London Born And Bred

[Peter B]

Hello All,

After many months of looking, and being impressed with the vast amount of knowledge available, I have now taken the plunge and become a member. I have been intrested in WW1 since a small child, but a chance remark by my stepfather that he wished he could have found out more on why his father Charles Edward Davis was awarded the Military Medal, lead me on a mission.

Luckily Chris Baker was able to find his service records. His details are on the Ordinary Heroes page.

What is puzzling is how he joined the Dorsetshire Reg. He lived in london, worked in london and joined up in london.

Having looked at the casualties, from the Dorsets attack on the Bluff position 14/19 February 1916, from the 46 known casualties at least 28 were not from Dorset.

Am i right in thinking that men with army numbers close to each other joined at the same time/place. Charles army No. 11280, and that of Sergeant Ernest Cutts army No. 11273, he was a native of Herne Hill, both came from within a couple of miles of each other. Though 11282 Private Frank Dibben, was a native of Shaftesbury which i belive is in Dorset. So that probably blows my theroy out of the water.

Did recruits have any say in what regiment they joined ?

Any help in how recruits were allocated to regiments would be most appreciated.

Many Thanks

Peter

[VivP]

Hello Peter

By the end of the C19, the diaspora from Dorset - by train - was in full swing. Of my direct ancestors - Dorset born and bred since 1729 - three out of five had left Dorset by 1891. One went to London to train to become a grocer. So he lived and worked in London. Too old to join up, though.

Sorry but I know nothing about regimental numbers, or how people were recruited! It's a mystery I should like to solve too, to find out which regiment Otto Albert (my avatar, in 1909) joined.

Good luck!

VivP

[Guest Ian Bowbrick]

Peter,

My family are all Londoners born and bred - one of my great-uncles was in the Hampshire Regt and another in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.

Who knows why

Ian

[stevew]

Peter,

Sorry I can't shed any light, but I have an ancestor, born and bred South London. He joined the South Wales Borderers, and I am pretty sure he joined before the outbreak of war.................I often ask myself why (he joined the SWB, and not before the outbreak of War), unless he was impressed with their record at Rourke's Drift!!!