APPENDICES PAGE
I. Regimental Plate 383
II. Staff 386
III. Members who served in South African War 390
IV. School of Arms 392
V. Annual Strength States 396
VI. Casualty List 394
VII. Decorations and Awards (Officers) 397
“ “ “ (Other Ranks) 401
VIII. Officers who served, 1914-1919 407
IX. Other Ranks who served, 1914-1919 415
PLATES[1]
[1] It might be explained that the photographs here reproduced were
not selective but rather those which were at hand available for
publication. A larger collection of portraits might have been secured
had there been more time.
1804. Volunteer (colour) _Frontispiece_
1871. Wimbledon _Facing p._ 36
1899. Old Deer Park, Richmond “ 36
W. H. Brantom, D.C.M. “ 66
Captain Allen Edward Trembath, D.C.M. “ 66
Lieutenant Robert Chalmers “ 66
Brevet-Colonel A. M. Renny, Ret. Ind. Army “ 72
Bethune Square “ 82
Double Crassier, Loos, 1915 “ 82
Festubert Church, May, 1915 “ 88
Machine-gun Position, Givenchy “ 88
Lewis Gunners of Civil Service Rifles “ 88
Front Trench, opposite Hulluch “ 88
Gare Alley, Loos “ 88
“The Tower Bridge,” Loos “ 88
Captain Leslie Davies “ 112
Captain A. Roberts “ 112
Captain Geoffrey A. Gaze “ 112
Captain W. E. Ind, M.C “ 142
Captain Francis Woodbine Parish, 1915 “ 147
Bourlon Wood from south-west corner, 1917 “ 164
Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. E. Segrave, D.S.O.
(H.L.I.) “ 166
Road to Jerusalem near Bab-el-Wad “ 314
Jebel Kuruntul and Jericho “ 314
Second Lieutenant R. H. Harris, M.C. “ 320
Lieutenant-Colonel T. E. Bisdee, D.S.O., M.C.
(D.C.L.I.) “ 338
Regimental Plate “ 383
SKETCH MAPS
(1ST BATTALION)
PAGE
No. 1. The Ypres Salient, October, 1916 to September,
1917 127
No. 2. France. Cassel--Messines--Houthem, 1918 155
No. 3. 28th November, 1917 to 6th December, 1917 163
No. 4. The first day of The Retreat, 23rd March, 1918 179
No. 5. The second day of The Retreat, 24th March, 1918,
and also the fighting at High Wood, September
and October, 1916 181
No. 6. Last days of The Retreat (March, 1918) and the
battle of Aveluy Wood 187
No. 7. The Civil Service Rifles in the 47th Division
Attack, 22-25th August, 1918 203
No. 8. The movements of the Civil Service Rifles from
1st September to 6th September, 1918 211
(2ND BATTALION)
No. 1. France. Neuville St. Vaast Trench System, 1916 241
No. 2. Salonica. Doiran Front, 1917 268
No. 3. Salonica. Advance on the Doiran Front, 1917 275
No. 4. Palestine. Beersheba to Huj, 1917 293
No. 5. Palestine. Jerusalem and Jericho, 1917-18 335
No. 6. Belgium. America Corner--Wervicq--River
Scheldt, 1918 369
HISTORY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE RIFLE VOLUNTEERS
CHAPTER I
1859-1909[2]
[2] This history, up to the year 1891, was written and published in
that year by Lieut. (now Lt.-Col.) Edward Merrick, C.S.R.V. He has
brought his narrative down to 1909 for the purpose of this volume.
For the purpose of tracing the first authentic record of Volunteers
connected with the Civil Service, it is necessary to call attention to
the raising of the Loyal Volunteers of London in 1798. About that year,
when we were at war with France and Spain, were fighting in India,
and almost all over the world, and the country was denuded of troops,
the rich citizens of London began to get alarmed at their unprotected
state, in the event of rebellion or riot at home. They petitioned the
King, and a charter was granted, authorising the formation of armed
associations in London and the environs.
The “Loyal Volunteers of London,” as they were called, were therefore
raised to uphold the cause of the King and of order. Their motto was
“_Pro Rege et Patria_.”
Among the corps thus raised was that of the “Somerset House
Volunteers.” A picture of one of these gentlemen, as copied from a book
by T. Rowlandson, in the British Museum, may now be seen in the Orderly
Room at the Audit Office.
Somerset House Volunteers, 1798.
The Somerset House Volunteer Association consisted only of two
companies of light infantry, under the command of Walter Sterling,
Major Commandant. The Captains were J. Stewart and W. Harrison. The
corps was not to go out of the district of Somerset House and St.
Mary-le-Strand, but with its own consent.
Bank of England Volunteers, 1798.
Among those who would have cause for anxiety at such a period would
naturally be the Governor and Directors of the Bank of England, and
certainly they showed great public spirit. They headed a voluntary
contribution to the revenue in this year, with a subscription of
£200,000. They also raised from their employés a corps of volunteers,
450 strong, to protect the Bank.
This corps was under the command of Thomas Whitmore, and Rowlandson
tells us that it was presented with colours on 2nd September, 1799, by
the lady of Samuel Thornton, Esq., Governor of the Bank of England, in
Lord’s Ground, Marylebone. A picture of this ceremonial, painted by
Stoddart, is to be seen now in the Bank.
These Loyal Volunteers of London were, however, entirely swamped by the
great volunteer movement, which swept throughout the country in 1802,
caused by the extensive preparations then being made by Bonaparte to
invade England.
Volunteers of 1802.
In this war-scare, which far exceeded in its intensity that of 1859,
420,000 Volunteers were enrolled in a few months--many more, in fact,
than the Government could or ever did arm.
The Civil Service were represented in this body by two corps: the
Excise Corps, which in 1804 was 576 strong, under the command of Lord
George Seymour, and the Customs Corps, about 300 strong.
In the same year (1804), the Bank of England had a corps of 433, under
the command of William Manning, and a supplementary corps of 122, under
the command of Beeston Long.
Some of the records of the last-named corps are still in existence in
the Bank. From them we gather that the parades were usually held at 7
or 8 a.m. The most notable period in their history appears to have been
in 1812, at the time of the assassination of Mr. Percival in the House
of Commons. In the state of public alarm that followed this event, it
was considered necessary that the Bank Volunteers should be under arms
to guard the Bank, night and day.
Disbandment.
At the signing of the general treaty of peace in 1814, the joy of
the country at what it believed to be the conclusion of its long and
exhausting wars, was shown by the haste with which the Volunteers were
at once disbanded.
The Corps of the Civil Service shared with others in votes of thanks
passed to them by both Houses of Parliament, and letters from the
Commander-in-Chief (the Prince Regent) were received, thanking each
corps for its valuable services.
From the records already referred to, we find that a special “march
past” before the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion House, brought the military
duties of the Bank officials of that generation to an end.
We now pass over a space of 45 years, during which the military spirit
of the Service may be said to have lain dormant, until we approach the
event with which the true interest of our story begins, viz., the year
1859, and the birth of the Corps to which we have the honour to belong.
To the Members of the Audit Office (now the Exchequer and Audit
Department), Somerset House, must, without doubt, be assigned the
honour of having founded the Civil Service Volunteer Corps.
General Meeting at Audit Office.
The Volunteer Force of to-day, as everybody knows, sprang into
existence in the year 1859, and was occasioned by the warlike attitude
of the Emperor of the French and the blustering threats of his
generals. The notable circular of the Secretary of State for War to the
Lords Lieutenant, which called the Volunteers into existence, was dated
12th May, 1859, and on the 18th May a meeting, which had been formally
convened “to take into consideration the formation of a Rifle Volunteer
Corps from the Members of the Civil Service,” was held at the Audit
Office. Mr. F. A. Hawker was the prime mover in this proceeding, and he
presided at the meeting.
Now, if everything had proceeded as satisfactorily as the energetic
and spirited action of these early pioneers deserved, the “Civil
Service” would have been one of the first Metropolitan Corps formed,
and its order of precedence would therefore have been far in advance
of what it ultimately became. But, unfortunately, we have here another
example of the old proverb, “the more haste,” &c., for, notwithstanding
the circular of the Secretary of State, the War Office were by no
means ready to respond with any degree of generosity to the crowds of
enthusiastic civilians who at once cried out on all sides to be armed.
The utmost conceded was that Volunteers should be allowed in certain
cases to _purchase_ their own arms and equipment.
First Attempts at Formation.
The desire, however, of the Audit Office Meeting was that special
favour should be shown to Civil Servants, so it was decided to express
the views of the meeting in the following letter, which was despatched,
not to the War Office, but to the Prime Minister himself, Earl Derby:
“Audit Office, 20th May, 1859.
“MY LORD,--I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship
a copy of the Resolutions passed at a meeting of gentlemen
of the Audit Office, held on the 18th instant to take into
consideration the formation of a Volunteer Rifle Corps from the
members of the Civil Service and I beg leave respectfully to
request that your Lordship will be pleased to cause me to be
furnished with replies to the Resolutions in question for the
information of the gentlemen in this office who have signified
their desire to join a Civil Service Rifle Corps.
“The junior members of the Civil Service being generally in
the receipt of small incomes, your Lordship will perceive
that the only difficulty in obtaining volunteers from the
Civil Service is the expense attending their outfit. I would
therefore, venture more particularly to draw your Lordship’s
attention to the 3rd Resolution, in which we request that the
arms and accoutrements only may be supplied to volunteers from
the members of the Civil Service by Her Majesty’s Government;
_and as this is a question which affects nearly the whole body
of the Civil Service, who are anxious to enrol themselves into
a Volunteer Rifle Corps_, I trust that your Lordship will not
think us intrusive in asking you to take these Resolutions into
your favourable consideration.
“We hope your Lordship will pardon us if we have taken any
liberty in bringing this subject under your consideration, but
as Civil Servants of the Crown we are anxious that we should
not be behind others in the present movement in favour of the
formation of Volunteer Rifle Corps.
“I have, &c.,
“F. A. HAWKER.”
The reply to this letter came from the War Office, and affords an
admirable illustration of the amount of official support, which the
Volunteer movement received in its infancy.
“War Office, 31st May, 1859.
“Sir,--I am directed by Secretary Major-General Peel to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, on
the subject of a Civil Service Volunteer Corps, which has been
forwarded to this office by Lord Derby.
“In reply, I am to inform you that the Government have decided
not to supply arms to Volunteer Corps, either by sale or
otherwise; and that General Peel does not consider the case of
the gentlemen on whose behalf your application has been made to
be one in which he can sanction a departure from the general
rule.
“I am, &c.,
“H. R. DREWRY.”
Thus closed the first act in the attempt to form a Civil Service Rifle
Corps, for this snub appears to have had the effect of quenching the
military ardour of the Auditors to such an extent that several months
elapsed before they recovered from it.
In October, however, roused by events going on around them, they took
heart once more, and returned to the charge. By this time Government
had partially thawed, under the influence of the excitement throughout
the country. Lord Ranelagh’s Committee had sat at the War Office, and
it had been decided to issue arms to Volunteers at the lavish rate of
one rifle to every four men enrolled.
In answer, therefore, to a letter despatched to him by Mr. Hawker, the
Secretary of State for War stated, in a reply dated 7th November, 1859,
that he would be happy to recommend Her Majesty to accept any offer of
the service of a Company or Sub-division of Volunteers, which he might
receive from Mr. Hawker through the Lord-Lieutenant of the County.
Audit Corps Formed.
Forthwith, at a general meeting held in the Audit Office on the 10th
November, it was resolved, “That it was desirable that a Sub-division
of not less than forty effectives be at once formed in the Audit
Office, and that other departments be invited to co-operate by raising
Companies or Sub-divisions with the view of promoting the formation of
a Brigade.”
From this time forward enthusiasm and hard work were the order of the
day. A circular letter to other Government Departments was issued, and
the nucleus of the Corps was at once formed by the immediate election
of forty-six members of the Audit Office.
In a few days the number of effective members enlisted had reached
seventy. Affairs were pushed on with great energy, and on the 25th
November, 1859, at half-past four in the afternoon, the first drill of
the Civil Service Volunteers was held in Westminster Hall--one Sergeant
Chace being the Instructor.
Other Corps Formed.
The Auditors were not to be left long in sole possession of the
military arena of the Civil Service, for Corps were being rapidly
raised in the Post Office, Inland Revenue, Customs, Whitehall, and
Admiralty.
An unsuccessful attempt was made to raise a Corps in the British Museum.
Almost all of these Corps date their origin from the circular issued
from the Audit Office, inviting the co-operation of their department.
So rapidly were they organised, that towards the end of December, 1859,
they appear to have got into fair working order; and in answer to an
invitation from the Audit Office, a Provisional Council, consisting
of two representatives from each Corps, assembled for the purpose of
taking the necessary steps to amalgamate the whole into one Brigade.
First Council Meeting.
This first meeting of the Council was held on the 7th January, 1860.
The following members were present, as the first chosen representatives
of their divisions, and to them may be justly attributed the title of
“The Fathers of the Regiment”:--
Captain F. A. Hawker, Audit Office Corps, in the chair.
Lieutenant Vine, Audit Office Corps.
Captain Harrington, Post Office Corps.
Mr. T. Angell, Post Office Corps.
Mr. W. Willis, Admiralty Corps.
Mr. A. Brady, Admiralty Corps.
Mr. F. B. Garnett, Inland Revenue Corps.
Mr. J. H. Dwelly, Inland Revenue Corps.
Mr. J. H. Lilley, Customs Corps.
Mr. Wybrow, Customs Corps.
Mr. Tom Taylor, Whitehall Corps.
Mr. Richard Mills, Whitehall Corps.
Containing, as this list does, the names of so many men that have since
become eminent in the Service, it affords ample evidence that the
Regiment could have suffered from no lack of talent in the conduct of
its affairs in its early days.
Title of Corps.
The first proceeding of the Council after electing Mr. Francis Taylor,
of the Audit Office, its secretary, was to resolve that the amalgamated
corps (now found to consist of 658 effective and 410 honorary members,
and stated to be “daily increasing”) should be called the “Civil
Service Rifle Brigade.” The Admiralty representatives suggested the
“Crown Rifle Brigade,” but their amendment was not received with favour.
Uniform.
