The Rangers was a volunteer unit of the British Army, originally formed in 1860. It provided a detachment for service in the Second Boer War, saw intensive action on the Western Front in the First World War (including the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele), and served as motorised infantry during the Second World War during the campaigns in Greece and the Western Desert.

Early history The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett. One such unit was the Central London Rifle Rangers formed in 1859 at Gray's Inn, London, from members of the legal profession. It officially came into existence on 30 April 1860 and was numbered as the 40th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps. It was included in the 3rd Administrative Battalion of Middlesex RVCs. The unit drilled in the precincts of Gray's Inn and the headquarters (HQ) was established first at Field Court and then at South Square at Gray's Inn.Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 151.The Rangers at Regiments.org (archived at the Wayback Machine).Westlake, pp. 175–8.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, pp. 2–3.

In 1861, the corps was made independent of the 3rd Administrative Battalion and absorbed the single-company 35th (Enfield) Middlesex RVC whose commanding officer (CO), Alfred Somerset (formerly of the 13th Light Infantry), became lieutenant-colonel of the combined battalion, which was authorised to expand to eight companies in 1862. Its uniform was based on that of the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC).Army List, various dates.

Sir Alfred Somerset (1829–1915) was the grandson of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort and nephew of Field Marshal Lord Raglan.Burkes. His second-in-command was Major the Hon Hallyburton Campbell (1829–1918) son of the Lord Chancellor, John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, and formerly of the East India Company's service.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, p. 4.

The first Honorary Colonel, appointed in 1862, was General Sir James Yorke Scarlett, son of James Scarlett, 1st Baron Abinger, a former Attorney General for England and Wales. General Scarlett was Major Campbell's uncle, and another nephew, Leopold James York Campbell Scarlett (1847–88), was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Rangers in 1863 (he later became Lt-Col in the Scots Guards).

Alfred Somerset left the battalion in 1866 to take command of the 2nd Tower Hamlets Militia, and was succeeded as Lt-Col by Hallyburton Campbell. Campbell's elder brother, William Campbell, 2nd Baron Stratheden and Campbell, became Hon Colonel after Gen Scarlett's death in 1872. Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell (who succeeded as 3rd Lord Stratheden and Campbell in 1893) left the battalion in 1872.

When the Cardwell Reforms introduced 'Localisation of the Forces' in 1873, the 40th Middlesex was brigaded, together with several other London and Middlesex Volunteer and Militia battalions, in Brigade No 49 (Middlesex and Metropolitan) under the Royal Fusiliers. The Volunteer units of these brigades met once a year for a training camp.Spiers, p. 198.Grierson, p. 192.

Reform

The battalion was equipped with the Enfield Rifle Musket, later the Snider-Enfield, and used a 600-yard range at Tottenham Park. After Lt-Col Campbell left, the battalion was commanded by a succession of officers, including Lt-Col Adrian Hope, who left to command the London Rifle Brigade, and Lt-Col Henry Hozier, a former staff officer on the British Expedition to Abyssinia and war correspondent of The Times. The unit's numbers began to fall until 1875, when it was reinvigorated under the command of Lt-Col Howard Vincent, later Sir Howard Vincent, first director of the Criminal Investigation Department at Scotland Yard. Vincent instigated a conference of Volunteer COs in January 1878 to discuss reform of the Volunteer Force.Beckett, pp. 161, 190, 278.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, pp. 5–6.

In the subsequent reforms, the Rangers were renumbered as the 22nd Middlesex RVC (Central London Rangers) in 1880 and became a Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers the following year. This affiliation was changed to the KRRC a year later; officially the Rangers were the 8th VB KRRC, but did not change their title. The Adjutant of the battalion was a Regular officer seconded from the Royal Fusiliers, then from the KRRC. These included Capt (later Col) Sir Thomas Pilkington, 12th Bt, who had served at the Battle of Tell El Kebir, and Maj Lord Robert Manners (killed in action in 1917), son of the Duke of Rutland.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, p. 10.

Vincent resigned the command upon his appointment to Scotland Yard, and was succeeded by Lt-Col Sir Henry Malet, late of the Grenadier Guards, and then in 1881 by the battalion's major, William Alt. In June 1882, Lt-Col Alt purchased two five-barrel Nordenfelt machine guns and designed a suitable carriage for them. The Rangers claimed to be the first infantry battalion of the British Army to use machine guns, but were not allowed to use them on parade. Eventually, permission was granted for experimental use in training at Aldershot. Possession of machine guns by Volunteer units was finally authorised by the War Office in October 1883.Beckett, p. 200.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, p. 7.

