In order to keep track of its personnel the Royal Canadian Navy introduced a numbering system for all its enlisted personnel. Officers were tracked using a file number system.

In its infancy in 1910 the system was simple and numbers assigned were sequential. At this time I am unable to verify the first number assigned but must assume at this point that it was 1. I am aware of an RCN long service medal being awarded in 1927 to CPO (Chief Petty Officer) Reading whose official number was 59.

With the onset of the Great War and the establishment of the R.N.C.V.R. an additional numbering system was required. While medals to this reserve are found numbered with numerals only, many records bear the addition of the alpha designation of 'VR'. My belief is that this was the means used by the Navy to differentiate between 'regular' force and 'reserve' force members. After the War the reserves were demobilized and the requirement no longer existed.

In 1923 with the establishment of the RCNVR and the R.C.N.R the requirement was re-introduced. The RCNVR was pretty much straight forward and ratings were assigned a 'V' in front of their official number. Again it is my belief that the sequence started at 1. The lowest number I have been able to verify is that of Petty Officer GEIZER who sported the number V-97.

For the R.C.N.R when a man was first enrolled, he was assigned an alpha/numeric designation beginning at A-1. with each successive engagement the alpha designation progressed to B, C and so on. However the numerical designation remained the same. So for example a man assigned the official number A-48 on enrollment, his next engagement would see his official number changed to B-48, then C-48 and so on.

Somewhere along the way, probably in the 1920s or 1930s the RCN also introduced the use of the prefix 'X'. This designation appears to have been assigned when a man was enrolled for an engagement of less than 5 years.

Also during the Second World War Canada called upon fishermen to perform some costal patrol duties. These men were enrolled in the Fishermen's Reserve and their official numbers were prefixed by the letters 'FR' and as in the past the series began at 1. Also at this time the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service was established and the prefix 'W' was used in this branch.

After the War the navy amalgamated the R.C.N.V.R and R.C.N.R into the R.C.N.(R.) and a new numbering system was introduced which saw the assignment of the letter 'R' to the reserves. For the RCN itself the letters H and E were assigned to ratings. 'H' for those recruited east of Fort William and 'E' for recruits west of that point. As well officers were now assigned official numbers in the form. The number was prefixed by the letter 'O' for commissioned officer and 'U' for officer cadets.

The final alpha designation was that of the letter 'G'. This was assigned to men of the Radiomen Special trade who had completed their trades training at Glochester.

Prefix	Suffix	Use
VR		WW1 RCNVR HQ use
X		RCN engagement less than 5 years
V		RCNVR use commencing in 1923
A-E		RCNR used to designate sequential engagement
W		Members of the WRCNS
O		Officers commencing in 1946
FR		WW2 Fisherman's Reserve
U		Officer Cadets
	H	Ratings engage in Fort William & East post 1946
	E	Ratings engaged west of Fort William post 1946
	G	Radioman Special trade post 1946
R		Reserves post 1946

While the above information regarding 'official numbers' is as accurate as I have been able to determine there are still many questions which Ottawa has not been able to answer. For example the following is a scan of an identification card carried by a sailor who sailed in Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships during WW2..

 

As can be seen the man is in naval uniform and it shows his service as RCN with an 'official number' bearing the prefix letter 'F'. When requested Ottawa was unable to identify this veteran as having served in the Royal Canadian Navy. I suspect he was not in the RCN given his rank Seaman 1, which to the best of my knowledge was not a Naval rank. However that being said I am unable to explain the uniform and the relating to me personally by this man, that he was in the Navy. Requests for information from the Department of Transport, the responsible agency for the Canadian Merchant Navy during WW2, have been unfruitful.

With unification official numbers were replaced in the Canadian Armed Forces and its reserves, by the use of the Social Insurance Number (SIN). Again in the mid 80s SIN numbers were abandoned as a means of identification in the Canadian Armed Forces and new 'Official Numbers' were assigned to all personnel.