The 4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (4th Queen's) was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 to 1961. Beginning from small independent units recruited in the South London suburbs, it was attached to the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and served in the Second Boer War, the First World War, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Before the Second World War, it was converted into a Royal Artillery searchlight regiment that served in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. Later it became a light anti-aircraft gun unit serving on blockships in the Mulberry harbour during the Normandy invasion, and then defended the port of Antwerp in the closing stages of the war. Postwar it continued in the air defence role before rejoining the Queen's Regiment as infantry.
Origins An invasion scare in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8.Wylly, pp. 137–8. The 2nd Surrey RVC was formed at Croydon (then in Surrey) on 16 June 1859 under the command of James Hunter Campbell, formerly of the Bengal Artillery.Frederick, pp. 197–9.Westlake, Rife Volunteers, p. 228.Beckett, Appendix VII.IWM War Memorials Register ref 862.Volunteers at Queens Royal SurreysHaswell, pp. 122–4. The headquarters (HQ) was in the Old Barracks, Mitcham Road, Croydon.Croydon at Drill Hall Project.Croydon at Stepping Forward London. A second company was added in March 1860. The unit was included in the 1st Administrative Battalion of Surrey RVCs (later 5th Battalion East Surrey Regiment) from 8 September 1860, but by March 1867 it had recruited sufficient additional personnel from the Crystal Palace, Norwood and Caterham areas to reach a strength of six companies and become an independent battalion in its own right. An affiliated Cadet Corps was formed at Whitgift School in 1874.Army List, various dates.Cadets at Queens Royal Surreys
Under the scheme of 'localisation' introduced by the Cardwell Reforms in 1873,Beckett, pp. 129–32.Spiers pp. 177–200. the Surrey RVCs, together with the Surrey Militia were grouped into two 'sub-districts' alongside the Regular regiments in the county. The 2nd Surrey RVC was assigned to Sub-District No. 48 with the 2nd Foot (The Queen's Royal Regiment). While the sub-districts were referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system, though they carried out joint manoeuvres, and the Surrey RVCs were assigned a role in the garrison of Sheerness Dockyard.Training Depots, 1873–1881 at Regiments.org.
Under the Childers Reforms, the unit became a Volunteer Battalion (VB) of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) ('The Queen's') on 1 July 1881 and was redesignated as the regiment's 1st VB on 1 March 1883.Beckett, pp. 133–34.
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 time of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the Surrey regiments formed the Surrey Brigade, the assembly point for which was at Caterham Barracks, the Brigade of Guards' depot conveniently situated for the London Defence Positions along the North Downs. The battalion added a company at Caterham, and later formed detachments nearby at Merstham and Oxted.
2nd Boer War Members of the 1st VB served in the Volunteer Company sent to augment the Regulars of the Queen's in South Africa during the Second Boer War. This was the first time the Volunteers had fought alongside the Regulars, gaining the battalion its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–1902. The company was commanded by Captain De La Mare of 1st VB and joined the 2nd Battalion on 12 April 1900. During May and June the battalion fought in the Biggarsberg and Drakensberg mountains, including a brisk action to capture Alleman's Nek.Haswell, p. 118.
By 1900 the 1st VB had 10 companies, reducing to nine in 1903 (seven at Croydon and one each at Crystal Palace and Caterham).Leslie. In the reorganisation after the end of the war in 1902, separate East and West Surrey Brigades were formed, under command of the respective regimental districts.
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 battalion became the 4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), forming part of the Surrey Brigade in the Home Counties Division.London Gazette 20 March 1908.Wylly, p. 3.James, pp. 43–4.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 49–54.Queen's at Long, Long Trail
World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of World War I, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, 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.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Wylly, pp. 138–9.
On mobilisation, the majority of the men of the Home Counties Division accepted liability for overseas service and it was sent to India to relieve Regular troops. The Home Service-only men, together with the recruits who were flooding in, remained at the depots to form 2nd-Line battalions. Thus when the 1/4th Queen's sailed for India on 30 October, the 2/4th Bn was forming at Croydon. Subsequently, 3/4th and 4/4th Battalions were formed in June and July 1915.Wylly, pp. 138–9.
