The 3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was a volunteer unit of the British Army under various titles from 1860 to 1961. Originally raised from railwaymen, the battalion sent a detachment to the Second Boer War and several battalions fought in World War I. Shortly before World War II, it became a searchlight unit and defended the UK during the Blitz, remaining in the air defence role in the postwar Territorial Army.
Volunteer Force The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett. One such unit was the Railway Rifles, raised at Euston Square on 13 December 1859, chiefly from employees of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at nearby Euston Station. It became the 20th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Railway Rifles).Frederick, pp. 285–286.3rd City of London at Regiments.orgWestlake, pp. 168–169.Beckett, Appendix VIII. The unit drew largely upon lower middle class volunteers, while railway managers and engineers were later recruited into the officers-only Engineer and Railway Volunteer Staff Corps based at the professional engineering institutions in Westminster.Beckett, pp. 60, 193–194.
Initially consisting of three companies, the unit was attached to the 4th Administrative Battalion of Middlesex RVCs from August 1860 to May 1861, but as the number of companies rose (it had nine by 1866) it became a fully independent battalion.Army List, various dates. The first Captain Commandant, later Lieutenant-Colonel, was Thomas Edward Bigge, who had formerly served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. His immediate successors, Henry Malet (appointed 1870) and Charles Gore-Brown (1876–83) had also been professional officers in the Grenadier Guards and 49th Foot respectively.Beckett, p. 190. The 3rd Duke of Sutherland, who had extensive railway interests in Scotland, became Honorary Colonel in 1867. Like many other RVCs, the uniform of the 20th Middlesex at this time was grey, which the unit wore with scarlet facings.Money Barnes, Appendix III.
When the Cardwell Reforms introduced 'Localisation of the Forces' in 1873, the 20th Middlesex was brigaded, together with several other London and Middlesex Volunteer and Militia battalions, in Brigade No 51 & 52 under the 60th Rifles. The Volunteer units of these brigades met once a year for a training camp.Spiers, p. 198.Grierson, p. 192. In 1880, following disbandments and amalgamations among less successful corps, the 20th Middlesex became the 11th (Railway) Middlesex RVC, with its HQ at Albany Street. In 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms, it was named as the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the 60th Rifles (King's Royal Rifle Corps), but the following year this was changed to 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. In 1890, the unit's affiliation was changed again and it became the 3rd Volunteer Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). By now, the Railway connection had disappeared, and the unit had adopted the scarlet coat, blue facings and cap badge of the Royal Fusiliers.
The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a 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, 185–186.Dunlop, pp. 60–61. The battalion formed part of the West London Brigade, together with other VBs of the Royal Fusiliers and Middlesex Regiment.
Second Boer War During the Second Boer War, a composite Service Company drawn from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd VBs Royal Fusiliers joined the 2nd Royal Fusiliers at Fourteen Springs on 7 May 1900. It served with the regulars during the guerrilla phase of the war, involving long marches, including the 'Great De Wet Hunt', and then tedious garrison duty in the Blockhouse lines. A second composite company joined the 2nd Royal Fusiliers on 22 July 1901, and a third on 1 April 1902. These volunteers earned the Battle honour South Africa 1900–1902 for their battalions.Leslie.Grey, pp. xxx–xxxi.
Territorial Force When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the Volunteer units in and around London were formed into a new London Regiment, with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers becoming the 3rd (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), conveniently shortened to '3rd Londons'. The battalion headquarters was at Edward Street, Hampstead Road, St Pancras.Frederick, pp. 149–150.H. Martin, pp. 6–7.Barnes, Appendix IV.London Gazette 20 March 1908 The 1st–4th Bns London Regiment (formerly the 1st–4th VBs Royal Fusiliers) remained brigaded together as 1st London Brigade of the 1st London Division of the TF.James, pp. 113–117.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141-147.56 Division at Long, Long Trail56 Division at Regimental Warpath
In 1912, the 10th Bn London Regiment (Paddington Rifles) was disbanded, and the 3rd Londons took over its battalion HQ at Harrow Road, Paddington, as a drill station and absorbed many of its personnel.
World War I Mobilisation The 1st London Division left by train from Waterloo station on Sunday 2 August 1914 for its annual training camp, which was to be held at Wareham, Dorset. No sooner had the battalions reached camp than they received orders to return to London for mobilisation. This process had been carefully planned, and was completed on 3 August, so that before war was declared on 4 August the battalions of the 1st London Brigade were already at their war stations, guarding the vital London and South Western Railway line between Waterloo and Southampton. The 3rd Bn was assigned to the Basingstoke–Eastleigh section.London Rgt at Long, Long TrailGrey, pp. 1–5.Grimwade, pp. 2–4.D. Martin, pp. 4, 7.
