Numbering, 1/7 northumberland fusiliers

[traitorbass]

Hi all, and thanks for taking the time to read my post.
My grandfather, Ernest Pond, enlisted in 15 to the Sherwood Foresters, 10th battalion, B coy, numbered  21675.
We think he was wounded around the beginning of the Somme offensive and sent home for treatment ( Mum says she could put both hand in the dent in his left shoulder,obv shrapnel) Well it all gets a bit odd for me now as he is sent back to Northumberland Fusiliers,  14th numbered 42195, 1/7 numbered 7/5619, 1/7 numbered 291738, 1/5th 291738.. I have found a document saying he was wounded on 24/1/17 and awarded a wound stripe, but according to what I can find the 1/7 were not in the line and were resting?, again, why had he got so many numbers? Another thing baffles me too, mum says he was gassed in 17, in fact we have a post card to his wife dated 1 1 18 from Thorsby Hall, used as a hospital. He is pictured in Hospital blues but I cannot find anything that names him as wounded so have no idea where this occured and when.
I go to France / Belgium every year and have attempted to follow grandads movements from war diaries. Anything you can offer in advice or information on where to look would be gratefully accepted. Thank you in advance, Dave

[MaxD]

Need to correct a couple of the numbers.

His 10th Sherwood Foresters number was 21674, 14th NF 42185 others OK.  The main clue is in the 1/7th where he has two numbers in the same battalion.  This was a result of the renumbering of the Territorial Force and a change also in the numbering system.  Before end 1916 each battalion had its own numbers so when he moved from the Sherwood Foresters to the 14th NF and later 7th NF he got a new number each time. The subsequent change of numbers in 1/7th NF tells us that this happened in 1917 and he then retained the 291738 number to the end even though he changed battalion.

The changes of battalion are the result of the general rule that the army put you where you were needed, sometimes the result of you being temporarily out of action and being returned somewhere else and sometimes the result of your battalion being reorganised for some reason.

As to wound reports etc.  Casualty lists were published in newspapers and we may be lucky and find him, a small sample proportion were retained in the National Archives.  More digging needed.

MaxD

PS  His medal card does not show a date of entry to a theatre of war and he hasn't a 1914/15 Star so he didn't go to France until after 1915 even if he enlisted in 1915.