The Council next launched into the important subject of uniform, a
subject of which the details occupied their attention at several
successive meetings, and in regard to which some of the members
displayed great energy. Apparently unmindful of the terrors of a
military tailor’s bill, each attended the meeting in the pattern of
uniform that he individually recommended. Mr. Tom Taylor was one of
these energetic members, and to him it appears that the regiment was
indebted for the pattern of most of the uniform ultimately selected;
for we find that with regard to the full dress of both privates and
officers, the decision of the Council was that “the uniform worn by Mr.
Tom Taylor be adopted.”
The uniform as then fixed was similar in all main points to that
so recently discarded. It was, perhaps, a little more sombre in
appearance, for the royal blue facings, silver lace, and Prince of
Wales’ feathers were added at a later date (1863). The cost, including
chako, was £4 4s.
Affairs were not to remain for long in the semi-amalgamated corps
in a state of perfect harmony. A disagreement, amounting to an open
breach, even occurred on this early question of uniform; for at the
third meeting of the Council, held on the 31st January, a letter from
the Customs Corps was read, stating that “_they declined to adopt the
ornaments on the belts as decided upon by the Council, and that they
would therefore have no participation in the arrangements of the Civil
Service Regiment_.”
Customs Corps Secede.
The Customs had, from the first, shown an inclination to fall off. It
appears that, being a strong corps, they considered they were entitled
to be represented on the Council by more than two representatives.
With an expression of regret for their withdrawal, “more especially
on a matter so trivial,” the Council accepted the loss; and when the
authority for the amalgamation was ultimately received from the War
Office, it referred only to the 27th Middlesex (Inland Revenue),
the 31st (Whitehall), and the 34th (Admiralty), which were to be
amalgamated with the 21st Middlesex (Audit Office and Post Office), the
battalion to be entitled “The Civil Service Corps of Rifle Volunteers,”
with an authorised maximum strength of 800.
Prince of Wales.
At its second meeting, the Council had decided upon the important step
of inviting the Prince of Wales to accept the Honorary Colonelcy of
the Regiment. They were induced to take this step by the hopes held
out to them through Mr. George Alexander Hamilton, Secretary to the
Treasury, to whose influence the success of the application was mainly
attributed; for by the beginning of May an intimation was received
that, with the sanction of Her Majesty and the Prince Consort, His
Royal Highness had graciously consented to accept the post. And from
the honour thus accorded it the Regiment has never ceased to derive the
greatest benefit. To be singled out in these early days as the Regiment
through whom this mark of Royal favour was to be shown to the Volunteer
force, was a distinction which placed it at once in the forefront of
public estimation, whilst the interest which, on many occasions, the
Prince has since exhibited in its welfare has contributed largely to
the prosperity of the corps.
Chaplain.
The first Staff appointment which the Council succeeded in filling
was that of Chaplain, offered to, and accepted by, the Rev. Charles
Kingsley, afterwards Canon Kingsley.
C.O.
The important post of Lieutenant-Colonel or Commanding Officer was not
so easily filled. It was offered first to Sir E. Lugard, and afterwards
to Lord West, but both were unable to undertake the duties. At length,
at a meeting held on the 15th May, on a proposition of Captain Mills,
the Council decided that Viscount Bury be invited to take the command
of the regiment. This application proved more successful, for although
Lord Bury had connected himself to a slight extent with the “Artists’”
Corps, which had just been formed, the impediment was soon removed, and
before the end of June his lordship attended a meeting of the Council,
and a few days afterwards was gazetted Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Regiment.
Lord Bury at this time occupied the official position of Treasurer to
the Royal Household, and, together with Lord Ranelagh, Lord Elcho,
and the Duke of Westminster, was one of the prominent leaders of the
Volunteer movement.
Adjutant.
The appointment of an Adjutant also caused difficulty. A committee
consisting of a few members of the Council was elected to consider
the applications for the post. The choice of this committee fell upon
Captain Ennis, who was a member of the Corps, and Captain-Commandant of
the Inland Revenue Companies. Captain Ennis had at one time been in the
“Hussars.”
The War Office, however, refused to accept Captain Ennis as Adjutant,
on the ground that he was over fifty, and that his service in the army
had been in connection with the Cavalry. The feeling in the Regiment
was very strong against this decision, and grave consequences with
regard to the prosperity of the Corps were said to be likely to ensue
if the War Office refused to appoint so popular an officer.
One of the first tasks which Lord Bury undertook, by desire of the
Council, was to overcome the objection raised by the War Office. In
this he was successful, and Captain Ennis was appointed to the post,
which, however, he held for two years only, when he resigned.
Surgeon.
With the authority for the appointment of Captain Ennis to the
Adjutancy came also that of Dr. Spencer Smith to the post of Surgeon.
This gentleman resigned only a few years ago, after a service of 24
years. In the early days his office was by no means the apparent
sinecure it has since become, for it was the duty of the Surgeon, or
the Assistant Surgeon, to attend at the range whenever target practice
was held, and for the zealous and kind manner in which this duty was
carried out, at great sacrifice of time and convenience, the Commanding
Officer, in regimental orders, expressed the warmest thanks of the
Regiment.
The amount of zeal with which the Surgeons entered upon their work in
those days is exemplified by the following unpleasantly expressive item
in the Regimental accounts of that period:
“To set of Amputating Instruments kept at the
Range £4 4 0.”
Major.
The War Office, at that time, required that Majors of Volunteer Corps
should have served in the Army, so that it was not until April, 1861,
that the post of Major was filled by the appointment of Major Leslie
(late Captain 1st Life Guards).
With this exception the formation of the Regiment may now (June, 1860)
be said to have been complete. It was composed as follows:
A Company (Audit Office) 81 Captain Hawker.
B & C “ (Post Office) 133 { “ Harrington.
{ “ Du Plat Taylor.
D & E “ (Inld. Revenue) 102 { “ Dalbiac.
{ “ Ennis, junr.
F & G “ (Whitehall) 153 { “ Tom Taylor.
{ “ Mills.
H “ (Admiralty) 64 “ Willis.
----
533
----
Composition of Corps.
These numbers scarcely convey a correct impression of the hold which
the corps had secured upon the Civil Service. It must be remembered
that, in addition to the effective strength as given above, there were
at least 500 honorary members including many who occupied leading
official positions. These were individuals who were debarred by age
or other reasons from drilling, but who, nevertheless, were quite as
enthusiastic in advocating the new “movement” as their more active
comrades in the ranks.
Of the latter it may be said that, on the whole, they were men of
more advanced age and position than we are now accustomed to see in
the ranks. Shouldering the rifle amongst them were many men now of
note--Lord Lingen, Sir R. G. C. Hamilton, Lord Teynham, and others.
The name of Mr. Tom Taylor the well known dramatic author, afterwards
editor of _Punch_, has already been mentioned; whilst other literary
and scientific men the corps could then claim were Professor Huxley,
Professor Tyndall, Mr. Anthony Trollope, Mr. W. S. Gilbert, and Mr.
Edmund Yates.
To turn from the doings of the Council to those of the Regiment itself,
we find that the first parade of the combined corps “for the purpose of
drilling as a battalion” was held at Somerset House on the 28th March,
1860.
First Battalion Drill, &c.
This parade was in plain clothes and without arms, but in the following
week the regiment mustered in uniform and under arms. Captain Ennis
(afterwards Adjutant) took the command at these drills.
The following week the regiment was ready for its first “march out.”
This notable event was held at Wimbledon, amidst torrents of rain, and
is commemorated by a sketch made by Captain Angell, a photograph of
which hangs in the Orderly Room. The expense of this march was defrayed
by a collection of ten shillings per man.
From this time, instruction in battalion drill proceeded with great
vigour. The use of the West London Cricket Ground at Brompton was
obtained for the purpose, and the regiment marched there weekly, whilst
other battalion drills and “skeleton drills” for officers were held
almost daily at Somerset House.
Matters proceeded so rapidly on the appointment of a
Lieutenant-Colonel, that Lord Bury considered that the Corps might
be safely exposed to the perils of a sham fight to be held by the
Metropolitan Volunteers at Bromley, on the 14th July. This, however,
did not appear to be the opinion of the regiment itself when the day
arrived. The muster was very small. It was attributed afterwards by
Lord Bury in Orders, to the fact that “many members of the regiment had
resolved not to come on account of the danger to be apprehended from
the inexperience of their comrades in firing drill.”
The members themselves, however, seemed very anxious to remedy this
minor defect on their part, and musketry instruction now became the
rage. To carry this out successfully it was necessary that a staff
of Volunteer Instructors should be raised, who in their turn should
instruct the other members of the Regiment.
Musketry Instruction.
The arduous duties carried out by these Volunteer Musketry Instructors
certainly entitle them to especial mention. At their head was Captain
Du Plat Taylor, assisted by Ensign Campbell and Battalion Instructor
Halliday. The first Company Instructors in the order of merit in which
they passed their examination were:
Sergeant Rule.
“ Powell.
“ Bond.
“ Lockhart.
“ Crispin.
“ Pitt.
Corporal R. G. Hamilton.
“ Churchill.
Sergeant Plaskett.
“ Trickett.
Corporal Hamilton.
Sergeant Cardin.
“ Potter.
Corporal Baker.
Sergeant Pidcock.
“ Jackson.
Every available place in the neighbourhood of Somerset House was
occupied nightly by squads practising “position” and “aiming” drill,
and by August, Captain Du Plat Taylor was able to take his first
squad to the Wimbledon range for ball practice. This was carried out
in the strictest and most methodical manner, for even in those days,
Captain Taylor began to earn for himself the character of the strict
disciplinarian for which he has since been so noted. The following
facts are gathered from the regulations laid down by him in Regimental
Musketry Orders:
“All Target Practice to be performed in Uniform, in Full
Marching Order.
“Members proceeding to Wimbledon for Firing Practice to fall
in in Military Order at the station at Putney, and march to
the range under the command of the senior present. On arrival
at the range they would be delivered over to the Senior
Musketry Instructor. The return to Putney to be conducted in
the same manner. _Strict silence to be maintained in the ranks
throughout the whole of the proceedings._
“With the view of avoiding the heavy expenses incurred by the
hire of Butt Markers, the duties to be undertaken by members of
the Corps; three non-commissioned officers and three privates
being previously detailed on each occasion.
“Should any member so detailed refuse or neglect to attend, he
would be disqualified from competing for Regimental Prizes.”
However necessary these rules may have been at the time, it need
scarcely be observed that before long they were found to be irksome.
Rumour reports that on the occasion of a squad, on its return from
the ranges in the dark, being marched into a ditch, open mutiny broke
out with regard to the obnoxious rules, and that Captain Taylor was
thereupon constrained to relax his discipline until he could find
more tractable material to work upon than the “gentlemen of the Civil
Service.”
Queen’s Review.
Two events of the year 1860 must not be omitted. One was the first
grand Volunteer Review before the Queen, in Hyde Park, when the Civil
Service, under Lord Bury, formed part of a brigade under Lord Ranelagh.
In reference to this event Lord Bury states, “The behaviour of all
ranks on the ground was steady and soldierlike, and the general
appearance presented by the Regiment was all that could be desired.”
Another was the celebration of the Prince of Wales’ birthday by an
inspection at Somerset House, followed by a Regimental Dinner.
CHAPTER II
Eccentricities.
Looking back from the sober routine of the volunteering of to-day, to
this strange period when every one was a recruit, it is only natural
that eccentricities should be apparent on all sides. The enthusiasm
that pervaded all ranks was, of course, immense, and the amount of
drilling done, especially by the Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers
was enormous. A golden age was this for the Army Drill-Instructors.
Elderly recruits of a nervous temperament hesitated to exhibit
themselves in the ranks until they had been privately coached in the
initial mysteries of drill, in the seclusion of their own apartments.
Uniform was worn on every possible occasion, at drill or on the range.
It is said that after one occasion when Lord Bury had appeared at the
range in plain clothes, he received a letter from an indignant private,
expressing a hope that such a slight would not again be cast upon
members of the regiment.
One Rule passed by the Council was that Honorary Members should be
entitled to appear on parade in uniform, with a scarlet sash as a
distinguishing ornament.
Another Rule strikes us as still more eccentric. Privates _when off
parade_ should be allowed to wear a sword similar to that worn by
officers, but in a black leather scabbard. What the privates were
supposed to want to do with their sword when off parade it is difficult
to imagine.
With the close of the drill season the Regiment does not cease to show
signs of interesting activity. Whilst in winter quarters it enlivened
its repose with various festive gatherings having for their main object
the support of the regimental band, which was in want of funds.
Dramatic Performance.
Perhaps the most interesting of these gatherings is an Amateur Dramatic
Performance, held at the Lyceum Theatre, wherein the corps exhibited an
array of talent, of which it might justly feel proud. The performance
was so successful that it was repeated. The following is a copy of the
programme:
PRINCE OF WALES’ OWN
Civil Service Rifle Volunteers.
HONORARY COLONEL, H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, K.G.
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, VISCOUNT BURY, M.P.
ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1861,
WILL BE PERFORMED, FOR THE SECOND TIME, AT THE
THEATRE ROYAL LYCEUM,
BY SPECIAL DESIRE,
The original Comedy by CAPTAIN TOM TAYLOR, C.S.R.V.,
ENTITLED:
“A LESSON FOR LIFE.”
LORD GREYSTOKE Lieutenant DEWAR
THE HON. MARMADUKE Undergraduates Captain J. DU PLAT
DACRE of St Barnabas TAYLOR
REREDOSS College, Mr. MILLS.
HORSLEY Cambridge Lieutenant T. ANGELL
CROUCH Lieutenant W. S. GILBERT
STRETCHER Serjeant BAUKE
VIVIAN Captain HOOD
COLEPEPPER (Senior Tutor of St. Barnabas) Captain MILLS
OPPENHARDT (A German Jew) Captain TOM TAYLOR
BASEWITZ (A Swindler) Ensign EDMUND YATES
DR. VIVIAN (A Country Vicar) Private R. MORRISON
MR. GRAY (A Country Attorney) Mr. W. H. LONG
TOPHAM Lieutenant GARNETT
MURCOTT Serjeant WALSHE
LADY VALECRUCIS Mrs. STIRLING
THE HON. MABEL VALECRUCIS Miss ELLEN TERRY
MARY FORD Miss KATE TERRY
(_By kind permission of A. Wigan, Esq., T.R. Saint James’_)
NANNY KETTLEWELL Mrs. STEPHENS
TO BE PRECEDED BY AN ORIGINAL COMEDIETTA, IN ONE ACT,
“IF THE CAP FITS,”
WRITTEN BY
CAPTAIN HARRINGTON, C.S.R.V., and ENSIGN EDMUND YATES,
C.S.R.V.
