25th Regiment of Foot

[rawley]

Hello all,

Does anyone know if the 25th Regiment of Foot could be the same as the King's Own Scottish Borderers? My soldier was from Manchester, and his period of service was around 1862 to 1872. Any input or help would be greatly appreciated, as this military research is totally confusing me.

Kay in USA

[Ken Boyce]

Try
http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/025KOSB.htm

and all will be revealed

Regards

[rawley]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for your quick reply, but I've already seen this site -- it's one of the sources of my confusion! Could you or someone explain what happened -- did the regiments merge or change names or what? Sorry to be so dense.

Kay

[uksearch]

http://www.kosb.co.uk/history.htm

Take a look at the above... here's a quote from it

In 1873 the Regiment was allocated a Depot at York, and in 1881, when territorial titles and regimental districts were introduced, it was proposed that the 25th Foot should be re-designated ‘The York Regiment (King’s Own Borderers)’. Parliament was successfully lobbied, and on 29th July 1881 ‘The King’s Own Borderers’ moved to a new Depot at Berwick-upon-Tweed Barracks. The national origins of the Regiment were further recognised in 1887 when it acquired its present title ‘The King’s Own Scottish Borderers’.

UK

[rawley]

UK,

I read the info in the link that you provided, and I think that it all is starting to become clearer to me. I also reread the website that Ken recommended. Many thanks to both of you.

So I guess that I am correct in thinking that the 25th and the KOSB are one and the same. Right?

Kay in USA

[Ken Boyce]

Be careful now as it depends on the context in which you apply "they are the same"

Events And documents well before the change must be related to the name as it was then as no one would have anticipated a change (ie if the Regiment fought a battle before the change then the old name would be used) However the source of the information or the respository of data may be located under one or the other names depending on the date that the archive was setup or last transferred and/or indexed.

Formal documentation after the change will most likely be sourced under the new name (the management principle of out with the old and in with the new) - however for at least one generation non-formal and anecdotel sources will likely be based on Regimental tradition and loyalty and likely sourced unhder the old name espeially if the old traditional name was not passed on to a new regiment

hope this helps

[rawley]

Ken,

Thanks for your cautionary words. They make good sense, and I will keep them in mind as I try to locate my soldier's military records in The National Archives online. Once again, many thanks for your input.

Kay in USA