no service number
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Any idea why some soldiers (3) doesn't have a servicenumber?
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They must have had a service number. Regarding the 3 you mention, perhaps the writer of the Nominal roll, did not have the information at that time for the service numbers for the men to enter.
Service numbers Article. Facts and Figures.
Link: https://www.tommy1418.com/wwi-facts--figures--myths.html
SERVICE NO's Prior to 1920, service nos. were 'block issued' to each regiment (1-20,000), in turn, some units within a regiment also had service nos., thus duplicity of a man's service no. was quite common & somewhat confusing. This meant that every time a soldier transferred to a different regiment, so they were issued with a different service no. They usually comprised of 5 digits (more often than not starting with a '1') & were sometimes prefixed with a letter. What number you were was determined by how far down the list you were on joining. Those that joined pre- WWI had shorter nos. due to less soldiers. After 1920 the Service No. scheme was changed so that each soldier had a unique no. that stayed with him throughout his service career.
Name, Rank, Service No & Religion were normally imprinted on to your identification disc or 'cold meat ticket' as it became known among the troops.
Posted
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by
cyngast
moderator
I actually see four gunners in the right-hand column without numbers. I don't think it is anything significant. As Marie said, perhaps the person typing up the list didn't have them to hand. Or perhaps he just skipped them somehow. Or maybe he couldn't read them.
If you wish to hunt for them on Lives, you can add them as a comment.
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