THE PERFORMANCES TO CONCLUDE WITH
“THE HAPPY MAN,”
A FARCE,
By Private SAMUEL LOVER, of the London Irish Rifle Volunteers.
THE BAND OF THE REGIMENT WILL ATTEND.
Regimental Ball.
A Regimental Ball was also given at Willis’s Rooms, in aid of the same
object. In the list of the Lady Patronesses are the names of:
The Duchess of Manchester.
The Duchess of Wellington.
The Countess Russell.
Viscountess Palmerston.
Viscountess Bury.
Lady Elcho.
Mrs. Gladstone.
Band.
The Band, on behalf of which so much energy was expended, was composed
of 25 members, the greater number of whom were amateurs. It appears to
have been in an excellent state of efficiency, as it gained prizes at
various band contests, which it was then the fashion to hold. It was
under the charge of an energetic and capable bandmaster, Mr. J. Moirato
Davis; but very valuable assistance was rendered to its efficiency by
Mr. W. P. Jones, of the Audit Office. Its annual cost to the regiment
appears to have been about £300.
Subscription Fund.
As there was no Government grant in those days to assist in defraying
the expenses of the corps these had to be met entirely by voluntary
contributions, and the subscriptions of members.
The Council issued a circular asking for assistance from the whole of
the Civil Service. Subscriptions flowed in liberally. In the Inland
Revenue and Whitehall Divisions alone the subscriptions in the first
year exceeded £1,000.
1861. First Easter Monday Review.
The opening of the year 1861 was marked by the first Easter Monday
Review. This was held at Brighton. Some difference of opinion was
displayed by the various Volunteer Commanding Officers as to the
advisability of holding this review. Lord Bury opposed the idea. He
expressed his opinions on the point in a Regimental Order to the
following effect:--
“I do not think the proposed expedition judicious in a
political point of view. I think it inconsistent with the
purely defensive character of the Volunteer movement to make
demonstrations on the coast.”
Of course, under these conditions the Civil Service Regiment refrained
from demonstrating; or, at all events, they joined with a few other
like-minded corps, and so effectually concealed their demonstrations
among the bushes of Wimbledon Common, that they evidently felt
satisfied that not the slightest exasperation could have been felt on
their account by the most bellicose of Frenchmen.
1862.
Little else of importance occurred to mark the year 1861, so we will
pass at once to the second Easter Monday Review, which ushered in the
drill season of 1862.
By this time it would appear that Lord Bury’s views had changed, for
the regiment not only attended the Review, but in a Regimental Order,
in which he praises the steadiness of the battalion on that occasion,
Lord Bury states--“It is an honour to have taken part in such a day.”
Another event of this year was a review by the Duke of Cambridge
at Wimbledon, when we are told that His Royal Highness expressed
his praise on witnessing the advance of the battalion extended as
skirmishers.
To show the satisfactory state of affairs at this period, I cannot do
better than again to quote from Regimental Orders as follows:
“The Lieutenant-Colonel cannot but congratulate the Regiment
on the fact that at the close of their third drill season,
they occupy a most satisfactory position among the Volunteer
Corps of the country: the organisation is complete; the
numbers are increasing; the Officers have passed the ordeal
of a searching examination; the Drill is improved; the
Musketry Instruction, which was from the first the strongest
point in the organisation of the Regiment, has even improved
in efficiency; and the number both of effectives and of
marksmen is fully equal, in proportion to numbers, to any
other Volunteer Corps. The Lieutenant-Colonel need not point
out how much the efficiency of a Regiment depends on its
Non-commissioned Officers. We are fortunate in having a body
of Non-commissioned Officers who thoroughly know their duty.
The Skirmishing Drill of the Regiment is better done, and much
more clearly understood than in former years. _In conclusion,
the Lieutenant-Colonel confidently believes that the utmost
unanimity and good feeling exists throughout the Regiment._”
The last statement appears, in the present day, a rather strange and
superfluous one to put into Regimental Orders; but it is evident that
its meaning was fully understood at the time. Enthusiastic volunteer
as Lord Bury was, and evidently taking a delight in his duties as
Commanding Officer, he must have frequently felt that to rule a body of
gentlemen volunteers, in a very elementary stage of military knowledge
and discipline, was a somewhat formidable and even thankless task.
Every member of the corps--officer, non-commissioned officer, and
private--had an opinion to express on every point, and he expressed it
freely. Plenty of evidence exists of burning questions which agitated,
and sometimes even threatened the unity of the corps; but the great
tact displayed by Lord Bury, his forbearance and kindly courtesy, which
disarmed all opposition, led the corps safely through all.
One incident which occurred about this period, and the explanations
with regard to which occupy the greater part of three Regimental
Orders, was, that a part of the Regiment had expressed unwillingness
to join in a march out with the “Artists’” Corps, owing to what Lord
Bury describes as “an absurd wish attributed to him to bring about an
amalgamation between the Civil Service Regiment and the Artists’.”
But it is not necessary here to go into the details of these almost
forgotten grievances, which, although interesting as showing what may
be called the _morale_ of the Corps at that period, are perhaps best
buried in oblivion.
CHAPTER III
1863. Prince of Wales’ Challenge Cup.
At the commencement of the year 1863, the Prince of Wales showed his
interest in the Corps by presenting it with a Challenge Cup of the
value of 100 guineas. The nominal right to hold this cup for a year is
still annually shot for; but it is customary for the Commanding Officer
to retain it in his own custody.
This was the year of the Prince of Wales’s marriage, and on the
7th March the Regiment took part in the parade of the Metropolitan
Volunteers in Hyde Park, on the arrival of the Princess Alexandra in
London. The “Civil Service” were granted the post of honour on the
right of the line, on this occasion.
The Regiment again attended the Easter Monday Review at Brighton,
and earned golden opinions for itself, receiving, we are told, from
Officers of high rank, great commendation for their steadiness at drill.
In this year (three years after their formation) the Volunteers were
first thought worthy of an annual Capitation Grant by the Government.
£1 was paid for every efficient member who completed three Company and
six Battalion Drills.
Adjutants: Captain Adair, 1862-3. Captain Lombard, 1864-1886.
It has not yet been mentioned that Captain Alexander W. Adair was
appointed to the Corps as Adjutant, in May, 1862. Towards the close of
this year (1863) he resigned, and with the opening of 1864 we form the
acquaintance of one who has left an indelible mark on the history of
the Civil Service Rifles. On the 17th March, 1864, Captain Graves C.
Swan Lombard (late of the 16th Regiment) was appointed Acting Adjutant,
and for the long period of 22 years from this date his name appears at
the foot of Regimental Orders.
There is no doubt but that, from his very first appearance in the
Corps, Captain (afterwards Major) Lombard ingratiated himself into the
goodwill of all its members; and it is little to say, that all who had
the pleasure of serving with him will ever have pleasing recollections
of his kindly manner, his admirable tact, his quiet but firm
discipline. These, with many other excellent qualities, combined to
make him, in the opinion of all the true model of a Volunteer Adjutant.
One of the first Orders signed by Major Lombard was, however, somewhat
unfortunate, containing as it did the following paragraph:--
“The Post Office Companies will proceed to Harrow on Saturday, 24th
inst., to join in a Field Day with the Harrow School and other Corps.
Each member to provide himself with twenty rounds of ball cartridge.”
It is never too late to acknowledge a mistake, so on the 26th inst.
(only _two_ days after the Review was held) the correction comes:
“In the Order of the 17th inst., the words ‘BALL cartridge’ should have
been ‘BLANK cartridge.’”
Let us hope the Harrow boys suffered no inconvenience from the error.
1864.
The year 1864 is noted for two events of importance. The first was a
Review in Hyde Park, when the “Civil Service” formed part of a brigade
under the command of the Prince of Wales. The second was an Inspection
of the Regiment by the Prince on the 15th June, at Somerset House. A
letter from the Prince to Lord Bury was afterwards published in Orders,
in which His Royal Highness stated that both he and the Princess, who
accompanied him, were much gratified by the Inspection.
The events of one year are now found to be so much like those of
another that it is unnecessary to follow each year in detail. We will,
therefore, only refer to the prominent features which mark from this
time the history of the Corps.
Shooting of Period.
A few words about the shooting of the period. “H” Company appears to
have been the best shooting Company at this time, whilst “C” Company
stood by far the lowest in the list of marksmen. Private E. Plasket
was evidently the “crack” shot of the Regiment. Lord Bury’s name also
figures well in Regimental Competitions. In 1865 he headed the 3rd
class scores with 72 out of a possible 80--a score which even in these
days of Martinis would be treated with great respect.
Majors.
In 1865, Members of the Regiment for the first time filled the post
of Major, the two senior Captains, Hawker and Du Plat Taylor, being
promoted.
1866--Bank of England Company.
An important event in the history of the Corps occurred in 1866, in
the formation of a new Company, composed of members of the Clerical
Establishment of the Bank of England. The Bank had as yet taken no
active part in the Volunteer movement; but the Directors, following
the traditions of their predecessors of the last century, were very
favourably inclined towards it. It was with little difficulty,
therefore, that Mr. Kingsmill, to whose energy the formation of the
Company was principally due, succeeded in recruiting a sufficiently
large contingent to make them an acceptable acquisition to any leading
Metropolitan Corps.
An attempt was made to draw them into the ranks of the London Rifle
Brigade. Although not servants of the Crown, however, it was felt
that there were bonds of affinity which drew them closer to the Civil
Service than to any other Corps. Lord Bury’s sanction was readily
obtained, and in July, 1866, they joined, 140 strong, under the command
of one of the Directors of the Bank--Captain J. P. Currie.
To make room for the new Company, the 1st Whitehall, or F Company,
which was then in a weak state, was amalgamated with the 2nd Whitehall,
or G Company, and the Bank took rank after the Admiralty as the K
Company.
Camp at Wimbledon.
In the Orders of 1866 we find the first notice of a Regimental Camp, to
be held at the Wimbledon Meeting. These were the days when Wimbledon
was the _only_ camp--a huge Volunteer “picnic,” suggestive of camp
bonfires and unlimited festivity. It was certainly the first experience
which the Regiment appears to have had in camp life. In the Order
giving details, one of the most prominent paragraphs recommends members
to bring _sheets_ and a _corkscrew_!
Major Du Plat Taylor.
In April, 1868, Major Du Plat Taylor resigned. Major Du Plat Taylor had
from the first been one of the most prominent and energetic officers
of the Corps. He had a strong desire, which he expressed in a circular
issued in 1864, to raise a third Company in the Post Office, and then
to form a separate battalion under his own command. Although not
successful in this very questionable scheme, he now resigned in order
to take command of a new corps (the 49th, now the 24th Middlesex),
raised from the Sorters and Letter Carriers of the Post Office. His
success at the head of this regiment is well known.
The vacancy caused by this promotion was filled by the promotion of
Captain Currie, of the Bank of England, to be Major.
1871.
The next events of importance occur in the year 1871. This was a period
of some military excitement, caused by the Franco-German War. The old
Enfield rifle was called in, and the Snider breechloader issued to
Volunteers.
School of Instruction.
Schools of Instruction for Volunteer Officers were instituted by the
Army authorities. These supplied a want that had been much felt, as
much by the “Civil Service” as by other Corps; for although the more
energetic Officers occasionally obtained permission to be attached to a
Regiment of Regulars for a short period, the instruction thus obtained
does not appear to have been very thorough.
Indeed, the blunders of Commanding Officers, eccentric words of
command, and suchlike, form the staple commodity of the “Volunteer”
humour of the period. It is related that on one occasion, when
the “Civil Service” were marching down Fleet Street, a Field
Officer, rushing to the front, delivered himself of the following:
“Battalion--FOURS RIGHT. No, I mean FOURS LEFT. No--er--er--. D----n
it. _Turn up Fetter Lane._”
Lord Bury was the first Officer of the Corps to take advantage of
the new institution, and in 1871 he attended the School at Chelsea
Barracks, and obtained the “pass” certificate. Since that time it has
been the rule for all Officers to pass the School as soon as possible
after receiving a commission.
Major Hawker.
In this year (1871) Major Hawker resigned. On his resignation he
was entertained by the Regiment at a dinner given in his honour at
St. James’s Hall; and, in a special Regimental Order issued for the
occasion, he was thanked by Lord Bury for the services which he had
rendered the Corps. His vacancy was filled by the promotion of Captain
Mills.
We now approach a period when a greater variety was displayed in the
annual military programme of the Corps. Camps of Instruction were
instituted--the first in 1873. Detachments from the Corps attended the
Autumn Manœuvres of the Army and the Aldershot Summer Drills; but to
these matters we will refer more fully in a subsequent chapter.
50th Middlesex Formed.
In 1875 a new Corps (one of the last formed in Middlesex) was raised
from the porters and subordinate establishment of the Bank of England.
After the disbandment of the Bank Volunteers in 1814, the Directors
still considered it advisable to train a certain number of their
_employés_ to the use of arms, to be employed, if necessary, for
the defence of the Bank. Their porters and messengers were specially
selected with a view to this purpose, and arms and uniform were
provided by the Bank. The year 1875 found them a rather antiquated
body of men, armed with the Brown Bess musket, with which weapon
they made an annual excursion to the butts, and underwent their sole
military exercise, at great peril to themselves and to the surrounding
neighbourhood.
At this period, efforts were made to bring them within the scope of
the Volunteer Regulations. The only difficulty in the way was the
requirement of the Directors to employ them solely for the defence of
the Bank property. After some demur, however, the Government consented
to admit them, and they were enrolled as the 50th Middlesex--afterwards
changed to the 25th.
The Corps consisted of one Company only, about 100 strong, under the
command of Captain Gray, Chief Accountant of the Bank. They chose for
their uniform the dark-green and busby of the Rifle Brigade, and were
attached for drill purposes to the “Civil Service” Corps.
Dramatic Society.
In 1876 a Regimental Dramatic Society was inaugurated with great
_éclat_. Although the Corps was unable to boast of such noted names as
were seen on the programme of its performance of 1861, yet there was
found to be an abundance of dramatic talent in its ranks. Moreover,
some of the celebrities referred to gladly gave their services to their
old Corps. Mr. W. S. Gilbert personally superintended the rehearsals
for the production of one of his own plays, “On Guard,” which was
selected for the opening performance; and the veteran Mr. Tom Taylor
contributed a Prologue for the occasion.
