4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment
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The 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was a Volunteer unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) recruited from
East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
it raised four battalions, which carried out garrison duty in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, served at
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
and against the
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...
, and saw a great deal of action on the Western Front, notably in the
Attack on the Gommecourt Salient The Attack on the Gommecourt Salient was a British operation against the northern flank of the German 2nd Army. The attack took place on 1 July 1916, on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. The attack was conducted by the Br ...
in 1916, at
Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Geography Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. Thisatellite photographs ...
in 1917 and at Oppy Wood and Chipilly Ridge in 1918. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
it served as an anti-aircraft regiment in the
Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
and during
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
in 1940 and in
North West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...
in 1944–45. It continued in the TA until 1961.


Volunteer Force

An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the
Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
and huge enthusiasm for joining local Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs). The
Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...
area of
East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
was no exception. The first RVC in the area was short-lived, but the 2nd Tower Hamlets RVC formed on 6 April 1860 at
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
soon had seven companies:Frederick, p. 286.Westlake, pp. 238–9.Beckett, Appendix VII.H.R. Martin, pp. 2–5.4th City of London at Regiments.org
/ref> * No 1 Company at Hackney * No 2 Company at
Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
* No 3 Company at Bow * Nos 4, 5 & 6 Companies at Poplar and
Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...
* No 7 Company at Clapton By the end of the year the HQ had moved to
South Hackney South Hackney is an area of Hackney in London, England within the Borough of Hackney. It is about northeast of Charing Cross. The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Walk utilises the buildings of ...
. One of the original officers was Captain
Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda (21 May 1813 – 27 April 1885) was an English engineer and politician. He was born in London the younger son of Abraham Samuda, and brother of Jacob Samuda. He started out in his father's counting-house, but in 1832 he ...
, a Thames-side shipbuilder. Similarly, the 4th Tower Hamlets RVC was formed in June 1860 at
St Leonard's, Shoreditch St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The ...
, initially with five companies, and the 6th Tower Hamlets RVC at Dalston in September 1860, with eight companies by the end of the year (many recruits probably coming from the failed 1st Tower Hamlets RVC). The 4th Tower Hamlets RVC moved its HQ to Robert Street,
Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...
in 1864, and in 1868 merged with the 2nd Corps to form the 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Brigade (THVRB), with 15 companies (seven from the 2nd, eight from the 4th), adopting Robert St as its HQ. The 6th Corps adopted the title of North East London Rifles in 1865, and on 1 January 1874 it too merged its 12 companies into the 1st Tower Hamlets, initially giving 27 companies, soon reduced to 16 and later 12. By now the unit had moved its HQ to the former 6th Tower Hamlets RVC HQ at 112 Shaftesbury Street, off City Road in Hoxton. Its regimental badge was the White Tower of the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
and it adopted scarlet uniforms (in place of the grey of many early Volunteer units).Grimwade, p. 1. When the
Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention ...
introduced 'Localisation of the Forces' in 1873, the THRB was brigaded, together with several other Volunteer and
Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
battalions in the London area, in Brigade No 53 & 54 under the
Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...
.''Army List'', various dates. As part of the
Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...
in 1881, the THRVB became a Volunteer Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, but without changing its title or its scarlet uniform faced with blue. When the Volunteers were assigned a role in the mobilisation scheme outlined by the
Stanhope Memorandum The Stanhope Memorandum was a document written by Edward Stanhope, the Secretary of State for War of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on 8 December 1888. It set out the overall strategic aims of the British Empire, and the way the Br ...
of 1888, the Tower Hamlets RVCs formed part of the East London Brigade, together with the City of London RVCs and the Middlesex RVCs formed by employees of the Customs and Post Office. The THRVB formed a Machine Gun Battery in 1886, and this became the nucleus of the MG section of the
City Imperial Volunteers The City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was a British corps of volunteers during the Second Boer War. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, volunteer corps were established in most counties of the United Kingdom to prov ...
that served in the 2nd Boer War. Other volunteers from the battalion were attached to other units, and the battalion was granted the
Battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...
South Africa 1900. The THRVB transferred from the Rifle Brigade to the
Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...
(The City of London Regiment) in 1904 when its title changed to the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. Subsequently, it became part of the Royal Fusiliers Brigade in the mobilisation scheme.


Territorial Force

On the formation of the
Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...
(TF) in 1908 as part of the
Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...
, the Volunteer units in and around London were formed into a new London Regiment, with the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers becoming the 4th (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), conveniently shortened to '4th Londons'.Barnes, Appendix IV. The 1st–4th Bns London Regiment (formerly the 1st–4th VBs Royal Fusiliers) remained brigaded together as the 1st London Brigade of the 1st London Division of the TF.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141-7.56 Division at Long, Long Trail
/ref>
/ref>


World War I


Mobilisation

The 1st London Division left by train from
Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
on Sunday 2 August 1914 for its annual training camp, which was to be held at
Wareham, Dorset Wareham ( ) is a historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles (13 km) southwest of Poole. Situation and geography The town is bu ...
. No sooner had the 4th Londons reached camp than it received orders to return to London for mobilisation. This process had been carefully planned, and was completed on 3 August, the battalion entraining again shortly after midnight, so that before war was declared on 4 August the battalions of the 1st London Brigade were already at their war stations, guarding the vital
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
line between Waterloo and
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. The 4th Londons were assigned the length from Waterloo to
Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is ...
, and the branch line to
Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...
and
Bordon Camp Bordon and Longmoor Military Camps are British Army training camps close to the A3 and A325 roads in and around the settlements of Bordon, Longmoor, Liss and Liphook in Hampshire, England. The main street of the Longmoor part of the camp is buil ...
. The Transport Section remained at Hoxton to complete mobilisation.London Rgt at Long, Long Trail
/ref> On the night of 31 August/1 September the 1st London Bde was ordered back to its peacetime headquarters to mobilise for garrison duty overseas. On 4 September the 4th Londons entrained at Waterloo for Southampton, there to embark on HM Transport '' Galician'' bound for
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Four officers and a small number of NCOs and men ruled medically unfit for overseas service were left at Hoxton to begin recruiting a reserve battalion. Shortly afterwards this was designated the 2/4th Londons, after which the parent unit became the 1/4th Battalion. Later the 3/4th and 4/4th Battalions were also raised (''see below'').London Rgt at Regimental Warpath
/ref>


1/4th Battalion


Malta 1914

The battalions of the 1st London Bde were the first TF units to go on service overseas. The 1/4th Londons disembarked in Malta on 14 September and began coastal defence and guard duties as well as training the 250 recruits in its ranks. On 2 January 1915 the 1/4th Bn was relieved by the 2/4th Bn (leaving its obsolete rifles and equipment for the newcomers) and embarked on HMT '' Avon'' for
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
in France.Overseas Garrisons at Regimental Warpath
/ref>


Neuve Chapelle

After re-equipping with charger-loading Long Lee-Enfield rifles and 1914 pattern webbing equipment, 1/4th Londons joined GHQ Reserve at
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
for further training on 25 January. The battalion joined the Ferozepore Brigade of the
3rd (Lahore) Division The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops ...
on 20 February.Perry, pp. 50–2.MacDonald, p. 53. At the beginning of the
Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge and ...
on 10 March the Ferozepore Brigade was in Army Reserve, but it moved up on 12 March, the 1/4th Londons relieving the
41st Dogras The 41st Dogras were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1900, when they were raised as the 41st (Dogra) Bengal Infantry. They went to China in 1904 to join an international force, staying there unt ...
of the
7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, ...
after an exhausting approach march: 'This position was perhaps not an ideal one for the first introduction of a raw battalion to trench warfare'. The planned attack did not materialise, and the 1/4th Londons returned to billets, having suffered 14 wounded. The battalion then entered the round of spells of trench duty alternating with periods in reserve.


