The Jersey Roll of
Service
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Introduction
During 2007 it is the Group's intention that the
Roll of Service for Jersey is progressively assembled on this
website and will undertaken on an alphabetic basis. The method
will be similar to the approach adopted for the Jersey
Roll of Honour to be found on the site, in that the starting
point will be the States of Jersey Roll of Honour and Service
produced in 1919, initially supplemented by material from Victoria
College's Book of Reference and from other sources such as the
Medal Roll Index cards to be found on the National Archive website.
At a later stage, effort will be made to locate
the records of those Frenchmen who left Jersey to serve in the
French Army and Navy, a number in excess of 2000.
Inclusion will be made in the revised Roll of Service
using the following criteria:
- Jersey born
- Jersey parents (one or both)
- Residents (English)
- Residents (French and other nationalities)
- Service in the RMIJ including the Permanent Staff
- Schooling in Jersey
- Service in Jersey while serving with the
- RMIJ, RJGB or other Jersey based unit
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About an Individual's Entry
Wherever possible, the details listed will be appropriate
to an individual at the time of the Armistice in 1918, or earlier
if discharged as result of an injury, sickness or for other reasons.
This will, not infrequently be, at variance with the original
Roll of Service, and there are a number of good reasons for this.
The Army particularly, went through numerous changes
as the Great War progressed:
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There were a number of new Corps formed, e.g.
the Machine Gun and the Tank Corps which took men from other
Regiments and Corps.
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In September 1916 the Training was reorganised
such that Infantry Training Battalions were subsumed into
the Training Reserve with the regimental affiliations being
severed.
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In March 1918, the Army's Organisation for
Battle (ORBAT) underwent a fundamental change to cope with
manpower shortages with each Brigade losing a Battalion and
those men transferred to other units.
For the individual, this would involve a change
of regimental number, since, in those days a central numbering
system did not exist. It was essential therefore that a man transferred
to a new unit was quickly given a new number so that he could
continue enjoying his pay, and would not be confused with another
in the regiment with the same number as he had in his former unit.
Such changes could be frequent and, often, they have not been
reflected in the MRI, nor were notified to the compiler(s) of
the original Roll of Service.
For a number of individuals, an entry "Further
investigation required" has been included, and this primarily
for those where there is insufficient detail to identify them
more clearly by a unique service number for example, or that there
is evidence that they enlisted. It is not meant to imply "non-existence",
rather that the "paper trail" is inadequate.
Alphabetic Index of Names
The database can be searched by surname or awards
Spreadsheets are only available to Group members
Future Developments
It is also intended that documents and photographs
that can "bring to life" those listed in the Roll of
Service will be incorporated. These will include, for example,
Canadian Attestation and Australian service records.
For this, the Group will welcome any additional
material in terms of personal papers and photographs. Information
is also coming in from relatives and other interested parties
via out social media page at:
www.facebook.com/groups/1696126187277672/
© 2007 Barrie Bertram and is now curated by
Daniel Benest
