Matt Dixon Posted 22 October , 2003 Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Is there anyone who would be kind enough to tell me the complete list of which London regiments were known by which name during the Great War. For example the Post Office Rifles, the Westminster Rifles etc.... I am confused by it all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 22 October , 2003 Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Matt. Click HERE. It's the London regiment's page on the main web-site. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Furnell Posted 22 October , 2003 Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Hiya Matt. Are there any specific dates that you are looking at? The London Regiments were around from the start of the war,as i have found during my research,and as you say,it get's very confusing. Depending on what year you are looking at. The main page on the website,has been a great help to me in sorting it all out. Have a go at typing in any of the names into your search box. It is great fun,although it can lead to late nights!! Regards. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Dixon Posted 22 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Thanks guys...slightly less hazy now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Dixon Posted 22 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 October , 2003 When it says for example 1/8 Battallion....what does the 1 stand for? I thought that was the battallion number and the 8 was the regiment number for example 1st battallion of the 8th London Regt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J.Woodward Posted 22 October , 2003 Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Matt if it says 1/8th it means that this was the 8th battalion raised from the 1st terrotorial battalion of the Londons (all London Regiment battalions were terriers), in this case the Post Office Rifles. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 October , 2003 Share Posted 23 October , 2003 Joe/Matt...that's not quite right. The London Regiment was an unusual one in that it only had battalions of the Territorial Force. It had lots of them, as you will have seen from the web page about the regiment. And the PO Rifles was the 8th in the list. This was the position between 1908 and 1914. The principal role envisaged for the TF in time of war was home defence. The 'Terriers' were not obliged to serve overseas in the event of a crisis. The enthusiasm of the Terriers for the war in the early days was measured by the fact that the majority signed up for overseas service when asked. (This was called the "Imperial Service Obligation"). This enabled units to be mobilised and sent overseas. Soon TF battalions and then whole Divisions proceeded overseas, either to the fighting fronts or as replacement garrisons as the regular troops were deployed to action. On 15th August 1914, orders were issued to separate the 'home service' men from those who had undertaken to serve overseas, with the intention of forming reserves made up of those who had not so volunteered. The overseas service unit adopted the format 1/8th. This was the first line 8th Battalion. You pronounce it "first eighth". And the 'home service' men from the original 8th were formed up into the 2/8th. On 24th November 1914, it was decided to replace each overseas-service unit which proceeded abroad with its reserve unit; and directly this happened, a second reserve unit, or 3rd-Line, would be formed. Thus 3/8th - and some battalions even went to 4/Xth. Later in the war, the matter of choice over the Imperial Service Obligation was removed; the soldier was deemed to have agreed. The 2/8th also went to war, with 58th Division. In 1918 the Second Line units of the Londons were disbanded, with men usually going to reinforce the depleted First Line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERITAGE PLUS Posted 23 October , 2003 Share Posted 23 October , 2003 You will find background history on the regiment pre-1914-18 on this site: http://www.regiments.org/milhist/uk/inf-ta...ndon/London.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 23 October , 2003 Share Posted 23 October , 2003 Later in the war, the matter of choice over the Imperial Service Obligation was removed; the soldier was deemed to have agreed. Chris Sorry to change the direction of the thread abit, but do you know when this Imperial Service Obligation was removed? Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 24 October , 2003 Share Posted 24 October , 2003 I have just started to add some London Regiment pages to my website. They still under construction, but I should be adding quite a few more next week, when I get a week off tours. See: http://battlefields1418.50megs.com/londons.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now