For several years the Club continued to give excellent performances
in St. George’s Hall, and with the funds thus obtained gratuitous
entertainments were provided at the various Camps.
Aldershot, Wimbledon, and the Camps of Instruction owe many a jovial
evening to the efforts of the Dramatic Club. There came a time,
however, when the support given by the general body of the Corps began
to fall off, and it was necessary to discontinue the performances.
Let us hope that it will not be long before the dramatic spirit again
revives in the ranks.
Major Currie.
In 1879 Major Currie resigned. The Regiment had benefited much by Major
Currie’s services. Lord Bury having suffered from bad health about this
period, Major Currie for some time carried out the duties of Commanding
Officer, and earned for himself much popularity in the Corps. His post
was filled by the promotion of a brother Director of the Bank, Captain
A. G. Sandeman, of K Company.
Lord Bury.
Mention should not be omitted of the fact that at this period (1878-80)
the Corps had the gratification of seeing its Commanding Officer
(Lord Bury) occupying the post of Under Secretary of State for War.
In this capacity he presided over a Committee appointed by Government
to investigate and report on the requirements of the Volunteer Force.
There is no doubt that the more generous treatment which the Force has
received from Government of late years is owing in a great degree to
the Report of this Committee.
Title Altered.
In 1880 a scheme for re-numbering the Middlesex Corps was adopted by
the War Office. Many of the Corps formed in 1860 had become defunct or
had been amalgamated with others. The “Civil Service,” from the 21st,
thus became the 12th Middlesex. A few years later, when the territorial
system was arranged, they were classified as the 5th Volunteer
Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, but this title has not yet
been adopted.
21st Year.
In 1881 the Volunteer Force celebrated its coming of age, and Her
Majesty marked the event by reviewing her “citizen soldiers.” The
English Volunteers mustered in Windsor Great Park, on the 9th July,
1881, and marched past their Sovereign. A few weeks later the Queen
proceeded to Scotland, and reviewed the Scottish Corps at Edinburgh.
The “Civil Service” decided to celebrate their arrival at maturity
by a grand dinner of past and present members. The Prince of Wales
graciously consented to preside on the occasion, and this necessitated
delaying the festival until the following year. The dinner was
ultimately held at Willis’s Rooms, on the 1st March, 1882. The demands
for admission were many times in excess of the space available, and the
process of balloting for tickets was resorted to in the case of past
members.
A distinguished company of guests were invited to meet the Prince, who,
as Chairman, made several speeches, in the course of which he warmly
complimented the regiment, and expressed his wish to meet it at the
Portsmouth Review the following Easter. This wish was carried out. The
Prince was present at Portsmouth for some days, and appeared in public
on each occasion in his uniform as Colonel of the Civil Service Corps.
At the march past, on the day of the Review, he took command of the
battalion, and marched past at its head.
Her Majesty further complimented the Volunteer Force in this year, by
appointing, for the first time, certain of its commanding officers
Aides-de-Camp to the Queen. Lord Bury was one of the six selected for
this honour.
In 1884 Major Sandeman resigned, and the Honourable Arnold Keppel, the
eldest son of Lord Bury, formerly of the Scots Guards, was appointed
junior Major.
Change of Rifle.
In 1885 the Snider Rifles were called in and Martinis issued to
Volunteer Corps. For a few years before this, a limited number of
Martinis had been lent to each corps for the use of men who shot for
the Queen’s Prize at Wimbledon. (The rifles of the “Civil Service” were
again changed in 1890 for Martinis of a later pattern, with which the
sword-bayonet was issued in lieu of the bayonet of the old type.)
Adjutants.
In 1886 Major Lombard retired from the post of Adjutant, having served
to the full limit of age allowed by the War Office Regulations in force
on his appointment. The Corps now came under the operation of the rule
at present in force, by which an officer on the Active List of the Army
is appointed for five years only, when he returns to his regiment.
Under this rule Captain A. G. S. Beadnell, of the King’s Own Scottish
Borderers, was appointed, _vice_ Major Lombard.
Jubilee Year.
The Volunteer “events” which marked the Jubilee Year of 1887 will ever
make it memorable to those who took part in them. The Civil Service
Corps were fully represented at each of these--The Royal Procession
to the Abbey; the March Past the Queen at Buckingham Palace, when the
Corps had the honour of being led by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales; and
last, but not least, the gigantic Military Review at Aldershot. On the
last-mentioned occasion, in order to parade at the early hour of four
in the morning, the detachment was billeted for the previous night at
Somerset House.
CHAPTER IV
Wimbledon Ranges.
No history of the Corps could be accepted as complete which omitted an
account of the Wimbledon Ranges; for it is around them that, with many
of us, the pleasantest memories of volunteering life will cling--some
of its sweetest triumphs, and also, perhaps, some of its keenest
disappointments. _Here_ we have endeavoured to learn, with more or
less success, how to bear the pride of victory, as well as the sting
of defeat, with that impassive demeanour which is held to become the
well-bred Briton.
Then, too, are they not the more interesting because they are, in
themselves, _glorious_ ranges? Not, perhaps, with regard to their
adaptability to good shooting. They have a fish-tail wind that is
trying, and a semaphore that is--worse. But the grand view! Across
the wide common, with its gorse, heather, and fern, its quiet dells,
its shady copses, and its broad, open, wind-swept plateaux, to the
beautiful glades of Richmond Park, and far, far away to the distant
Surrey Hills. Then, the pure, bracing breeze, coming as it does just
over the top of Leith Hill, straight from the sea, giving more health
and vigour in one short afternoon than any doctor’s tonic taken for a
month.
Every landmark around has been familiar to us for years, and most are
associated with some incident which renders them attractive. Here,
for instance, is the spot where we fired our first shot as a recruit.
(We have never fired at that ridiculous distance since.) How well do
we remember that awful event! How we screwed up our courage to the
sticking-point, firmly resolved to “let off” that dread weapon; but
in our own mind the immediate future was full of vague uncertainty.
With what feelings of utter indifference we received the sergeant’s
congratulations that we had hit the target. It had gone off! We were
alive and well, and the world moved on as before! There was no room in
our mind for anything else.
Well, well! That intense feeling of respect for a loaded rifle very
soon wore off. Let us return to the sober facts of history.
The Wimbledon Ranges have been used by the “Civil Service” from the
very commencement of the Corps. The Sub-Committee appointed by the
Council in 1860 to seek for a Range were not long in discovering
Wimbledon. The Ranges were then in the possession of the 11th Surrey
Volunteers, who rented them from the Lord of the Manor, Earl Spencer,
for the sum of one shilling yearly. They agreed to allow the “Civil
Service” to share the shooting accommodation, on the understanding that
the latter paid three-fourths of the cost of the erection of the Butts.
One feels compelled to remark that the Regimental authorities have
never been very happy in their management of matters connected with
these ranges. Affairs were commenced with a lawsuit, brought by the
contractor who erected the Butts, and the Corps lost the day.
In 1861 the London Scottish, who had opened adjoining ranges, proposed
to build a Shooting House. They invited the “Civil Service” to join
them in the undertaking, and to become joint owners. The Council,
however, did not consider it advisable to do so, but preferred to pay
a yearly rent for a share in the tenancy. In 1864 the Council again
refused an offer to become joint owners, and the result has been that
the Corps has paid in annual rent considerably more than would have
sufficed to build the house, enjoying meanwhile comparatively poor
accommodation, and having no voice in its management.
Matters were considerably disturbed in 1871 by the passing of the
Wimbledon Commons Act, and by the appointment of Conservators to
protect the interests of the Common-holders. The Act went so far as
to recognise the established privileges of the Volunteers in using
the Ranges, although shooting was henceforth restricted to certain
days of the week, and to certain hours of the day. But ever since then
the Conservators of the Common, with their restrictions, protests,
and objections, have been a thorn in the side of the Regimental Range
Committee.
In 1880 a lawsuit was commenced by the tenant of the land bordering the
Common near the Range, on the ground that injury was caused by bullets
falling on his land. The action was brought against the “Civil Service”
only, but had for its object the closing of the whole of the Ranges
in this corner of the Common. After being protracted over a period of
several years, the action resulted in the closing of the 1st class
targets, and the substitution of wooden or canvas targets, instead of
iron, at the 2nd class range.
With this concession the Corps may be said to have established its
title to the use of the Ranges. The War Office have lately instituted
more than one careful inspection, and have decided that they are
“safe,” so that it may be hoped that the Corps will continue to enjoy
possession for many years to come.
The Flagstaff.
A noteworthy object on the Wimbledon Range is the flagstaff. This is
153 feet high, and has the reputation of being the tallest flagstaff
in England of one piece only. It is known as the “Douglas Pine,” and
is the product of Vancouver’s Island. It was presented to the London
Scottish in 1872 by an old member of the Corps, who had settled on that
island and felled it on his own land. The recruit is usually informed
that it took two ships to bring it over; the explanation that one ship
brought it to Liverpool and the other to London being reserved.
It will be noticed that the little stick in question is protected by a
somewhat formidable lightning-conductor, its predecessor having been
destroyed by lightning one afternoon whilst shooting was going on at
the Range.
We must not quit Wimbledon without a passing comment on the Wimbledon
Camp.
Wimbledon Camp.
The “Civil Service” was among the earliest of the Metropolitan Corps
which formed its own private camp at the great rifle meeting, and from
1864 to 1885 the dark blue flag with its Prince of Wales’s Feathers was
always to be seen flying in its own peculiar corner of the enclosure.
This unbroken record of nearly a quarter of a century was not obtained,
however, without some trouble. In the early days, when camping out
was a novelty, and Wimbledon afforded the only means of enjoying that
novelty, there was little difficulty in ensuring a good attendance;
but, with the rise of Camps of Instruction and the Aldershot Camps,
applications for the Wimbledon tents, with their somewhat heavy fees,
began to fall off. For many years it was kept up merely by the efforts
of a small band of enthusiasts, to whom the Wimbledon “picnic,” with
its jovial round of holiday mirth, had a peculiar charm. The support
of the general body of the Corps fell off to such a marked extent that
in 1886, four years before the National Rifle Association removed to
Bisley, the Camp was discontinued.
Shooting.
To pass from Wimbledon and to remark briefly on the shooting records of
the Regiment is an easy digression.
The “Civil Service” has never yet had the good luck to provide the
winner of the Queen’s Prize, and this fact is sometimes thrust forward
by the thoughtless to detract from its merits as a “good shooting
Corps.” A simple computation will show that, with 200,000 Volunteers to
shoot for it, a Corps of 600 strong will have done its duty if it wins
the prize once in 333 years! But members of the Corps have on more than
one occasion run the winner very hard. Lord Bury himself was second for
the prize in 1861.
Others who have been within measurable distance are: Private W. A.
Impey (Audit Office) in 1869, Lieutenant J. Mitford (Post Office) in
1875, and Sergeant W. W. Akhurst (Post Office) in 1885.
Wimbledon honours have also been earned for the Corps by Sergeant J.
P. Wright (Bank of England), winner of the Grand Aggregate in 1874;
Captain H. W. E. Jeston (National Debt Office), winner of the N.R.A.
Challenge Cup in 1869; and teams who have on various occasions won the
Mappin Challenge Cup for running and shooting.
Nor can we in the present year (1891) admit that the shooting of the
Corps shows any sign of declining. In the War Office Returns for the
last two years it stood first of the Metropolitan Corps, and second in
the Home District. The Regimental Team rejoice in an almost unbroken
series of victories in the numerous matches it has shot in the same
period; whilst Private Rothon, Corporal Matthews, and Corporal Clunan
well maintained the credit of the Corps at the first meeting of the
National Rifle Association on Bisley Common. In addition to this,
in Private Rothon the Corps has the winner of the Champion Badge of
Middlesex for 1890, and, having been chosen to shoot in the English
“twenty,” he made the highest score in the International Match of 1891.
A few words about Aldershot.
The Aldershot Drills.
The Aldershot Summer Drills appear to have been instituted when the
Autumn Manœuvres, held in 1872-3, were discontinued. The “Civil
Service” first sent a detachment to Aldershot in 1875, and from that
date, with but few exceptions, they have annually sent a Company. This
Company has been almost always attached to the Provisional Battalion
commanded by Colonel Du Plat Taylor, of the Post Office Volunteers. Of
all the efforts taken to instil a military training into the Volunteer
none perhaps have had so great an effect as the “Aldershot Week.” The
complete change of life experienced by thus suddenly adopting the
soldier’s daily routine and hard fare, the living with and fraternising
with soldiers, the feeling that you are for the time being actually
paid as a soldier, that you are watched by military police lest you
should desert, that the Mutiny Act has been read over you, which
says that if you disobey your officer you shall be shot--all this is
calculated to make the most light-hearted Volunteer feel that he is
in earnest at last. He enters into the spirit of the work, enjoys
the novelty of the situation--knowing that it won’t last long--and
generally comes home, grimy, sunburnt, and, in his own eyes at least,
a soldier to the backbone. The stamp it puts on a man is never
effaced. To say “he is an Aldershot-man” means that he is entitled to
considerable respect as a good Volunteer.
Camps of Instruction.
Aldershot may have been instrumental in giving us a leaven of good
soldiers, but nothing has had so great an effect in changing the
conditions of our Volunteer life as the Camps of Instruction. As the
greater part of Battalion drills are now done in Camp, it is hardly
possible for a member, as was the case in old days, to make himself
efficient by toddling round the quadrangle at Somerset House; and this
change has almost banished from the ranks the individual generally
described as the “old-fashioned Volunteer.”
The first Regimental Camp of Instruction was pitched on Wimbledon
Common on the 12th May, 1873. It lasted three days only, a longer time
being forbidden by the provisions of the Wimbledon Commons Act. The
weather was very cold, with occasional snow. The nightly attendance
averaged about 100.
In the following year, 1874, Major Currie lent a field at Esher for
the purpose. This Camp lasted six days, and was memorable for being
the scene of one of those foolish escapades--a night attack, delivered
with great spirit by a local corps, and repulsed with equal ardour by
the “Civil Service.” In the present day, with increased knowledge of
military tactics, Volunteer officers recognise the absurdity of such
attacks.
