Help with a Seaforth

[Joe Sweeney]

I'm trying to determine if the following individual existed:

Based on extremely bad handwriting and age wear I'm trying to determine if a Pte. Harry (or Henry) C. Mountain; 7551 existed.

It appears that he or the person I'm after served in the 3rd Bn Sea. (may be a Special Reservist, or class D reservist in 1914) from 1914 and ended up in the 2nd Bn.

Any help would be appreciated.

Joe Sweeney

[Jock Bruce]

Joe,

Won't be for a couple of weeks but happy to have a dig in the PRO in the New Year for medal records/personal papers.

Jock Bruce

[Joe Sweeney]

Jock,

Thanks for the helps.

The name and number I'm not 100% sure on as the writing and stamping were not clear. So I had a bit of guess work and interpetation to do.

This is why I didn't go with a researcher yet. I was hoping maybe someone had a nominal role to confirm that he actually existed.

Thanks again,

Joe

[Jock Bruce]

Joe,

S/7551 L/Cpl Harry C Mountain

To France 22 Apr 15

Served:

2nd Seaforth

1st Seaforth (they went to Mespot end '15)

[it would not be unknown for the order of bns served to be inverted on the medal rolls]

No papers.

I usually assume 'S' numbers for Seaforths are wartime enlistments, but happy to be proved wrong. A lot of Spec Res men seem to have been numbered 3/xxxx and kept this number through the war.

Jock Bruce

[Joe Sweeney]

Jock,

Thank you very much. You've confirmed that he existed and given me a bit more info than I had hoped.

My assumption of being a special reservist comes from his kilt, which is marked with number and 3rd Bn Sea. and a pair of 1914 dated trews. The number was also found on a few other uniform items.

His name came from a bit of indecipherable paper work, which had no number, nor was it war related. His name wasn't exactly clearly written either. So I had hoped that the name and number were to the same man.

It may be that he was a wartime enlistment and was funnelled through the 3rd Bn as a replacement in April 1915 to the heavily engaged 2nd and or 1st Bn. Have you found in your Seaforth research incidents such as this?

Also do you know if the 3rd Bn may have had a role in the Demob of Seaforth's. The reason I ask is trying to possibly determine when the Kilt may have been marked; before being sent to France--probably unlikely a single Kilt would survive that long(?) or after service in France (or Mespot).

Thanks again for your help it is very much appreciated,

Joe Sweeney

[Jock Bruce]

Joe,

very likely that he would have been through the 3rd Bn, which trained men and sent drafts to the Regular and Service battalions. The 3rd spent the war at Cromarty and, as well training and processing men for the front line units, formed part of the Cromarty Defences (for the naval base at Invergordon).They moved to Glencourse at the end of the war and disbanded in 1919.

So his likely route is recruitment - processing at the Depot at Fort George (medial/clothing issue/etc) - across the Cromarty Firth to the 3rd for training - draft to a front line battalion.

I don't know if the 3rd played a central part in the discharge process - I've seen a few men discharged from the 3rd but the vast majority went either from their own battalions or from the Depot. I guess men serving in the 3rd who were due discharge went from the 3rd and maybe no more than that - but that is a guess.

Hope this helps,

Jock

[Joe Sweeney]

Jock,

Thanks for the help, you've been of immense assistance to me.

Joe Sweeney