Hampshire Regiment Badge
 

Hi,

I'm trying to identify unit of the Hampshire Regiment to which the cap badge of my great grandfather Reuben Haynes belongs. He served in WW1 and lived in Bournemouth. I think it may be the 7th battalion, but not sure which 7th.

7th Bn Hampshire Regt as Bournemouth was in Hampshire at that time. It is a Territorial badge first issued in 1908 and worn into WW1.

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/...hire-regiment/

There were 3 battalions of the 7th Hants.

Regtl Number was 1470 and he was a private in 1st/7th Bn so he went to India

Thank you Alan. Spot on. He was a private and he did indeed go to India and his regimental number was 1470.

If I understand you right 7th is the batallion number. Do you know what the 1st refers to? Is it just the 1st time it was formed?

Do all in the Hampshire Regiment have Regimental Number 1470?

I wonder if you might have a clearer photo of the cap badge?

Regards
Rich

I thought Bournemouth is still in Hampshire, or is it now in Dorset?
David

Also number 305300, he was demobbed 21/3/19.

Bournemouth has-been inDorset since 1968

As regard numbering the 7th bn Hampshire regt was raised in 1908 as single Territorial Force (TF) battalion of the Hampshire regt. In the course of the war the numbers increased so one simple solution was to 'double up' the TF battalions.

So what had been the 7th Bn became the 1st/7th and the second battalion was 2nd/7th. The 1st/7th went to India to relieve a Regular Battalion so the Regular full time soldiers could return to fight in France.

As can be seen from the link I posted the 2nd/7th also went to India and a 3rd/7th battalion was raised to perform the UK based functions.

His 1470 regt number would have been issued by the Hampshire TF and would have been unique to him in the battalion - it was his 'pay' number. However this number would be in use in other regts & battalions who had their own numbering scheme.

The second number was a pan-army number when the TF were all re-numbered so that every soldier had a number unique to him in the army and not just his own unit.

Any medal issued post war would have been inscribed with the regtl number he was using when it was earned. However in your man's case I don't believe the TF in India qualified for the 1914 or 1914-15 Star as they were not in a theatre of war. This was a bone of contention for the TF post war as they felt hard done by being away for 4 years on garrison duties - a soldier landing in France on the 11 November 1918 received the same 2 medals.

Thanks Alan. Good explanations. I guess doubling up avoided the expense of designing things like new cap badges. Did they all use the same cap badge?

How could you tell he was in the 1st, rather than the 2nd or the 3rd? Is there a record or is this because of the smallness of the 1470 number?

He did get two medals: the Victory and the British War Medal, but not the Star.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/first...service-medals

The 7th battalion wore their own badge. However after 1916 the new recruits would have been provided with the standard Hampshire badge so there would have been a mixture especially in the 3rd Battalion.

His is a lower number would suggest 1st Bn but his Ancestry record online confirms it.

I have checked on the IWM site and must correct myself: TF did get those 2 medals for overseas garrison service which ties in with those he had. He would not have got the star as he was not in a theatre of war.

Many thanks Alan.

Those serving in theatres not qualifying for the 1914/1914-15 Star during WWI could still qualify for campaign medals such as the Indian General Service Medal.
My understanding of the 1/7, 2/7, 3/7 'doubling up" of TF battalions is that men wanted to join their local unit, so joining a 2nd or 3rd battalion of their local 7th TF battalion held more appeal than being in a "new" battalion.