London Regiment (1908–1938)
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The London Regiment was an
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The regiment saw service in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and was disbanded in 1938, shortly before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when most of its battalions were converted to other roles or transferred elsewhere, and reformed in 1993. The London Guards date their formation to that of this regiment in 1908.


History


1908

The regiment was first formed in 1908 to regiment the 26
Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
s in the newly formed
County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
, each battalion having a distinctive uniform. The London battalions formed the London District, which consisted principally of the 1st and 2nd London Divisions.


First World War

Now part of the Territorial Force, the London Regiment expanded to 88 battalions in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Of these, 49 battalions saw action in the trenches of the Western Front in France and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, six saw action in the Gallipoli campaign, 12 saw action at Salonika, 14 saw action against the Turks in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, and one saw action in
Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. Shortly after the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the formation of Reserve or 2nd-Line units for each existing Territorial Force unit was authorised. They were distinguished by a '2/' prefix from their parent unit (prefixed '1/'). Initially these were formed from men who had not volunteered for overseas service, and the recruits who were flooding in. Later they were mobilised for overseas service in their own right and new 3rd Line units were created to supply drafts to the two service battalions. Unusually, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th London Battalions each sent three battalions overseas and formed 4th Line reserve units. Thus the 26 pre-war battalions of the London regiment became 82 battalions. In June 1915, men of Territorial Force units who had only volunteered for Home service were formed into composite Provisional Battalions for coast defence. In 1916 the Military Service Act swept away the Home/Overseas service distinction and the provisional battalions took on the dual role of home defence and physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas. For example, the 100th Provisional Battalion was formed from Home Service men of 173rd (3/1st London) Brigade (3/1st, 3/2nd, 3/3rd and 3/4th Bns London Regiment). 104th and 105th Provisional Battalions were assigned to the Honourable Artillery Company (which was nominally a battalion of the London Regiment but never accepted that identity), whilst 100th–103rd and 106th–108th Provisional Battalions were assigned to the London Regiment in general.Grimwade, p. 117.Grey, pp. 87–8.


Post-war

The London Regiment was reformed in the Territorial Army in the 1920s and its individual battalions were granted battle honours in 1924. However, the regiment ceased to exist in 1938 and the battalions were all transferred to regular infantry regiments, the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
or the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
. For example, 5th Battalion became 1st Battalion, London Rifle Brigade, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own). The London Regiment was reformed in 1993 through the re-regimentation of some of the remaining successors of the original regiment (not including, for example, the Artists Rifles or Kensington Regiment (Princess Louise's)), which were part of a number of different TA infantry units: In 2021, under the '' Future Soldier'' it was announced that the London Regiment would be re-designated as 1st Battalion London Guards by February 2024.


List of battalions


See also

* London Regiment (1993–2022)


Notes


References


Sources

* Becke, Major A.F., (2007) ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, . * Becke, Major A.F., (2007) ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, . * Grey, Major W.E., (2002) ''2nd City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) in the Great War 1914–19'', Westminster: Regimental Headquarters, 1929/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, * Grimwade, Captain F. Clive, (2002) ''The War History of the 4th Battalion The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) 1914–1919'', London: Regimental Headquarters, 1922/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, . * {{DEFAULTSORT:London Regiment (1908-1938) Territorial Force Regiments of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations in London 1908 establishments in the United Kingdom category:1938 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1908 category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1938 Army Reserve (United Kingdom) County of London