A Numbers Game: Curious Case of Sequential Regimental Numbers and 4 Soldiers of the 116th Overseas Battalion

There are four men represented by sequential regimental numbers that are tied by their common experience and their relationship to each other. Two men were brothers and three men were Barnardo Boys. The fourth man shared the experience of serving with them and their act of enlisting tied them together until their ultimate fates.

The fact that these men have sequential regimental service numbers is an act of fate and not circumstances. The soldiers in question had regimental numbers assigned to the 116^th Overseas Battalion and they were 745108, 745109, 754110, and 745111. Generally sequential regimental numbers indicate soldiers that enlisted on, or about, the same date and that they were quite literally physically in line to enlist at the enlistment depot. What is odd about this sequence of regimental numbers is that the circumstances of each soldiers’ enlistment would prevent them from having sequential regiment numbers.

The dates of enlistment differ. Pte. Charles Kiddle (745108) enlisted November 5, 1915 and his brother Charles (745109) on January 3, 1916 while Joseph Kimbling (745110) as assigned his regimental number on November 3, 1915 and last, Martin King (745111) joined the battalion on December 1, 1915. The fact that their regimental numbers are sequential given the dates of enlistment is unusual and this curiosity of army bureaucratic function is further compounded by the fact that if their names are sort alphabetically by surname and then forename they align in the correct order.

Charles and Henry Kiddle came to Canada as part of the Barnardo Homes organization on the S.S. Dominion. Their arrival to Canada was to be on the same ship, but not the same date. A 12-year-old Henry was the first to arrive after departing on the S.S. Dominion on June 5, 1903 from Liverpool and arriving in Canada at Quebec City on June 24, 1903. From there it appears he traveled to Toronto, then to Winnipeg and Russell Manitoba.[i] Charles, on the other hand, was 9 years old and left Liverpool on August 3, 1906 arriving in Quebec City on August 11, 1906. He then was assigned to a Barnardo Home in Toronto.[ii]

There are some discrepancies with the records that need to be pointed out. The age difference of the two brothers appears to be correct. Their attestation papers date of birth shows they were born 3 years apart. The ages that the LAC records show for arrival to Canada are problematic. In 1903 Henry would have been 9 years old, not the 12 years stated at the LAC and Charles would have been correct. This is likely an error in the record but it does cause some confusion.

For more information regarding the Kiddle bothers please see the post “A Painful Duty” in this blog.

In the case of Joseph Kimbling we know less. We know he arrived in Canada sometime in 1905 on the Kensington at the age of 8 or 9 years old. He is recorded to have been mentioned in some form by the Up and Downs[iii] magazine published by the Canadian chapter of the Barnardo homes.

For the Kiddle brothers and Kimbling there appears, on the face of the information at hand, to be no connection between the three men. Obviously the Kiddle brothers had a connection and Henry traveled from Saskatchewan to Port Perry, Ontario in order to enlist and serve with his brother. Other than Martin King’s regimental number and his enlistment in Port Perry there appears to be no connect.

But once they became soldiers of the 116^th Overseas Battalion their fates were tied together. They shipped overseas with the 116^th O.S. Battalion on the S.S. Halifax and were part of the battalion who were released to other battalions in France as reinforcements for other battalions serving at the front. They all arrived and were taken on strength with the 18^th Battalion on October 10, 1916. They served together and survived the trenches of the Somme and later the Vimy sector until Private King was killed in action on March 24, 1917 by a shell. Then, Pte. Henry Kiddle succumbed to pneumonia on April 2 and Pte. Kimbling died (and his body never recovered) north-west of Arleux-En-Gohelle in the Vimy sector.

For Charles Kiddle he did not have to bear witness to any of there three tragedies. Shortly after arriving in France he was classified “P.B.” for flat feet and transferred to the Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre in Shoreham, England sometime around October 25, 1916, only 15 days after arriving at the front. He survived the war, married, and lived until the age of 78 passing on June 28, 1975.

From this one pattern the details of these men come to light. They had sequential regimental numbers. Two were brothers; three were Barnardo Boys born in England; three died during service; and one survived. They all volunteered and served with the C.E.F. in the 116^th and 18^th Battalions.

Last Thought: Private Henry Kiddle bequeathed his estate in his will to a Miss Myrtle Mark of Seagrave, Ontario and not to another family member. Was this his sweetheart and was her heart broken upon his death?

