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Archiver > GREATWAR > 2001-12 > 1008309440


From: Iain Kerr <>
Subject: Re: [WW1] London Regiment 1916
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 05:57:20 +0000
References: <200112132201.fBDM1Kp24068@lists7.rootsweb.com>
In-Reply-To: <3C193211.4EDA758B@ozemail.com.au>


At 09:26 AM 14/12/01 +1030, Anne Chambers wrote:
>While I was on holiday in the UK & France recently, I spent some time at
>the PRO (not nearly enough time, however) and had the dossier for 2nd
>Lieut. Charles Ibbettson MORTLEMAN, my father's first cousin, copied at
>vast expense so that I could study it at leisure when I got back to Australia.
>He enlisted in the 1/20th (County of London) Bn., London Regiment on 6th
>August 1914, was promoted by stages to Sergeant (1.10.1915), then
>gazetted 2nd Lieut. on 9.8.1916 and sent to the 1/4th Bn, London
>Regiment. He died at Leuze Wood in the Battle of Gincy on 9.9.1916, has
>no known grave and is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing
>(which I also visited). Quite close to Leuze Wood, there is a cross
>commemorating Major Cedric Dickens, Charles Dickens' grandson, who was
>also in the London Regiment, killed on the same day and who also has no
>known grave.
>
>I have three questions arising from this information:
>1. Where can I find details of the raising of the 20th Battalion ?
>2. Was it normal practice to send a man to a different battalion after
>he had been commissioned ?
>3. Is there any way to find out just how many men of the 1/4 Bn (and
>other battalions of the London Regiment) went "missing" on the 9th July
>during that one engagement ?
>
>Incidentally, the rest of the dossier makes fascinating reading - the
>Army had paid him to the end of September and actually claimed his
>salary from the 10th to the 30th September back from his estate as an
>"overpayment"!
>
>Regards,
>Anne
>South Australia

Anne,

1. 20th County of London Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich), County of
London Regiment (Territorial Force)

This battalion owes its origins to 1860 when a number of rifle volunteer
corps from the western part of Kent were grouped as the 1st Admin
Battalion, The Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1880 the battalion was
consolidated as the 3rd Kent (West Kent) Rifle Volunteer Corps, with its
headquarters at Blackheath and an authorised establishment of 11 companies.

In 1859-60 two other rifle volunteer units were formed in West Kent. These
were the 26th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps, whose 16 companies were recruited
from the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, and the 4th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps
also based in Woolwich. These two battalions were amalgamated in 1880 to
become the 4th Kent (West Kent) Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1883, the 3rd
and 4th Kent Corps became the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, The Royal West Kent
Regiment and the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, The Royal West Kent Regiment
respectively. Members of both battalions served in South Africa during the
Second Boer War and earned the battalions the battle honour "South Africa
1900-1902".

With the creation of the Territorial Force (later the Territorial Army) in
1908, the 2nd and 3rd Volunteer Battalions, The Royal West Kent Regiment
were amalgamated to form the 20th County of London Battalion (Blackheath
and Woolwich), The County of London Regiment (Territorial Force). In 1914
the 20th Battalion was brigaded with the 17th, 18th and 19th Battalions,
London Regiment in the 5th London Infantry Brigade, whose Headquarters was
at Buckingham Gate, and in the 2nd London Division.

Mobilisation in Aug 1914 involved reorganising the unit from the pre-war
eight company organisation into four standard or "double" companies and
bringing the battalion up to establishment strength of 1,007 men; that is 6
officers and 221 other ranks per rifle company. After the outbreak of war
to cope with the mass of volunteers, the 20th Battalion London Regiment, in
common with other territorial units, initially split itself into two, and
later three, lines numbered the 1/20th, 2/20th and 3/20th Battalions
respectively. In 1916, all three battalions were once again formally
associated with the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).

