1919 Absent Voters West Hartlepool
William Edward Griffin 33 8951 L/Cpl 2nd. Bn Durham L.I.
This is confusing me. According to his medal card he was first with the DLI with the number 8951, then transferred to the Royal Defence Corps where he got the number 94428, and apparently ended the war in the RDC. The RDC was only deployed in the UK (guarding Key Points and prisoners of war). It was formed in 1916. According to his medal card he embarked for France on 24 March 1915 so he must have been in the DLI at the point. Since the 2nd battalion DLI had gone to France in August 1914, he was probably part of a draft of soldiers sent out to reinforce that Battalion. Which brings us to his number, 8951. If he had initially been a soldier in the 2nd Battalion, the number indicates that he joined up in mid 1904, which suggests that by August 1914, before the start of the war, he was in the Army Reserve having completed his colour service (perhaps around 1909). But if that was the case he would have been recalled to the colours on the outbreak of war and gone with his battalion in August 1914. So I don't think that is the correct interpretation for him.
The other explanation for the number 8951 is that he was part of the 3rd (Militia) Battalion DLI which had a separate numbering scheme. 8951 indicates an enlistment into the 3rd Bn in 1908. The militia were part time soldiers so he would have been living at home and continued in his civilian job. Due to their conditions of service, the militia could not be deployed overseas unless they consented to this. Some assuming that he was called up in 1914 as a militiaman he might still be living in Hartlepool, until such time as he agreed to the change in his terms of service, which then permitted him to be sent to France to join the 2nd battalion.
We don't know when he transferred to the RDC, but I would have expected this to have happened long before the Autumn of 1918, which is when the 1919 electoral register was compiled. So why is he shown as being still in the 2nd DLI?
The other question is why he was transferred to the RDC. It could be due to his age, but 40 year old men were still being conscripted in 1917-18 so I don't think that alone is the answer. I think it is more likely that he was either injured or suffered some ailment which made him unfit for service in France, but fit enough for the less strenuous work of the RDC back in the UK. Perhaps his pension record provides a clue to this.
Lastly there is the third number Bill mentioned, namely 7514. This was the number of Pte W Griffin of the 1st Battalion DLI during his service in the 2nd Boer War for which he was awarded the Queen's South Africa medal with the clasps Transvaal and South Africa 2 - meaning he only served in South Africa in period 1 January – 31 May 1902.
Piecing this all together, it looks like he joined the Army in 1901 (aged 20). He probably initially joined either the 3rd or 4th battalion and went to South Africa as part of a draft to reinforce the 1st Battalion DLI, which had deployed to S Africa in November 1899. When he returned to the UK he probably completed his original engagement and returned to civilian life. At some later stage (either mid 1904 or 1908) he re-enlisted and was given his second number 8951. This would have placed him in the Special Reserve due to his earlier service, and led to him being called up shortly after the start of WW1, and subsequently being sent to reinforce the 2nd Battalion in early 1915 (the 1st Battalion being in India at the time).
It is unfortunate that his service record hasn't survived as it would probably have been quite detailed. The length of his service, albeit broken into two or three parts, would have been the main reason for him gaining a pension at war's end. Knowing where he was at the time of the 1911 census might throw some light on whether he was serving with the colours at that time. I couldn't find him, after doing a quick check.
