The Liverpool Rifles was a unit of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, formed in Lancashire as a 'Rifle Volunteer Corps' (RVC) in 1859, becoming a battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) in 1881. It saw action on the Western Front in the First World War and later became a searchlight unit of the Royal Artillery in the Second World War.
Origins
Gladstone was a leading figure in the Volunteer Movement at that time, serving on the War Office committee that drew up rules for RVCs in August 1859, and on the founding committee of the National Rifle Association in October that year.Beckett, pp. 24 & 33. In 1860, he leased land from Lord Sefton to create the Altcar Rifle Range. Gladstone died in 1863.Adam Steuart Gladstone at Genealogy Links
As the number of RVCs grew rapidly during 1860, the smaller company-sized units were grouped into Administrative Battalions. The 5th Lancashire RVC was the senior unit included in the Liverpool-based 2nd Administrative Battalion Lancashire Rifle Volunteers when it was formed in May 1860 (dates are of first commissions issued):Westlek, pp. 141–53.Lancashire Record Office Handlist 72: Sources for the history of the militia and volunteer regiments in Lancashire.Becket, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 127.Liverpool Rifles at Regiments.org. 5th (Liverpool Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Lancashire RVC, 19 August 1859 14th (2nd Southport) Lancashire RVC, 16 February 1860 – joined 13th (1st Southport) in 1st Admin Bn in 1862 19th (Liverpool Lowland Scottish) Lancashire RVC, 18 January 1860 39th (Liverpool Welsh) Lancashire RVC, 9 February 1860 – comprised clerks and book keepers raised under the auspices of the Welsh Literary Society; instituted an instalment plan to help the less well-off members to pay their subscriptions; elected their officersBeckett, pp. 49, 61, 175. 63rd (Toxteth) Lancashire RVC, 9 April 1860 64th (Liverpool Irish) Lancashire RVC, 25 April 1860 68th (Lyceum Corps) Lancashire RVC, 31 May 1860 71st (Liverpool Highlanders) Lancashire RVC, 24 May 1860 81st (Withnell) Lancashire RVC, 20 February 1861 – to 8th Admin Bn in 1862 86th (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, 18 May 1861
In March 1862, the 2nd Admin Battalion was consolidated as a single unit under the title of its senior subunit, the 5th (Liverpool Rifle Brigade) RVC. Two new companies joined at this time: 32nd (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, first commissions 28 January 1860 79th (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, 16 February 1861 However, the Liverpool Irish became an independent battalion, while the Liverpool Highlanders also remained independent but were disbanded in 1863. The individual character of the companies was lost in the reorganisation, but a new Liverpool Scottish battalion reformed in 1900, and the 46th (Liverpool Welsh) Royal Tank Regiment was formed in 1939.
The 5th Lancashire RVC became a volunteer battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 (and was designated as the 2nd Volunteer Battalion from 1888). By that time Robert Tilney was the commanding officer, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, when he was awarded a CB.London Gazette 24 May 1881. He died in 1882.Fletcher of Cockermouth Hall, Cumberland, England, at Rootsweb Volunteers served in the Second Boer War, gaining the battalion its first Battle Honour: South Africa 1900–1901.Leslie.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the 2nd Volunteer Battalion became the 6th Battalion (Rifles) King's Regiment (Liverpool), with its HQ and A to H Companies at Princes Park Barracks, Upper Warwick Street, Liverpool. It formed part of the Liverpool Brigade in the West Lancashire Division of the TF.London Gazette 20 March 1908.
First World War When war broke out in August 1914, the Territorial Force had just begun its annual training camps. The 6th Battalion, Kings Regiment immediately returned to Prince's Park Barracks to mobilise. However, the West Lancashire Division did not go to war as a single formation: its infantry battalions volunteered for Foreign Service and went to the Western Front separately as reinforcements for the British Expeditionary Force.James, p/ 51.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 133–9.King's Liverpool at Regimental WarpathKing's (Liverpool) at Long, Long Trail55 Division at Long, Long Trail These were termed First Line battalions, while Home Service men, recruits and the unfit were transferred to Second Line battalions: the 2/6th King's was formed at Liverpool on 10 September 1914.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 1–7. Later the 2/6th King's was brought up to war readiness in the 2nd Liverpool Brigade of 2nd West Lancashire Division and a Third Line battalion (3/6th) was formed as reserve to provide drafts to the 1/6th and 2/6th.57 Division at Long, Long Trail
1/6th (Rifle) Battalion The battalion moved to Canterbury, Kent in the autumn of 1914. In February 1915 it was sent to France, disembarking at Le Havre on 25 February 1915 and joining 15th Brigade in the Regular 5th Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 133–9.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 65–71. Soon after the battalion's arrival, 15th Brigade was temporarily transferred to the Regular 28th Division, but returned to the 5th in time for the fighting around Ypres in April 1915.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 105–111.
The 1/6th's first major engagement occurred on 5 May, in a German attack on Hill 60 during the Second Battle of Ypres. Control of Hill 60 had briefly fluctuated after its capture in a British attack on 17 April, but fighting ended with the British in possession.'The Capture of Hill 60 in 1915' at Firstworldwar.com. Poison gas was used during the preliminary German attack, facilitating the assault against positions held by the 2nd Duke of Wellington's Regiment.Hill 60 at 1914-18.co.uk After Hill 60 was lost, companies from the Liverpool Rifles were used successively in support of the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment; "C" Company, heavily engaged, suffered 60 casualties.Wyrall (2002), p123-130 The Liverpool Rifles collectively sustained nearly 100 casualties between the period of 5 May-6 May, 22 of whom were killed.Wyrall (2002), p131 German control of Hill 60 was consolidated by 7 May.