1/4th Battalion India The Home Counties Division disembarked at Bombay 1–3 December 1914. It was then split up and the battalions were distributed to stations all over India. The 1/4th Queen's went to Secunderabad and replaced a Regular battalion in 9th (Secunderabad) Division, then in January 1915 it moved to Lucknow and transferred to the 8th (Lucknow) Division, moving to Allahabad under that division in April. Like all the Home Counties Division units it sent drafts of officers and men to reinforce other fronts, and during 1915 it sent its first draft to Mesopotamia (50 men to 2nd Norfolk Regiment). 'A' Company was detached to Fyzabad in October. In January 1916 2/4th Queen's transferred again to Peshawar, in the 1st (Peshawar) Division on the North West Frontier. Here it was ordered to mobilise for service in Mesopotamia and drew field service equipment. However, it had been reduced by the drafts it had sent out to just 600 men, and its mobilisation was cancelled in February. Instead it moved to Nowshera, Srinagar, , joining 2nd (Nowshera) Brigade of the Peshawar Division. During the summer the battalion received two drafts of reinforcements totalling over 300 men. It was therefore at a good strength when the Peshawar Division was mobilised on 25 October 1916 in response to trouble in the Mohmand country along the frontier. From 26 to 30 October the brigade acted as the covering force for 1st (Peshawar) Brigade along the line of border blockhouses. It was then sent to Peshawar while a flying column dealt with trouble in the Khyber Pass. Next it moved to camp at Adezai, helping civil authorities to arrest offenders in the neighbouring villages. Then on 14 November a Mohmand force estimated at 6000 strong threatened Shabqadar. Next day the Peshawar Division attacked with support from aircraft and armoured cars, and completely broke up the concentration. On 18 November 1/4th Queen's and a battalion of Indian troops attacked and destroyed the rebel village of Dewarzagai. It then spent two months manning and improving the Mohmand Blockade Line, carrying out occasional sweeps (which was enough to gain the battalion the battle honour North West Frontier 1916–1917).Wylly, pp. 139–46.Perry, pp. 35–8, 99–110.
In February 1917 the 1/4th Queen's returned to Peshawar for training, and in March it received another reinforcement draft. On 19 March 1917 it moved to 3rd (Lahore) Divisional Area, which became 16th Indian Division in May that year. The battalion remained with 43rd Indian Brigade of that formation until the end of the war. On 12 May the brigade was ordered to mobilise for service with the Waziristan Field Force. 1/4th Queen's left Lahore 750 strong and arrived at Tank on 17 May. However, as the battalion prepared for field service the sickness rate increased alarmingly from malaria, sandfly fever and heatstroke: by the time it was due to march on 6 June it was unfit for service and was replaced by another battalion. On 12 June it was sent to the hill stations of Simla to recover, but only 350 men were fit to march, and more dropped out along the way, only 200 men reaching their new station. A base station was left at Tank, and 79 drafts arrived, but it was not until the end of the year that the battalion regained a normal standard of health. In Spring 1918 the battalion returned to Lahore, with detachments at Dalhousie and Amritsar, but it suffered further casualties, including 20 deaths, from the Spanish flu epidemic.Perry, pp. 55–8, 137–40.
3rd Afghan War Demobilisation began in January 1919 following the Armistice with Germany, but after a few men had left the battalion mobilised a flying column in response to disturbances in the Punjab in April 1919. The column was sent to Jullundur where it provided escorts and guards, and support to the civil authorities. Early in May 1919 the whole battalion was mobilised for field service in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. On 12 May it returned to Peshawar, when the city was surrounded by a cordon of British and Indian troops to prevent a pro-Afghan rising. It spent the rest of the month providing picquets and escorts, with Battalion HQ, A & C Companies in Chitral Barracks, and B & D Companies in Peshawar City. It was relieved on 28 May and moved up to Nowshera, with a company detached to guard the Royal Air Force airfield at Risalpur. It took over control of the Landi Kotal and Jamrud sectors. A preliminary peace was signed on 8 August, and on 5 September the battalion moved back to Peshawar. The battalion received the Afghanistan 1919 battle honour.Robson, pp. 48–50 and Appendix 2.Heathcote, pp. 179–80.
Demobilisation now resumed, and the battalion was placed under orders for home. Leaving in India with the 2nd Bn those details who were not eligible for demobilisation, it left Peshawar on 3 October and went by train to Bombay. On 18 October it embarked on the SS Königin Luise, which dropped anchor in Plymouth Sound on 12 November. The battalion was accommodated in huts at Crowborough Beacon in Sussex while groups were sent to demobilisation centres and a party attended a civic reception at Croydon. By 18 November only a cadre of 1/4th Queen's remained, and this later returned to Croydon where it was disembodied on 20 December 1919. During its service (including those serving in Mesopotamia) the battalion had lost 3 officers and 4 other ranks (ORs) killed or died of wounds, and 61 ORs died of disease.
Commanding officers The following officers commanded 1/4th Queen's:Queen's at Infantry Battalion COs. Lt-Col Norman Cutler from mobilisation; invalided home from India 1 January 1915; returned 1 January 1916; to command convalescent depot 30 January 1918 Lt-Col Snelling Roper, promoted 1 January 1915 – 1 January 1916; later to Egypt Lt-Col Harold Atkins, promoted 30 January 1918, to demobilisation
2/4th Battalion