King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

		King's Own Royal Regiment Museum Lancaster
HOME Museum & Collections Sales Donations Events Contact Us REGIMENTAL HISTORY 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century First World War Second World War Actions & Movements Battle Honours FAMILY HISTORY Resources Further Reading PHOTO GALLERY ENQUIRIES FURTHER READING LINKS © Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. You must seek permission prior to publication of any of our images.		Regimental History First World War Territorial Force Renumbering In 1914 the Territorial Force Battalions of the British Army, including those of the King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment each had their own numbering system. When the Territorial Force battalions were created from the old Volunteer battalions the numbering started in 1908 with number 1 and worked upwards. As the First World War continued and soldiers were transferred from one battalion to another within the same regiment confusion could occur over a soldier's number. Adding the Special Reserve and Regular Battalions into the mix it could be possible that the same number could be used by four, or may be more, soldiers in the same Regiment. In 1917 all the Territorial Force units of the British Army were re-numbered. Army Council Instruction Number 2414 New Series of Regimental Numbers to be allocated to Soldiers of the Infantry (Territorial Force) 4th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment: New Regimental Numbers for Soldiers of Territorial Force Units: 200001 – 240000 5th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment: New Regimental Numbers for Soldiers of Territorial Force Units: 240001 - 265000 12th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment: New Regimental Numbers for Soldiers of Territorial Force Units: 265001 – 290000 The re-numbering took place of all soldiers, including some who had died well before the 1917 re-numbering, on the assumption that a soldier posted "missing" may well be just that, missing, and may turn up as a prisoner of war, or may be even in a hospital. The museum's collection contains a book which shows the four figure and six figure conversions for the 1st/4th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment; and some information on both the 1st/5th and 2nd/5th Battalions, but sadly not a complete list for these two battalions. © Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. You must seek permission prior to publication of any of our images. Only a proportion of our collections are on display at anyone time. Certain items are on loan for display in other institutions. An appointment is required to consult any of our collections which are held in store.