The 17th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles), was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer corps dating back to 1859. It saw considerable service on the Western Front, at Salonika and in Palestine during the First World War. It served as a motorised infantry regiment during the Second World War before conversion to an artillery unit in 1947 and subsequent amalgamation in 1967.
Rifle Volunteers 1859-1908 15th Middlesex (The Customs and Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm for joining local Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs).Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8. The 26th (Customs & Excise) Middlesex RVC of four companies raised on 9 February 1860 was recruited from customs officers in the London docks. Under the command of Major (Lieutenant-Colonel from 1861) Ralph William Grey, former MP and Commissioner of Customs, its early officers included the Principal of Police at the West India Docks, the Inspector-General of Customs, and the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs. The unit joined the 5th Administrative Battalion of Middlesex RVCs when that was formed in August 1860. The 5th AB also included the 42nd (St Katharine Docks) Middlesex RVC formed on 19 June 1860. The 5th AB and 26th RVC shared a headquarters (HQ) at the Custom House, City of London. The 26th RVC amalgamated with the 9th Tower Hamlets RVC at London Dock House (see below) in 1864, becoming the 26th (The Customs and the Docks) Middlesex RVC, and absorbed the 42nd Middlesex RVC in 1866, doing away with the need for the admin battalion. The 2nd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers, which was recruited in the docks from 1862, was initially attached to the 26th RVC. Edmund Hegan Kennard, MP, a former captain in the 8th Hussars, became Lt-Col Commandant on 3 February 1870.Money Barnes, Appendix III.Beckett, Appendix VII.Beckett, p. 63.Frederick, pp. 314–5.Army List, various dates.15th Middlesex at Regiments.org.Westlake, pp. 163, 172, 179.
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, RVCs were brigaded into sub-districts with their local Regular and Militia regiments – Brigade Nos 53 and 54 (Rifle Brigade) for the 26th Middlesex RVC and 1st Tower Hamlets AB, alongside the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own), the Tower Hamlets Militia, and several other London RVCs.Spiers, pp. 195–6.
When the RVCs were consolidated into larger battalions in 1880, the 26th Middlesex RVC (by then with 13 companies) was renumbered 15th (The Customs and Docks) Middlesex RVC on 3 September. The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, and the Volunteers were formally affiliated to their Regular regiment, the 15th Middlesex RVC becoming the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the Rifle Brigade on 1 July 1881, but keeping its 15th Middlesex title (it became the 2nd VB, again without change of title, in 1892).
While the sub-districts were often referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime, these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9. Under this scheme the 15th Middlesex and 2nd Tower Hamlets both joined the East London Brigade, which was administered by the Regimental HQ of the Grenadier Guards. The brigade's assembly point was at Caterham Barracks, the Guards' depot conveniently situated for the London Defence Positions along the North Downs.
Edmund Kennard became the battalion's Honorary Colonel in 1885 and was succeeded in command by Lt-Col Arthur W. Chambers; they continued in these positions until the end of the Volunteer Force in 1908.
Second Boer War After Black Week in December 1899, the Volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the Regulars in the Second Boer War. The War Office decided that one company 116 strong could be recruited from the volunteer battalions of any infantry regiment that had a regular battalion serving in South Africa. The 15th Middlesex RVC contributed volunteers to those raised by the Rifle Brigade's VBs, who earned the battalion its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–01.Beckett, p. 213.
2nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps RVCs were also raised in the Tower Hamlets, the villages of London's East End that constituted the Tower division of the County of Middlesex owing military obligations to the Constable of the Tower of London rather than to the Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex. The 1st Administrative Battalion, Tower Hamlets RVCs was formed in May 1861 to administer the following units:Tower Hamlets Rifles at Regiments.org.Westlake, pp. 239–41. 3rd (Truman, Hanbury, Buxton) Tower Hamlets RVC, formed on 4 May 1860 at Truman, Hanley & Buxton's Black Eagle Brewery in Spitalfields under the command of the owner, Capt Sir Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, with his uncle and business partner Charles Buxton, MP, as lieutenant.Beckett, p. 70.Burke's: 'Buxton'.London Gazette, 8 May 1860. The corps had three companies by June 1861 and four by 1863. 7th (Mile End) Tower Hamlets RVC, formed on 13 September 1860, HQ at 11 Floreston Street, Mile End Road. 9th (London Docks) Tower Hamlets RVC, formed at London Dock House on 23 November 1860; amalgamated with 26th (Customs & Excise) Middlesex RVC (see above) in 1864. 10th (Finsbury) Tower Hamlets RVC, formed as two companies at Goodman's Fields on 13 December 1860, HQ at Mile End Gate, then 11 Great Garden St from 1865 11th (East Metropolitan) Tower Hamlets RVC: a meeting at Zetland Hall, Goodmans Fields, on 4 December 1860 agreed to form an RVC from London's Jewish population. Two companies were quickly formed and the officers were commissioned on 21 February 1861. However, interest waned and there was little financial support form the Jewish community. The unit was disbanded in 1864 amid stories of ill-discipline and general dissatisfaction from all ranks. 12th (Stoke Newington) Tower Hamlets RVC, formed as two companies on 24 April 1861; joined the 1st AB in 1863 but absorbed into the 1st London RVC in 1870.
