Lives of the First World War

4,987 men served on the effective strength of the 23rd Royal Fusiliers after it proceeded overseas to France on 15th November 1915. 3,241 became casualties, of whom 594 died and another 350 were missing. It was originally recruited at the Hotel Cecil in London by Mrs E. Cunliffe-Owen, with a special War Office dispensation to form a unit from men up to the age of 45, who were then over the formal enlistment age, but who were fit and hard because they were sportsmen. In the first year while the Battalion was training at Hornchurch, it also had a huge turnover of men who received commissions in other units, not counted in the totals above. For more detail, see the History: THE 23rd (SERVICE) BATTALION ROYAL FUSILIERS (FIRST SPORTSMAN'S) A RECORD OF ITS SERVICES IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1919 BY FRED. W. WARD (A Second Sportsman's Battalion was soon formed, it was numbered the 24th Royal Fusiliers, and the SPTS service number also extended to the 30th (Reserve) Battalion.) http://sportsmansgazette.blogspot.co.uk/ is a great online resource to explore

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