In November, the Liverpool Rifles left the 5th Division to become Third Army Troops. By now, the Army Council had decided to reform the West Lancashire Territorial Division in France as the 55th (West Lancashire) Division. 1/6th King's rejoined the Liverpool Brigade (now numbered as the 165th (Liverpool) Brigade on 26 January 1916.
1/6th King's served on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, participating in the following actions:
1916 Battle of the Somme Battle of Guillemont, 4–6 September Battle of Ginchy, 9 September Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 17–22 September Battle of Morval, 25–28 September
1917 Third Battle of Ypres Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 31 July–2 August Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 20–23 September Battle of Cambrai The Tank Attack, 20–21 November German Counter-Attacks, 30 November–3 December
1918 Battle of the Lys Battle of Estaires, 9–11 April Defence of Givenchy, 9–17 April Battle of Hazebrouck, 12–15 April Advance to Victory Capture of Givenchy Craters, 24 August Capture of Cateleux Trench, 17 September (by the Liverpool Brigade)
On 2 October 1918, the Germans started to withdraw on 55th Division's front and the troops pushed forward and occupied La Bassée the same day. They forced the line of the Haute Deule Canal on 14–16 October and captured Ath early on 11 November. When the Armistice with Germany came into force at 11.00 on 11 November, the division had reached a line seven miles east of Ath.
On 15 November, the division was ordered to advance into Germany as part of the occupation forces, but this was cancelled on 21 November, and the division was chiefly employed on railway reconstruction and road repair. By 18 December, the division had moved to Brussels. Demobilisation proceeded during January 1919 and the division had dwindled to small numbers by the end of April 1919 as men went home. The battalion was disembodied on 16 June 1919.
2/6th (Rifle) Battalion The 2/6th Battalion was formed on 10 September 1914 at Liverpool The 2nd West Lancashire Division assembled around Canterbury, with 2/6th Battalion at Margate from 15 March 1915 and at Upstreet Camp on 13 July 1915 The division was numbered 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division in August 1915, the 2/6th King's forming part of 171st (2/1st Liverpool) Brigade. At first the battalion only had .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles with which to train. In late November, they received .303 Le-Enfield rifles; although many of these were in poor condition, the Japanese rifles could now be returned to store. Towards the end of February 1916, the battalion received its Lewis guns.
In July 1916, the 57th Division moved to Aldershot Command for final training, with 2/6th Battalion at Bourley, and then at Inkerman Barracks, Woking, from 27 September 1916. On 14 February 1917 the 2/6th King's landed at Boulogne. It went into the line on 25 February and served on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, participating in the following actions:
1917 Second Battle of Passchendaele, 26 October–7 November
1918 Second Battle of Arras Battle of the Scarpe, 28–30 August Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line, 2–3 September Battle of the Hindenburg Line Battle of the Canal du Nord, 27 September–1 October Battle of Cambrai, 8–9 October Capture of Cambrai, 9 October Final Advance in Artois and Flanders Occupation of Lille, 17 October
On 1 November 1918, 57th Division was relieved in the front line and went into billets. It was still resting when hostilities ended on 11 November. After the Armistice, the troops were engaged in collecting and evacuating stores in the Arras area. Demobilisation began in January 1919 and by March the units had been reduced to cadres, the last of which left for England on 25 June. The battalion was disbanded on 20 May 1919 at Landguard Common.
3/6th Battalion The 3/6th King's was formed in Liverpool in May 1915 and moved to Blackpool in the autumn. Its role was to train drafts for the 1/6th and 2/6th battalions. In early 1916 it moved to Oswestry, and then in April it became the 6th (Reserve) Battalion, King's, in the West Lancashire Reserve Brigade. On 1 September 1916 6th (Reserve) Bn was absorbed into the 5th (Reserve) Bn.Training Bns TF at Warpath
25th Battalion
The remaining Home Service men of the TF were separated when the 3rd Line battalions were raised in May 1915, and were formed into Provisional Battalions for home defence. The men of the 6th (Rifle) Bn joined with those from the 5th King's to form 43rd Provisional Battalion in the defences of East Anglia.Army Council Instructions, January 1916, Appendix 18.
The Military Service Act 1916 swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service. The Provisional Battalions thus became anomalous, and they became numbered battalions of their parent units. On 1 January 1917, 43rd Provisional Battalion became 25th King's. Part of the new role of the former provisional units was physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas, and 25th Kings landed at Calais as a 'Garrison Guard' battalion in May 1918. It joined 59th (2nd North Midland) Division and dropped the 'Garrison Guard' title, becoming a fighting battalion. It saw action at the Battle of Albert (21–23 August) and the final advance in Artois and Flanders.Frederick, p. 184.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 17–23.Edmonds & Maxwell-Hyslop, 1918, Vol V, pp 419–20. 25th King's continued serving after the war, and was finally disbanded in Egypt on 28 March 1920.
Interwar years