Charles Buxton was promoted to major and then to Lt-Col of the 1st AB on 1 June 1861, when Sir Fowell took the title of Captain-Commandant of the 3rd RVC.London Gazette, 7 June 1861. followed by Sir Fowell promoted to major on 24 July 1863London Gazette, 4 August 1863. and as second Lt-Col on 23 January 1864.London Gazette, 29 January 1864. Sir Fowell's younger brother, Edward North Buxton, another partner in the brewery, was commissioned as an ensign in the 7th Tower Hamlets RVC on 19 August 1862.London Gazette, 26 August 1862. Charles Buxton left the 1st AB in the later 1860s, and was appointed Hon Colonel of the 1st (Poplar) Tower Hamlets Artillery Volunteer Corps in August 1870.London Gazette, 26 August 1870.
Unlike the 15th Middlesex, which retained its HQ at Custom House throughout its existence, the 1st Tower Hamlets AB and its constituent RVCs moved around the East End frequently. By 1866, the HQ of the 1st AB, 3rd and 10th RVCs had moved to 11 Great Garden Street, Whitechapel. In 1870, the 1st AB and 3rd RVC moved to 1 Granby Street, Bethnal Green, while the 7th RVC was at 2 Purim Place, Cambridge Road, Mile End, and the 10th RVC at 5 Paradise Row, Cambridge Road, Bethnal Green. The 1st AB later moved to Commercial Street and then to Quaker Street, Stepney.
In the 1880 consolidation of RVCs, the 1st AB became the 3rd Tower Hamlets RVC on 25 May, but changed to 2nd Tower Hamlets RVC on 3 September. It had the following organisation: Battalion HQ at 237 Whitechapel Road A, B, C and D Companies (ex 3rd RVC) at Stepney E, F, G and H Companies (ex 7th RVC) at Mile End I, K and L Companies (ex 10th RVC) at Finsbury
Like the 15th Middlesex, the battalion had been attached to the Rifle Brigade since 1872, and it too became a volunteer battalion of that regiment on 1 July 1881. Although it ranked as the 10th VB (9th from 1892) it retained its 2nd Tower Hamlets title.
The East End was grossly overcrowded and it was difficult to find space to hold drills. Many people resented the volunteers using London's public parks, and in June 1881 crowds disrupted a joint inspection of the 2nd Tower Hamlets and 10th Middlesex RVCs being held in Regent's Park.Beckett, p. 97.
Sir Fowell Buxton retired from the command in 1883 and became the battalion's Hon Colonel in 1884.London Gazette, 8 February 1884. W.N. Bryan became Lt-Col from 12 October 1889. The battalion served alongside the 15th Middlesex in the East London Brigade from 1889, and it moved to its final HQ at 66 Tredegar Road, Bow, in 1894.Osborne, p. 207.
Like the 15th Middlesex, the 2nd Tower Hamlets RVC sent volunteers to the Boer War, earning the battalion the battle honour South Africa 1900–02.
1st (Duke of Norfolk's Own) Cadet Battalion, Rifle Brigade A cadet battalion of four companies was formed for East End boys in the Tower Hamlets on 28 May 1904, with HQ at Mile End. It was disbanded in 1906.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Beckett, pp. 247–53.Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the various volunteer infantry units in the County of London were formed into a new all-TF London Regiment that had no regular or militia components. The 15th Middlesex and 2nd Tower Hamlets were combined to form a new 17th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Poplar & Stepney) of eight companies with HQ at Tredegar Road. The new title indicated the two London metropolitan boroughs (Poplar and Stepney) from which the battalion recruitedLondon Gazette 20 March 1908.Money Barnes, Appendix IV.Maude, Appendix F.17th Londons at Stepping Forward London.'Drill Hall Register – Tower Hamlets' at Stepping Forward London.
The battalion left the East London Brigade and joined the 5th London Brigade in the TF's 2nd London Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp 69–75.James, pp. 114–7.Maude, pp. 1–2.London Regiment at Long, Long Trail.47th (2nd London) Division at Long, Long Trail.
World War I Mobilisation The infantry battalions of the 2nd London Division had just reached Perham Down on Salisbury Plain for their annual training when war broke out on 4 August 1914. They immediately returned to their London HQs. 17th Londons mobilised at Tredegar Road under the command of Lt-Col J. Godding, CO since 19 March 1913. This process was completed by mid-August, and the London battalions marched to their war stations around St Albans in Hertfordshire, with 5th London Bde grouped round Hatfield. Here the division formed part of Third Army in Central Force for home defence, and carried out its war training.Maude, pp. 2–3.
The TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on 10 August 1914, TF units were invited to volunteer for overseas service and the majority did so. On 15 August, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way, duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later the 2nd Line was prepared for overseas service and 3rd Line units were formed to train reinforcements.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Dalbiac, pp. 17–8.