Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) Military Research Guide (WWII)

📖 Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) in WWII Research at a Glance

The Sherwood Foresters served in Norway, North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe during the Second World War. Soldiers were generally issued service numbers within the range 4960001–5038000 and could qualify for campaign medals including the Africa Star, Italy Star and France and Germany Star depending on their battalion and theatre of service.

Why Interpretation Can Be Difficult

  • The regiment served in Norway, North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe, creating several very different wartime service paths.
  • Early-war Sherwood Foresters may have served in the often-overlooked Norwegian Campaign, which is frequently missed by researchers.
  • A service number within 4960001–5038000 confirms the regiment but not the soldier's battalion or theatre of war.
  • Medal groups can indicate service in the Mediterranean or North-West Europe, but cannot always identify a specific battalion.
  • Two Sherwood Foresters soldiers who enlisted at similar times may have ended up serving in completely different campaigns and countries.

The Sherwood Foresters entered the Second World War with a proud military tradition and would go on to serve in a diverse range of campaigns across Europe and the Mediterranean. As with many infantry regiments, a soldier's wartime experience could vary dramatically depending on when he enlisted and which battalion he joined. Some found themselves involved in little-known early-war operations, while others served in the better-known campaigns that eventually led to Allied victory. For modern researchers, understanding these different wartime paths can be challenging, particularly when working from only a service number, medal group or family photograph. This guide explores the key themes, research clues and regimental background that can help place an individual soldier within the wider story of the Sherwood Foresters during the Second World War.

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Norway, North Africa and North-West Europe

The Sherwood Foresters served in a number of important campaigns during the Second World War, but one of the most distinctive was their participation in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Often overshadowed by later operations, Norway represented one of Britain's earliest attempts to halt German expansion in Europe and remains a relatively uncommon battle honour among British infantry regiments. As the war progressed, Sherwood Foresters battalions also served in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe, taking part in campaigns that stretched from the deserts of the Mediterranean to the final advance into Germany. This wide geographical spread means that two soldiers of the regiment could have experienced very different wars depending on their battalion and date of service.

Sherwood Foresters Service Numbers

For family historians and military researchers, service numbers can provide an important starting point when tracing a soldier's wartime career. Men enlisted directly into the Sherwood Foresters were generally issued numbers within the range 4960001–5038000, making this one of the key identifiers of a regimental connection. While a service number alone cannot reveal where a soldier served or which battalion he joined, it can often help confirm a Sherwood Foresters enlistment and narrow the search for additional records, photographs and wartime documents.

Campaign Medals and Wartime Service

The regiment's extensive wartime service is reflected in the campaign medals awarded to its soldiers. Depending on their battalion and theatre of operations, Sherwood Foresters could qualify for the Africa Star, Italy Star or France and Germany Star, often alongside the 1939–45 Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939–45. These awards can provide valuable clues when researching an individual soldier, particularly where service records are unavailable. In many cases, a medal group can quickly indicate whether a man served in the Mediterranean theatre or North-West Europe, helping researchers focus on the battalions and campaigns most likely to have formed part of his wartime service.

Case Study: An early WWII volunteer

A user entered the service number 4980651 into the Service Number Explorer. The number falls within the Sherwood Foresters' allocated Second World War service number block and suggests an enlistment during the early wartime volunteer phase of 1939–41, when the British Army was expanding rapidly in response to the outbreak of war. While the service number alone cannot identify a battalion, it provides a valuable starting point for placing the soldier within the regiment's wartime story.

Using the regiment's known theatres of service and potential medal entitlement, we can build a likely outline of his career. Depending on his battalion, he may have served with the BEF in France, taken part in the little-known Norwegian Campaign, fought in North Africa, Italy or later North-West Europe. His medal group could therefore include combinations of the France and Germany Star, Africa Star or Italy Star, alongside the 1939–45 Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939–45. Given the regiment's estimated wartime losses of around 1,577 deaths and 4,003 total casualties, there was also a significant chance of a Sherwood Foresters soldier experiencing wounding, evacuation or transfer during his service.

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Cross-reference your findings against our Sherwood Foresters data in the WWII Regimental Number Estimator.

Tips

  • Don't Overlook Norway: The Sherwood Foresters were one of the relatively few British infantry regiments to see service in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. If a soldier enlisted during the early months of the war, Norway should be considered alongside the more familiar campaigns in France, North Africa and Italy.

  • Check the Service Number Range: Many Sherwood Foresters soldiers were issued service numbers within the range 4960001–5038000. If a number falls within this block, it can provide a strong indication of a Sherwood Foresters connection and help distinguish the soldier from men serving in other Midlands infantry regiments.

Explore similar units:

  1. Sherwood Foresters: Compare the construct of the Regiment between WWI & WWII
  2. Royal Warwickshire Regiment: Another of the large Midlands infantry regiments
  3. General Service Corps: Understand how many men were posted from this centralised Corps

Click here to explore similar infantry regiments in the main WWII Regiment & Corps Library.

This hub is intended for genealogical and historical research purposes. It provides the logical framework for navigating the WWII history of the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)