwickshire Regiment 5094001 - 5172000 Gloucestershire Regiment 5172001 - 5239000 Worcestershire Regiment 5239001 - 5328000 Royal Berkshire Regiment 5328001 - 5373000 Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 5373001 - 5429000 The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 5429001 - 5485000 Hampshire Regiment 5485001 - 5562000 Wiltshire Regiment 5562001 - 5608000 Devonshire Regiment 5608001 - 5662000 Somerset Light Infantry 5662001 - 5718000 Dorsetshire Regiment 5718001 - 5763000 Royal Norfolk Regiment 5763001 - 5819000 Suffolk Regiment 5819001 - 5875000 Northhamptonshire Regiment 5875001 - 5931000 Cambridgeshire Regiment 5931001 - 5942000 Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment 5942001 - 5998000 Essex Regiment 5998001 - 6076000 The Queen's Royal Regiment 6076001 - 6132000 East Surrey Regiment 6132001 - 6188000 Middlesex Regiment 6188001 - 6278000 The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) 6278001 - 6334000 Royal West Kent Regiment 6334001 - 6390000 Royal Sussex Regiment 6390001 - 6446000 Royal Fusiliers 6446001 - 6515000 The Inns of Court Regiment 6802501 - 6814000 Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry) 6825001 - 6837000 The King's Royal Rifle Corps 6837001 - 6905000 The Rifle Brigade 6905001 - 6972000 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 6972001 - 7006000 Royal Ulster Rifles 7006001 - 7040000 Royal Irish Fusiliers 7040001 - 7075000 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7075001 - 7109000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Irish Regiment 7109001 - 7143000 Connaught Rangers 7143001 - 7177000 (Disbanded 1922) Leinster Regiment 7177001 - 7211000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Munster Fusiliers 7211001 - 7245000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Army Medical Corps 7245001 - 7536000 (Royal) Army Dental Corps 7536001 - 7539000 and 10510001 - 10530000 Royal Guernsey Militia and Royal Alderney Artillery Militia 7539001 - 7560000 (Discontinued in 1929) Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey 7560001 - 7574000 (Discontinued in 1929) Royal Army Ordnance Corps 7574001 - 7657000 and 10530001 - 10600000. (Royal) Army Pay Corps 7657001 - 7681000 and 10400001 - 10500000. (Locally enlisted staff Middle East 10500001 - 10508000) (Royal) Military Police 7681001 - 7717000 Military Provost Staff Corps 7717001 - 7718800 Small Arms School Corps 7718801 - 7720400 (Royal) Army Education Corps 7720401 - 7732400 Band of the Royal Military College 7732401 - 7733000 Corps of Military Accountants 7733001 - 7757000 (Disbanded 1925) Royal Army Veterinary Corps 7757001 - 7807000 Machine Gun Corps 7807001 - 7868000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Tank Regiment 7868001 - 7891868 Royal Armoured Corps 7891869 - 8230000 also 558471 - 558761 Militia 10000000 - 10350000 (Army Numbers were allocated in accordance with Regulations for the Militia [Other than the Supplementary Reserve], 1939, paras. 11-13) Intelligence Corps 10350001 - 10400000 Reconnaissance Corps 10600001 - 10630000 Army Catering Corps (Royal Corps of Food Poisoners) 10630001 - 10655000 Army Physical Training (Staff) Corps 10655001 - 10660000 (Royal) Pioneer Corps 13000001 - 14000000 The Lowland Regiment 14000001 - 14002500 The Highland Regiment 14002501 - 14005000 General Service Corps 14200001 - 15000000 Indian local enlistments 15000001 - 15005000 Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers 16000001 - 16100000 Non-Combatant Corps 97000001 - 97100000 Auxiliary Territorial Service W/1 - W/500,000 Voluntary Aid Detachments W/500001 - W/1000000
