I've had a closer look at the numbers and there are some discrepancies in Ward's book, but they sort of make sense.
The 1st Battalion that disembarked in France on 17.8.15 had a complement of 30 officers and 1018 men.
From the 2nd Reserve Battalion, 109 drafts were sent to the Front by the end of November 1918, totaling 161 officers and 3483 men. (There is a small amount of double accounting here because a few are returning to duty after postings outside the regiment or returning from hospital in Britain).
So 4501 men served on the Western Front, 700 more than recorded in the overseas listing. No. 1932 might be one of those excluded.
The total of number of men who served to the end of 1918 was about 6000.
At the end of the war the Reserve Battalion might account for up to 1000 new recruits and some men would have been transferred to other units, for example the MGG and GMGR.
A total of 199 officers served with the regiment during the War.
Bill
|