A "Reservist" in 1900

[anne]

Frank's marriage certificate (January 1900) shows his occupation to be "Railway Porter" and that he lived in the High Street, Edinburgh. When his first child was born in June that year his stated occupation had changed to "Driver Royal Field Artillery (Reservist)". At the time of the 1901 census he was missing from the same High Street address but his wife was there, describing herself as head of household and "Reservist's Wife". So far I haven't found Frank anywhere else in the UK in 1901. I next pick him up back at the same High Street address in August 1903 when his second child was born and he is again a "Railway Porter".

Frank was born in Edinburgh in 1867. His mother died in 1873, his father in 1875 and I think I have a sighting on the 1881 as a 13-year-old boarder in a household in Lasswade. Can't find him in 1891 in the UK.

So what was he doing between 1881 and 1900? Am I correct in thinking that a "Reservist" in 1900 meant a man who had been in the Army at some time and was therefore bound to a possible recall to the forces? I'm told the Territorial Army was not set up until 1908 when the term "Reservist" might include volunteers as well as ex-soldiers.

So that's the main question I have - does it follow from his description of himself as a Reservist that Frank had been a serving soldier before 1900?

Secondary question is why he suddenly described himself as a Reservist in late 1900 and was missing from home in 1901. All I can think of is the Boer War - does anyone know if Royal Field Artillery men from the Edinburgh area were involved in that?

Any help would be much appreciated

Anne

[AndrewP]

Hi Anne,

According to http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-con ... oerwar.htm the following list were amongst the many in the Boer War.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, l0th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, Royal Artillery (Horse Field Garrison)

All the best,

AndrewP

[Currie]

Hello Anne,

As you can see from Andrew’s list an awful lot of units marched off to the Boer War and those that didn’t probably weren’t too happy about it.

If you go to viewtopic.php?t=11449
19th Century British Newspapers and search in the final year (1900) for terms such as Artillery Reservists, Scottish Reservists, Reserve Artillery, Edinburgh Artillery etc you’ll find various articles concerning them.

The term reservist is a fairly old one and is just a soldier held in reserve until he was needed. I think it’s safe enough to assume that if he was a reservist in 1900 he would have been a serving soldier at some time beforehand. There may be records for him at the National Archives but how easy they would be to find depends on whether you know enough to identify him.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mili ... /step4.htm
Click the Search the Archives link.

Hope this helps,
Alan

[anne]

Hello Andrew and Alan

You've given me a lot to be going on with! Many thanks.

Anne

[Montrose Budie]

So that's the main question I have - does it follow from his description of himself as a Reservist that Frank had been a serving soldier before 1900?

No, but most probably yes!


Following various reforms limited service engagement was introduced in the late 1800s.

Previously when a man joined the army, the term was unlimited.

The most frequent period of limited service was 12 years. That period was normally split between active service and in the Army Reserve. A frequent spilt was 7 years on active service (aka "service with the colours") and 5 years in the Army Reserve, altho' the split varied.

These were so-called Section B Reservists.

Section A Reservists were men who had completed their service in the regular army, and who undertook to rejoin if required in an emergency that did not require general mobilisation. A man could serve no more than 2 years in Section A.

And then there were Section D Reservists who were men who had completed their normal reserve period, who re-enlisted for another 4 years reserve service.

All reservists had to be available to be called out for 12 days training per year. All the above were part of the Army Reserve.

But it gets even more complicated as there was also the Special Reserve! Special Reservists enlisted for 6 years and had to accept the possibility of being called up in the event of a general mobilisation and to undergo all the same conditions as men of the Army Reserve. Their period as a Special Reservist started with six months full-time training (paid the same as a regular), and they had 3-4 weeks training per year thereafter. A man could extend his service by up to four years, but could not serve beyond the age of 40. A former regular soldier could also re-enlist as a Special Reservist and serve up to the age of 42.

And then there was the National Reserve, which was created prior to 1914 and was, in essence, a register maintained by Territorial Force County Associations of all those who had military experience, but who had no other reserve obligation.

mb

[anne]

mb

Very helpful info - and it also casts light on the army careers of other people I've been researching.

Many thanks for taking the time to help me.

Anne