KRRC - New Recruit and Basic Training.

[Rifleman1914]

I wonder if anyone can help me. you can help me. I am currently carrying out some research regarding new recruits to the King's Royal Rifle Corps who would have joined in early 1914 prior to the outbreak of the Great War. Mainly its concerning kit/uniform and life at Winchester Barracks. So, can anyone answer the following:

 

1) What uniform would a recruit who has joined the KRRC at the beginning of 1914 (prior to the Great War) and carrying out his basic training wear in the barracks at Winchester in early 1914?

 

2) How many men/recruits were billeted in the barrack rooms at Winchester?

 

2) When the new recruit was supplied with his kit, would he receive his rifle at that time. Also how many uniforms would he have?

 

4) At this particular time (early 1914), would they be fed in their barrack rooms or in a mess-hall.

 

5) Upon leaving the barracks I assume they would wear a walking out uniform. Would this be the uniform with the pill box hat?

 

6) What would the general head wear for a rifleman be at this time leading up to August and the out-break of the Great War. Cap, Forage Cap or Busby?

 

7) If a soldier was on leave during that period (May- August 1914) what uniform would he be wearing and type of head wear?

 

8) Would recruits conduct their basic training at Winchester and then join their regiment?

 

I have searched the internet and have looked for books that can give me the answers to these questions but to no avail so hope someone can help.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

[FROGSMILE]

11 hours ago, Rifleman1914 said:

I wonder if anyone can help me. you can help me. I am currently carrying out some research regarding new recruits to the King's Royal Rifle Corps who would have joined in early 1914 prior to the outbreak of the Great War. Mainly its concerning kit/uniform and life at Winchester Barracks. So, can anyone answer the following:

 

1) What uniform would a recruit who has joined the KRRC at the beginning of 1914 (prior to the Great War) and carrying out his basic training wear in the barracks at Winchester in early 1914?

 

2) How many men/recruits were billeted in the barrack rooms at Winchester?

 

2) When the new recruit was supplied with his kit, would he receive his rifle at that time. Also how many uniforms would he have?

 

4) At this particular time (early 1914), would they be fed in their barrack rooms or in a mess-hall.

 

5) Upon leaving the barracks I assume they would wear a walking out uniform. Would this be the uniform with the pill box hat?

 

6) What would the general head wear for a rifleman be at this time leading up to August and the out-break of the Great War. Cap, Forage Cap or Busby?

 

7) If a soldier was on leave during that period (May- August 1914) what uniform would he be wearing and type of head wear?

 

8) Would recruits conduct their basic training at Winchester and then join their regiment?

 

I have searched the internet and have looked for books that can give me the answers to these questions but to no avail so hope someone can help.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

I will give you a quick reply now and then add detail for anything more later.

 

1.  Daily Working Uniform.
 

a.  The uniform worn by Regular Army recruits in 1914 was predominantly ‘drab’ (meaning brownish khaki) Service Dress (SD) of a design first introduced in 1902, but modified very slightly in the years since, settling to a standard pattern by 1907 in terms of its cut and the insignia worn with it.  The jacket was made of serge and the trousers of tartan (a weave of woollen cloth not the Scottish plaid).  The jacket was advanced for its time with both chest and skirt pockets (x4) plus a small internal pocket for a field dressing.  It was loose fitting so that 3-layers could be worn beneath; an undershirt, a collar less grey outer shirt (nicknamed ‘greyback’) and in cold weather a cardigan.  A slightly heavier cloth (around 32oz) great coat could be worn on top.  The trousers were loose in the thigh but tapered in the lower leg to facilitate movement and had a very high waist reaching to the the bottom of the rib cage.  The trousers were held up by suspender braces made of cotton with no elastic and men would generally shrug them off when in shirtsleeves and carrying out manual labour, which invariably required a belt to cinch in the waist that was usually made of leather or canvas and frequently fitted with a pocket.  This latter was not issued.  The insignia in the KRRC was black and comprised buttons of a common design for rifle regiments made of black horn and bearing a stringed bugle horn and crown, together with a shoulder title of 3-letters: KRR.  In addition a black regimental badge backed with a piece of cut-to-shape scarlet felt was worn on the matching material SD forage cap, which was fitted with a smart, short peak, and of a pattern devised in 1905.  There were two suits of SD uniform and one SD cap issued to each man.  Each man had two pairs of brown boots that had to be blackened, and three pairs of worsted wool stockings (socks), similar gloves, a sewing kit (aka housewife) and a hold-all (like a tool roll), containing knife, fork, spoon, soap, razor, shaving and tooth brushes, plus a brush for boots.