In 1875, the Camp was pitched in a portion of Wimbledon Park known as
the Leg of Mutton Field, Southfields. Here also it was located in 1876
and 1877. In the following year, 1878, a very enjoyable Camp was held
in Sandown Park, Esher.
1879 will be for ever memorable, to those who took part in it, as
the year of the _mud_ Camp, held in a small field, or rather swamp,
attached to an empty house near Putney Heath.
Finally, in 1880, was discovered that very acme of positions--a
spot suited above all others for an encampment of Metropolitan
Volunteers--the Old Deer Park at Richmond.
The Old Deer Park.
Here the Corps has encamped every year since,[3] and, indeed, it would
be difficult to find a more advantageous camping-ground. Interesting
in its associations as one of the oldest Royal Parks in England,
originally attached to Richmond Palace, it gives for drill purposes
an extensive area of slightly undulating parkland, ornamented with
picturesque groups of trees, among which are some patriarchs so
venerable as to make one imagine that they might have looked down upon
the grand tournaments held on that spot by the Tudor Kings.
[3] Up till 1898, but not since.
Long may it be before any over-zealous War Office official shall reform
the Richmond Camp of Instruction out of existence. Let us hope that for
many a future generation the Civil Service Recruit may do his lonely
midnight sentry-go, in the quiet seclusion of the Old Deer Park, with
no greater peril to encounter than the ghost of a Maid of Honour!
CHAPTER V
About the year 1888 a considerable decline in the recruiting power
of the Regiment became apparent, owing chiefly to the reduction of
the establishments of many Government Offices in consequence of the
lengthening of the official day to seven hours. There were no new
entrants into the Service, and consequently no material for recruiting.
By many, however, the cause was ascribed to the unattractive uniform.
This idea gained ground, and Lord Bury allowed the opinion of the whole
Regiment to be taken on the matter.
This was not the first time that the members of the Regiment had been
canvassed with regard to a change of uniform. In 1862 a proposal was
raised in favour of _scarlet_; and again, in 1881, when Lord Bury
wished his Corps to take the lead in adopting a recommendation of the
War Office Committee, of which he was Chairman, and change to a uniform
similar to “regulars”; but on both of these occasions a large majority
of the members were found to be thoroughly conservative. The helmet had
been adopted in lieu of the Shako in 1881, but, with this exception,
the uniform remained as it had been fixed in 1863.
Change of Uniform.
Other views now prevailed, and out of 300 who answered the circular
addressed to them, and who expressed any opinion at all in the matter,
220 were in favour of a change. After a considerable time had been
taken in arriving at a decision, it was resolved to discard the dark
grey for a very light grey, retaining the Royal blue facings and the
black belts of the old uniform.
The sanction of the Honorary Colonel and of the War Office having been
obtained, the change was carried out at the commencement of 1890.
Taking advantage of a grant from the Volunteer Equipment Fund raised
by the Lord Mayor (Sir James Whitehead), the Corps at the same time
furnished itself with greatcoats and the full equipment considered
necessary by the War Office; so that at the Inspection of this year the
Regiment paraded in its new uniform, and, for the first time, fully
equipped.
The Inspection of 1890 was also remarkable for another event of
importance. For some time past Lord Bury had been announcing his
intention of shortly resigning the command of the Corps, which he had
now held for thirty years.
A few months before, the officers of the Corps, foreseeing the coming
resignation, had presented Lady Bury with an oil painting of his
Lordship, in the uniform of the C.S.R.V. The portrait, by a rising
young artist of the day, had been exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery,
and had been very favourably noticed.
Resignation of Lord Bury.
At the close of the Inspection referred to (held in the Camp in the Old
Deer Park, Richmond) Lord Bury, in a few earnest words, regretfully
bade farewell to the Regiment in which he had spent so large a period
of his life, and with which he expressed a hope that his family would
henceforward be always connected. He then formally handed over the
command to his successor, Major and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel Mills;
and, with an outburst of hearty cheering in his honour, the Civil
Service Corps took leave of its first Commanding Officer.
Staff Promotions.
On the resignation of Lord Bury, and the appointment of
Lieutenant-Colonel Mills to the command of the Regiment, Captain and
Honorary Major J. J. Cardin, of the Post Office, was promoted to the
post of Major; and it is doubtful if in the whole history of the Corps
can be recorded any more popular promotions than these two.
Building of Head Quarters.
There remains now but one more event to chronicle in order to bring
this brief category to a close, viz., the building of a Regimental
Headquarters. Ever since its formation the only apology for a
Headquarters which the Corps possessed consisted of a single room,
kindly lent by the authorities of the Exchequer and Audit Department,
in which the business of the Regimental Staff was conducted. It had
been felt for some time that the satisfactory condition of the Corps
justified an effort being made to provide its members with similar
accommodation to that possessed by most of the London Corps. The chief
difficulty was that of obtaining a favourable site at an outlay within
reasonable limits. This difficulty was at length overcome mainly by the
exertions of Colonel Mills, through whose agency the Government were
induced to lend, under very favourable conditions, a piece of ground
between the two west wings of Somerset House, approached from the
Embankment by what was originally the West Watergate.
It was estimated that a building suitable for the purpose could be
erected on this site for about £3,000. At a meeting of officers, at
which Lord Bury presided, held at the Audit Office on 19th February,
1890, it was decided to attempt to raise this sum by an appeal for
subscriptions addressed principally to the upper ranks of the Civil
Service. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales was graciously pleased to head the
list with a donation of one hundred guineas. The Governor and Directors
of the Bank of England subscribed a like sum, and within a few months
Colonel Mills had personally collected £1,300 from the ministerial
and permanent heads of Departments and others of high rank in the
Government Offices.
1892.
In 1892 the Headquarters Building was formally opened. The Prince of
Wales, as Honorary Colonel, had announced his intention of performing
the ceremony, but was prevented by the lamentable death of the Duke of
Clarence which occurred in January, and the duty was carried out by
H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. The event was followed by a succession of
“At Homes,” dances, and other festivities to give the Regiment a house
warming in its new home.
The home itself was much appreciated, and at once began to have a
marked effect on the popularity and, consequently, upon the strength
and efficiency of the corps. It had, moreover, the great merit of
having been provided free of all future debt; for it had been the firm
principle of Colonel Mills, to whose efforts the building was due, that
not a brick should be laid until the whole of the money required for
building and furnishing had been deposited in his hands.
Many London Regiments had built themselves fine Headquarters about this
time, but in doing so had left themselves with the burden of a debt
which sadly crippled them for many years. It was not indeed until the
buildings were handed over to the War Office on the formation of the
Territorial Force that many Commanding Officers were relieved of heavy
financial embarrassments on this account.
Colonel Mills having successfully carried out the final task he had
set himself, now retired after thirty-three years of arduous service.
He was then the only member left in the corps who had served in it
from its commencement. In the following year he became Comptroller and
Auditor-General, and received the honour of knighthood.
Major Viscount Bury[4] succeeded to the Command, and the vacant post of
Field Officer was filled by the promotion of Major H. B. H. Tytheridge.
[4] In 1891 the 6th Earl of Albemarle died. He was a Waterloo veteran.
By his death the first Commanding Officer succeeded to the earldom, and
gave his name to the Hon. Arnold Keppel.
1893.
The Regiment now entered upon an era of rising strength and vigorous
efficiency. Officers keen to learn found in Captain Barton an Adjutant
who was as keen to teach. Parties on outpost work, road sketching,
military topography, etc., were soon to be found ranging the outskirts
of London and of any other place where the Civil Service were encamped,
and the result was seen in after years, when the Army List recorded a
far higher list of qualifications in “extra subjects” to the officers
of the Corps than to any other in the country.
Recruiting flourished, until in 1896 the Corps attained its full
strength of 800, and returns were only kept within authorised limits by
ruthlessly striking off would-be non-efficients.
1894.
In 1894 the Earl of Albemarle, the Regiment’s first Commanding Officer,
died, and Colonel Viscount Bury succeeded to the title.
The Corps attended the Easter manœuvres at Windsor in this year, when
its Commanding Officer secured for it the much appreciated privilege of
being quartered at Eton College.
In July, 1894, Lieutenant-Colonel Cardin (Senior Major) resigned after
a period of thirty-four years’ service in the Corps. The vacant post
was filled by the promotion of Captain and Honorary Major J. Mitford.
1895.
On the 25th May, 1895, the Prince of Wales held an inspection of
the Regiment at Chelsea Barracks. The parade strength was 719 Civil
Service, and 93 Bank of England (25th Middlesex). The Prince, who wore
the new light grey uniform of the Corps, presented the first issue of
the Long Service Medal to 40 officers and men. The Officers’ Volunteer
Decoration had been bestowed in 1892 on 17 officers (retired and
serving) of the Corps, with the Prince’s own name heading the list.
The shooting of the Regiment was much restricted this year by the
closing of all but the short (300 yards) range at Wimbledon, owing to
the efforts of the Conservators of the Common, who alleged danger to
the public.
It was not until 1898, that by the opening of the ranges at Runemede,
the Regiment was again able to fire the full musketry course, and the
Wimbledon ranges were finally abandoned.
1896.
In 1896 Captain G. Lamb, Leinster Regiment, was appointed Adjutant in
the place of Captain Barton, whose time having expired, returned to his
regiment. It was with great regret that the Civil Service parted with
this officer.
1897.
1897 was the year of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Unlike the
Jubilee of 1887, when the Metropolitan Volunteers turned out in their
full strength to line the route, battalions were now restricted to two
companies of 25 file each. The Civil Service Companies were commanded
by the two senior captains, Major Miall and Captain Merrick.
At the great Royal Naval Review at Spithead, the “H” (Admiralty)
Company under Captain Danter had the unique experience of providing a
Guard of Honour in the battleship _Empress of India_; perhaps the only
occasion on which the Volunteer Force was represented in a Naval Review.
In this year the Regimental Signalling Party, who for some time had
never failed to secure a high place in the list of those presenting
themselves for official examination, now passed first in the Kingdom.
1898. “Prince of Wales’ Own.”
In February, 1898, the Prince of Wales honoured the officers by
attending a Mess Dinner held at the Whitehall Rooms. Responding to the
toast of his health, the Prince complimented Lord Albemarle on the
efficiency of the Regiment, and spoke warmly of the pleasure it gave
him to remember how long he had been its Honorary Colonel--the oldest
Colonel, he thought, in the Volunteer Force. It was announced shortly
afterwards that the Regiment was to be called “The Prince of Wales’s
Own.”
1899.
Facilities were now being given for Volunteers to do as much training
as possible with regular troops, and the Civil Service took advantage
of this during the Easter period. In 1898 a strong detachment were
quartered at the Albuhera Barracks, Aldershot, and in 1899 the whole
Battalion were accommodated at the Inkerman Barracks, Woking, with the
2nd East Surrey Regiment. In reporting on outpost operations carried
out on the latter occasion, the Brigadier said: “The outpost work was
good. The placing of picquets, groups and supports left nothing to be
desired and reflects great credit on the Company officers.”
An admirable test of the state of efficiency at which the Volunteer
Force had now arrived was afforded this year by the Royal Review of
Metropolitan Volunteers on the Horse Guards Parade, held to commemorate
the fortieth year of the Force. Before midday hardly a uniform was to
be seen in the streets; but by four in the afternoon 30,000 Volunteers
had mustered at their Headquarters, marched to St. James’ Park, and
formed up in Brigades. From thence in rapid succession, after a
complicated and trying movement, owing to the awkwardly confined
space, they marched past in column of double Companies, debouching from
the Park by the gate allotted to them to their respective Headquarters,
and by 8.0 p.m. this little army had vanished back to civilian life.
The steadiness and precision of movement, the quiet, orderly behaviour,
the neat and soldierly appearance of the men made, without doubt, a
great impression on authorities and public alike.
It was well that this was so, for before the year had closed the first
demand of the country for real service was to be made on the Force.
The South African war was straining the powers of our small regular
army to its utmost limit, and in December there was a sudden call
upon the Volunteers for detachments for voluntary service in South
Africa. This call would have been responded to much more readily if the
military authorities had not hampered it with many apparently needless
restrictions. The City Imperial Volunteers raised by the Lord Mayor was
the only body allowed to retain its identity as a Volunteer unit. It
was to this force, therefore, that London volunteers pressed forward,
and for the small quota which the Civil Service were asked to supply,
three or four times the number at once presented themselves for medical
inspection.
The Regiment had the pleasure of seeing its Commanding Officer, the
Earl of Albemarle, chosen for the command of the infantry battalion;
but although several other officers volunteered their services these
posts were almost entirely reserved for members of the City Corps.
The history of the City Imperial Volunteers has been recounted at
length elsewhere. Suffice it to say that the Regiment embarked on the
20th January, 1900, and after a period of preliminary training in South
Africa, joined the 21st Brigade under General Bruce Hamilton. After
continuous marching for about fifty days the Battalion reached Pretoria
on the 5th June, and on the 12th June fought in the battle of Diamond
Hill.
An interesting impression of the effect they produced on that occasion
was furnished in a speech made at a public gathering by an officer
commanding a squadron of the Royal Horse Guards present on the field:
“We were drawn up,” he said, “on the flank of the line at the
foot of the hill, when word came down to us that the City
Imperial Volunteers were advancing to attack. With great
interest we watched through our glasses to see how volunteers
would act in coming into action. They came over the brow of
the hill in excellent formation, pressing forward as steadily
as at a review. ‘Why!’ we exclaimed, ‘You can’t tell them from
Regulars!’”
So impressed was the speaker that he determined then and there that if
ever he had the chance he would command a battalion of Volunteers.
[Illustration:
1871. WIMBLEDON.
_Photo by J. H. Lile & Co._
Sgt.-Major P. Kenny. Q.-M. F. J. Michôd. Major R. Mills.
Capt. G. C. S. Lombard.
Major J. P. Currie. Lt.-Col. Viscount Bury.]
[Illustration:
1899. OLD DEER PARK, RICHMOND.
_Photo by W. S. Stuart._
Major W. Danter. Capt. J. W. Smith-Neill, Major Lamb, Adjdt.
Scots Guards.
Lt.-Col. Tytheridge, V.D. Col. Earl of Abermarie.
<i>To face page 36.</i>]
The officer was the Earl of Arran, afterwards commanding the Civil
Service.
1900.