On the night of 31 August/1 September, the 1st London Bde was ordered back to its peacetime headquarters to mobilise for garrison duty overseas. The 1st London Brigade was the first Territorial formation to go overseas, sailing to Malta on 4 September to relieve the Regular troops in garrison there. A small number of officers and men ruled medically unfit or who had not volunteered for overseas service were left at Hampstead Road to begin recruiting a reserve battalion. On 28 November this was designated the 2/3rd Bn London Regiment, after which the parent unit became the 1/3rd Battalion.Grey, pp. 5-8.Grimwade, pp. 5–7, 14.London Rgt at Regimental Warpath
Recruitment was rapid, and the 2/3rd was soon ready for overseas service, while a 3rd Line was formed as a reserve battalion to provide drafts for the 1/3rd and 2/3rd. Later, a 4/3rd Battalion was also raised (see below).Becke, Pt 2b, pp 9–15.
1/3rd Londons Malta 1914 The 1/3rd Bn disembarked in Malta on 14 September and went to Mtarfa, where it began guard duties as well as training the recruits in its ranks. On 2 January 1915, the 1/3rd Bn was relieved by the 2/3rd Bn (leaving its obsolete rifles and equipment for the newcomers) and embarked for Marseille in France.Grey, pp. 9–13, 18.Grimwade, pp. 8–14, 18.Overseas Garrisons at Regimental Warpath
Meerut Division
After re-equipping with charger-loading Long Lee-Enfield rifles and 1914 pattern equipment, 1/3rd Londons joined GHQ Reserve at Saint-Omer on 25 January for further training and then joined the Indian Corps, being attached to Ferozepore Brigade of the 3rd (Lahore) Division on 10 February, transferring to the Garhwal Brigade of the 7th (Meerut) Division a week later.Grey, pp. 18–22.Grimwade, pp. 18–22.Perry, pp. 85–86.7 Indian Division at Regimental WarpathMacDonald, p. 53.
At the Battle of Neuve Chapelle on 10 March, the Gharwal Bde was the assaulting formation of the Indian Corps, attacking Neuve Chapelle village from the 'Port Arthur' salient in the south west with 1/3rd Londons under Lt-Col A.A. Howell as the reserve battalion. The leading battalions went through the southern end of the village and took the brigade objective (the German second line trench), leaving just a short section of the German front line in front of Port Arthur uncaptured. Two companies of 1/3rd Londons were sent up to help capture this outpost. Together with four platoons of 1/39th Garhwal Rifles, they made a frontal attack at 17.00. It was 'carried out with great gallantry' and at first the Londoners suffered serious casualties, but as they neared the trench the garrison of 80 men surrendered.Edmond & Wynne, Vol 1, pp. 89–113.Neuve Chapelle at Long, Long Trail.
For the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May, the Gharwal Bde was in divisional support and missed the worst of the carnage.Aubers at Long, Long Trail.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 21–25, 28–29. For the opening of the Battle of Festubert on 15 May, the Gharwal Bde put in a night attack, but surprise was lost. 1/3rd Londons were in support, providing carrying parties, and once again missed the worst of this disastrous attack.Festurbert at Long, Long Trail.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 56–58.
During the Battle of Loos, the Meerut Division carried out a subsidiary attack on 25 September near Neuve Chapelle, known as the action of Pietre. The Gharwal Bde was held up, except for the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles, but the brigade reserves (including 1/3rd Londons) were unable to exploit this fleeting success because the communication trenches to the front were knee-deep in mud.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 259–261.Loos at Long, Long Trail.
The Indian Corps was transferred to Mesopotamia in November 1915, but its British battalions remained in France. 1/3rd Londons temporarily transferred to 139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division, on 6 November and then to 142nd (6th London) Brigade, 47th (2nd London) Division, on 16 November.
56th (1/1st London) Division In February 1916, the battalion returned to the 1st London Division, which was being reformed in France as the 56th (1/1st London) Division. The battalion was once more assigned to the 1st London Brigade, now numbered as the 167th (1st London) Brigade, along with the 1/1st Londons and 7th and 8th Bns Middlesex Regiment.MacDonald, pp. 56–59.Ward, pp. 3–9.
After the reformed division had shaken down, on 4 May, 167th Brigade took over part of the line facing the Gommecourt Salient, where it was due to attack in the forthcoming Battle of the Somme. On 5 May, the battalion received a large draft of veterans of Gallipoli and Egypt from the 2/3rd Bn which was being disbanded (see below). The Gommecourt sector was static – the division's first action was on 18 May when 1/3rd Bn beat off a German raid – but working parties of the battalion were required to dig new communication trenches in preparation for the offensive, and these parties suffered a trickle of casualties from German artillery. The working parties alternated with periods holding the frontline trenches and sending out night patrols. On the night of 25/26 May, 167th Bde dug a new jumping-off trench half-way across No man's land. Over following days and nights, this position was enlarged and linked with communication trenches.Ward, pp. 18–23.MacDonald, pp. 69–83, 88–92, 97–107, 121. Another round of intense work in preparing trenches, roads and dumps in June left the battalion exhausted and having suffered numerous casualties.MacDonald, pp. 155, 221, 230.