Joseph Scott, East Yorkshire Regiment

[Paul Johnson of Hartlepool UK]

Good evening,
I really hope that someone can help.
I am trying to find information about one of my ancestors who was in the East Yorkshire Regiment in 1939.
He was Joseph Scott, born 27th March 1921 in Wheatley Hill, Co. Durham.
In the 1939 Register, he is recorded being at home 'on leave', Private 4140, in Wheatley Hill, Co. Durham.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Yours faithfully,
PC Johnson

[Andy J2022]

Hi Paul, I'm sorry that no-one has so far responded to your thread. The simple answer is that you need to contact the MOD initially to try and get a copy of his record. However those records are in the process of being transferred to the National Archives, so it is highly likely the MOD will refer you to TNA. Because of the backlog in cataloguing the 9 million plus records sent to TNA, they may well say that they can't access the particular records for Joseph Scott because they're in a crate awaiting processing. Begin the process here: https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service/apply-for-the-records-of-a-deceased-serviceperson

Just a point for you to note. 4140 is not his complete number. By 1939 all soldiers had numbers consisting of 7 or 8 digits. What I think may have occurred here (and I haven't checked the 1939 Register entry) is that he gave his last four numbers. This was quite common across the Army. The East Yorks regiment were allocated the block of numbers 4334001 to 4379000. Therefore, assuming he joined the East Yorks initially, his complete number may be 4334140. But that is a guess. If he joined another Regiment first then transferred into the E Yorks, his first three numbers would be completely different.

Unlike in the First World War, after 1920 no two soldiers had the same number, and the soldier kept the same number throughout his service, regardless of whether he was in the Territorial Army or the Regulars.

[Paul Johnson of Hartlepool UK]

Thank you Andy for your excellent reply 👍🏻
I will give the MOD a try, and then the TNA. If I get no joy, I might just have to wait for the TNA to process the records.

Kind regards,
Paul