2nd Ypres

The Germans launched an attack preceded by poison gas at
Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
on 22 April. On 23 and 24 April the 1/4th Bn force-marched towards the
Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...
and went into the firing line on 26 April, digging new assembly trenches on a reverse slope. At 14.30 the battalion moved up in support of a British counter-attack, but the attack had failed, and the Londons marched across open ground under
shrapnel shell Shrapnel shells were anti-personnel artillery munitions which carried many individual bullets close to a target area and then ejected them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike targets individually. They relied almo ...
fire to a sunken lane where the remnants of the attackers were sheltering. Here they dug a new temporary line. The following day the attack was renewed, the battalion coming under fire as it crossed the crest line. Heavy casualties were suffered in the valley beyond, until the battalion was withdrawn into brigade reserve after nightfall. The Ferozepore Brigade was relieved on 30 April and withdrew under shellfire. Between 26 and 30 April the 1/4th Londons had lost 365 out of 600 men; while withdrawing it was joined by a draft of 50 from the 3/4th Londons. The weak Ferozepore Brigade immediately went into hastily-dug support lines behind the Meerut Division's attacks on
Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a ...
(9 May) and
Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming vil ...
(15/16 May), where it was shelled but was not involved in the disastrous attacks. The 1/4th Londons also suffered a large number of casualties from sickness in its shallow trenches. After this, the reinforcement problems meant that the
Indian Corps The I Indian Corps was an army corps of the British Indian Army in the World War I. It was formed at the outbreak of war under the title Indian Corps from troops sent to the Western Front. The British Indian Army did not have a pre-war corps str ...
was not used offensively for the rest of the year, and 1/4th Londons spent the summer of 1915 taking turns in holding sections of trench in the
La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace François ...
Road area and providing working parties while suffering a trickle of casualties. The Lahore Division was transferred to
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
in November 1915, but its British battalions remained in France. 1/4th Londons were briefly attached to the
46th (North Midland) Division The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Monta ...
but almost immediately joined
140th (4th London) Brigade The 140th (4th London) Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that had its origins in a South London Brigade (known as the 'Grey Brigade') of the former Volunteer Force. It served on the Western Fro ...
in
47th (1/2nd London) Division The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. Formation The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Res ...
. The division spent the next month in training, before re-entering the line in the very active
Hohenzollern redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...
sector. Being still weak in numbers, the 1/4th Londons were kept in reserve, but their bombing parties did go into the front line to reinforce other units under pressure from trench raids.


56th (1/1st London) Division

In February 1916 the battalion returned to the 1st London Division, which was being reformed in France as the 56th (1/1st London) Division, with the battalion assigned to the 2nd London Brigade numbered as 168th (2nd London) Brigade. On 7 May the battalion received a large draft of veterans of Gallipoli and Egypt from the 2/4th Bn which was being disbanded (''see below''). Further drafts were received from the 2/4th and 4/4th Bns in May and June, bringing it up to strength.MacDonald, pp. 78, 95.Grimwade, pp. 148–9, 152. 56th Division was scheduled to undertake its first operation in the
Attack on the Gommecourt Salient The Attack on the Gommecourt Salient was a British operation against the northern flank of the German 2nd Army. The attack took place on 1 July 1916, on the Western Front in France, during the First World War. The attack was conducted by the Br ...
at the start of the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
. On the night of 25/26 May the 1/4th Bn dug a new jumping-off trench half-way across
No man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
. Over following days and nights this position was enlarged and linked with communication trenches, during which the battalion suffered a trickle of casualties. 1/4th practised the attack on 6 June, but as a support unit its rehearsals were less detailed, and the battalion carried out weeks of night labour. It returned to the line on 27 June, where in the days preceding the attack it came under the sharp German counter-bombardment, losing numerous casualties.


Gommecourt

When the 1/12th Londons ( The Rangers) went over the top on 1 July, 1/4th Londons moved up to occupy their vacated jumping-off trenches, with A Company to the right, C Company to the left and D Company in reserve. Half of B Company was being used as carrying parties, while the other half (two platoons) were to follow the Rangers to clear German dugouts. However, these two platoons had already lost a third of their strength while waiting to move up. Only 10 men from this half-company returned at the end of the day's fighting. The battalion found the Rangers' trenches badly damaged by the German counter-bombardment, and the Germans were laying a curtain of shellfire across No man's land. During the morning, A and C Companies of the 1/4th were ordered forward through this barrage to reinforce the Rangers. Those men of A Company who got across No man's land were soon left leaderless when all their officers became casualties, and the survivors were 'mopped up' by German troops and taken prisoner; only 18 men of the company returned after the attack. Similarly the two platoons of C company that attacked lost their officers and the survivors were brought out of action by the Company Sergeant-Major.Grimwade, pp. 161–5.Edmonds, pp. 463–4. When the battalion's carrying parties tried to cross No man's land with supplies at 10.45, they were driven back with heavy casualties by the German barrage, while the reserve companies in the British line were suffering badly from German
Howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
fire. D Company, having already suffered 50 per cent casualties, was ordered to send over another carrying party; all the men became casualties. At 13.00, the battalion was ordered to send forward a company to support what was left of the Rangers and 1/4th Bn in the German trenches, but at 13.30 the British hold on the German trenches was broken by counter-attacks and the survivors attempted to retreat over No-man's land. At 14.30, Battalion HQ was hit by a howitzer shell (the commanding officer (CO), Lt-Col L.L. Wheatley, was dug out alive), and at 15.30 the CO was given permission to withdraw the shattered battalion from the jumping-off trench to the reserve line. The battalion had suffered 50 per cent casualties in the action, even though less than half of it had even left the British lines. One wounded Private of the battalion, stuck in the mud in No man's land, was rescued 14 days after the battle. The Gommecourt attack had been a diversion and no further attack was made in the area. The reduced battalions of 56th Division had to hold their line until 20 August. The battalion received a large number of replacement officers and NCOs from the 2/4th, 3/4th and 4/4th Bns. After being relieved, the 56th Division moved to the southern Somme sector, where it trained with the first tanks to arrive in France.


Ginchy

On 5 September 1916 the 56th Division went back into the line during the
Battle of Ginchy The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, when the 16th (Irish) Division captured the German-held village. Ginchy is north-east of Guillemont, at the junction of six roads, on a rise overlooking Comble ...
. 1/4th Londons were in brigade reserve along the Wedge Wood–Ginchy road, where they suffered casualties from shellfire while digging assembly trenches for the next phase of the offensive. This began on 9 September, when the battalion led the brigade's right hand assault. The crowded trenches were heavily shelled before they went 'over the top', at 16.45, but the battalion successfully pivoted towards its objective and followed the new-style
creeping barrage In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
. However, its objective was a trench that had either been obliterated or never existed, so the men overshot into the now-stationary barrage. When the barrage resumed advancing at 17.25, the mixed up companies of the battalion captured their second objective ('Beef' Trench). By now, both flanks were 'in the air' (particularly on the left, where the Rangers had been held up by the 'Quadrilateral'). After dark the main objective was only held by advanced parties while the rest of the battalion cleared an intermediate position ('Bully' Trench) in their rear. These advanced posts were withdrawn the following morning while the flanks were strengthened. The battalion was relieved from Bully Trench at midnight on 10/11 September. The total casualties over the five days were 20 officers and about 250 other ranks.


Morval

For the
Battle of Flers–Courcelette The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War ...
, 1/4th Londons were to follow the assault of 167th (1st London) Bde towards Bouleaux Wood and then 'leap-frog' through it onto the German third line. The attack went in at 06.20 on 15 September, and 1/4th Londons left their bivouacs at 09.00. Progress was slow due to mud and German shellfire, and the battalion was recalled before it had got far, when the rest of the failed attack was cancelled. It was the same story when the division made a second attempt on 18 September: this time the battalion came under heavy German fire, lost a good many men, and had to shelter in muddy shell-craters until the attack was called off. When it was renewed on 25 September (the
Battle of Morval The Battle of Morval, 25–28 September 1916, was an attack during the Battle of the Somme by the British Fourth Army (United Kingdom), Fourth Army on the villages of Morval, Pas-de-Calais, Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs, Lesbœufs held by th ...
) the 1/4th Londons were the right assaulting battalion of 168th Bde, tasked with clearing the northern end of Bouleaux Wood. B and C Companies went over the top at 12.42, seven minutes after zero, to allow other units to come into line, and followed an effective creeping barrage onto the objectives with little opposition, driving the defenders in front of the Lewis guns of the 1/14th Londons ( London Scottish). Consolidation of the strongpoints in the wood was hampered by enemy snipers but the positions gained gave excellent observation over the enemy defences. Casualties in this successful operation were only 32.