The City Imperial Volunteers returned home in November, and were given
a tumultuous welcome as they marched through London on the afternoon
of Saturday, the 21st November. The route was lined by all the
Metropolitan Volunteer Battalions; and so enthusiastic was London to
welcome its “heroes” that it was with the greatest difficulty that the
route could be kept clear.
Unfortunately, Lord Albemarle had been attacked with fever at Cape Town
and was unable to embark, thereby missing the welcome accorded to his
Battalion.
The returned warriors of the Civil Service were entertained by the rest
of the Regiment at a great banquet given in their honour in the King’s
Hall, Holborn, on the 10th December.
In all 136 members of the Corps served in South Africa, principally in
the Yeomanry. Of these five were killed or died in hospital.
Trooper A. E. Trembath (Imperial Yeomanry) earned the D.C.M., and was
promoted to rank of Lieutenant for distinguished service in action.[5]
[5] Lieutenant Trembath was killed in 1915 whilst serving with the 1st
Battalion in France.
As the country was denuded of troops in this year the Government
decided to establish Emergency Camps of Militia and Volunteers during
the summer months. Brigade Camps lasting for a month were formed, and
each Corps was requested to keep fifty per cent. of its strength in
attendance for the whole period.
The South London Brigade consisting of
2nd (South) Middlesex
7th Middlesex (London Scottish)
12th Middlesex (Civil Service)
13th Middlesex (Queen’s Westminsters)
20th Middlesex (Artists)
went into camp on Farnborough Common from the 7th July to the 7th
August. The Civil Service was by far the strongest battalion in
attendance, and at its Inspection held on Saturday, the 21st July, the
Battalion, including one Company of the 25th (Bank of England), stood
over 1,000 on parade.
Permission was obtained this year to increase the establishment of the
Battalion by two Companies and the maximum strength to 1,000. The two
new Companies were “F” Company, recruited from the clerical staff of
the London County Council, and “I” Company, formed of cyclists.
1901. Field Army Brigades.
On the 22nd January, 1901, Her Majesty Queen Victoria died. The
Regiment was informed in due course that the King would honour it by
continuing to retain the position of Honorary Colonel.
In April, 1901, the Regiment lost its Commanding Officer by the
promotion of Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Albemarle to the command
of the Norfolk Volunteer Infantry Brigade. Colonel Tytheridge, who had
temporarily commanded during the absence of Lord Albemarle in South
Africa, now succeeded to the command.
The experience of the South African war had forcibly impressed the
country with the fact that in the Volunteer Force it possessed an asset
deserving of greater encouragement and development than it had hitherto
obtained. As a result of this feeling, the higher military authorities
issued new and more stringent conditions of efficiency in an endeavour
to bring the backward Corps up to the general level.
Regimental Camps of Instruction were now abolished and replaced by
Brigade Camps. The Old Deer Park, Richmond, where the Battalion had
encamped for nineteen years in succession (1880 to 1898) was to harbour
it no more. Easter Manœuvres, Whitsuntide Marching Columns, Aldershot
Provisional Battalions, Clacton Seaside Engineering Camps all dropped
out; and energies were concentrated on securing a maximum muster at the
Brigade Camp, where it was necessary to maintain an attendance of half
the full strength (500) for the period of fourteen days in order to
earn the War Office grant.
The position in which the Regiment might find itself in the event of a
national emergency had long been a subject of uncertainty and doubt.
The Treasury had firmly expressed themselves on this point in a Minute
issued in 1899 and published in Regimental Orders, as follows:--
“The Volunteer Force was primarily formed for Home Defence, and
there seems special objections to a regiment like the Civil
Service Rifles serving abroad. The men have their public duties
to perform at home, and if they were sent abroad, untried
men must be temporarily employed in their places for the
performance of Civil Service professional work.”[6]
[6] There is no doubt that if it had not been for this attitude adopted
by the Treasury and firmly maintained up to 1914, and the hampering
effect it had upon Regimental authorities, the Civil Service would have
been found in that fateful year among the first of the Territorial
battalions on the field of war.
The Battalion, nevertheless, was selected as one of those to be placed
in the “Field Army Brigades” which were formed under the new scheme of
Home Defence. At first it was placed in the 24th (Volunteer) Brigade,
consisting of 2nd (South) Middlesex, 12th Middlesex (Civil Service),
21st Middlesex, and 4th (Volunteer Battalion) Royal West Surrey
Regiment.
Camp was formed this year at Jubilee Hill, Aldershot, under the Officer
Commanding the District.
1903.
In 1903 Brigades were re-organised, and the Civil Service, with the
Queen’s Westminsters, London Irish and 2nd London formed the 23rd
Brigade under Colonel Jerrard. This officer held training camps as
follows:
1903.--Shorncliffe.
1904 and 1905.--Sway (New Forest).
1906.--Shorncliffe.
About this time the Regiment effected certain changes in its uniform
with the view of making it more suitable for work in the field. The
helmet was altered to a shape which was perhaps less artistic, but
gave greater comfort, and had not the disadvantage possessed by its
predecessor of disabling the wearer from shooting when lying down. The
tunic or jacket was made much looser and contained serviceable pockets.
Puttees were adopted in lieu of gaiters, and enamelled belts were
discarded in favour of dull black leather.
Altogether it now formed a very serviceable yet attractive uniform.
Its invisibility at a distance was remarkable, and was the subject of
frequent remark by distinguished foreign officers attending manœuvres.
1902.
Captain B. J. Majendie, King’s Royal Rifles, was appointed Adjutant
in November, 1902, _vice_ Major Lamb, retired. Captain Majendie’s
experiences in the South African war had been somewhat unique and
unfortunate. Whilst accompanying a troop of cavalry sent out as a
patrol from Ladysmith on the day that war was declared, the party were
surrounded and captured by the enemy and held prisoners in Pretoria
until that place was taken by General Roberts in the following year.
Captain Majendie was the first Adjutant which the Corps had secured
from the regular regiment of which it formed a Volunteer battalion; and
by his efforts and instruction the Battalion became “riflemen,” and
adopted rifle drill and customs. But the fact that officers were always
trained at the Guards’ Schools of Instruction, where the drill of the
rifleman is unknown, was a drawback to this arrangement.
In 1902, Major and Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel Danter, who had been
appointed Major in 1897, resigned through bad health. The Battalion
owed much to Colonel Danter for his hard and brilliant work for many
years. To his energy and leadership in their early years may be mainly
attributed the successes which the Regiment were now securing in its
signalling section and in the School of Arms.
School of Arms.
To the latter institution a word is now due. Ever since the
Headquarters had been opened, the athletic youth of the public offices
in London had been attracted to this excellent training school in
their midst. During the winter months the building was thronged to
overflowing on “School” nights with perspiring youth in flannels, as
class after class followed each other in unceasing relays for hours.
Organising, directing and instructing this untiring energy were Danter,
Brett, W. H. D. Clarke, Whitehurst, Weeks, Bell, Kirkby and others,
ably supported, of course, by the most skilled instructors that the
Guards and Aldershot could supply.
The result had now become apparent in the wonderful series of successes
the School achieved, not only in the Home District Tournaments, but at
the Royal Military Tournaments in competition with the Navy and Army.
A list of winners of Challenge cups and championship and silver
medallists is given in Appendix No. V.
In addition to these successes, the School of Arms obtained 39 second
and 18 third prizes at the R.M. Tournament, and an even greater number
of prizes at the competitions of the Metropolitan Territorial School of
Arms Association.
The most successful period for the Regimental School was during the
first decade of the present century, when those fine all-round athletes
Hobbins, Marsh and Chalke were in the hey-day of their prowess, and
Major Brett, the oldest man in the competitions of 1907, won the
Officers’ Bayonet Challenge Cup.
In the previous year the Regimental Officers’ Team won the
Inter-Regimental Bayonet Fighting Cup, beating the R.M.A., with its
large complement of officers to select from, in the final. This was the
only occasion on which the Cup was wrested from the Regulars or Navy.
The Light-Weight Tug-of-War Team in 1904 became the permanent
possessors of the R.M.T. Cup, which they had won three times in four
years.
“Daily Telegraph” Cup.
In 1902 the Corps secured an honour for which it had striven for
many years, and which, although as a rule honourably placed in the
strenuous competition, it had never yet succeeded in obtaining. This
was the _Daily Telegraph_ Cup for marching and shooting, competed
for at the Home District Rifle Meeting by teams from most of the
battalions of regulars and volunteers in the district. And now, under
the leadership of Captain F. J. Brett, supported by Sergeant W. H. D.
Clarke, it was won four years in succession, a feat never performed by
any other battalion.
1904.
In 1904, Colonel Tytheridge resigned and the Earl of Arran, late
Captain, Royal Horse Guards, was appointed Commanding Officer. Captain
and Hon. Major E. Merrick and Captain R. G. Hayes were promoted Field
Officers.
At the end of 1906 the Field Army Brigades were abolished, as
preparations were then being made for a much greater call upon
volunteers than that entailed by the existing scheme of Home Defence.
Troubled by the incessant cry for economy in military expenditure from
their supporters on one side and the imminence of a European war with
insufficient military strength on the other, the Government turned
again to the Volunteer Force for aid.
The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907.
The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act was passed in 1907, by which the
Force might at once become an integral part of the Army on a threat of
war.
The Brigade Camp of 1907 held at West Tarring, near Worthing, was
therefore the last camp of the Civil Service Volunteers. Before the
summer training camps of 1908 were formed, the Corps had been disbanded
and re-enrolled, the grey uniform had been discarded, and a new
khaki-clad battalion of Territorial soldiers of the King, 800 strong,
stood ready to ask His Majesty to be again their Honorary Colonel. The
request was granted, and the _London Gazette_ announced that:
“His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to signify
his royal pleasure that he will continue to remain Honorary
Colonel of the Corps on its transfer to the Territorial Force.”
The transfer throughout the Force was not made without difficulty or
without great effort on the part of its leaders. Much nervousness
existed as to the liabilities to be incurred under the Act, the
additional claim upon a man’s spare time, the suggested penalties in
case of default, etc. The efforts of the leaders were not assisted
by the singularly inept methods of the military authorities. The Act
provided that the Volunteer should be re-attested on entering the new
Force. The Attestation Form at first issued by the War Office contained
a long list of questions to be answered by the recruit. Prominent
across the face of the form was the statement:
“You are hereby warned that if it is found that you have given
a false answer to the following questions you will be liable to
imprisonment with hard labour.”
In this grateful and tactful manner it was proposed to greet the
patriotic citizen on taking the first step towards his additional
burden. But the protests of Volunteer Commanders were loud and the
obnoxious form was quickly withdrawn.
15th (Co. of London) Battalion, 4th London Brigade.
The Battalion, under the title of the “15th (County of London)
Battalion the London Regiment,” was placed in the 4th London Brigade of
the 2nd London Division, the brigade being constituted as before (the
old “Grey Brigade”), and still under the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding
the Scots Guards Regiment.
The first training camp of the Territorial Brigade was held at West
Down, Salisbury Plain, from August 2nd to 16th, 1908, Colonel Inigo
Jones, Scots Guards, in command. The Civil Service were by far the
strongest battalion in the camp; the London Scottish and other
corps having as yet been able to raise but a few companies for the
new Force. This result had been achieved in spite of the fact that
Treasury Regulations had been issued, regarding leave to be granted
to Territorials in Government Departments for camp training, in which
the conditions were much less generous than those formerly accorded to
volunteers by Heads of Departments.
Fortunately, an officer of the Corps, Lieutenant F. H. D. Acland,
having been elected M.P. for Richmond (Yorks), had been given the post
of Parliamentary Secretary to the War Office. By his influence the
Secretary of State for War, Mr. Haldane, commenced a tour of inspection
of Territorials by visiting the camp at Salisbury Plain and lunching
with the “Civil Service.” On his attention being drawn to the new leave
conditions, Mr. Haldane was good enough to attend the Regimental Prize
Distribution at the close of the year and publicly announced that more
generous conditions should be issued.
1908.
In August, 1908, the Earl of Arran found himself compelled, with
regret, to resign the command. Notwithstanding the fact that his former
military experience had been entirely that of a cavalry officer,
Lord Arran had, by his personal efforts, kept up the high standard
of steadiness and efficiency in drill to which the Battalion had
attained, and his popularity as a Commanding Officer had never been
exceeded by any. It was with sorrow that every member of the Corps
heard of his decision to resign.
The command was taken over temporarily for a few months by Major and
Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel Merrick, who, then in his thirty-third year
of service, declined to allow his name to be put forward for further
promotion. In December, 1908, the regiment found in Major the Hon. C.
S. H. D. Willoughby, late of the Scots Guards, a Commanding Officer
admirably qualified to lead it through the period of preparation for
more serious military work which was now before it as a battalion of
the Territorial Force.
In the change from a unit of the loosely-organized mass of Infantry
and Garrison Artillery which constituted the Volunteer Force, to that
of a strictly regulated battalion of the new Territorial Army (with
its Brigade and Divisional Staffs, its due proportion of Cavalry,
Field Artillery and Transport) the Corps had been trimmed and shorn of
many of its former privileged adjuncts. Its establishment of officers
was considerably reduced, and with great regret it lost its Honorary
Chaplain, the Rev. Canon Duckworth. Canon Duckworth had served the
Corps loyally for 23 years. He took great pride in never being a
“non-efficient,” was always on parade at the annual inspection, and
wherever the regiment was encamped its Chaplain never failed to appear
on the middle Sunday to conduct the service and preach his annual
sermon.
The Battalion also lost its two bands, and its company of cyclists was
abolished.
The drills and camp trainings required were not as extensive as those
afforded by the Corps under Volunteer conditions; but this was amply
compensated for by the benefit derived, especially by officers, from
the training given by Brigade and Divisional Staffs.
Instructional tours, in which officers of Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry
and Transport met, took place frequently to important military
positions in the neighbourhood of London. In these the Division
(_minus_ the men) would move by Manœuvre Orders duly issued by
Divisional, Brigade and other Commanders of units, billet or bivouac on
positions previously inspected and reported upon, throw out outposts,
resume column of route, move on to the battle position and engage the
enemy in the neighbourhood of Dunstable, Canterbury or other place
selected. In its early days the 2nd London Division on these occasions
had the advantage of the admirable instruction of Colonel Stanley Maude
(afterwards General Sir Stanley Maude) as chief of the staff.
1910.[7]
[7] From this point to the outbreak of war the annals are continued by
Captain Bell, late Civil Service Rifles.
