1st Sportsman's Battalion, Royal Fusiliers 1914-1918

Discover your ancestor who served with the 1st Sportsman's Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. Uncover useful biographical information and learn what awards he received.

Each record is a transcript.

These records include details of both officers and other ranks. The amount of information listed varies, but the 1st Sportsman's Battalion, Royal Fusiliers records usually include the following information about your ancestor:

Service history officers

• Name
• Awards
• Date of death

Service history other ranks

• Name
• Rank
• Awards
• Date of death

In many cases notes are included where a man has died and often record information not readily available in published sources such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Debt of Honour database or Soldiers Died in The Great War.

For instance, we see that 229484 QMS A G Barnes died of wounds on 31st May 1918 at an advanced dressing station operated by 91st Field Ambulance. By cross-referencing the location of 91st FA in May 1918, it would be possible to pinpoint the precise location where this man died.

The 1st Sportsman’s Battalion was formed at the Hotel Cecil on The Strand in September 1914 and included some well-known sporting personalities of its day among its number. These included several county cricketers, golfers, athletes, travellers and adventurers.

Members included the lightweight boxing champion of England, Jeremiah (Jerry) Delaney was killed in action at Delville Wood in July 1916.

A second sportsman’s battalion, the 24th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, was subsequently formed in November 1914 but this database concentrates on those men who joined the 1st Battalion.

Information for these records has been transcribed from Fred W Ward’s The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman’s): a record of its services in the Great War 1914-1918 first published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1920.