Le Transloy

The battalion dug assembly positions for the next phase of the offensive (the
Battle of Le Transloy The Battle of Le Transloy was the last big attack by the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in France, during the First World War. The battle was fought in conjunction with attacks by the Frenc ...
) and was relieved, then unexpectedly brought forward again to act as the centre battalion in 168th Bde's attack on 7 October. The battalion attacked at 13.47, two minutes after the start of the barrage. D Company was virtually wiped out by enemy machine guns in the gun pits that were the objective; C Company was able to take cover in shell holes in dead ground, but B Company, following up, was met by the German counter-bombardment. The remaining attackers lay out in No man's land, no further than 50 yards from their starting position, trying to get round the gun pits, until darkness began to fall and German counter-attacks developed. The battalion was withdrawn having suffered 300 casualties. When the battalion reached its rest billets it had been reduced to 275 all ranks. There followed months of light training and line-holding in the Neuve Chapelle sector while the units of 56th Division were slowly rebuilt. Despite further casualties while holding the line, 1/4th Londons attained a strength of 850 all ranks when it returned to active operations in March 1917.


Arras

In March 1917 the 56th Division was preparing to attack as part of the forthcoming Battle of Arras when patrols discovered that the Germans in front had disappeared – the beginning of their retreat to the
Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...
. At
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
this retreat was minor, so the attack went in on schedule on 9 April, from old German communication trenches, where the 1/4th Londons hurriedly had to dig fresh assembly trenches. The battalion was in support for the attack, B Company advancing to 'mop up' behind the Rangers and 1/13th Londons ( Kensingtons)), the remainder moving forward in the afternoon to fill a gap in the line and then consolidate. The Arras Offensive was renewed on 3 May and went badly for 56th Division, but 168th Bde was in reserve and was not engaged. The following day it took over the whole divisional front under heavy shellfire. On 10 May the battalion was ordered to clear up a troublesome German outpost at 'Cavalry Farm'. The attack was made without any increase in artillery fire, and so came as a surprise to the defenders of the farm, which was quickly seized and consolidated.


Langemarck

In August 1917, 56th Division moved to the Ypres Salient to take part in the second phase of the Third Ypres Offensive (the Battle of Langemarck). It formed the right flank of the attack, with 53rd Bde from
18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England u ...
under its command on the extreme right. At a late stage 1/4th Londons were attached to the weak 53rd Bde for this operation, but the CO, Lt-Col H. Campbell, was wounded on the way to meet the brigadier, and his second-in-command had less than 24 hours to reconnoitre and prepare the attack, in muddy terrain, with the start line changed at the last moment. The battalion left its mud holes and followed the barrage at 05.45 on 16 August, but 7th Bn
Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...
was unable to take a concrete
pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military), concrete dug-in guard posts * Pillbox affair The Pillbox affair, also known ...
, which caused many casualties to the 1/4th Londons, who were brought to a standstill and could do no more than form a defensive flank along the edge of Glencorse Wood. Twelve officers and 182 other ranks had been killed or wounded. The division was pulled out of the line the following day for reorganisation.


Cambrai

The casualties from the Ypres fighting were not replaced, and the whole division was numerically weak, companies in 1/4th Londons being reduced to just two effective platoons. 56th Division was given the task of making a demonstration with dummy tanks and figures on the flank of the great tank attack that opened the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November. The demonstration succeeded in attracting German defensive fire, though 1/4th Londons were in reserve behind the line. The battalion moved up early on 23 November to relieve the London Scottish, who were advancing into Tadpole Copse, and later in the day its companies were drawn into the fighting in the Hindenburg Line trenches with hand and rifle grenades and Lewis guns that lasted three days and cost the battalion 60 casualties before it was relieved and went to hold a quieter sector of the line. Due to manpower shortages the BEF disbanded one in four of its infantry battalions in February 1918: the 1/4th Bn received drafts from the disbanded 1/3rd Londons (167th Bde), 1/9th Londons (
Queen Victoria's Rifles The 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) was a Territorial Army infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantr ...
) (
169th (3rd London) Brigade The 169th (3rd London) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars. Throughout its existence the brigade, serving under numerous many different titles and designations, ...
) and 2/1st Londons (
58th (2/1st London) Division The 58th (2/1st London) Division was an infantry division created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th (1/1st Lo ...
), enabling the battalion to reorganise with three platoons per company.


Oppy Wood

The German spring offensive opened on 21 March 1918 some miles south of 56th Division's positions outside Arras. The 1/4th Bn prepared a defensive flank facing south in case the line was turned, but no attack developed until 03.00 on 28 March (
Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename fo ...
) when the battalion's outposts in Oppy Wood came under heavy bombardment. The two forward companies were overrun by 09.00, despite causing heavy casualties with their Lewis guns. The other two companies in the support trench (the Marquis line) then held the attackers while the defensive flank (Ouse Alley) was manned by details from Advanced Battalion HQ, and artillery fire was brought down on the captured outposts. By 11.30 the pressure on both flanks was too great, and the defenders withdrew to the Red Line (held by the London Scottish), having to go cross-country because Ouse Alley was cut behind them. The Red Line was not seriously attacked: despite the 1/4th Bn's sacrifice (19 killed, 45 wounded, 171 captured and missing), the tactic of holding an outpost line to break up enemy attacks was considered a success. Relieved and moving to a rest area, the 1/4th Bn was lucky to receive two drafts of fully trained reinforcements totalling 420 men, but they came from all over the UK, diluting the
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
nature of the battalion. For several months the battalion did its share of line holding outside Arras, interspersed with occasional trench raids and bombardments.


The Hundred Days

The Allied counter-offensive (the
Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...
) began in summer 1918, the 56th Division joining in at the Battle of Albert on 23 August. After rushed preparations, the 1/4th Londons attacked behind an intense barrage at 05.07 towards the village of
Boyelles Boyelles is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A farming village located 6 miles (11 km) south of Arras on the N17 road. A celebration of the potato takes place annually ...
and the trench system at
Boisleux-Saint-Marc Boisleux-Saint-Marc (; pcd, Bouilleul-Saint-Marc) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography A farming village located 7 miles (11 km) south of Arras on the D35 road. Popul ...
. Four tanks assisted against Boyelles, where the garrison surrendered, but the left of the battalion was held up by the Marc position until the troops on either flank pressed forward and cleared it. The battalion resumed the advance at 16.30, attacking in widely extended formation and suffering few casualties, capturing machine guns and patrolling 500 yards beyond the Germans' Boyelles Reserve trenches. Another rushed attack went in on 28 August, towards
Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Geography Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. Thisatellite photographs ...
to clear a section of the Hindenburg Line. 1/4th Londons led 168th Bde in support of 169th Bde, some of whom went astray, so the battalion had to mop up obstinate German pockets and it was not until late evening that the area was cleared. The division continued the attack next day, 1/4th Londons being in support. Bullecourt having been recaptured by the Germans, the division attacked again on 31 August, with 1/4th Londons in the centre, clearing the village by mid-afternoon. The battalion gained satisfaction from finally capturing Bullecourt, where the 2/4th Bn (''see below'') had fought the previous year. When the assault crossing of the Canal du Nord began on 27 September, the 1/4th Londons watched as the rest of the division advanced across their front along the far bank of the canal, before following up themselves on the near (west) bank against slight opposition. The advance was now a pursuit, held up only by German rearguards. On 6 October, patrols from the 1/4th Londons entered Aubencheul-au-Bac without opposition, taking the line as far as the
Sensée Canal The Canal de la Sensée () is a canal in northern France. The project was developed under Napoleon. In March 1806, the imperial government gave orders to build a canal which would link the Scarpe River and the Escaut River ( en, Scheldt). The wo ...
. The battalion was withdrawn for rest, and did not return to the line until 3 November, when it followed up in conjunction with units of
Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-ti ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
cyclists. The following day a rushed attack made considerable progress until the battalion ran into stiff resistance at the Aunelle river crossing at
Sebourg Sebourg () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the ...
. The battalion was in support for further attacks over the next few days, but was not involved in any more fighting before the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
came into force on 11 November.
Demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...
began in early 1919, and the battalion was reduced to a
cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...
of 50 men by mid-May. The cadre returned to England on 21 May and marched through London to Hoxton.