	Charles Kiddle	Henry Kiddle	Joseph Kimbling	Martin King
Service No.	745108	745109	745110	745111
Unit	116th O.S.; 18th	116th O.S.; 18th	116th O.S.; 18th	116th O.S.; 18th
Barnardo Boy[iv]	Barnardo Boy	Barnardo Boy	Barnardo Boy
Date of Birth	April 1, 1897	May 19, 1894	August 15, 1896	February 27, 1893
Born	London, England	Durham, Ontario	England	Mariposa Township, Ontario, Canada[v]
Present Address	Not on form.	Roleau, Saskatchewan[vi]	Not on form.	199 First Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Name of Next of Kin	Mrs. Wm. Maberley	Mrs. Wm. Maberley[vii]	Nellie Kimbling	William A. King
Address of Next of Kin	53 Coventry Street, Bethnal Green, London, England	53 Coventry Street, Bethnal Green, London, England	Manchester, Ontario, Canada	199 First Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Relation of Next of Kin	Not stated	Mother	Not specified.	Father
Trade	Farmer	Farmer	Farmer	Farmer
Marital Status	Single	Single	Single	Single
Military Experience	None	None	None	None
Apparent Age	18 years, 7 months	21 years, 7 months	19 years, 6 months	22 years, 9 months
Height	5’ 6”	5’ 6.5”	5’ 1.5”	5’ 6”
Chest Measurement	36”	37”	36”	38
Chest Expansion	3”	3.5”	3”	3
Complexion	Ruddy	Fair	Ruddy	Fair
Eyes	Blue	Blue	Blue	Blue
Hair	Brown	Brown	Brown	Brown
Distinctive Marks	None	None	None	None
Religious Denom.	Presbyterian	Methodist	Presbyterian	Presbyterian
Attested	Port Perry, Ontario	Port Perry, Ontario	Port Perry, Ontario	Port Perry, Ontario
Date	November 8, 1915	January 3, 1916	November 3, 1915	December 1, 1915
	Service Summary	Service Summary	Service Summary	Service Summary
Sailed from	Halifax	Halifax	Halifax	Halifax
Date	June 23, 1916	June 23, 1916	June 23, 1916	June 23, 1916
Ship	S.S. Olympic	S.S. Olympic	S.S. Olympic	S.S. Olympic
Arrived England	June 31, 1916	June 31, 1916	June 31, 1916	June 31, 1916
Taken on Strength 18th Bn.	October 10, 1916	October 10, 1916	October 10, 1916	October 10, 1916
Killed in Action	Survived war.	Died of Illness.	May 29, 1917	March 24, 1917
Circumstance of Death			“Killed in Action.”	“Killed in Action.” Killed by a shell during a raid on enemy trenches.
Buried	Unknown	Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension, Pas de Calais, France	Commemorated Vimy Memorial	Ecoivres Military Cemetery, Mont-St. Eloi, France
Subsequent Unit	Classified P.B. and attached to Canadian Casualty Assembly Centre (C.C.A.C.) in Shoreham, England.	Not Applicable.	Not Applicable.	Not Applicable.
Date of Death	June 28, 1975. Veterans Affairs informed via letter from widow.	April 2, 1917 due to pneumonia.	Not Applicable.	Not Applicable.
Summary of Service Record	Movements as above. Once classified P.B. (Flat Feet) transferred to C.C.A.C. Then to the 4th Reserve Bn. Arrive Le Harve, France and taken on Strenght 18th Bn. but then classified “B” and assigned to 4th Cdn. Labour Bn. Eventually General Depot, Witley and then returns to Canada.	Per summary of movements. Minimal information. No illness and not military justice charges.	Suffered from tonsillitis October 9, 1916 to October 22, 1916. December 21, 1916 charged and assigned 21 days Field Punishment No. 1 for a.) Absent from Parade; b.) Drunkenness.	Per summary of movements. Minimal information. No illness and not military justice charges.

 

Notes for Service Records

Charles Kiddle

1. Death Notice indicates that the Department of Veterans Affairs was notified by letter on September 23, 1975 by the widow of Charles Kiddle. No cause or location of death noted.
2. This soldier did assign pay to a Ernest Ferguson of R.R. #1, Cresswell, Ontario at the rate of $20.00 per month from August 1917 to December 1918. The relationship between these two men is unknown but Charles Kiddle did list his present address as Cresswell, Ontario on form Particulars of Family of an Officer or Man Enlisted in the C.E.F.
3. Discharged in Toronto on June 22, 1919.

Henry Kiddle

1. Bequeaths estate to his friend, a Miss Myrtle Mark of Seagrave, Ontario on June 30, 1916.
2. Further requests that the C.E.F. communicate with Miss Mark regarding any information pertaining to him.
3. This soldier did not assign pay to any third party.

John Kimbling

1. A card in the service record identifies Nellie Kimbling as this soldier’s mother and her address is noted as 41 Northampton Street, Essex Road, Islington, London, England
2. Bequeathed his estate to his mother.
3. Assigned $20.00 per month to his mother.

Martin King

1. Assigned his estate to his mother, Mrs. Wm. Alfred King.
2. Assigned $20.00 of his pay per month to his mother.

[i] LAC Records re. H. Kiddle.

[ii] LAC Records re. C. Kiddle.

[iii] LAC Records re. J. Kimbling.

[iv] Both Charles and Henry Kiddle left Liverpool, England June 15, 1903 aboard the Dominion and landed in Quebec City on June 24. From there they went to Toronto, Ontario and then possible onto Manitoba.

[v] In this soldier’s service record under a form entitled “Particulars of Family of an Officer or Man Enlisted in the C.E.F.” the form lists his place of birth as Fingerboard, Mariposa, Township.

[vi] Between the dates that Charles and Henry Kiddle attested the attestation form changed to include the “Present Address” field.

[vii] It is barely legible but Henry Kiddle first listed his brother as his next of kin, but it can be surmised that since both brothers were serving in the same Battalion and may do so in the future, it was required by Henry Kiddle to list someone else as next of kin.