Introduction to the Nominal Roll
In total, between 1630 and 1640 enlisted in the Brigade between its formation on 1 April 1908 and the end of 1915. Recruits were given a service number, starting at 1 in 1908.
No surviving nominal roll has been found, so it has been recreated from a wide range of sources including:
- Medal Index Cards (from Ancestry.co.uk);
- Silver War Badge records (from Ancestry.co.uk);
- Surviving Service and Pension Records (from Ancestry.co.uk);
- Territorial Force Efficiency Medal records (National Archives);
- War Diaries (National Archives);
- Newspapers (Welsh Newspapers Online); and
- Family archives.
To date, over 950 individuals have been identified.
The main groups of people currently missing from the roll are:
- Pre-war Territorials who completed their service before the start of the Great War;
- Pre-war Territorials who did not volunteer for Overseas (Imperial) Service and who served at Home;
- Pre-war Territorials who completed their Service before the Territorials were renumbered in 1917;
- Recruits who were discharged (ie Unfit for War Service); and
- Recruits into the Brigade who transferred to other units prior to 1917.
Many of the men have 2 service numbers from their time in the Brigade. Each territorial unit started their roll at 1 in 1908 which ultimately caused great confusion. The Territorial Force was therefore issued with new numbers in 1917 with the Brigade allocated the block of numbers starting from 725000.
Click on the button below to access the nominal roll:
Important note: a number of men transferred into the Brigade during the War. You can identify these men by 1917 service numbers greater than 725815. At this time, whilst I intend to gather information regarding these man to share in the future, my primary focus will be on the Swansea recruits.
Men without Service Numbers
Unfortunately, for almost 100 of the men identified as serving in the Brigade, it has not been possible to find a service number (and therefore include them in the Nominal Roll).
For completeness, all of these men are listed on a separate page:
Portrait Gallery
The portrait gallery brings together all of the identified portraits into a single location.
Click on the button below to go to the Portrait Gallery.
Understanding Service Numbers
Where Service Records have not survived, a soldiers’ Service Numbers can often give an insight into what they did and which units they served in, especially during the war years.
Click on the button below to find out more.