Commanding officers

The following officers commanded 1/4th Bn during World War I: * Lt-Col G.P. Botterill, from mobilisation, wounded 26 April 1915 * Maj L.T. Burnett, acting, 26 April to 16 June 1915 * Lt-Col Leslie Burnett, OBE, promoted 16 June 1915, sick 19 January 1916 * Maj W.J. Clarke, acting, 19 January to 23 March 1916 * Lt-Col L.L. Wheatley, DSO (
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
), from 8 April, sick 11 October 1916 * Lt-Col H.J. Duncan-Teape, 11 October 1916 to 17 March 1917 * Lt-Col A.E. Maitland, MC (
Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...
), from 18 March, sick 12 April 1917 * Lt-Col H. Campbell, DSO (13th Londons (Kensingtons)) from 12 April, wounded 14 August 1917 * Lt-Col A.F. Marchment, DSO, MC (1st Londons), from 14 August 1917 to the Armistice


2/4th Battalion

Within two weeks of formation, the 2/4th Bn had over 400 men and it moved from Hoxton to
New Barnet New Barnet is a neighbourhood on the north east side of the London Borough of Barnet. It is a largely residential North London suburb located east of Chipping Barnet, west of Cockfosters, south of the village of Monken Hadley and north of Oaklei ...
on 23 September 1914 for training. Colonel Vickers Dunfee, who had retired from command of the 4th VB in 1908, returned as CO of the battalion. By 14 December it had grown to 27 officers and 986 other ranks, and joined the rest of 2/1st London Brigade at
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
. Here it was ordered at short notice to embark at Southampton on 23 December aboard HMT ''Avon'' bound for Malta to relieve the 1/4th Bn. The 2/4th disembarked on 2 January 1915 while the 1/4th went to the Western Front (''see above'').


Malta 1915

While on Malta the 2/4th Bn continued training, guarded
Prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
(PoWs) and performed public duties. It was still regarded as a draft-finding unit for 1/4th Bn, and in July was under orders to send a draft of 400 men to the Western Front (to be replaced by 400 men from the 4/4th Bn at home). However, it was instead ordered to Egypt as a Service Battalion, embarking on HMT ''Southlands'' on 21 August and disembarking at
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
four days later. On 9 October the battalion re-embarked on HMT ''Karroo'' for
Mudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...
, where it transhipped to HMT ''Sarnia'' and landed at
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
on 16 October. Here the 2/1st London Brigade was attached to the
Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...
, the 2/3rd and 2/4th Bns joining
1st Royal Naval Brigade The 1st Royal Naval Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Royal Navy which was formed from excess naval reserve personnel. The brigade was formed in August 1914 and assigned to the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division after that division's formation in S ...
.


Gallipoli

2/4th Londons received their introduction to trench warfare in the 'Eski' reserve line between 20 and 27 October, and suffered their first battle casualties. Thereafter they did seven-day tours of duty in the reserve line alternating with 'rest' in flooded camps in the rear. In December the battalion took over frontline trenches. Between 31 December and 8 January 1916 the battalion was evacuated to Mudros by detachments as the Gallipoli operation was closed down. From Mudros the battalion was taken to Alexandria aboard HMT ''Ionian'', arriving on 21 January.


Senussi campaign

In Egypt, the battalion was sent to join a force at Minia guarding the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
against a potential attack by Senussi rebels. The 2/4th Londons' CO (Acting-Lt-Col V.H. Seyd, then Col Vickers Dunfee) commanded a force at
Beni Mazar Beni Mazar () is a rural town in Egypt. It is located in the Minya Governorate, on the west bank of the Nile. The older name of the town is Shinwada ( or شِنُوَدة) which comes from Sahidic (Bohairic: ϣⲓⲛⲟⲩⲟϯ) meaning "kailyard ...
on the railway line consisting of HQ and three companies of the 2/4th and two companies of the 2/2nd Londons with detachments of Lovat's Scouts, Australian Light Horse,
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
and an armoured train. The other company of the 2/4th guarded a bridge over the
Bahr Yussef The Bahr Yussef ( ar, بحر يوسف; "the waterway of Joseph") is a canal which connects the Nile River with Fayyum in Egypt. In ancient times it was called Tomis () by the Greeks which was derived from its Egyptian name ''Tm.t'' "ending canal ...
. The 2/4th was withdrawn from Beni Mazar in April 1916 and returned to Alexandria, where the 2/1st London Brigade concentrated under the command of Col Dunfee. On 17 April the brigade embarked on HMT ''
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
'' and sailed to Marseilles.


New 2/4th Battalion

Once in France, the 2/1st London Brigade moved to
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
, where it was disbanded. By 20 June all of the 'Old 2/4th' Bn had been drafted to the 1/4th Bn preparing for the attack at Gommecourt (''see above''). Col Dunfee commanded the 1/22nd Londons for a while, and then returned to the UK to take command of the 4/4th Bn. Meanwhile, the 3/4th Londons (''see below''), completing their training in the UK, were renumbered as the 'New' 2/4th Bn. The battalion formed part of
173rd (3/1st London) Brigade The 173rd (3/1st London) Brigade was a formation of the British Army's Territorial Force that was raised in 1915. It was assigned to the 58th (2/1st London) Division and served on the Western Front during World War I. Its number was used for a ...
(popularly known as the Fusilier Brigade) in
58th (2/1st London) Division The 58th (2/1st London) Division was an infantry division created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th (1/1st Lo ...
.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 9–15. At the time of the renumbering, the 58th Division was carrying out coast defence duties in East Anglia, but on 10 July 1916 it concentrated at
Sutton Veny Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, on ...
for final training on
Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
. On 23 January 1917, the battalion embarked on HMT ''
Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
'' at Southampton Docks for
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, and joined the division concentrated around Lucheux. On 9 February the battalion went into the line for the first time, at Ransart, south of Arras. This was considered a quiet sector, and the 2/4th were introduced to trench warfare by units of the
49th (West Riding) Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...
. From February to April the 58th Division followed up the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and was then put to work to repair the roads and railways destroyed by the retreating troops.


Bullecourt

Under heavy shellfire during the night of 13/14 May, 173rd Bde relieved the 15th Australian Brigade, which had been attacking at the
Second Battle of Bullecourt The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...
. Captain G.E.A. Leake of C Company was recommended for a VC and was awarded an immediate DSO for single-handedly ejecting a German machine gun team attempting to take up a position to
enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
his men. A serious counter-attack against 2/4th Bn's position on 15 May was completely broken up by shell and small arms fire. The battalion was withdrawn after two days in the line, under bombardment for 19 hours, and having suffered 250 casualties.


