The London Regiment is an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment saw distinguished service in World War I and was disbanded after the war in 1938, shortly before World War II, when most of its battalions were converted to other roles or transferred elsewhere. However, the regiment was raised again by 1993.
History[]
1908-38[]
It was first formed in 1908 in order to regiment the 26 Volunteer Force battalions in the County of London, each battalion having a distinctive uniform.[1]
Now part of the Territorial Force, the London Regiment expanded to 88 battalions in the First World War. Of these 49 battalions saw action in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Flanders, 6 saw action at the Gallipoli Campaign, 12 saw action at Salonika, 14 saw action against the Turks in Palestine, and one saw action in Waziristan and Afghanistan.[2]
Original London Regiment battalions[]
The battalions of the regiment retained their individual identities, and during the First World War saw active service in many theatres, forming duplicate second and third line units.
| Unit | Formerly | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 10th Middlesex RVC) | Bloomsbury |
| 2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 23rd Middlesex RVC) | Westminster |
| 3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 11th Middlesex RVC) | St Pancras |
| 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 4th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 1st Tower Hamlets RVC) | Shoreditch |
| 5th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) | 1st London VRC (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) (9th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Finsbury |
| 6th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles) | 2nd London VRC (10th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Finsbury |
| 7th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment | 3rd London VRC (11th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Finsbury |
| 8th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) | 24th Middlesex VRC (7th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | Finsbury |
| 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's) | 1st Middlesex (Victoria and St. George's) VRC (4th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) and 19th Middlesex (St. Giles's and St. George's, Bloomsbury) VRC (6th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) |
Westminster |
| 10th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Paddington Rifles); disbanded 1912 | 18th Middlesex VRC (4th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | Paddington |
| 10th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Hackney) | Formed in 1912 to replace the Paddington Rifles | Hackney |
| 11th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles) | 21st Middlesex (Finsbury) VRC (7th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Pentonville |
| 12th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Rangers) | 22nd Middlesex VRC (Central London Rangers) (8th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Holborn |
| 13th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Kensington) | 4th (Kensington) Middlesex VRC (3rd Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Kensington |
| 14th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Scottish) | 7th (London Scottish) Middlesex VRC (1st Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | Westminster |
| 15th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles) | The Prince of Wales's Own 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) VRC (5th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Westminster |
| 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles) | 13th Middlesex (Queen's Westminster) VRC (6th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps) | Kensington |
| 17th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) | 2nd Tower Hamlets VRC (9th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | Bow |
| 18th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) | 16th Middlesex (London Irish) VRC (3rd Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | Chelsea |
| 19th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (St. Pancras) | 17th Middlesex (North Middlesex) VRC (3rd Volunteer Battalion, Middlesex Regiment) | Camden Town |
| 20th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) | 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (ex 3rd Kent VRC) | Blackheath |
| 21st (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles) | 1st Surrey (South London) VRC (1st Volunteer Battalion, East Surrey Regiment) | Camberwell |
| 22nd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's) | 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (ex 6th Surrey RVC) | Bermondsey |
| 23rd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment | 4th Volunteer Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (ex 7th Surrey RVC) | Battersea |
| 24th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's) | 4th Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (ex 8th Surrey RVC) | Southwark |
| 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment | 26th (Cyclist) Middlesex VRC (Rifle Brigade) | Fulham |
| 26th (County of London) Battalion | Title allotted to Infantry Battalion, Honourable Artillery Company but never used | |
| 27th (County of London) Battalion | Title allotted to the Inns of Court Regiment but never used | |
| 28th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Artists Rifles) | 20th Middlesex (Artists) VRC (6th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade) | St Pancras |
Following the war, each battalion was reconstituted as a separate regiment, and was awarded battle honours for their part in the conflict.[3]
The regiment was effectively dissolved in 1937-1938 when its component units were allocated as battalions of regular line infantry regiments or converted to an anti-aircraft role as part of the Royal Artillery or Royal Engineers.[2]
1992-date[]
The London Regiment was reformed in 1992 through the regimentation of most of the remaining successors of the original regiment (except the Rifles and the Artists Rifles). It is the only permanent infantry battalion in London District and consists of an HQ and four rifle companies. They are:[4]
- HQ (Anzio) Company
- A (London Scottish) Company
- B (Queen's Regiment) Company
- C (City of London Fusiliers) Company
- D (London Irish Rifles) Company
Two companies of the Royal Green Jackets, F Company and G Company, formed part of the regiment between 1998 and 2004.[5]
In October 2003, 120 members of regiment were called up for active service in Operation Telic. They were deployed in areas around Basra in southern Iraq in January 2004. This group made up a company known as Cambrai company as part of the Multi-National Division (South East), a UK commanded division. In May 2004, they were replaced by Messines company, which was made up from an HQ and two platoons from across the London Regiment, along with a platoon from the Royal Irish Rangers.[6]
Following the restructuring of the British Army in 2004, it was announced that the Guards Division would gain a TA battalion. This saw the London Regiment retaining its name and multi-badge structure, while transferring from the Queen's Division to the Guards Division. The two RGJ companies were transferred to the Royal Rifle Volunteers in preparation for the formation of The Rifles in 2007, leaving the remaining companies in their present multi-badge formation.[7]
References[]
- ↑ 1st (City of London) Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers). Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 London Regiment. Queen's Royal Surreys. Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "Battle Honours. London and Scottish Regiments". The Times: p. 11. 13 March 1924.
- ↑ The London Scottish Regiment. Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
- ↑ London Regiment. British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
- ↑ A (London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment in Iraq. Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
- ↑ The Rifles. British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved on 27 April 2014.
External links[]
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