 

b.  In addition to SD, men who joined early in 1914 received a pale, canvas-duck fatigue suit for wear during dirty work such as coal fatigue, but often worn over SD for weapon training in barracks.  There was also a loose, undress frock (working jacket) in dark rifle green (virtually black) usually with 5-buttons, and a full-dress, fitted tunic of finer cloth, although this latter had been withdrawn by the end of the year, leaving just the frock. The frock too was no longer issued after 1915. 

 

2.  Barrack Rooms.  Barrack Rooms could be of different designs depending on when the barracks was built, and I will need to check the arrangement at Winchester and advise you subsequently (I am familiar with the barracks), but it was common for a section of around 20 men to be bunked in each individual rectangular room, with 10 down each long side.  At the end of the room was usually a separate, small room in which the section Corporal was bunked with privileged separation, and thus privacy, whilst being close by to supervise.

 

3.  Rifles and Uniforms.  Each recruit was allocated a rifle from the depot armoury (often located in a Keep, but I’m not sure if that was the case at Winchester).  The rifles actually belonged to the depot’s aligned Militia (before 1908) or Special Reserve (post 1908) Battalion, plus a small number for the depot staff and another small reserve.  I have answered your question regarding the number of uniforms above.

 

4.  Feeding.  Men ate in their barrack room at deal tables and benches positioned longitudinally down the centre.  Each man’s bed folded exactly in half, back against the outer wall and acted as a seat.  Each room had daily orderlies nominated via routine orders and it was the orderlies job to collect the meal from external kitchens in a Dixie (cooking pot with handle). Note: Mess Hall is an Americanism, in Britain it was always ‘Cookhouse’ (meaning where the cooks prepared meals, not where you ate).

 

5.  Walking Out.  Until the end of 1914 recruits at the majority of depots and regimental HQs (i.e. for regular soldiers) walked-out of barracks in either, full-dress, or frocks with a matching rifle-green forage cap - which had a smart, short, shiny leather peak - and a swagger stick.  In 1915 this had changed to walking-out in ‘best’ SD, carefully smartened.

 

6.  Working Headdress.  This was SD cap with SD, and coloured forage cap with leather peak with full dress or frock.  Busby’s might have been worn when on barracks guard early in 1914, but not once full dress was withdrawn by the end of the year.

 

7.  Dress on Leave.  Leave of absence was a privilege and not a right and rarely granted to recruits (other than perhaps for a family bereavement) until they had completed all their training.  They might then get a very short period before going to join their battalion.  Civilian clothes were not permitted at all.  Dress would be exactly as described for walking-out above and with the same date caveats.

 

8.  Basic Training.  Recruits generally completed 12-weeks basic training at the regimental depot with a strong focus on basic militarisation and being imbued with the regimental ethos.  It largely covered drill, foot and arms, and basic weapon handling, with only a small amount of time covering judging distance and live firing.  Pre-war the recruit would then join a Home Service battalion (smaller in strength than a Foreign Service Battalion), for at least a year, where he carried out section and platoon drills and gained some experience of battalion routine.  Once the war commenced both Home and Foreign Battalions deployed to war and instead the Special Reserve Battalion was embodied (mobilised) by act of Parliament, which then carried out the second phase training role previously done by a Home based battalion.

 

 

 

Edited 30 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE