The Northern Cyclist Battalion was a

bicycle infantry Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, more often, between) battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the "safety bicycle" became popular in Europe, the United States, and Austra ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

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 ...

, part of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. Formed in 1908, it served in the United Kingdom throughout the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and in 1920 it was converted as part of the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (R ...

History

Formation

The majority of the battalion was newly raised at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

(later at

Newcastle-on-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

) in October 1908 as a

of the

. One existing cyclist company at Sunderland transferred from the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Durham Light Infantry.Clive Dunn, ''The Fighting Pioneers: the Story of the 7th Durham Light Infantry'', Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2015, , p. 16. Initially designated as the 8th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

, in 1910 the new unit was separated from that regiment and redesignated as the independent Northern Cyclist Battalion. In August 1914, the battalion was

headquartered Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

at the Hutton Terrace drill hall, Sandyford Road in Newcastle-on-Tyne and had the following

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

: * A CompanySunderland * B CompanySunderland * C Company West Hartlepool * D Company

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...

* E CompanyNewcastle-on-Tyne * F Company Blyth * G Company

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around e ...

* H CompanyNewcastle-on-Tyne At the outbreak of the

, the battalion was in Northern Command, unattached to any higher formation. It was to be used as mobile infantry, and for work on signals, scouting and similar activities.

First World War

In accordance with the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (''7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer ...

(''

7 Edw. 7 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, c.9'') which brought the

into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, 3rd Line units were formed to act as reserves, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Lines.

1/1st Northern Cyclist Battalion

The battalion was mobilized on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the

and moved to its war station at Morpeth. In 1915 it was transferred to the

Army Cyclist Corps The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry. History Formation Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...

. By 1916 it had moved to

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

where it remained as part of the

Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia People ...

Garrison until the end of the war. The battalion was disembodied on 24 January 1919.

2/1st Northern Cyclist Battalion

The 2nd Line battalion was formed in late 1914 and also remained in England throughout the war. In 1916 it was at

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, ...

and in June 1918 it was at

Burton Constable Burton Constable is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located approximately north-east of Hull city centre and south-east of the village of Skirlaugh. The civil parish is formed by the village of Bu ...

as part of the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...

Garrison where it remained. The battalion was disbanded on 17 April 1919. On 4 July 1915, the battalion provided personnel for the ''10th Provisional Cyclist Company'' at

Chapel St Leonards Chapel St. Leonards is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from the resort of Skegness and just north of Ingoldmells. It also lies right next to the North Sea. The village is ...

3/1st Northern Cyclist Battalion

The 3rd Line battalion was formed at Newcastle in 1915 to provide trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line battalions. It was disbanded in March 1916 and the men were posted to 1/1st and 2/1st Battalions and to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, 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 (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

Post war

::''See main article 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery'' The Territorial Force was disbanded after the First World War, although this was a formality and it was reformed in 1920. From 1 October 1921 it was renamed as the Territorial Army. One major change with the new Territorial Army had an effect on the number of infantry battalions. The original 14 divisions were reformed with the pre-war standard of three brigades of four battalions each, for a total of 168 battalions. Infantry were no longer to be included as Army Troops or part of the Coastal Defence Forces so the pre-war total of 208 battalions had to be reduced by 40. This was achieved by either converting certain battalions to other roles, usually artillery or engineers, or by amalgamating pairs of battalions within a regiment. In particular, based on war time experience, the Army decided to dispense with cyclists units and the existing battalions were either disbanded or converted to artillery or signals units. The Northern Cyclist Battalion was reformed at Newcastle on 7 February 1920. Together with the former 3rd Northumbrian (County of Durham) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery it formed a medium artillery brigade of the

as 3rd (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, soon redesignated as 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery: * Headquarters''absorbed HQ and Ammunition Column of 3rd Northumbrian (County of Durham) Brigade, RFA'' * 217th Medium Battery * 218th Medium Battery''formed from 1st Durham Battery, RFA'' * 219th Medium Battery''formed from 2nd Durham Battery, RFA'' * 220th Medium Battery''formed from 1st Durham Battery, RFA''

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* * * {{British Infantry Regiments World War I Cyclist units and formations of the British Army Territorial Force Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1920 Battalions of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations in County Durham Military units and formations in Northumberland