Ypres

After a period of trench holding near Arras, the 58th Division moved to the Ypres Salient in late August 1917. In the attack of 20 September (the
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called "Battle of the Menin Road", was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20 to 25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient i ...
), the 2/4th Bn's objective was the strongly fortified area round 'Winnipeg Crossroads'. Assembling the attackers in the thick mud and darkness caused problems, but the attack went in at 05.40 behind an intense creeping barrage. One pillbox near the crossroads was captured single-handedly by Pte Bolton, another on the left caused a holdup until 2/Lt F.W. Walker outflanked it with a party of six men and rushed it. Only at Schuler Farm, where the supporting tanks were bogged down and the attacking platoon was almost wiped out, did the attack fail. The battalion was on its other objectives within half an hour, but casualties from shellfire had been severe. Similarly, British shellfire broke up a German counter-attack, and Schuler Farm was evacuated, so that the battalion handed over an intact position when relieved at 21.00 on 21 September. Although 58th Division participated in the
Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood a ...
(26 September), 2/4th Bn was not engaged, and afterwards the 58th went into reserve. The division returned to the line for the
Second Battle of Passchendaele The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, be ...
(26 October). As it arrived, the weather broke, and the division was forced to jump off from a line of flooded craters in the
Poelcapelle Langemark-Poelkapelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Geography Other places in the municipality include Bikschote, Langemark and Poelkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Langemark-Poelkapelle had a total populati ...
area and struggle forward behind a barrage that advanced too quickly. 2/4th Londons were detailed to leap-frog through and take 173rd Bde's second objective, but the exhausted men, with hardly a rifle able to fire because of the mud, only took one post, at Tracas Farm before being pushed back to their start line. The battalion had to be relieved the same night, having suffered 359 casualties – the costliest day in 2/4th Bn's history – and it was reorganised as a single company. The 2/4th Londons now spent a prolonged period out of the battle area, absorbing a draft of over 200 men, but remaining considerably under strength until February, when 2/1st Londons were disbanded and 220 of them joined 2/4th Bn. In December and January the battalion took its turn in trench-holding in the Salient until 58th Division was transferred to the south in January 1918. Here it spent time digging defences, converting former French positions into the newly devised defences in depth.


Spring Offensive

When the German spring offensive opened on 21 March 1918, 58th Division was positioned astride the
River Oise The Oise ( ; ) is a river of Belgium and France, flowing for from its source in the Belgian province of Hainaut (province), Hainaut, south of Chimay. It crosses the border with France after about . It flows into the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honor ...
with 173rd Bde north of the river at
La Fère La Fère () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in France. Population See also * Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 Communes of France, communes in the French Departments of France, de ...
. It was covering a wide frontage of about 5000 yards with 2/2nd Londons in the Forward Zone and 2/4th Londons behind them in the Battle Zone, each company being in a 'defended locality' with a central keep and outlying redoubts, the wide spaces between being covered by machine guns. General
Oskar von Hutier Oskar Emil von Hutier (27 August 1857 – 5 December 1934) was a German general during the First World War. He served in the German Army from 1875 to 1919, including war service. During the war, he commanded the army that took Riga, Russian Repub ...
directed four German divisions under Von Gayl against this front. 173rd Brigade's Signal HQ was knocked out early in the bombardment and no orders went out, but Lt-Col Dann deployed the companies of 2/4th Londons to their positions on his own initiative. The whole position was shrouded in mist, aiding the German infiltration tactics. They cleared the Forward Zone by midday, and 2/4th Londons in the Battle Zone were engaged as the mist lifted. The battalion held on until nightfall, supported by detachments of 2/3rd Londons from reserve and the divisional pioneers of 1/4th Bn
Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...
. Most of C Company at the Triangle locality, supported by a single
18-pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...
field gun, were eventually captured, but by midnight the rest of the battalion had withdrawn in good order across the Crozat Canal. While 8th Londons held the canal, the three companies of 2/4th Londons dug in on the Vouel Line behind them. The German attack was renewed in the afternoon of 22 March, but the canal was held until nightfall, the only attacks on the Vouel Line coming from German artillery ranged in by spotter aircraft. The following day, the Vouel Line (now the British front line) became crowded with French troops from a failed counter-attack on the canal, while the left flank was 'in the air' after the retreat of
18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England u ...
. The position became untenable at mid-day, when Lt-Col Dann ordered a withdrawal to the Green Line about 1500 yards back, and the battalion and the French troops had to fight their way back to this partly-dug position. With continued pressure on the open left flank, 173rd Bde was forced to withdraw again, beyond
Viry-Noureuil Viry-Noureuil () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The ...
. By now the fighting strength of 2/4th Londons was about 120 men, who came under the command of 8th Londons. However, the battalion's second-in-command, Major Grover, led up a scratch force of 280 clerks, cooks and drivers from the brigade's rear areas. By nightfall, 'Grover's Force' blocked the way to
Chauny Chauny () is a Communes of France, commune in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History There has been a settlement on the site, more or less continuously, since at least the Carolingian era. Know ...
on the
St. Quentin Canal The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much lo ...
, with the combined 2/4th and 8th Londons to his left and the 18th Entrenching Battalion (formed from disbanded battalions of 18th Division) to his right astride the canal. The mixed force under 173rd Bde held out on the fourth day of the battle until the afternoon, when they made a planned withdrawal, and by 16.30 had retired across the Oise to join the rest of 58th Division. Here a composite 'Fusilier Battalion' was formed under Lt-Col Dann of the 2/4th, with a company drawn from each of the 2/2nd, 3rd, 2/4th and 8th Londons, which held the river crossings until relieved on the night of 25/26 March. Out of the line, Grover's Force and the Fusilier Battalion were reorganised, so that 2/4th Londons formed half of the Fusilier Battalion, which represented the whole of 173rd Bde.


Villers Bretonneux

58th Division was relieved by the French on 2/3 April and was moved by rail to cover
Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux border ...
against the continuing German advance. Between 21 March and 4 April the battalion had lost 38 men killed, 132 wounded, and 211 missing. The two companies in the Fusilier Bn were now joined by two companies from 16th Entrenching Bn (mostly from the disbanded 6th
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...
from the
14th (Light) Division The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marchin ...
), and a draft of young recruits from England to reconstitute the 2/4th Bn. After a period working on defences, the battalion went back into the front line on the evening of 18 April. The battered 173rd Bde was not involved with the rest of the division in the
First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (30 March – 5 April 1918), took place during Operation Michael, part of the German spring offensive on the Western Front. The offensive began against the British Fifth Army and the Third Army on the Som ...
, but was in the front line when the German Second Army launched the
Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. It is notable for being the ...
on 24 April. The battalion was attacked out of the mist by six German
A7V The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Überlandwagen'' cargo carriers. Th ...
tanks and fell back until they realised that the tanks were manoeuvring ineffectually, so they rallied at the company HQ line and then fell back slowly. They inflicted heavy casualties on the three following waves of German infantry, finally halting them at the Cachy Switch trench. 2/4th Bn's support company was almost cut off but also fought its way back to the Switch. An 18-pounder gun was manhandled to Lt-Col Dann's Bn HQ, where it drove back the remaining German tanks, A counter-attack the following day regained Villers-Bretonneux and most of the lost ground. The battalion's losses were 24 killed, 113 wounded and 203 missing. The battalion spent the summer of 1918 working on the defences in front of
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
. Although it received some drafts of recruits from home and reverted to a four-company organisation, it was never made up to full strength. During its spell in the line it was designated a counter-attack battalion, and carried out a number of patrols into No man's land to train the young soldiers. At this period the
1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
caused more casualties than the Germans, with 427 members of the battalion hospitalised at some point in June and July.


Chipilly

For the opening attack of the Hundred Days Offensive (the Battle of Amiens) on 8 August 1918, 174th Bde was given the initial objective of capturing Malard Wood, after which 173rd Bde would pass through to take the vital
Chipilly Chipilly is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Chipilly is situated on the D71 road, on the opposite bank of the river Somme from Cerisy, to the east of Amiens and from Albert. Population See ...
Ridge overlooking a bend in the River Somme and flanking the battlefield. 2/4th Bn led on the left of 173rd Bde's advance in 'artillery formation' through the German barrage that fell behind 174th Bde, during which the battalion HQ staff, including Lt-Col Grover, were wounded by shellfire. In the morning mist the battalion drifted 500 yards left of its intended line through the gullies. At 08.30, as the leading companies reached the far edge of Malard Wood, the mist began to clear and the battalion was brought to a halt by machine gun fire across the valley in front and so dug in at the edge of the wood. The failure to take Chipilly Ridge resulted in heavy casualties to the troops to the left of 58th Division who were overlooked by this feature. The division therefore made a second attack on 9 August. 2/4th Londons attacked in the centre of 173rd Bde, from an assembly trench that turned out to be no more than a string of shell-holes, and behind a misdirected barrage. The supporting American battalion was not yet in line and the battalion was enfiladed from Chipilly village. Under heavy fire and taking serious casualties, the battalion dug in under the shelter of the Chipilly gully. At nightfall the 2/10th Londons managed to clear Chipilly village and dislodge the defenders from the ridge. The battalion had lost another 300 men over the two-day battle, and at one point had five acting COs in 12 hours. Between 10 and 22 August the battalion was brought up to strength with a large draft of 20 officers (from various London battalions) and 480 other ranks, mainly seasoned soldiers from 14th (Light) Division.


