Identify a soldier Service number

[toutfou]

Hi,

my last question for today

I have a gourd with this service number : 22276400

Which regiment used this range ?

Thank you

seb

[Tony]

This site doesn't give the unit but says the soldier would have been a National Serviceman joining between Nov. 1950 and Feb. 1951 http://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/tools/armynumber?query=22276400 It isn't the answer you're looking for but I hope it helps a little.

Tony

[Tony]

Seb,

Just a thought and a bit of a long shot but if no one can help you with his unit, it might be worth looking at Korean War medals on dealer's sites etc. as a similar number or even a consecutive number might crop up.

Tony

[toutfou]

Thank you for you help Tony.

I will try it !

best regards

Seb

[Stuart Bates]

It is interesting but, somewhat disappointing from the view of the original question, that in Brian L. Davis' book British Army Uniforms & Insignia of World War Two, in the Appendix on army numbers there is a giant leap from 16,100,000 to 97,000,001.

The former being REME and the latter being Non-Combatant Corps.

Stuart

Edited October 11, 2014 by Stuart Bates

[Tony]

It is interesting but, somewhat disappointing from the view of the original question, that in Brian L. Davis' book British Army Uniforms & Insignia of World War Two, in the Appendix on army numbers there is a giant leap from 16,100,000 to 97,000,001.

The former being REME and the latter being Non-Combatant Corps.

Stuart

Stuart,

It's good to see you back.

Tony

[Stuart Bates]

Thanks Tony.

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

I found this on an excellent website - http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Service_Number

Every serving soldier was allocated a new number in this system and the soldier then kept this number for the rest of his army career. Thus 4611078 Pte Mitchell enlisted in The Duke of Wellington's Regiment but later transferred to the ASC and kept the number.

The third system was introduced during WW2. Large numbers of men were being conscripted and sent to a central depot where they had their medicals and were allocated a number BEFORE being posted to a regiment. It was too much of an admin cluster for the central depots to administer the old regimental numbers so a single system of army (as opposed to regimental) numbers was introduced. These numbers were allocated in blocks in the 14xxxxxx, 16xxxxxx and 19xxxxxx series. It was this process that was rationalised into the 1950-2007 numbering system.

A Rough Guide - 1950 to date

Army Number Date of Issue

22000000 to 22199408 Until October 1950

22199409 to 22460786 Until February 1951

Stuart

Edited October 11, 2014 by Stuart Bates

[Graham Stewart]

"First, prior to 1920 each regiment had its own system of regimental numbers (each starting at 1). If a soldier transferred to another regiment he got a new number."

Not 100% true and typical of those who know little of the numbering system, which was brought into use around 1880. Each Regiment did indeed start at number 1, but the numbers only went up to 9,999 and once used up they had to start again at 1, but numbers which were already in use by serving soldiers couldn't be re-issued, as this would cause duplication.

In 1906 an extra 10,000 was added to the system, so that units could now number from 1 to 19,999 and not many regiments had reached this figure by the time of the outbreak of the Great War, but rather than go back to number 1 on reaching the ceiling figure they just carried on.

Now to the parts totally unknown by ARSSE - The Militia had its own numbering system, which also began at number 1, but it also finished at 9,999 with no change in 1906, but to identify them specifically as Militia, the number was often pre-fixed - normally with a '3/'. In 1908 things became a bit more complicated when they became the Special Reserve, but the vast majority of them continued numbering numerically, with a few reverting back to number 1 and keeping the pre-fix Battalion number. During WWI they too carried on numbering beyond 9,999.

Each Volunteer Battalions within a Regiment had its own numbering system, again starting at 1 and finishing at 9,999, with no change in 1904. However in April 1908 when they became Territorials they virtually all restarted numbering at number 1. In 1915 it was all change with the pre-fixing of these numbers with the Battalion numeral, e.g. for the Northumberland Battalions you would get 4/1234; 5/1234; 6/1234 & 7/1234; This continued satifactorily until 1917, when numbers began running out and then they adopted a six figure system and the pre-fix was dropped.

At one time the Northumberlands had six men all using the same number, but from various Battalions and this was seen throughout the Army.

Good pamphlet to read on Numbering;- "Regimental & Army Numbers of the British Line Infantry Soldier from 1800 to 2008" by David Langley & Graham Stewart.