Difference between revisions of "Naming conventions for British units"

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(Machine gun units: cavalry MG squadrons follow same pattern)
(Cavalry: updating because cavalry pages now exist)
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== Cavalry ==
 
== Cavalry ==
  
We don't yet have pages for cavalry units, but these are the preferred forms.
+
We now have pages for more or less all British cavalry units.
  
 
The administrative [[corps (administrative)|corps]] of cavalry are:
 
The administrative [[corps (administrative)|corps]] of cavalry are:
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=== Yeomanry regiments ===
 
=== Yeomanry regiments ===
  
Yeomanry regiments were all Territorial, usually with three lines. The regiment name will be represented as an [[identity]] above the three lines but below the administrative corps. For example:
+
Yeomanry regiments were all Territorial, usually with three lines. The regiment name is represented as an [[identity]] above the three lines but below the administrative corps. For example:
  
 
* Corps: [[Corps of Lancers, UK]]
 
* Corps: [[Corps of Lancers, UK]]
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*** Unit: [[3/1st Lincolnshire Yeomanry, UK]]
 
*** Unit: [[3/1st Lincolnshire Yeomanry, UK]]
  
Page names for the regimental identity will be the name shown in James in capitals, omitting any lower case words in brackets. The only exceptions are:
+
Page names for the regimental identity are the name shown in James in capitals, omitting any lower case words in brackets. The only exceptions are:
  
 
* [[Sherwood Rangers, UK]] and [[South Nottinghamshire Hussars, UK]], which use only the words shown by James in brackets in order to dismbiguate them, because the capitalised words are shown as "Nottinghamshire Yeomanry" in both cases.
 
* [[Sherwood Rangers, UK]] and [[South Nottinghamshire Hussars, UK]], which use only the words shown by James in brackets in order to dismbiguate them, because the capitalised words are shown as "Nottinghamshire Yeomanry" in both cases.
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Full names are as shown in James, including both capitalised words and any lower case words in brackets. The Glasgow Yeomanry use the full name in 1914, shown in the note at the end of the entry on page 19.
 
Full names are as shown in James, including both capitalised words and any lower case words in brackets. The Glasgow Yeomanry use the full name in 1914, shown in the note at the end of the entry on page 19.
  
Names for the actual units will consist of line number and regiment number followed by the regimental names defined above. For example:
+
Names for the actual units consist of line number and regiment number followed by the regimental names defined above. For example:
  
 
{|class="wikitable"
 
{|class="wikitable"
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In 1916, divisional cavalry squadrons were removed to army corps level and formed into regiments. In some cases, a corps cavalry regiment was identical to a named cavalry regiment, having all the squadrons of that regiment and no squadrons from other regiments. In these cases, the corps cavalry regiment does not have a separate page, and all information about it goes on the same page as the named regiment.
 
In 1916, divisional cavalry squadrons were removed to army corps level and formed into regiments. In some cases, a corps cavalry regiment was identical to a named cavalry regiment, having all the squadrons of that regiment and no squadrons from other regiments. In these cases, the corps cavalry regiment does not have a separate page, and all information about it goes on the same page as the named regiment.
  
Some corps cavalry regiments were not identical to named regiments and should have their own pages. Page names will be the name of the corps followed by "Cavalry Regiment" followed by the suffix ", UK". For example:
+
Some corps cavalry regiments were not identical to named regiments and have their own pages. Page names are the name of the corps followed by "Cavalry Regiment" followed by the suffix ", UK". For example:
  
 
* [[III Corps Cavalry Regiment, UK]]
 
* [[III Corps Cavalry Regiment, UK]]
 
* [[XIV Corps Cavalry Regiment, UK]]
 
* [[XIV Corps Cavalry Regiment, UK]]
  
These regiments will usually have squadrons of one or more named regiments as tactical children.
+
These regiments usually have squadrons of one or more named regiments as tactical children.
  
  
 
=== Squadrons ===
 
=== Squadrons ===
  
Some squadrons will have their own pages because they operated separately from their parent regiments. This is usually because they were divisional cavalry squadrons, or part of corps cavalry regiments that were not identical with one named regiment. Page names for squadrons are usually the capital letter that identifies the squadron, followed by the word "Squadron" and a comma, followed by the page name of the parent regiment. This is true for regular, yeomanry and Special Reserve cavalry. For example:
+
Some squadrons have their own pages because they operated separately from their parent regiments. This is usually because they were divisional cavalry squadrons, or part of corps cavalry regiments that were not identical with one named regiment. Page names for squadrons are usually the capital letter that identifies the squadron, followed by the word "Squadron" and a comma, followed by the page name of the parent regiment. This is true for regular, yeomanry and Special Reserve cavalry. For example:
  
 
* [[B Squadron, 15th Hussars, UK]]
 
* [[B Squadron, 15th Hussars, UK]]
 
* [[F Squadron, North Irish Horse, UK]]
 
* [[F Squadron, North Irish Horse, UK]]
 
* [[A Squadron, 1/1st Hampshire Yeomanry, UK]]
 
* [[A Squadron, 1/1st Hampshire Yeomanry, UK]]
 +
 +
Squadron letters should not have quotation marks around them.
  
 
=== Regular cavalry brigades ===
 
=== Regular cavalry brigades ===

Revision as of 11:59, 27 April 2016

The purpose of this page is to record and explain our current practices for naming units and pages. It's not a set of rules that you have to learn. If you want to create a page that doesn't exist, just create it. Don't worry about whether it has the right name. We can easily move it later.

Page names for British units have the suffix ", UK" unless the word "British" already appears in the unit name. For example:

But "British" is always used in category names. For example:

Most British units use the unit_name1 etc. parameters in {{infobox military unit}} to record their actual full names, which are nearly always different from the page name. The suffix ", UK" is never used in full names because it wasn't part of the actual name and has been added to wiki page names for dismbiguation and information.

Page names usually use ordinal Arabic numbers, but there are some exceptions described below.

Units identified by letters, such as cavalry squadrons and horse artillery batteries, shouldn't have quotation marks around the letters in the page name.

Whether there should be a comma between the unit type and regiment or corps it belongs to varies.

Formations

Page names

Tactical armies, corps, divisions and brigades usually follow this pattern:

Infantry division page names always include the division's ordinal number. Names in brackets are omitted unless they are needed for dismbiguation. The only known case is:

'(1914)' is used to disambiguate the divisions of the original Fourth New Army that were formed in 1914 and broken up in April 1915. For example, 30th Division (1914), UK is not the same division as 30th Division, UK.

Cavalry divisions have the word "Cavalry" to disambiguate them from infantry:

4th and 5th cavalry divisions are not used as page names because they're too ambiguous. The original 4th and 5th cavalry divisions will be under their old names, which are less ambiguous and more descriptive:

The Cavalry Corps on the Western Front will be under Cavalry Corps, UK.

Armies outside the Western Front are known by their names because they didn't have numbers:

Full names

Full names should be entered in unit_name1 etc. in {{infobox military unit}}. These names are usually given in Becke's Order of Battle.

Territorial infantry divisions were originally known only by a name but were given numbers in 1915. These name changes should be entered in infoboxes. See 46th Division, UK for an example.

Territorial infantry brigades follow a similar pattern, except that the second name doesn't have the old name in brackets, only an ordinal number. See 138th Infantry Brigade, UK for an example.


Formation troops

Formations of division level and above usually had some support units attached directly to the formation headquarters. Formations will have at least one extra page grouping these units together.

Corps will have one "Corps Troops" page containing all corps troops. For example:

Divisions have several pages grouping units by type. Example from 46th Division, UK:

Groups for army troops and general headquarters troops are not yet decided.

Infantry

This section covers infantry regiments and battalions of the British Army. See #Royal Navy and Royal Marines infantry further below for Royal Navy and Royal Marines infantry units.

Infantry regiments

Pages for all infantry regiments of the British Army already exist (except for the Volunteer Training Corps). Page names and full names are shown in the table at British units in World War I#Infantry regiments.

Page names consist of the regiment name, shortened unless the name is already short enough, followed by the suffix ", UK". Practice for shortening names is based on arbitrary decisions and an impression of common usage. General rules are:

Full names are as shown in E.A. James, British Regiments 1914-1918 but omitting "The".

Infantry battalions

Pages already exist for every British infantry battalion named in E.A. James, British Regiments 1914-1918.

Page names

The general pattern of infantry battalion page names is:

  • the least ambiguous ordinal number that the battalion had. For Territorial battalions, this should include the fractional line number if it ever had one: "1/5th" not "5th".
  • any words that are absolutely necessary to disambiguate the battalion from other battalions with the same number and regiment.
    • The most usual one is "Garrison", but "(Home Service)" is usually omitted.
    • "Buckinghamshire" and "Brecknockshire" are also needed to disambiguate some Territorial battalions.
    • "(Reserve)" is usually omitted but there are a few cases where it needs to be kept.
  • the word "Battalion".
  • the page name of the parent regiment, including the suffix ", UK".

If a battalion changed regiments, its whole history should go on one page, and there should be a redirect for each of its other regiments. Redirects are named according to the same conventions as other pages. To decide which of the page names has the actual content:

  • named regiments are preferred. "Training Reserve Battalion", "Provisional Battalion" or "Battalion Royal Defence Corps" should only be used for the page name if the battalion was never part of a named infantry regiment.
  • if a battalion was in the Training Reserve and ended up as 51st, 52nd or 53rd battalion of a named regiment, use the last name.
  • if a battalion was in the Training Reserve but didn't move to a named regiment afterwards, use its first name.
  • Garrison battalions that changed regiments are often put under the regiment in which they were part of the normal sequence of battalion numbers and not a Garrison battalion, but this isn't an important rule and isn't rigidly enforced.
  • practice varies for other battalions that changed from one named regiment to another.

In some cases, a battalion was disbanded and another battalion (which previously had a different identity) took its name and number. In these cases the page names are arranged so that every battalion has a unique number wherever possible. For example:

The London Regiment has been given an intermediate administrative level using the identity type. These identities have only names, but the battalions have only numbers, and both are followed by the name "London Regiment". For example, this is part of the hierarchy:

Full names

Every British infantry battalion should have at least one name entered in unit_name1 in {{infobox military unit}}. Full names are taken from E.A. James, British Regiments 1914-1918 but omitting "The" and "T.F.". The forms to use for the regiment name are shown in the table at British units in World War I#Infantry regiments. The battalion name should include all extra words in brackets both before and after the regiment name.

Some examples:

Page Name Full Name
1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, UK 1st Battalion Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)
3rd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, UK 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers
10th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, UK 10th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment (Grimsby)
11th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, UK 11th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (Pioneers)
6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, UK 6th (Service) Battalion Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)

Most pre-war Regular Army and Special Reserve battalions had simple names that rarely changed.

Most Territorial battalions changed their name at least once. Not all of these changes are shown in James.

The prefix "1/" usually denotes a first line Territorial battalion. Most of these were created in 1908 and originally had the same number but without the "1/" prefix. For example, 1/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, UK was originally just "5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment". The prefix was added (probably in late 1914 or early 1915) for disambiguation after duplicate battalions were formed. We don't yet have a source for when the names were officially changed.

The prefix "2/" usually denotes a second line Territorial battalion. These began to be formed in late August 1914, with men from the first line battalions who were unable or unwilling to serve overseas. They may have been known as Reserve battalions before getting the "2/" (for example "5th (Reserve) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment" then "2/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment") but we don't yet have a source for this.

The prefix "3/" usually denotes a third line Territorial battalion. These were created in 1915 to train recruits before sending them to the first and second lines. These battalions were given the prefix "3/" when they were formed, but later changed to Reserve battalions. For example, 3/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, UK became "5th (Reserve) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment".

Some territorial battalions had a fourth line with the prefix "4/", but numbers above 3 in fractional form can also denote composite battalions. 5/6th Battalion Royal Scots, UK was a composite formed from 5th Battalion and 6th Battalion, not the fifth line of 6th Battalion. The proper form, to be used in the infobox, is "5th/6th" but page names always use the form "5/6th".

Service battalions of the New Army nearly always had the word "(Service)" after their number and before "Battalion". Their names rarely changed. Some had an extra name in brackets after the regiment name to show where they were raised. In these cases, they also have a nickname which is different from the official name but very commonly used (these are the "Pals" battalions). These nicknames should be shown in the alternate_unit_names parameter in {{infobox military unit}} and should also be redirects. For example, Grimsby Chums redirects to 10th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, UK.

Reserve battalions of the New Army have complicated name histories. Many of them changed regiments once or twice and were Training Reserve battalions for some of their existence. Their name histories are mostly found in James but with a few possible errors and ambiguities.

Some infantry battalions were converted to pioneer battalions during the war. When this happened, "(Pioneers)" was usually added to the end of the name, after the regiment name, although this isn't always shown in James.

Volunteer Training Corps

Pages names will be based on pre-1918 Volunteer regiment names to disambiguate the units from pre-1908 Volunteer battalions. They will usually be in this form:

Full name history in unit_name1 etc. in {{infobox military unit}} should also show later names where battalions were brought into regular British Army regiments. These will usually be in the form "3rd Volunteer Battalion Hampshire Regiment". Full regiment names should be used in these cases, as with other battalions of the regiment (see #Infantry above).

Machine gun units

Pages names are usually in these forms:

Full names of Guards machine gun battalions are shown in James.

Full names of Machine Gun Corps units are probably the same as page names but without the suffix ", UK", but we don't yet have a canonical source for their full names.

Cavalry

We now have pages for more or less all British cavalry units.

The administrative corps of cavalry are:

Regular cavalry regiments

Page names should omit names in brackets and consist only of:

  • ordinal number
  • type of regiment
  • suffix ", UK"

Examples:

Royal Horse Guards, UK is the only one that doesn't have a number.

Full names are as shown in James.

Regiment names didn't change during the war.

Reserve cavalry regiments that existed at the start of the war are in the form:

In 1917, the original reserve regiments were merged into new reserve regiments which had a completely different composition from the old ones. The page names for these new regiments use "(1917)" to disambiguate them from the old regiments:

Yeomanry regiments

Yeomanry regiments were all Territorial, usually with three lines. The regiment name is represented as an identity above the three lines but below the administrative corps. For example:

Page names for the regimental identity are the name shown in James in capitals, omitting any lower case words in brackets. The only exceptions are:

Full names are as shown in James, including both capitalised words and any lower case words in brackets. The Glasgow Yeomanry use the full name in 1914, shown in the note at the end of the entry on page 19.

Names for the actual units consist of line number and regiment number followed by the regimental names defined above. For example:

Page name Full name
Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, UK Montgomeryshire Yeomanry
1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, UK 1/1st Montgomeryshire Yeomanry
Sherwood Rangers, UK Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers)
2/1st Sherwood Rangers, UK 2/1st Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers)
1/1st Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry, UK 1/1st Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry
3/1st Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry, UK 3/1st Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own)

Yeomanry regiments that became infantry battalions

Part-way through the war, some yeomanry cavalry regiments were permanently dismounted, converted to infantry and became battalions of existing infantry regiments, although their old identities persisted in the battalion's full name and uniform.

In these cases, the unit's history should be split between two pages: one for its career as cavalry and one for its career as infantry. For example, 1/1st Lovat's Scouts Yeomanry, UK and 1/2nd Lovat's Scouts Yeomanry, UK became 10th Battalion Cameron Highlanders, UK.

Yeomanry regiments that became machine gun battalions, or that were merged into cyclist regiments or battalions, should be treated similarly.

Corps cavalry regiments

In 1916, divisional cavalry squadrons were removed to army corps level and formed into regiments. In some cases, a corps cavalry regiment was identical to a named cavalry regiment, having all the squadrons of that regiment and no squadrons from other regiments. In these cases, the corps cavalry regiment does not have a separate page, and all information about it goes on the same page as the named regiment.