Bapaume

The
Second Battle of Bapaume The Second Battle of Bapaume was a battle of the First World War that took place at Bapaume in France, from 21 August 1918 to 3 September 1918. It was a continuation of the Battle of Albert and is also referred to as the second phase of that ba ...
opened on 22 August and was continued with a night attack on 23/24 August, in which 173rd Bde supported 175th Bde and 47th Division. A dawn attack on 25 August found the German positions empty, and 2/4th Londons was sent forward with a Troop of the
Northumberland Hussars The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of t ...
and sections of the
Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...
and
Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...
as an advanced guard to re-establish contact with the enemy. In these unusual conditions of open warfare, the battalion marched in column up a road until the cavalry contacted the enemy at Billon Wood, when the companies deployed and attacked. Despite intense shelling, the battalion was established on the far side of the wood by the end of the day, and was relieved at midnight. The attack was renewed on 27 August, with 2/4th Bn in support of 3rd Londons towards Maricourt. The defence was sporadic, and the two battalions passed through and mopped up the village in the morning. The following day's attack consisted of patrol actions against rearguards. The battalion was then rested until 1 September, when at short notice a dawn attack was made towards
Bouchavesnes Bouchavesnes-Bergen is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the junction of the D149 and the N17 roads, some northwest of Saint-Quentin. Population See also *Communes ...
. The battalion followed the creeping barrage, overcame some resistance at the edge of the village, and was on its final objective by 10.45 – an advance of 3000 yards representing the most successful action fought by the 2/4th Bn. After a period in reserve, the very weak 173rd Bde attacked again on 10 September towards the villages round
Épehy Épehy is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Valentine Fleming died there in 1917. Geography Épehy is situated in the northeast of the department, on the D24 and D58 roads some north-northwest of Saint-Qu ...
. 2/4th Londons were detailed to follow the two leading battalions of 173rd Bde, mopping up behind them and forming a link between the two. Considerable opposition was met from the German Alpine Corps, and the attack lost cohesion in the ruined streets. This unsuccessful probing action was the battalion's last. Despite the successes of the Hundred Days campaign, the BEF's manpower crisis was now severe, and on 12 September 1918 the remnant of the 2/4th Bn was absorbed by the 2/2nd Londons, which fought on with 58th Division until the Armistice in November 1918.


Commanding officers

The following officers commanded 2/4th Bn during World War I: * Col Vickers Dunfee,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, VD, from formation until the old 2/4th was drafted to the 1/4th Bn * Acting Lt-Col V.H. Seyd, acting, in Egypt * Lt-Col W.R.H. Dann, DSO*, (
Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...
), November 1916–June 1918, promoted to command a brigade * Lt-Col A. Grover, DSO, MC, promoted 8 June, wounded 8 August 1918 * Maj Sutcliffe (2/2nd Londons), acting 8–14 August 1918 * Maj Tollworthy, acting 14–21 August 1918 * Maj W. McC. Crosbie (
Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...
), from 21 August 1918 to disbandment.


3/4th Battalion

The 3/4th Battalion was raised at Hoxton from volunteers as soon as the 2/4th went overseas, and took over its training area at Barnet. Despite the lack of equipment and training it began to send drafts to replace casualties in the 1/4th Bn as early as April 1915. At the end of April the 3rd Battalions of the regiments of the old 1st London Brigade were concentrated at
Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...
as the 3/1st London Brigade. In June 1915 a reorganisation saw the men of the 3/1st London Brigade who were unfit for overseas service separated out into a composite battalion, the 100th Provisional Battalion, to which the 3/4th Londons supplied two officers and about 100 other ranks. The new battalion was stationed at
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...
, guarding the East Coast as part of 6th Provisional Brigade. In August, all the men of the Provisional Battalion were returned to their units except those who had not volunteered for overseas service. The Home Service men continued serving in home defence until 1916, when the Military Service Act swept away the Home/Overseas service distinction and the provisional battalions took on the dual role of home defence and physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas. The 100th Provisional Battalion officially became the 29th (City of London) Bn, London Regiment (TF) on 1 January 1917. The battalion never served overseas, and was demobilised early in 1919. The 3/1st London Brigade moved to
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
, and was soon recruited back to full strength after the departure of the Provisional Battalion. It absorbed large drafts of recruits under the
Derby scheme The Derby Scheme was introduced during World War I in Britain in the autumn of 1915 by Herbert Kitchener's new Director General of Recruiting, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948) after which it was named. It used strong pressure ...
in February 1916, and in June it moved into camp outside Ipswich. That month the battalion was renumbered to replace the disbanded 2/4th Bn (''see above'').


4/4th Battalion

The 4/4th Battalion was formed in June 1915 to train drafts for the two battalions already serving overseas and the 3/4th Bn preparing to go overseas in 58th Division. It was organised in three companies, A and B for the reception and training of recruits, and C (the 'Expeditionary Company') giving refresher training for wounded men returning to service. A number of former
Guardsmen Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian Forc ...
,
City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...
officers, and members of Enfield Rifle Club were appointed as instructors. The battalion took over 3/4th Bn's billets at Barnet in July 1915, with training carried out at
Trent Park Trent Park is an English country house, together with its former extensive grounds, in north London. The original great house and a number of statues and other structures located within the grounds (such as the Orangery) are Grade II listed b ...
. When the Derby scheme superseded voluntary enlistment in February 1916, a large number of recruits were assigned directly to bring 3/4th Bn up to strength, but were put through the 4/4th Bn's training process. In January 1916 the reserve battalions for the whole 1st London Division were concentrated on Salisbury Plain, the 4th going to No 7 Camp,
Hurdcott Winterbourne is a civil parish in south east Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Salisbury. The parish encompasses the contiguous villages of Winterbourne Dauntsey, Winterbourne Earls and Winterbourne Gunner, together with the hamlet of Hurd ...
. In February the battalion received a draft of four officers and 50 men from
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
for basic training; this party later served with 3/4th Bn
Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. On 8 April the unit's title was changed to 4th (Reserve) Bn, London Regiment, forming part of the 1st London Reserve Group. On 1 September 1916 the 4th Reserve Bn was absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Bn, London Rgt. Colonel Vickers Dunfee, who had assumed command of the 4th Reserve Bn on his return from Egypt (''see above''), was appointed to command 1st Reserve Bn, London Rgt.


Interwar

The battalion reformed in the renamed Territorial Army on 7 February 1920. The London Regiment having been abolished in 1916, its battalions became independent regiments affiliated to their former Regular regiments. Thus the 4th Londons reformed as 4th City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), once again in 1st London Brigade.Grimwade, Appendix III. In the coal strike of April 1921 a Defence Force was formed, with one unit being raised at the 4th Londons' HQ, joined by some members of the regiment. This lasted for three months during the political crisis. In 1935 the increasing need for anti-aircraft (AA) defence, particularly for London, was addressed by converting the 47th (2nd London) Division into the 1st Anti-Aircraft Division. A number of London battalions were also converted to the AA role, the 4th Londons being transferred to the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
(RA) as an AA artillery unit on 15 December 1935, the 60th (City of London) AA Brigade, RA (TA), with HQ and 168th, 169th, and later 194th AA Batteries relocated to Artillery House, Bromley Road,
Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...
, in South East London. The unit formed part of 27th (Home Counties) Anti-Aircraft Group in 1st AA Division.Frederick, pp. 754–7, 770.Litchfield, pp. 165–6. Unlike some of the other the units converted to the AA role, the 4th Londons lost their cap badge and adopted the RA badge. In 1939 the RA adopted the designation 'regiment' in place of 'brigade', and the AA formations became 'brigades' rather than 'groups', thus 60th (City of London) AA Regiment formed part of 27th (Home Counties) AA Brigade.