__________________ Geoff Reeves Pro Rege et Patria In memory of my relatives who served and died in World War Two: S/6076192 WO1 W.G. REEVES, DCM - The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt) and The Royal Army Service Corps. Died on active duty 16 January 1940. Grandfather. 429410 LAC Sydney Hogarth STARMER, RAAF. Killed in training accident with 5 SFTS 19 August 1943 at Collingullie, aged 19. Great Uncle QX8001 Lt Alexander Cunningham STARMER, MC - 2/15th AIF - older brother to Sydney, died 1980. Great Uncle |
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12-01-2006, 07:18 PM
| #2 (permalink) |
| Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 22
| To illustrate an example of retaining one's original service number when transferring to other units within the Army, I will use my Grandfather as an example. He served with The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt) from 1906-1938. His original regimental number was 8846 - changed to L/8846 during the Great War (to indicate that he was a pre-war regular). Sometime in the 20's or 30's (I'm still working on nailing that down) he received service number 6076192 - which from the above list you can see is a very early number within the Army number block allocation for The Queen's (it went by seniority and he was an RSM). When the war started he rejoined the colours but his health was not good but the Army still needed experienced NCO's. He was transferred to the RASC to be the RSM of a supply depot - the only change to his number was the addition of the prefix "S" so he was S/6076192 - which was an RASC prefix denoting supply (as opposed to transport).
__________________ Geoff Reeves Pro Rege et Patria In memory of my relatives who served and died in World War Two: S/6076192 WO1 W.G. REEVES, DCM - The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt) and The Royal Army Service Corps. Died on active duty 16 January 1940. Grandfather. 429410 LAC Sydney Hogarth STARMER, RAAF. Killed in training accident with 5 SFTS 19 August 1943 at Collingullie, aged 19. Great Uncle QX8001 Lt Alexander Cunningham STARMER, MC - 2/15th AIF - older brother to Sydney, died 1980. Great Uncle |
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20-01-2006, 01:27 PM
| #5 (permalink) |
| Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 22
| Hi Wasman: it looks like your man's initial enlistment was in the Royal Artillery (721001 - 1842000). Not sure about the year - if you forced me to guess I'd say 40-42, but that is a purely (and fairly uneducated) guess. cheers, Geoff
__________________ Geoff Reeves Pro Rege et Patria In memory of my relatives who served and died in World War Two: S/6076192 WO1 W.G. REEVES, DCM - The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt) and The Royal Army Service Corps. Died on active duty 16 January 1940. Grandfather. 429410 LAC Sydney Hogarth STARMER, RAAF. Killed in training accident with 5 SFTS 19 August 1943 at Collingullie, aged 19. Great Uncle QX8001 Lt Alexander Cunningham STARMER, MC - 2/15th AIF - older brother to Sydney, died 1980. Great Uncle |
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04-02-2006, 09:58 PM
| #7 (permalink) |
| Top Moose   Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Under the stairs
Posts: 8,698
| Just referred back to this on the chaps on the St Philip's Church war memorial ,Swindon, It has helped alot. Lads from GSC to Wilts and Lanc Fus, Wilts to RA and Sussex, Royal Warks to RA. Good stuff. Thanks again. |
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13-10-2006, 10:35 PM
| #8 (permalink) |
| Top Moose Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Under the stairs
Posts: 8,698
