Millions of men served in the army. You need to do everything you can to make sure that you can spot your man from among others. If he has a common surname this is vital, for you could be looking at hundreds or even thousands of men with the same name. Perhaps the most important piece of information of all is the soldier's number. This article will help you find it.

 

What is the soldier's number and why is it important?

Each man was assigned a number, which identified him from the other men. It was used on all of his paperwork, so all of his records carry it. Many of the records can only be found with any certainty if you know the number.

In 1920, the way the army issued numbers changed. From that point on to this day, the number was given to the man when he joined the army and it stayed his personal number regardless of what happened to him after that. This was not the case in WW1. At that time each regiment issued its own numbers, and if a man was moved from one to another, he was renumbered. It was even more complex in some regiments as each unit issued its own numbers, and if he was a Territorial he would have been renumbered in spring 1917. This is why a man might have more than one number and you may need to know them all.

 

The easiest sources

If you have or can see the man's campaign medals, his number will be stamped around the rim (or on the back if it is a Star).

If you have his discharge certificate or any other paperwork, it wil give his number.

 

1918 Absent Voters List

If all other sources are a dead-end for you, and if your soldier was aged 21 or over and was alive in 1918, it would be worth trying the Absent Voters List for the area in which he had his home address. The AVL usually gives his regiment and number.

 

If he won a gallantry medal or some other special award

Gallantry awards, foreign decorations and certain other awards were published in the London Gazette. The entry almost always carried the name of the man's place of residence in brackets after his own details. It would be worth searching for a combination of his surname and placename. The Gazette is online, free and searchable. The London Gazette

 

If he died (any time in the war) or was wounded (up to 1916)

The casualty lists published in the "Times" newspaper almost always carried the name of the man's place of residence in brackets after his own details. It would be worth searching for a combination of his surname and placename. The Times Digital Archive is online and searchable but requires particular access. Many UK libraries have arranged this access, either on their own premises or online for those with a reader's ticket.

 

If he had a less-common name

You may be able to find records of a man with a less common name without knowing his number. See army service records, medals records and records of soldiers who died on this site.

 

Officers

Commissioned officers did not have numbers until after the Great War.