World War II


Mobilisation

The TA's AA units were mobilised on 23 September 1938 during the
Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
, with units manning their emergency positions within 24 hours, even though many did not yet have their full complement of men or equipment. The emergency lasted three weeks, and they were stood down on 13 October. In February 1939 the existing AA defences came under the control of a new
Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...
. In June a partial mobilisation of TA units was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA and searchlight positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations. 60th AA Regiment mobilised at Bromley (168th, 169th and 194th HAA Btys) with a mixture of old 3-inch and newer 3.7-inch guns, and was transferred to a new 48 AA Bde formed within 1 AA Division.Farndale,p. 13.


Battle of France

On 10 October 1939 the regiment moved to France with 24 x 3-inch guns to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and deployed to Beauval as part of Brig E.W. Chadwick's 2nd AA Bde. When the
Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
began in May 1940 the regiment was responsible for defending six airfields of the Air Component of the BEF around
Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...
.60 HAA at RA 39-45.
/ref> However, the BEF was soon in retreat, and its AA units were swept up in the confusion. 60th HAA Regiment fought first at Villers-Bretonneux and then between
Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...
and
Seclin Seclin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Notable residents * Andre Ayew, Ghana national football team footballer *Victor Mollet, architect *Jonathan Roussel ...
, where 169th Bty was attacked by tanks and aircraft and eventually had to destroy its guns. 168th Battery went to Béthune then to St Omer and 194th to Merville. On 21 May 60th HAA Rgt was ordered to defend Merville. It had by then 8 x 3-inch, 4 x
40mm 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition ( subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 ...
, a troop of AA
Light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the sam ...
s and two Troops of 5th Searchlight Bty. By 25 May the regiment was in constant action at
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.evacuation, deploying 60th HAA Rgt at Bergues in the southern sector with additional responsibility for anti-tank defence of the Dunkirk-Bergues Canal. As the 'pocket' shrank, the AA units destroyed their guns and joined the queues waiting to embark in the small ships of
Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
.


The Blitz

AA units returning from France were rapidly reinforced, re-equipped where possible, and redeployed for future integration into existing defence plans. 60th HAA Regiment went to
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
where it re-equipped with 3-inch guns. In the summer of 1940, along with other AA units equipped with 3-inch or 3.7-inch AA guns, the 60th was designated a Heavy AA Regiment. After re-equipment, the regiment joined 34th (South Midland) AA Bde in a new 11th AA Division. 34 AA Brigade's role was to cover
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
and
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, which were heavily attacked during
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
, which lasted until May 1941. As a mobile unit, 60th HAA Rgt had an attached Signal Section (
Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
), Workshop (
Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...
) and Transport (
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
), but while the regiment remained on home defence these sections were transferred to 89th (Cinque Ports) HAA Rgt which embarked for
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
on 15 December 1940. By the end of the Blitz 194th HAA Bty had also left the regiment, joining the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
(WO) Reserve as an independent battery for service in the field, and was replaced in June 1941 by 206th (Erith) HAA Bty from 58th (Kent) HAA Rgt. (194th HAA Battery later joined 80th (Berkshire) HAA Rgt and served with it in
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
.) By September, 60th HAA Rgt had moved to 42nd AA Bde in 12th AA Division covering the
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and had been joined by 359th HAA Bty from 113th HAA Rgt. By the Spring of 1942 the regiment was still in 42nd AA Bde, but 359th HAA Bty was attached to 63 AA Bde in Western Scotland. Later, 359th HAA Bty left the regiment completely, and by the summer of 1942 was deployed in the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
.Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 14 May 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/81.


Mobile unit

In May 1942, 60th HAA Rgt briefly joined 57th AA Bde in 7th AA Division in
North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
, but before the end of June had left again, as an unbrigaded regiment in AA Command. By early 1943 it had become a mobile unit once more as part of the field force under WO control with the following composition: * RHQ 60 HAA Rgt * 168 HAA Bty * 169 HAA Bty * 206 HAA Bty * 60 HAA Rgt Workshop,
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...
(REME)


Normandy

The regiment was assigned to Second Army for the Allied invasion of Normandy (
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
). It formed part of 106th AA Bde, scheduled to land shortly after
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
to defend the airfields that would be established for
RAF Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...
.Routledge, Table XLIX, p. 319. The brigade began landing on 10 June (D + 4), although the regiment at first only had two of its batteries, the third battery not arriving until after 25 June. The deployment was frustrating, because ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' attacks were lighter than anticipated and there were surplus HAA guns in the beachhead. In addition, RAF commanders refused permission to engage enemy aircraft unless the airfields themselves were being attacked. Airfield defence having become redundant, the HAA guns began to be used for a variety of ground tasks, such as bombardment, counter-battery fire, and anti-tank shoots. 60th HAA Regiment was engaged in this way during the
Battle of Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles ...
, and then in AA defence of the city (under 100th AA Bde) after its capture.


North West Europe

After the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead, 60th HAA Rgt joined 74th AA Bde in guarding the crossings of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...
and then moved to
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
on 12 September. Here it was assigned to
II Canadian Corps II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps (United Kingdom), I (British) Corps (August 1, 1944 to April 1, 1945) and I Canadian Corps (April 6, 1943 to November 1943, and April 1, 1945 until the end of hostilities), ...
to act as medium artillery for the attack on the German garrison of the port, which held out for eight days. The 3.7-inch gins of 60th and 2nd Canadian HAA Rgts took part in prolonged shoots, including a high proportion of airburst shots. Both regiments reported that oil squirted out of the guns' buffer and recuperator casings, while the barrels got so hot that they showed a visible droop. All 24 of 60th's guns were affected. (Later it became common practice to have fire missions for HAA guns timed so that there were intervals for cooling.) In early November the brigade relieved 100th AA Bde defending the
Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...
bridges at
Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
that had been captured during
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
. Although AA defence had priority, each HAA regiment had a battery on call for defensive fire and counter-battery fire missions in support of the Allied bridgehead. 60th HAA Regiment reported that by now it had fired 25,000 rounds in ground fire tasks since its arrival in Normandy. Its variety of targets was now enlarged to include
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
s passing overhead towards
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. Bad weather set in during December, with widespread flooding, and 168 Bty had to be rescued by river barge. There was little activity by the ''Luftwaffe'', but on 17 December it carried out strikes all along the Allied front, with
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
s and
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
s attacking the Waal bridges and artillery positions at low level. On 1 January 1945, the ''Luftwaffe'' launched
Operation Bodenplatte Operation Bodenplatte (; "Baseplate"), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of ''Bodenplatte'' was to gain air superiority during th ...
: daylight attacks by single-engined fighters against Allied airfields and lines of communication in support of the
Ardennes offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
. 74th AA Brigade reported groups of 25 to 30 enemy fighters crossing its area in flights of four flying low, while small formations of
Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Germa ...
s crossed at high level. There were 15 separate HAA engagements by the brigade's guns. For operations in the
Reichswald A or imperial forest was an area of historic woodland which existed in the Holy Roman Empire and was under direct imperial control, protection and usage. may refer to: * , a nature reserve near Nuremberg ** , a section of the Nuremberg , which ...
in February 1945 (
Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...
), 74th AA Bde was assigned to II Canadian Corps. After carrying out preliminary bombardments, 60th HAA Rgt reverted to AA defence. The units of 74th AA Bde continued to protect the vital routes over the Waal and Maas during the build-up to the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
crossing (
Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...
). As the war drew to a close, 60th HA Rgt remained in 74th AA Bde under the command of
First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...
. The regiment had the honour of being selected to fire a salute of its 3.7-inch guns at 21st Army Group HQ on 6 May 1945 to celebrate Victory in Europe. The regiment with 168, 169 and 205 HAA Btys was placed in suspended animation in
British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...
on 3 April 1946.