The commencement of the training year saw the duties of Adjutant taken
over by Captain Fitzclarence of the Royal Fusiliers, an officer of
wide experience and one who had had some previous knowledge of the
working of a force recruited under the voluntary system. From his first
appearance on parade his popularity was assured, and he ably seconded
the efforts made by Colonel Willoughby to bring the regiment up to a
high state of efficiency.
Training during the year followed the usual course. The Easter
training was carried out at Windsor, and the Annual Training Camp
at Minster-on-Sea was of an exceptionally interesting nature. In
the opinion of many it represented the ideal camp training for the
Territorial Force, consisting as it did of practical musketry and field
manœuvres, winding up with an extensive trek through the pleasant lanes
of northern Kent. A most enjoyable fortnight was spent, and the members
of the Battalion returned at the end of it to their everyday avocations
feeling satisfied that they had made some real progress towards fitting
themselves to fulfil the duties for which the Territorial Force was
intended. The Brigadier gave expression to his views on the following
terms:
“The Brigadier wishes to thank all ranks of the Brigade for
their loyal co-operation and unflagging zeal and keenness
during the Annual Camp this year, more especially during the
week’s bivouac and hard marching, which was a severe test to
untrained troops and in which the Brigade acquitted itself to
his entire satisfaction. He attributes this success in a great
measure to the fine spirit and soldierlike pride which has ever
distinguished the Grey Brigade, and has once again successfully
brought it through a trying time. He hopes and thinks that,
though the work has been hard, the results have been great, and
that all ranks are more fitted to take their part in active
service should the necessity arise.”
A Regimental Athletic Club was formed with the twofold object of
securing the best possible representation in the Territorial Sports
and Marathon Race held annually in June and of fostering athletics
from a military standpoint throughout the Battalion. The Committee did
valuable work, and as the result of its labours the Regimental Team was
enabled to take a high place in the Marathon Race.
This year the Regiment had to mourn the loss of its Honorary Colonel,
His Majesty King Edward VII. He had been associated with the regiment
over the long period of fifty years.
Major R. B. Hughes, who had been Quartermaster to the Battalion since
the early nineties, was compelled, much to his regret, to resign his
appointment this year. The regiment felt at his departure a regret
equal to his own. Quartermaster-Sergeant W. H. D. Clark succeeded him,
and the ability and hard work which he put into the arrangements for
the Annual Camp contributed in no small degree to the success of that
outing.
The announcement that the Regiment had been honoured by the appointment
of the Rev. Canon Herbert Hensley Henson, D. D., as its Chaplain was
received with gratification by the Battalion. Canon Henson had been
approached because his church--St. Margaret’s, Westminster--is regarded
as the church of Parliament and the Civil Service.
1911.
The Easter Training this year took place at the Guards’ Depot
at Caterham. The opportunity thus afforded to the officers and
non-commissioned officers of the Battalion to see the course of
instruction through which a recruit of the Regular Army had to pass was
most valuable.
The Battalion was called on to furnish a number of detachments in
connection with the Coronation festivities this year, and acquitted
itself well throughout. The Major-General in command of the Division
expressed his entire satisfaction with the way in which the various
duties were performed. As the personal gift of His Majesty on the
occasion of his coronation, the Coronation Medal was awarded to the
Commanding Officer, the Officers Commanding the detachments, the
Quartermaster, Regimental Sergeant-Major, the senior N.C.O. and senior
Private.
Annual training in camp took place at Dover. The political situation
at home and abroad was not all that might be desired, and amongst all
ranks was the feeling that before the camp terminated the Battalion
might be called on for more serious work than that usually carried out
on these occasions. Not until the Battalion had entrained for return to
London could it be said that the tension had relaxed. The Major-General
in his remarks on the training said that he noticed with pleasure the
very good work done by all units, work which showed a distinct advance
on any previously performed. He referred to the satisfaction given
him by the cheerful way in which hardships, which resulted from the
unavoidable stoppage of railway transport, had been borne by all ranks.
The Regiment furnished a detachment consisting of 1 officer, 1 N.C.O.
and 4 men to attend the investiture of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at
Carnarvon on July 13th, 1911.
The efforts put forth by the Regimental Sports Club in connection with
the annual Marathon Race only just failed of success, the Battalion
team finishing second.
1912.
This year saw the old pattern Slade-Wallis equipment replaced by the
Mills web equipment. The change was much appreciated and every one
felt that with the supply of the new pack and haversack it was no
longer necessary to rely for essentials on the kit-bag, and that, as a
consequence, the mobility of the Battalion was greatly increased.
A feature of the year was the Whitsuntide outing arranged at Bisley for
the purpose of drill and musketry. The detachment was favoured by good
weather and had the opportunity of firing under the most favourable
conditions all the practices laid down for the annual course.
* * * * *
Colonel Willoughby, who had been in command of the Regiment since
1908, was appointed to the command of the 6th Infantry Brigade on May
14th, 1912, and was succeeded by Major R. G. Hayes. Colonel Willoughby
during his period of command had endeared himself to all ranks, and
the Regiment parted with him with sincere regret. He issued a Farewell
Order in the following terms:
“In relinquishing his official connection with the Regiment,
Colonel Willoughby desires to thank the Officers, N.C.O.’s and
men for their loyal co-operation and constant support they have
so freely rendered him throughout the period that it has been
his privilege to command the Battalion.”
A further loss to the Battalion was that of Major F. J. Brett, who
resigned on April 27th, 1912. “Freddie’s” honours and achievements
in the world of sport would fill a book by themselves. He was the
life and soul of the Regimental School of Arms and his successes in
bayonet fighting, fencing, etc., will long be remembered. His success
in winning, in the year 1907, at the age of forty-six, the individual
Bayonet Fighting Competition at the Royal Military Tournament is one
which it can safely be said will never be equalled.
The practice of having the Easter training at the Guards Depot at
Caterham had now become established, and the welcome which was always
given the detachment there made the outing one to be looked forward
to. The annual training in camp took place this year at Frith Hill,
Aldershot, and was notable for the inclement weather experienced.
The incessant rain may, however, have been a blessing in disguise,
inasmuch as it prevented the rations being smothered with the black
sand peculiar to this locality. Despite the unpleasant conditions, the
troops kept remarkably free from illness. A feature of the training was
Brigade movements in close formation, and it was a matter of no little
astonishment to all ranks to see how easily and without confusion large
bodies of well-organised and disciplined troops could be moved over
rough and uneven ground. On the return of the Battalion from camp, the
following extract from a War Office letter was published in Regimental
Orders:
“The Army Council have expressed their appreciation and that
of the Secretary of State for War for the excellent spirit
which was shown by the Territorial troops in camp this year.
The weather has been most inclement and the soldierly spirit in
which the troops bore their discomforts was most praiseworthy.”
1913.
A review of the London District Territorial Troops by His Majesty the
King took place in Hyde Park on July 5th, 1913. The Battalion was well
represented.
The annual camp was held this year at Abergavenny in South Wales. The
Battalion had never before been called on to proceed so far afield
for its training, and the visit to Wales was looked forward to with
eager anticipation. The Brigade arrived at Abergavenny on Sunday,
July 27th, and soon got to work on the programme laid down. The first
week was devoted to section, company and battalion training, and on
the Monday in the second week all surplus canvas was struck and a
week’s trek commenced. The first day’s march brought the Battalion via
Crickhowell to Glanusk Park, where a bivouac was formed. Many members
of the Battalion were glad of the opportunity thus afforded to renew
acquaintance with Lord Glanusk, an acquaintance first formed while he
was Adjutant of the City Imperial Volunteers and maintained during his
tenure of command of the Guards Depot at Caterham. On the following
day the march was resumed, and the Battalion reached “The Forest,”
via Tretower and Cwm-du. Wednesday saw the Battalion _en route_ for
Tal-y-maes, encountering on its way an opposing force at the Pass of
Rhin Truman. The pass was forced and the troops eventually reached
their camp at Tal-y-maes, situated amongst some of the finest scenery
in Wales. There Battalion and Brigade manœuvres were carried out for a
couple of days, after which the return to Abergavenny was commenced and
the old quarters reached at the end of the week. The Brigade returned
to London on Sunday, August 10th, well satisfied that the military
authorities had succeeded in combining an enjoyable holiday with a
considerable amount of military training. A tribute to the popularity
of the conception can be found in the fact that out of a battalion 779
strong, 735 attended the camp.
1914.
All other events of the year 1914 were dwarfed by the outbreak of the
war with the Central Powers and the embodiment of the Territorial
Force. As every one recollects, the call was sudden. The Battalion was
carrying out the programme laid down for its peace training, and had
actually arrived at Perham Down Camp, Salisbury Plain, for its annual
camp training. Its stay there was but short--in fact, only a matter
of hours--and it found itself back in London within twenty-four hours
of having left it. The mobilization arrangements which had not long
before been tested under the supervision of the Brigadier worked well,
and a time of busy preparation set in.[8] At the outset the Battalion
received with astonishment the news that the Government had decided
that members of the Civil Service called up on embodiment would not be
allowed their civil pay, and would have to depend entirely on their
Army pay of their rank plus the usual allowances. It was felt that a
decision such as this would interfere greatly with the efforts made
to fill up the gaps in the Regiment, and would make difficult the
provision of the necessary reserve of men. Representations were at once
made to the Prime Minister, Captain Parish, the Adjutant, even going so
far as to interview him on the subject before he had breakfasted on the
morning following the announcement. The Prime Minister agreed to have
the matter further considered, and the result was so far satisfactory
that the flow of recruits continued.
[8] “We went to Somerset House and dismissed, but assembled again on
the Tuesday, and on Wednesday we were mobilised. The battalion of 800
odd were accommodated in the corridors of Somerset House, and we fed
à la picnic in the square.”--_Extract from letter dated Feb. 5th,
1915._--ED.
The Battalion commenced its move to its war station in the
neighbourhood of Watford on August 11th, bivouacked at Edgware for
the night, and continued the march the following day. The troops
stood the trying march well. The Battalion took up its quarters in
and around the village of Bedmond and remained there until early in
November, when it moved into billets in the town of Watford. A number
of changes in personnel took place. Colonel the Earl of Arran, a former
Commanding Officer of the Regiment, was given command of the Battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes being appointed to the command of the second
line. The news of Lord Arran’s appointment was received with great
gratification, and every one present on parade in the little park at
Bedmond on the day on which he joined the Battalion will remember the
stirring and inspiring words in which he addressed them, winding up his
remarks by stating in a very determined way that, “We have a long way
to go, but we are going to get there.” To the great regret of the whole
Battalion Lord Arran was obliged later on to relinquish the command to
rejoin his old regiment, the Royal Horse Guards. His place was taken
by Colonel Renny, late of the Indian Army, and under him the Battalion
moved to France on March 17th, 1915.
PART TWO
1st Battalion Civil Service Rifles
By CAPTAIN P. DAVENPORT, M.C.[9]
[9] Appointed 2nd Lieut., 11th June, 1915; to France, December 24th,
1915; acting Captain, 1917; Adjutant, 27th June, 1917.--EDITOR.
INTRODUCTION
A few words on the manner in which the story of the 1st Battalion was
written will not be out of place, and may help to explain the delay in
producing the book and the obvious errors of omission which have been
committed.
When the Battalion went to France two diaries were kept at
headquarters--the War Diary, in which were recorded all the military
exploits of the Battalion, and the Regimental Diary, which contained
all the “personal gossip” in the Regiment, as well as accounts of tours
in the front line. This Regimental Diary was started by Capt. Parish,
who was then Adjutant, with the idea that it should be printed and
published at the end of the war. But owing to frequent changes in the
personnel of Battalion Headquarters, the book was not kept up to date,
and there are, in consequence, several big gaps in its pages. It was
finally closed early in 1918, when Colonel Segrave decided that as
the keeping of two diaries entailed a certain amount of duplication
of work, the War Diary should, in future, be a complete record of the
history of the Battalion. From that time, therefore, the War Diary
contained every item of interest to the Battalion, including such
details as the names of the members of football teams and the artistes
at Battalion concerts.
With these two books, therefore, I began in the winter of 1919 to
collect material for a history. A committee was formed, on which
I tried to get a representative of each Company and Specialist
Section, and here I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to
these gentlemen, each one of whom has taken an active interest in the
preparation of the book:--R. H. Burden, D.C.M., R. G. Callingham, S.
L. Clements, E. Cooke, D.C.M., C. Ibbett, M.M., F. A. Lewis, M.M., R.
H. Maddocks, F. C. Robertson, D.C.M., G. M. Sladden and R. C. Sugars,
D.C.M.
In addition C.S.M. T. P. Brett, M.C., and Sergeant C. M. A. Tucker
were kind enough to place at my disposal a book of notes, letters,
and extracts from private diaries which they had collected, dealing
with the first year of the career of the Battalion in France. Sergeant
Tucker has been most energetic throughout in his efforts to collect
further material and to improve the crude story which I presented to
the committee.
The story was written in instalments and so read to the committee,
who criticised it and amended it, and it was then typed by Sergeant
Tucker. The typed copy was then circulated among different members of
the committee, who suggested further amendments, and the result is
now presented to the Regiment as a simple record of the outstanding
features of life in the 1st Civil Service Rifles in France.
I am fully conscious that there are grave omissions, notably in
respect to paragraphs of appreciation of individuals. There are many
more members deserving of special mention than appear in these pages,
but I have included all who were brought to my notice and who, in my
opinion, played a prominent part in the success of the Battalion. At
the same time there are some whom I have missed, and to avoid doing
these an injustice it was at one time suggested that all references to
individuals should be cut out, but there are some who played such a
big part in our history that no story of the Battalion would be nearly
complete without mention of them.
As to the literary style and arrangement of the book, I am told by one
of my critics that it is dull and lifeless, and that the descriptions
of battles are not sufficiently picturesque. My only reply is that I
have aimed at an accurate description rather than at a highly coloured
style, and I hope my critics will bear in mind that, prior to this
effort, I have never attempted anything more ambitious in the literary
line than a love letter.
In addition to members of the committee the following members of the
Regiment have very kindly written contributions:--G. C. G. Andrews,
C. E. Bassett, E. De Ath, C. N. Burdock, C. Manthorpe, L. C. Morris,
M.C., V. Stewart, J. H. Swain, and W. G. Skillern. To these gentlemen I
should like to express my grateful appreciation.
