The 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was a volunteer unit of the British Army under various titles from its foundation in 1859 in Bloomsbury, London, by the author of Tom Brown's Schooldays. It served in Malta, Gallipoli, Egypt and on the Western Front during World War I. In World War II it served in Iraq, North Africa and Italy. It amalgamated with other Territorial units of the Royal Fusiliers in the 1960s.
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 Working Men's College Rifle Volunteers raised by Thomas Hughes, author of Tom Brown's Schooldays. It was accepted and numbered as the 19th (Bloomsbury) Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps on 13 December 1859. The recruits for the first three of 10 companies were drawn from pupils of the Christian Socialist Working Men's College in Bloomsbury where Hughes was a lecturer, later joined by others from Paddington Green Working Men's College and the St John's Institute in Cleveland Street and by artisans, clerks, warehousemen and shipmen from the Price's Candles' Belmont works in Battersea and the Westminster parishes of St Luke and St Anne. Hughes calculated that it was the poorest RVC in London, where volunteers tended to be middle class. Hughes was a leading proponent of the Volunteer Movement, serving as deputy editor of the Volunteer Service Gazette.Westlake, Rifles, p. 168.Money Barnes, p. 210.Beckett, pp. 33 & 61, Appendices IV & VII.Frederick, pp. 284–286.Keeson, Vol 2, Appendix I: VIII.
The unit's Honorary Chaplain, appointed on 7 December 1860, was the Rev Frederick Denison Maurice, a leading Christian Socialist and one of the founders of the Working Men's College. By 1866 the battalion's headquarters (HQ) was at 101 St Martin's Lane. It later moved to 33 Fitzroy Square.Army List, various dates.Money Barnes, Appendix III. Thomas Hughes retired from the command and was appointed the unit's first Honorary Colonel on 26 May 1869, when Lt-Col John Stewart Oxley succeeded to the command. In 1869 the 37th (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Rifles) Middlesex RVC petitioned to be the sole RVC with 'Bloomsbury' in its title. This was agreed and the 19th had to drop 'Bloomsbury' from its title.
When the Cardwell Reforms introduced 'Localisation of the Forces' in 1873, the 19th Middlesex was brigaded, together with several other London and Middlesex Volunteer and Militia battalions, in Brigade Nos 51 & 52 under the 60th Rifles. In 1880, following consolidations among less successful corps, the 19th Middlesex became the 10th Middlesex RVC.
The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, with the RVCs becoming volunteer battalions (VBs) of their affiliated regiment. Hence the 10th Middlesex became a VB of the King's Royal Rifle Corps (as the 60th Rifles had become) without changing its title. However, in July 1883 the unit's affiliation was changed, and it became the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
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, whose place of assembly was Caterham Barracks. It was redesignated 1st London Brigade in 1902, but the VBs of the Royal Fusiliers were moved to a new Royal Fusiliers Brigade in 1906.
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. A composite Service Company drawn from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd VBs Royal Fusiliers joined the 2nd Royal Fusiliers on 7 May 1900 at Fourteen Springs. G Company of the City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was also formed from the three Royal Fusiliers VBs. The CIV returned to London when the war seemed over in 1900, but the service company continued with the regulars during the guerrilla phase of the war. This involved 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. The battalion was awarded the Battle honour South Africa 1900–1902.Grey, pp. xxx–xxxi and 423.
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 1st VB of the Royal Fusiliers becoming the 1st (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), conveniently shortened to '1st Londons'.Money Barnes, Appendix IV.1st Londons at Stepping Forward London. 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.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141-147.56th Division at Long, Long Trail
In 1913 the TF Association built a new HQ and drill hall in Handel Street, Bloomsbury, which the battalion shared with the 1st City of London Brigade Royal Field Artillery. Battalion HQ and six of the eight companies were based at Handel Street, while D and E Companies were at 15 Battersea Square.Camden Drill Halls at Stepping Forward London.Wandsworth Drill Halls at Stepping Forward London.