| Army Number Block Allocations A useful resource from somewhere else.  I often refer back to this. The following list might be of some use, hopefully. These are the number blocks allocated to the British Army in the pre-war years but was used right through to war's end. It can be used to identify with which unit a soldier first served. However, it does not mean that soldier served the entire war with that unit - or even for any great length of time. For instance, a soldier volunteering in 1939 might be assigned to The Queen's Royal Regt and given a number within their block. However, before he begins training the Army decides that he's better suited as a Royal Engineer and is transferred. That soldier would still retain his number from The Queen's. Nevertheless, it can be a start when researching a soldier's career as you can tell their initial unit upon enlistment - and also have a guess at when he or she actually joined (depending on where their number falls in sequence within that block). Royal Army Service Corps 1 - 294000 and 10660001 - 11000000 The Life Guards 294001 - 304000 294001 to 299000 1st Life Guards 299001 to 304000 2nd Life Guards Royal Horse Guards 304001 - 309000 Cavalry of the Line 309001 - 721000 (Inclusive 558471 to 558761 allocated to the Royal Armoured Corps extraordinary to the block of numbers later allocated) 309001 to 386000 Lancers 386001 to 528000 Dragoons 528001 to 721000 Hussars Royal Artillery (Field, Coastal & Anti-Aircraft) 721001 - 1842000 and 11000001 - 11500000 Royal Engineers 1842001 - 2303000 Royal Corps of Signals 2303001 - 2604000 Grenadier Guards 2604001 - 2646000 Coldstream Guards 2646001 - 2688000 Scots Guards 2688001 - 2714000 Irish Guards 2714001 - 2730000 Welsh Guards 2730001 - 2744000 Black Watch (The Royal Highland Regiment) 2744001 - 2809000 Seaforth Highlanders 2809001 - 2865000 Gordon Highlanders 2865001 - 2921000 Cameron Highlanders 2921001 - 2966000 Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2966001 - 3044000 Royal Scots 3044001 - 3122000 Royal Scots Fusiliers 3122001 - 3178000 The King's Own Scottish Borderers 3178001 - 3233000 Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 3233001 - 3299000 Highland Light Infantry 3299001 - 3377000 East Lancashire Regiment 3377001 - 3433000 Lancashire Fusiliers 3433001 - 3511000 Manchester Regiment 3511001 - 3589000 Border Regiment 3589001 - 3644000 The Prince of Wales' Volunteers 3644001 - 3701000 The King's Own Royal Regiment 3701001 - 3757000 The King's Regiment 3757001 - 3846000 The Loyal Regiment 3846001 - 3902000 South Wales Borderers 3902001 - 3947000 Welch Regiment 3947001 - 4025000 The King's Shropshire Light Infantry 4025001 - 4070000 Monmouthshire Regiment 4070001 - 4103000 Herefordshire Regiment 4103001 - 4114000 Cheshire Regiment 4114001 - 4178000 Royal Welch Fusiliers 4178001 - 4256000 Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 4256001 - 4334000 East Yorkshire Regiment 4334001 - 4379000 The Green Howards 4379001 - 4435000 Durham Light Infantry 4435001 - 4523000 West Yorkshire Regiment 4523001 - 4601000 The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (The West Riding) 4601001 - 4680000 The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 4680001 - 4736000 York & Lancaster Regiment 4736001 - 4792000 Lincolnshire Regiment 4792001 - 4848000 Leicestershire Regiment 4848001 - 4904000 South Staffordshire Regiment 4904001 - 4960000 Sherwood Foresters 4960001 - 5038000 North Staffordshire Regiment 5038001 - 5094000 Royal Warwickshire Regiment 5094001 - 5172000 Gloucestershire Regiment 5172001 - 5239000 Worcestershire Regiment 5239001 - 5328000 Royal Berkshire Regiment 5328001 - 5373000 Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 5373001 - 5429000 The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 5429001 - 5485000 Hampshire Regiment 5485001 - 5562000 Wiltshire Regiment 5562001 - 5608000 Devonshire Regiment 5608001 - 5662000 Somerset Light Infantry 5662001 - 5718000 Dorsetshire Regiment 5718001 - 5763000 Royal Norfolk Regiment 5763001 - 5819000 Suffolk Regiment 5819001 - 5875000 Northhamptonshire Regiment 5875001 - 5931000 Cambridgeshire Regiment 5931001 - 5942000 Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment 5942001 - 5998000 Essex Regiment 5998001 - 6076000 The Queen's Royal Regiment 6076001 - 6132000 East Surrey Regiment 