_February, 1921._ PAUL DAVENPORT.
CHAPTER I
“17TH OF MARCH MEN”
At the annual dinner in London on St. Patrick’s Day the survivors of
those who constituted the original 1st Battalion of the Civil Service
Rifles commemorate the historic day on which the Regiment first sent a
Battalion on active service--the 17th of March, 1915.
It was hardly realised when that Battalion went to France that it would
soon become the highest of distinctions in the Regiment to be described
as a “17th of March man,” but this distinction is fully recognised now,
and he is a much envied man who has the right to attend the Annual
Commemoration Dinner.[10]
[10] This dinner was instituted on the 17th March, 1916, in the Reserve
Battalion Camp at Hazeley Down, Winchester, where already a number of
the originals who had been wounded, had returned. To Captain G. C.
Grimsdale fell the honour of taking the chair at the first of these
functions, which it was decided should be held annually so long as any
“17th of March men” should live to attend them.
There were about 1,100 all ranks who, after eagerly awaiting, during
seven long months of training, the summons to join the B. E. F. in
France, achieved their ambition on St. Patrick’s Day, 1915, and
entrained at Watford in the early hours of the morning. Throughout
their stay in Watford, where they had been billeted since November,
1914, they had received the warmest hospitality, and it is not
surprising, therefore, that their pride in going to the front was
tinged with regret at leaving such good friends.
After a roundabout journey, Southampton was reached at 11.0 a.m., and
the Battalion had to confine itself for the rest of the day to a few
hundred yards of quay, impatiently awaiting embarkation, which was not
carried out till dusk. Four boats were used--the _Balmoral_, _City of
Chester_, _Jupiter_ and _Munich_--boats used in the piping times of
peace for pleasure trips along the coast. There were no bands playing,
no cheering crowds, but just three or four bored officials, embarkation
officers, and dock policemen. Thus the 1st Civil Service Rifles,[11]
under the command of Lieut. Colonel A. M. Renny, left England, having
on board the four boats thirty officers, 1,046 other ranks, and 78
horses.
[11] See Appendix for list of officers.
In addition, Captain H. B. Farquhar had taken a small advance party
some days earlier.
On the whole the Civil Service Rifles were not favourably impressed
with Havre where the battalion disembarked at about 9.0 a.m. on the
18th of March, the chief disappointment, perhaps, being that there were
little or no signs of the Great War. No welcoming crowds of pretty
French girls were there to meet them, and almost unnoticed they marched
through the town and up the hill which led to the camp above Harfleur.
Here the troops, perspiring after the steep climb, in what they thought
was full marching order, learnt that there were many more things for
the unfortunate Infantry soldier to carry in France. Winter clothing
was issued, and although it was very welcome on that bitterly cold
afternoon, the weight of it made everyone look forward with more than
usual keenness to the coming of Spring.
A bitterly cold night was spent in the tents, and at 3.0 p.m. on the
following day, the Battalion made its first acquaintance with the troop
trains of the B. E. F.--the men’s compartments of which bore the now
familiar legend:--
Chevaux (en long) 8
Hommes 37-40
Lieutenant A. Roberts and fifty-nine other ranks had to be left behind
as a first reinforcement--an arrangement made by a thoughtful G. H.
Q. to ensure that the whole of the Civil Service Rifles should not be
wiped out in their first battle.
After a most wearisome journey, lasting twenty-four hours, the
Battalion detrained at the little station of Berguette.
The march from Berguette to the billets in the village of Cauchy a la
Tour was an ordeal never to be forgotten by those who suffered it.
Fifteen miles on pavè roads, in full marching order with a blanket in
addition, tested to the uttermost men who were already fatigued by
the extreme discomfort of the cattle train. But Cauchy was reached,
without loss, at midnight, and to the consternation of all ranks, no
trace could be found of the billeting party or of the billets. This
was indeed a bitter blow to the exhausted troops, who settled down in
the main street, and began to wonder whether they had to march still
further, for there were no signs of life in Cauchy. The situation
was eventually saved by waking up M. le Maire, on whom, it is said,
Lieutenant Carlisle so successfully tried his French that billets were
found after the Battalion had been waiting in the road for two hours.
Some say the straw was clean, others say it was otherwise, but it
mattered little that night. Any place was good enough, provided the
troops could be left to sleep in peace.
It is believed that after the billeting party had left Havre, the
destination of the 47th Division was changed, and the Civil Service
Rifles were already at St. Omer before any message reached the
billeting party, who did not arrive at Cauchy until about twenty-four
hours after the Battalion was billeted.
The Battalion trained, somewhat impatiently, for three whole weeks at
Cauchy a la Tour. The troops, it must be admitted, were bored with it,
as would appear from the following description in a letter home:--
“The village is in the middle of a flat colliery district.
The northern horizon is filled with great hills of slag from
the mines--like Egyptian pyramids, whence comes an eternal
shrill whistle. The well in the market square from which we
draw our water is 100 feet deep, and it is difficult to get
near the bucket for the crush of civilians and khaki. The
women are mostly fat and sans corsets. They sell French papers
and herald their approach with a toot of a horn. Mud carts
are drawn by dogs. Horses can be seen working treadmills. The
constant stream of motor lorries bringing food stores to the
front passes along the highway. We hear the distant boom of big
guns--a famous part of the firing line is 18 miles away. But
the preponderant thought with us all is ‘Where is this bloody
war?’”
On the 22nd of March, the Battalion was inspected by Field-Marshal Sir
John French, accompanied by General Sir Douglas Haig and General Sir
Chas. Munro. The Commander-in-Chief’s remark “The men are splendid” was
afterwards reproduced in large type on the Civil Service Recruiting
Posters in London underneath a photograph of Sergeant G. L. Eager,
looking very much at home in a trench.
The first Civil Service Rifles Sports Meeting in France took place in
a small rough field in Cauchy a la Tour, on the afternoon of the 28th
March. The following account of it is taken from the Regimental Diary:--
“The events included 500 yards--winner, Private L. P. Winter,
of ‘D’ Company; 250 yards (Sergeants)--Sergeant Rathbone
(a dark horse) ‘thrown in’ with 20 yards start; 250 yards
(officers)--Captain and Adjutant F. W. Parish 1st, Captain W.
F. K. Newson 2nd; Second Lieutenant Benké 3rd. Inter-Company
tug-of-war--‘A’ Company beat ‘B’ Company on the third pull.
Officers three-legged race--Second Lieutenants Benké and
Stevens easy winners. Lieutenants Chalmers and Carlisle next.
Inter-Company team race (1 officer, 20 other ranks)--‘B’
Company 1st, ‘D’ Company 2nd. Inspection of Officers’ chargers
and also of transport horses for best turnout; two races of
250 yards for ‘visitors’--the small boys of the village who
also participated in scrambles for small change. Obstacle
race, where one obstacle proved too much for all but six
starters--Lance-Corporal Cocky Oliver 1st; Lance-Corporal
H. Battersby 2nd; Lance-Corporal W. J. Irving 3rd. The
Commanding Officer afterwards distributed prizes to the
winners. Much amusement caused by their nature. We had broken
away from the salad bowl, tea spoon and tobacco cabinets,
etc. and substituted packets of chocolate, tinned fruit, tins
of sardines, box of candles (though Cauchy is illuminated
throughout by electricity), and, for officers, tins of dubbin
and bully beef tin openers.“
It may, perhaps, be remarked that all the winners at this Sports
Meeting mentioned in the Regimental Diary have survived the war--with
the sad exception of Lieutenant R. Chalmers.
The only other incident of note during the training at Cauchy was the
visit to the Division of the Bishop of London, who, according to the
Regimental Diary, was touring the back areas. His Lordship preached to
the 140th Brigade on the 29th of March, but the only comment that can
be found is that “We had to wear our heavy packs and were kept waiting
for some time.”
On the last day at Cauchy, the 6th of April, news was received of the
first death in the Battalion on active service. Private W. E. Little
of “D” Company, who had left the Battalion on the 4th, suffering from
cerebro spinal meningitis, having died in hospital at St. Omer. Thus
the 17th of March men had already lost one man before they reached the
firing line.
CHAPTER II
GIVENCHY AND FESTUBERT
On the 7th of April the Battalion left for Bethune and the forward
area. The villagers gave the men a very hearty send-off, for the Civil
Service Rifles had thoroughly captured the hearts of all at Cauchy, who
had done their best to fête their heroes overnight.
After sleepy Cauchy, Bethune was voted top hole. The shops in the
old town were quite Parisian, and every one indulged in dainty but
unsatisfying gateaux and steaming bowls of hot chocolate. For the _bon
viveurs_ there were excellent dinners in the ancient Hotel du Nord; for
the artistic the delicate traceries in the fine old church.
Bethune already showed some scars of the war, and the building in
which the Battalion was housed, Le College des Jeunes Filles, had
lost most of its windows, but otherwise it made a comfortable billet.
Here Lieutenant A. Roberts arrived with thirty other ranks from the
Base--evidently O.C. Reinforcements thought it was high time the Civil
Service Rifles suffered some casualties. On the following day the Civil
Service Rifles made its first acquaintance with the trenches. “A” and
“B” Companies were detailed for working parties in support trenches,
while to “D” Company fell the honour of being the first Civil Service
Rifle Company to go into the front line. It was the good fortune of the
Battalion to be initiated in the mysteries of trench warfare by the
4th (Guards) Brigade, and the arrangement was that each Company should
go in for twenty-four hours “under instruction” before the battalion
held a section of the line alone. “D” Company accordingly joined the
2nd Coldstream and survived their twenty-four hours without loss, but
the first battle casualties in the Battalion were suffered by “B”
Company, who, with “A” Company, were returning from their working party
at Cuinchy, when Privates W. Bartram and H. H. Russell were wounded
by a rifle bullet, which passed through the thigh of one man and hit
the calf of the other. It is said that the wounded men were deeply
concerned on two accounts--they had seen no Germans either alive or
dead, and it was pay day and they had not drawn their pay!
There is no doubt that this first visit to the front line was
productive of a sense of disappointment. War had, till then, been
regarded as a glorious thing, a thing of bugles and flashing bayonets,
of courage in hand-to-hand encounters, and above all, of excitement.
But this first experience showed it to be a thing of drab monotony,
of dull routine, of the avoidance of being killed, of an invisible
enemy. And so the letters of these days, which were to have been of
enthralling interest, were, instead, just catalogues of the minor
duties and details of trench life. Among them, however, is one
that cannot but prove of subtle humour to the infantryman of later
years--1916 and onwards. An extract is here reproduced.
“You should see the R.E. out in front mending the barbed
wire--and when a flare goes up, dropping instantly and
looking like sandbags, to be up and working like mad as soon
as darkness ensues again--cool beggars they are--odd bullets
flying all the time.”
On the other hand, R. W. Softly’s account of the first journey up to
the line would not make the soldier of 1918 envy the man of 1915:--
“‘B’ Company had come provided with all kinds of
supplies--firewood in abundance--and tied on to most of the
packs was a ‘grand pain.’ Though man may live on bread alone I
defy him to live solely on Army biscuit. We certainly thought
we had reached the limit as beasts of burden, but as we waited
at the first communication trench, some Guardsmen passed
by. Instead of our modest bundles of firewood, they carried
enormous tree branches. Half of them possessed frying pans or
braziers, and many of them carried a pair of rubber trench
boots so hung round the neck that it looked as if they were
carrying on their shoulders a limp individual whose head and
trunk were missing. When I add that they also carried picks and
shovels, you will understand if we were inclined to regard them
as a race of supermen as they filed past us in the setting sun.”
An important event was the taking-over by the whole Battalion, on the
13th of April, of a sector of the line--the real thing at last! Here,
indeed, was an event to set the many scribes of the Battalion busy. Of
all the experiences of the war, probably none made such a vivid and
lasting impression on all ranks in the Regiment, and certainly none was
more fully written up by the members as this first tour in the firing
line of a Battalion of the Civil Service Rifles. In the light of after
events in the war, it was a very quiet and peaceful tour, and probably
much the same as the initial experience of many other Battalions, but
it was none the less the realisation of all that these men had been
training for since the outbreak of war, so it is small wonder that no
detail was omitted, so far as the censorship regulations allowed, from
the hundreds of descriptive letters sent home at this time. Probably
all of them described how the Battalion paraded in Bethune (the names
of places are included here, though they were doubtless suitably
disguised in those letters home) in full marching order, wearing
greatcoats, on the afternoon of April 13th, 1915, and marched via the
village of Beuvry to the La Bassée Canal, the latter part of the march
being by platoons at 100 yards distance. Here was the old familiar
“artillery formation” in real life at last!
Even the landmarks along the side of the Canal received their share
of attention, and mention is made of the two pontoon bridges, between
which at one point the stiff hind legs of a horse stuck out of the
water, of the broken telegraph wires along the Canal bank, and of the
ruined buildings just short of Windy Corner, where the mile-long,
narrow, winding, brick-paved communication trenches were entered. These
had homely names--“Cheyne Walk,” “Battersea Road,” “City Road,” and
the dug-outs had such names as “St. Albans Villa,” “Le Petit Riche,”
“Funland,” and so on.
Of the many trying journeys of an infantry battalion, none is worse
than the “hesitation march” along a communication trench. The floor
of the trench is uneven and is full of holes, there are numerous
obstructions across the top, causing the weary soldier to go down
almost on all fours; there are numerous momentary halts for no apparent
reason, and whenever the party does seem to get moving, sure enough the
cry will come along, “lost touch in rear.” A few muttered curses as the
troops sink down on the bottom of the trench to await the word “all up
in rear” when another start is made. It is now found that they have
lost touch in front, and the leading men are going “all out” to catch
up.
The communication trench leading to the front line at Givenchy was
apparently no exception to the rule, as will be gathered from the
following account:
“It takes half an hour to trudge up to the firing line, and,
if in rear of the platoon, it is exceedingly difficult to keep
in touch. No matter how desperately you strive to catch up,
the pack of the man in front is always just on the point of
disappearing round the corner. Stray shots whizz past from time
to time....”
The perspiring troops, having negotiated the communication trench,
arrived at last in the front line at Givenchy, and the Battalion
relieved the 1st Herts Regiment in the sector known officially as B1,
but better known as the Duck’s Bill.
The frontage held was about 400 yards, and the front line was about
half a mile in front of Battalion Headquarters and the Battalion
Reserve.