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 Docks. The 1st Londons had mobilised at Handel Street under the command of Colonel P.B.G.O. Crowe, VD, commanding officer (CO) since 3 March 1907.James, pp. 113–117.London Regiment at Long, Long TrailGrey, pp. 1–4.Grimwade, pp. 2–4.Martin, p. 4.
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 the night of 31 August/1 September the 1st London Bde was ordered back to its peacetime headquarters to mobilise for garrison duty overseas.Grey, pp. 2, 6–7.Grimwade, pp. 5–7.Martin, pp. 5–6.
The 1st London Brigade was the first complete TF formation to go overseas on service, to relieve the Regular Army garrison of Malta. Each battalion left behind a cadre of officers and men (mainly those who were unfit or who had not volunteered for overseas service) to organise a 2nd Line battalion from the mass of volunteers who were coming forward. These units were distinguished from the 1st line by a '2/' prefix, so that the 2/1st London Brigade consisting of the 2/1st, 2/2nd etc battalions of the London Regiment was created in the 2/1st London Division. Initially, the 2nd Line was regarded as a reserve for the TF overseas, but its units were soon being prepared for overseas service themselves and a 3rd Line was formed as a reserve to provide drafts for the 1/1st and 2/1st. Later a 4/1st Battalion was also raised (see below).Becke, Pt 2 b, p. 6.Becke, Pt 2b, pp, 9–15.58th Division at Long, Long Trail.Grey, p. 14.Grimwade, pp. 14–17, 86.
1/1st Londons Malta The 1/1st London Bde sailed from Southampton Docks on 4 September and disembarked in Malta on 14 September to begin guard duties on the island. Training began as the summer temperatures cooled. 1/1st Londons were stationed at St Andrews Barracks, and two companies at a time of other battalions were attached to it for musketry instruction at the nearby Pembroke Ranges under a sergeant-instructor of the Royal Marine Light Infantry. On 22 December 1/1st London Bde received a warning order to prepare to leave the island. In January 1915 the brigade was relieved by the 2/1st London Bde (leaving behind its obsolete rifles and equipment for the newcomers) and the 1/2nd, 1/3rd and 1/4th Londons left for France. However, 1/1st Londons was retained on the island to 'stiffen' the raw new battalions. It was not until 11 February that the 1/1st sailed, bound for Avonmouth in England, where it arrived on 21 February. On 11 March it landed at Le Havre in France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front. On 14 March it joined 25th Brigade, alongside the 1/13th Londons (Kensingtons), which had been in France since November 1914. The brigade formed part of the Regular 8th Division. 8th Division had just come out of the costly Battle of Neuve Chapelle when the battalion joined, and the additional manpower was welcome.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 89–95.Bailey & Hollier, p. 42.Grey, pp. 9–13, 18.Grimwade, pp. 8–14, 18.8th Division at Long, Long Trail.Ward, Appendix.
Western Front The 8th Division attacked again at the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May, against the enemy lines in front of Fromelles. However, the inexperienced 1/1st Londons were not committed to the assault, which resulted in the attacking battalions gaining a lodgement in the enemy trenches but being unable to get any further nor were their brigades able to reinforce them across the fire-swept No man's land. The offensive was broken off that night. The Kensingtons had suffered such severe casualties that they were withdrawn from the front line to line of communication duties, with 1/1st Londons effectively replacing them as the TF extra battalion in 25th Bde. The battalion spent the summer learning the skills of Trench warfare.Bailey & Hollier, pp. 44–53.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 31, 35–40, Sketch 4.
On 25 September 8th Division carried out a subsidiary attack as a diversion from the Battle of Loos beginning that day. Termed the Action of Bois-Grenier this involved 25th Bde attacking the opposing trenches between 'Corner Fort' and 'Bridoux Fort' with the aim of breaking through and linking hands with the Indian Corps on Aubers Ridge. Once again, 1/1st Londons remained in support of the assaulting battalions, and once again a lodgement was obtained but the supporting troops were unable to cross No man's land with reinforcements and ammunition. The attack was called off during the afternoon, but the division had taken the opportunity to dig a new trench that was completed that night, shortening and strengthening the British front line.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 262–263.