5th Cavalry Reserve Regiment

[swedwards]

Looking for my grandfather, Private 36344 William Nelson Dye. Only record I have found is in the 1918 absent voters' list of Leeds, Yorkshire.
Was the 5th Cavalry Reserve Regiment part of some other regiment ? Can anyone advise me where else to search. I can find nothing in any other online records but do have a photo of him in uniform. Born in 1889, would he have been one of the first to serve ?
Any help gratefully appreciated.

[christanel]

Welcome to the British-genealogy forums

The Long Long Trail Here gives an explanation for the reserve regiments and there are other sites if you use a search engine.

I can't see a medal roll index card for your man using the regiment number you give or just using his name. Did you get the number from his medals?
More than 60% of WW1 records were destroyed by bombing/fire in WW11 so finding his medal index card is the best bet you have at the moment.

I'll keep looking

Christina

[christanel]

I have found a W N Dye in the WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls
W N Dye
Private, awarded the 1914 star, Suffolk regiment number 8720
Disembarked 18August 1914
In remarks column 'Prisoner of War'

Whether this is your man with a different regimental number? Men could be transferred to regiments as the need arose.

[Peter Goodey]

Was the 5th Cavalry Reserve Regiment part of some other regiment?

See Wikipedia "Cavalry Reserve Regiments (United Kingdom)"

[christanel]

I have found the Medal Index card for William N Dye as in my previous post and it gives his middle name as Noah.

William Noah Dye was born Norwich in 1896 so not your man.

Christina

[swedwards]

I have found the Medal Index card for William N Dye as in my previous post and it gives his middle name as Noah.
William Noah
Christina

Many thanks Christina, for your info on William N Dye who turned out to be William Noah Dye. Not the same man of course.
Regards, and appreciation of all you do on this forum.

[swedwards]

See Wikipedia "Cavalry Reserve Regiments (United Kingdom)"

Thanks for this Peter, I had already seen some web entries but am not able to substantiate the details in the absent Voters' List - which gave his regimental number
With 2 brothers killed in 1915 and another in 1917, family folklore suggests that his mother begged not to send her last son to war (but in fact he was already 25 in 1914, the eldest of all three boys).
I wonder if you know whether the attached photo confirms that the correct regiment was recorded. (I am of course aware that many service records were lost, and that many men actually fought in the trenches in due course.) I am amazed that this one photo existed within the family.

[swedwards]

Having consulted the FWR photography expert service, it seems that the cap badge worn by Wm Nelson Dye suggests the 14th (King's) Hussars. I will now pursue the history of that regiment, although the dates of his service remain unclear. Many thanks to Christina and Peter.

[christanel]

Hi
There is this Medal Roll Index card for a William Dye, correct regiment but wrong regiment number

William Dye
Regiment or Corps - 14th Hussars (King's)
Regimental Number - 20324

As the Medal Roll Index Cards are free to search on ancestry until the end of the year you could take a look yourself.

AH - took me awhile to find this in the UK, WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
William Dye
Military Year - 1914-1920
Rank - Private
Medal Awarded - British War Medal and Victory Medal
Regiment or Corps - Household Cavalry and Cavalry of the Line
Regimental Number - 20324
Sub Unit: 14th (King's) Hussars
Previous Units - 14 Hrs. Pte. 20324

Also listed are an Arthur Dye 18 Hussars 11816
Frederick NIH 266357
Albert 19 Hrs 15330
Arthur E 19 HSR 15330

I have no idea if any of this is relevant but if not your man you can at least at least discount him

Christina

[swedwards]

Really interesting now as Ancestry has records for Pte 20324 William Dye where his age at discharge in April 1919 is given as 29, just as my grandfather was at that time.

I have heard that regimental/service numbers do get changed - perhaps when moving from the 5th to the Hussars. I guess the only way to be certain is to obtain his records from the MoD, which I had hoped my late mother might have been interested to see what her father did in the war.

Once again, a late night with my head buzzing excitedly.

PS - the others named Dye that you mentioned are no connection. We lost Fred, Harry and Osborne.