During Alt's command, the Rangers recruited two companies from employees of the Gas Light and Coke Company's Beckton Gas Works, and a signal section was established in 1886.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, pp. 8–9. Between 1891 and 1899 a Cadet Corps at Mayall College, Herne Hill, was attached to the battalion.

The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a 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. The Rangers were assigned to the North London Brigade.

Second Boer War After 'Black Week' in December 1899, the War Office accepted the offer of the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Alfred Newton, to raise a force (the City Imperial Volunteers (CIVs)) from among the London Volunteer units for service in the Second Boer War. The Rangers provided a detachment of one officer (Lt Brian Alt, son of Lt-Col Alt) and 26 other ranks, who served in H Company of the CIVs between February and October 1900. Lieutenant Alt was killed at the Battle of Diamond Hill on 12 June, the only officer casualty suffered by the CIVs.Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, pp. 13–6.

Other members of the battalion served with the Imperial Yeomanry (IY), including Charles Bromfield, who had been commissioned from the ranks of the Rangers as a captain in the 87th Company of the Imperial Yeomanry and died of wounds received in action near Boshof in February 1902.

For providing these contingents, the Rangers were awarded the Battle honour South Africa 1900–02. After the war, the Rangers' battalion HQ moved from South Square at Gray's Inn to 3 Henry Street, Grays Inn.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the Rangers were transferred from the KRRC to the new all-Territorial London Regiment, as 12th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Rangers).Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, p. 11.London Gazette 20 March 1908.Rangers at Stepping Forward London.

On 25 June 1908, the battalion took over the Drill Hall in Chenies Street. Designed by Samuel Knight, this had been built in 1882–3 for the Bloomsbury Rifles (19th Middlesex RVC). In 1908, that corps merged with Queen Victoria's Rifles (1st Middlesex RVC) to form the 9th Bn London Regiment, which continued to use the QVRs' HQ at Davies Street while the Rangers took over the building in Chenies Street.Cherry & Pevsner, p. 334.Westlake, pp. 163–4, 174.Camden Drill Halls at Stepping Forward London.

The North London Brigade, including the 12th Battalion, became the 3rd London Brigade in the 1st London Division of the TF.Conrad, British Army 1914.

World War I On the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Rangers mobilised at Chenies Street as part of 3rd London Brigade. It moved to Bullswater, then to Crowborough in September and Roehampton in December. In the interim, during October 1914, it was assigned to guard the Waterloo-North Camp (Aldershot) railway.James, pp. 113–6.London Regiment at Long, Long Trail.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141–7.56th (1st London) Division at Long, Long Trail.London Regiment at Regimental Warpath.

On 25 December 1914, the battalion left its division on landing at Le Havre. On 8 February 1915, it was put under the command of 84th Brigade within 28th Division. On 8 May 1915 the battalion took part in the battle of Frezenburg Ridge, resulting in its almost complete destruction. At the end of the day it mustered only 53 men - all officers being either killed, wounded or captured. The battalion was transferred to GHQ Troops on 20 May to form a composite unit with the London Regiment's 1/5th and 1/13th Battalions. This lasted until 11 August, when the three battalions regained their original identity. On 12 February 1916, it was moved into 168th Brigade within 56th (London) Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141–7.56th (1st London) Division at Long, Long Trail.

The battalion switched brigades on 31 January 1918, moving to 175th Brigade within 58th Division–at the same time it absorbed its duplicate 2/12th Battalion, which had been formed in September 1914.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 9–15.58th (2/1st London) Division at Long, Long Trail.

Interwar years The London Regiment was in abeyance after 1916 and the Rangers became part of the corps of the KRRC once more. The TF was reformed in 1920 and reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1922 when the battalion was redesignated 12th London Regiment (The Rangers). After the London Regiment was formally disbanded the battalion became The Rangers, KRRC on 10 April 1938. Following the Munich Crisis in late 1938 the TA was doubled in size. On 31 March 1939 the battalion was redesignated as 1st Battalion, The Rangers, KRRC, and on 26 June 1939 a 2nd Battalion was formed.

World War II Mobilisation The TA was mobilised on 1 September 1939 and World War II was declared on 3 September. Both Rangers battalions mobilised in 3rd London Infantry Brigade, which was temporarily in 1st London Division until the new duplicate 2nd London Division was formed in October.Joslen, p. 233.

During World War II the 'Greenjackets' (the KRRC and the Rifle Brigade (RB), including their affiliated TA battalions) specialised in providing motorised infantry battalions to armoured brigades and armoured division support groups. These motor battalions were equipped with Universal Carriers ('Bren Carriers') and had more firepower than a standard infantry battalion.Forty, p. 96.Hastings, pp. 1–6.Joslen, p. 139.

1st Rangers