6132001 - 6188000 Middlesex Regiment 6188001 - 6278000 The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) 6278001 - 6334000 Royal West Kent Regiment 6334001 - 6390000 Royal Sussex Regiment 6390001 - 6446000 Royal Fusiliers 6446001 - 6515000 The Inns of Court Regiment 6802501 - 6814000 Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry) 6825001 - 6837000 The King's Royal Rifle Corps 6837001 - 6905000 The Rifle Brigade 6905001 - 6972000 Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 6972001 - 7006000 Royal Ulster Rifles 7006001 - 7040000 Royal Irish Fusiliers 7040001 - 7075000 Royal Dublin Fusiliers 7075001 - 7109000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Irish Regiment 7109001 - 7143000 Connaught Rangers 7143001 - 7177000 (Disbanded 1922) Leinster Regiment 7177001 - 7211000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Munster Fusiliers 7211001 - 7245000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Army Medical Corps 7245001 - 7536000 (Royal) Army Dental Corps 7536001 - 7539000 and 10510001 - 10530000 Royal Guernsey Militia and Royal Alderney Artillery Militia 7539001 - 7560000 (Discontinued in 1929) Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey 7560001 - 7574000 (Discontinued in 1929) Royal Army Ordnance Corps 7574001 - 7657000 and 10530001 - 10600000. (Royal) Army Pay Corps 7657001 - 7681000 and 10400001 - 10500000. (Locally enlisted staff Middle East 10500001 - 10508000) (Royal) Military Police 7681001 - 7717000 Military Provost Staff Corps 7717001 - 7718800 Small Arms School Corps 7718801 - 7720400 (Royal) Army Education Corps 7720401 - 7732400 Band of the Royal Military College 7732401 - 7733000 Corps of Military Accountants 7733001 - 7757000 (Disbanded 1925) Royal Army Veterinary Corps 7757001 - 7807000 Machine Gun Corps 7807001 - 7868000 (Disbanded 1922) Royal Tank Regiment 7868001 - 7891868 Royal Armoured Corps 7891869 - 8230000 also 558471 - 558761 Militia 10000000 - 10350000 (Army Numbers were allocated in accordance with Regulations for the Militia [Other than the Supplementary Reserve], 1939, paras. 11-13) Intelligence Corps 10350001 - 10400000 Reconnaissance Corps 10600001 - 10630000 Army Catering Corps (Royal Corps of Food Poisoners) 10630001 - 10655000 Army Physical Training (Staff) Corps 10655001 - 10660000 (Royal) Pioneer Corps 13000001 - 14000000 The Lowland Regiment 14000001 - 14002500 The Highland Regiment 14002501 - 14005000 General Service Corps 14200001 - 15000000 Indian local enlistments 15000001 - 15005000 Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers 16000001 - 16100000 Non-Combatant Corps 97000001 - 97100000 Auxiliary Territorial Service W/1 - W/500,000 Voluntary Aid Detachments W/500001 - W/1000000 |
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19-10-2006, 12:13 AM
| #9 (permalink) | |
| Vejovis   Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 705
| Re: Army Number Block Allocations Quote:
For most of the WW2 numbers though, it is as Owen describes, but it's unlikely that many of the lower numbers in the blocks will be encountered by 1939 (unless there was a huge influx of long-service soldiers in 1920!!  )Dave
__________________ In memory of 1440313 Gnr.Michael O'Mara, 155th Bty, 52nd (East Lancs) L.A.A.Regt (TA) R.A. - severely wounded near Arras in May 1940 and who took nearly 21 years to eventually die of his injuries. website: http://pathsofglory.co.uk | |
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17-05-2008, 06:11 AM
| #10 (permalink) |
| Junior Member Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 6
 | Hi, I have been directed to this forum from another I was wondering about a service number : 15313294, He had GNR before his name also. Can anyone tell me a regiment from this number, I was guessing Artillery, and Gunner. But a 2nd opinion would be great. |
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