Some corps cavalry regiments were not identical to named regiments and have their own pages. Page names are the name of the corps followed by "Cavalry Regiment" followed by the suffix ", UK". For example:

These regiments usually have squadrons of one or more named regiments as tactical children.


Squadrons

Some squadrons have their own pages because they operated separately from their parent regiments. This is usually because they were divisional cavalry squadrons, or part of corps cavalry regiments that were not identical with one named regiment. Page names for squadrons are usually the capital letter that identifies the squadron, followed by the word "Squadron" and a comma, followed by the page name of the parent regiment. This is true for regular, yeomanry and Special Reserve cavalry. For example:

Squadron letters should not have quotation marks around them.

Regular cavalry brigades

The cavalry brigades of the regular army were numbered 1st to 9th and did not change their names during the war. Page names are in the form 1st Cavalry Brigade, UK.

During the post-war occupation of Germany, the cavalry were reorganised into the Rhine Cavalry Brigades, with names instead of numbers:

Yeomanry mounted brigades

These often have very complicated name histories. Line numbers and geographical names are preferred for page names where possible because these are the least ambiguous names. For example:

Note that the numbers in these cases qualify the names and are not unique on their own.

Numbers and the words "Mounted Brigade" are used only for brigades that never had geographical names. For example:

These numbers and names were often used at other times by other brigades, so pages will need disambiguation information using {{About}}.

Artillery

We don't yet have pages for artillery units, or a canonical source for their correct full names. These are likely conventions for their page names.

Field artillery

Pages will usually only go down to brigade level because this is equivalent to an infantry battalion. Page names will probably be in the form:

Brigades were sometimes known by roman numerals in official documents, but this form is not used in page names because it's too long and confusing.

Pages for Territorial brigades will usually be under their latest names, which are in the same form as above. Line numbers and regional names are not used in page names unless the brigade was disbanded before being renumbered.

Territorial field artillery brigades and divisional ammunition columns will probably be grouped into identities by territorial region:

Horse artillery

Pages will go down to battery level because these operated independently of their parent artillery brigades and were attached to different cavalry brigades. Page names will probably be in the form:

Heavy artillery

Pages will probably go down to battery level. Names are likely to be:

Trench mortars

Page names are likely to be in the form:

Ammunition columns

Divisional ammunition column page names will be in similar form to division names:

Brigade ammunition columns will not normally have their own pages because they are sub-units of battalion-level units.

Engineers

We don't yet have pages for engineer units, or a canonical source for their correct full names. These are likely conventions for page names for divisional engineers.

Territorial field companies should be under their latest names, which will usually be in the same form as above. Page names should omit their earlier names. For example, 427th Field Company, Royal Engineers, UK, not "427th (1/1st East Lancashire) Field Company, Royal Engineers, UK".

Territorial field companies changed their names at least once during the war. All names should be shown in the infobox, if known.

Territorial field and signals companies will probably be grouped into identities by territorial region:

Medical units

We don't yet have pages for medical units, or a canonical source for their correct full names. These are likely conventions for their page names.

Page names should usually omit "Royal Army Medical Corps", but this may be part of the full names listed in the infobox.

Regular units simply have number, type and suffix:

Territorial field ambulances were not renumbered into the regular sequence, so their page names have to keep line numbers and regional names:

Territorial field ambulances will probably be grouped into identities by territorial region:

Names of hospitals varied. The form "No 1" is often preferred to ordinal numbers.

Royal Navy and Royal Marines infantry

Page names for navy infantry battalions of the Royal Naval Division use only the name, not the number:

The original Royal Marines battalions of the Royal Naval Division are under their names:

The amalgamated Royal Marines battalions are under their later numbers, not their names:

Brigades in the Royal Naval Division use numbers in the Army sequence if they had them:

Brigades that weren't renumbered in the Army sequence, or that don't have a simple lineage with a numbered brigade, use older names:

Royal Navy ships

Not yet decided.

Air units

Not yet decided.