Postwar

The regiment was reformed in the reconstituted TA on 1 January 1947 as 460 HAA Regiment, RA (City of London) with its HQ at Catford. It formed part of a short-lived 75 AA Bde (the former 49 AA Bde) at
Grove Park, Lewisham Grove Park is a district of South East London, England within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located north east of Bromley and south east of Lewisham. Known for its green spaces, Grove Park is flanked by the Grove Park Nature Reserve an ...
. When AA Command was disbanded in 1955 there was a considerable reduction in the number of AA units, and 460 HAA was merged into 265 (8th London) HAA Regiment as R Battery (4th City of London). In 1961 a further round of amalgamations saw the whole of 265 HAA Regiment reduced to Q (London) Battery in a new 265 Regiment, and the 4th Londons' lineage ended.


Traditions

The 4th Londons claimed descent from the London or Tower Hamlets
Trained Bands Trained Bands were companies of part-time militia in England and Wales. Organised by county, they were supposed to drill on a regular basis, although this was rarely the case in practice. The regular army was formed from the Trained Bands in the ev ...
, but there was no connection: the descendants of the Trained Bands were the Royal London Militia (7th Bn Royal Fusiliers) rather than the Volunteers. During World War I, whenever 1/4th Londons were out of the line, the drums Beat Retreat and the battalion mounted a Regimental Quarter Guard daily. The 3/4th (later 2/4th) Bn acquired a
Pipe band A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of Bagpipes, pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland b ...
, originally formed to aid recruitment, and then transferred to the battalion when the Derby scheme ended voluntary enlistment. The pipers wore
Royal Stewart tartan The Royal Stewart or Royal Stuart tartan is the best-known tartan retrospectively associated with the royal House of Stewart, and was also the personal tartan of Queen Elizabeth II. The sett was first published in 1831 in the book ''The Scottish ...
and
Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...
caps. The battalion believed that it was unique for an English unit with no Scottish or Irish affiliation to possess such a band. After Passchendaele, the other ranks of the 2/4th Bn were given permission to wear a small version of the Fusiliers' 'grenade' badge on the corners of their tunic collar. After World War II, the officers, warrant officers and senior NCOs (later officers only) of 460 HAA Rgt wore a red and blue twisted cord
Lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower ...
in place of the RA white lanyard.


Honorary Colonel

The following officers served as Honorary Colonel of the unit and its predecessors: * Sir Henry de Hoghton, 9th Bt, appointed (to 4th Tower Hamlets RVC) 21 December 1864. * R. Richardson Gardner appointed (to 6th Tower Hamlets RVC) 6 May 1865. * Walter Mellor, appointed (to 1st THRVB) 20 February 1867. * Lt-Gen G.H. Moncrieff, appointed 24 July 1886. * Lord Marshall of Chipstead, Lord Mayor of London 1918–19, appointed 16 October 1918, died 29 March 1936. * Lt-Col Sir Leslie Burnett, 2nd Bt, former CO, appointed 16 September 1936, until 1951.


Memorials

The 4th London Battalion is listed on the City and County of London Troops Memorial in front of the Royal Exchange, with architectural design by
Sir Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
and sculpture by
Alfred Drury Edward Alfred Briscoe Drury (11 November 1856 – 24 December 1944) was a British architectural sculptor and artist active in the New Sculpture movement. During a long career Drury created a great number of decorative figures such as busts and ...
. The right-hand (southern) bronze figure flanking this memorial depicts an infantryman representative of the various London infantry units. The battalion is also listed on the pedestal of the
Royal Fusiliers War Memorial The Royal Fusiliers War Memorial is a memorial in London, dedicated to the members of the Royal Fusiliers killed in the World Wars, Russian Civil War and subsequent conflicts, along with members of a number of London Regiment battalions kille ...
at
Holborn Bar Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...
, which is surmounted by a bronze figure of a Fusilier sculpted by
Albert Toft Albert Toft (3 June 1862 – 18 December 1949) was a British Sculpture, sculptor. Toft's career was dominated by public commemorative commissions in bronze, mostly single statues of military or royal figures. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen V ...
, whilst its World War One casualties are listed by name in the roll of honour at the Royal Fusiliers Chapel in
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Holy Sepulchre London, formerly and in some official uses Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate, is the largest Anglican parish church in the City of London. It stands on the north side of Holborn Viaduct across a crossroads from the Old Bailey, and ...
. The 58th Divisional Memorial, depicting a wounded horse sculpted by Henri Gauquie, is at Chipilly. It was paid for from the profits of the divisional entertainment canteen and barber shop, the remainder funding a TA charity that still exists today.D. Martin, pp. 189–90, Appendix 8 and Epilogue.


Battle Honours

The 4th London Regiment was awarded the following
Battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...
s: South Africa, 1900 Neuve Chapelle, Ypres, 1915, '17, St Julien, Aubers, Festubert, 1915, Somme, 1916, '18, Albert, 1916, '18, Guillemont, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Arras, 1917, '18, Scarpe, 1917, '18, Bullecourt, Langemarck, 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Cambrai, 1917, '18, St Quentin, Villers Bretonneux, Amiens, Bapaume, 1918, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1915–18, Gallipoli 1915–16, Egypt, 1916. The honours in bold are those chosen to appear on the
Regimental colours In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...
. The Royal Artillery does not receive battle honours, so none were awarded to 60th HAA Regiment for World War II.


Notes


References

* Anon, 'The History of the Old 2/4th (City of London) Battalion The London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers' London: Westminster Press, 1919/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002. * Anon, ''Regimental Badges and Service Caps'', London: George Philip & Sons, 1941. * ''Army List'' (various dates). * Maj R. Money Barnes, ''The Soldiers of London'', London: Seeley Service, 1963. * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . *Gregory Blaxland, ''Amiens: 1918'', London: Frederick Muller, 1968/Star, 1981, . * ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (various dates). * Bryan Cooper, ''The Ironclads of Cambrai'', London: Souvenir Press, 1967/Pan Books, 1970, . * Brig-Gen Sir
James E. Edmonds Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir James Edward Edmonds (25 December 1861 – 2 August 1956) was an commissioned officer, officer of the Royal Engineers in the late-Victorian era British Army who worked in the Intelligence Corps ...
, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1916'', Vol I, London: Macmillan,1932/Woking: Shearer, 1986, .
Major L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1954/Uckfield, Naval & Military Press, 2004.
* Major L.F. Ellis, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: Victory in the West'', Vol I: ''The Battle of Normandy'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1962/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, . * Gen Sir
Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...
, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol I, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * Capt F. Clive Grimwade, ''The War History of the 4th Battalion The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) 1914–1919'', London: Regimental Headquarters, 1922/Uckfield, Naval & Military press, 2002, . * * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * Alan MacDonald, ''Pro Patria Mori: The 56th (1st London) Division at Gommecourt, 1st July 1916'', 2nd Edn, West Wickham: Iona Books, 2008, . * David Martin, ''Londoners on the Western Front: The 58th (2/1st London) Division in the Great War'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books, 2014, . * Lt-Col H.R. Martin, ''Historical Record of the London Regiment'', 2nd Edn (nd). * Alan H. Maude (ed.), ''The History of the 47th (London) Division 1914–1919'', London: Amalgamated Press, 1922/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, . * Martin Middlebrook, ''The First Day on the Somme, 1 July 1916'', London: Allen Lane 1971/Fontana, 1975, . * F.W. Perry, ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 5b: Indian Army Divisions'', Newport: Ray Westlake, 1993, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * Maj C.H. Dudley Ward, ''The Fifty Sixth Division, 1st London Territorial Division, 1914–1918'', London: John Murray, 1921/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, . * Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, .


Online sources


British Army units from 1945 on

British Military History

The Long, Long Trail

Orders of Battle at Patriot Files

David Porter's work on Provisional Brigades at Great War Forum




* ttps://ra39-45.co.uk Royal Artillery 1939–1945
Royal Artillery Units Netherlands 1944–45
{{LondonRegiment 4 Royal Fusiliers Military units and formations in London Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1961