W India R, R Newfoundland R, BWI R, W African R

[TomPC]

Hi All,

Once again referring to regiments.org's 1918 order of precedence...

http://web.archive.org/web/200511141...sts/ba1918.htm

...I'd like your opinions on the W India R, R Newfoundland R, BWI R and W African R.

It looks as though the precedence algorithm goes something like this after the Rifle Brigade:

War raised infantry (Cyclists, MGC, Tank Corps*, Labour Corps, R Defence Corps) [*In precedence terms the Tank Corps inherits its position from its parent, the MGC.]

Colonial Infantry and Colonial War-Raised Infantry (West India R, R Newfoundland R*, British W Indies R) [*Newfoundland was not yet part of Canada and was a British dominion]

Services (Army Service Corps etc.)

It's here that I get very confused. Right in the middle of the Corps of Army Schoolmasters and the Corps of Military Police comes the West African Regiment. And this is not just an error - it appears in this position in the Army Lists of the time.

What was different about the W African R (formed for service in Sierra Leone in 1898) that meant it didn't sit with the West India Regiment (formed 1797), the R Newfoundland R (1914) and the BWIR (1915)?

Anyone know?

Thanks,

Tom