The 1/20th Battalion (Blackheath and Woolwich), The County of London
Regiment (Territorial Force) mobilised at Holly Hedge House, Blackheath on
4 Aug 1914 in the 5th London Brigade and 2nd London Division. It was moved
to the St Albans area. In Mar 1915 the battalion landed, within its
formation, in France at Le Havre. On 11 May 1915 the formation was
retitled 141st Brigade in 47th (2nd London) Division. The 1/20th Battalion
ended the war in the same formations on Armistice Day at Tournai, Belgium.

2. Yes it was normal practice for a man to be commissioned into another
regiment. or in the case of the London regiment into another battalion that
had a different history and traditions. The argument for this practice was
that it avoided any immediate links with soldiers who had been his equals
in his original regiment/battalion.

The 1/4th (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers), the County of
London Regiment (Territorial Force) was mobilised at 112 Shaftesbury
Street, London on 4 Aug 1914. It was assigned to 1st London Brigade in 1st
London Division. On 4 Aug it was deployed to its war stations guarding the
railway line between London (Waterloo) and Basingstoke, Hampshire. On 4
Sep 1914 the battalion was redeployed to Malta, arriving on 14 Sep. On 2
Jan 1915 the battalion sailed from Malta for France, arriving Marseilles on
6 Jan. On 20 Feb 1915 the battalion was reassigned to Ferozepore Brigade
in the Lahore Division (in France). On 11 Nov 1915 the battalion was
reassigned again to 137th Brigade in 46th (North Midland) Division and on
15 Nov 1915 reassigned again to 140th Brigade in 47th (2nd London)
Division. On 9 Feb 1916 the battalion moved again to join 168th Brigade
in56th (1st London) Division. The battalion was fully committed during the
Battle of the Somme from the first attack on 1 Jul 1916 at Gommecourt when
it had 324 casualties. The battalion was intermittently in the front line
during the rest of Jul, Aug and early Sep. On 9 Sep 1916 it took part in
the attack on the Leuze Wood to Quadrilateral Line, reaching its objective
south-eat of the Quadrilateral. Between 5 and 9 Sep it suffered 272
casualties. After a period in support, the battalion was in action again
on 25 Sep, taking its objectives in the northern end of Bouleux Wood. On 7
Oct it was in action again in Hazy Trench holding against strong German
counter-attacks and suffering 300 casualties. Withdrawn into support, the
battalion left the Somme sector for Merville on 24 Oct 1916. The 1/4th
Battalion continued operations with 56th (1st London) Division and ended
the war on 11 Nov 1918, in the same formation, located at Sars-la-Bruyere,
north of Mons, Belgium.

3. "Soldiers Died in the Great War" does not record the "missing". But on
9 Sep 1916 the County of London Regiment lost 19 officers and 281
soldiers. Of those 7 officers and 56 men were from the 1/4th Battalion.

4. "Officers Died in the Great War" records:

Major Cedric Charles DICKENS, 13th County of London Battalion (Princess
Louise's Kensington Regiment), County of London Regiment (Territorial
Force); Killed in Action 10 September 1916 in France and Flanders.

According to the Army List for Aug 1914, he was a long standing member of
the Territorial Force and that regiment having been promoted to Captain on
20 April 1914.

The (13th County of London) Princess Louise's Kensington Battalion, was
originally formed from the 4th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps that formed
in 1859. The unit spent the years between 1881 and 1908 as a volunteer
battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. The headquarters moved to
Iverna Gardens, Kensington in 1885.

With the creation of the Territorial Force (later the Territorial Army) the
unit became The 13th County of London Battalion, The London Regiment
(Kensington) (Territorial Force) but retained its links with the
KRRC. Under Army Order 408 of October 1914 the battalion's title was
changed from The 13th County of London Battalion (Kensington) to The 13th
(County of London) Princess Louise's Kensington Battalion, The County of
London Regiment. The regiment continued to wear its original cap badge
(the arms of the Borough of Kensington on an eight pointed star and
maintained the motto of the Borough - Quid Nobis Ardui).

The regiment's Titular Colonel in Chief was HRH The Princess Louise,
Duchess of Argyll, CBE, CI; the fourth daughter of HM Queen
Victoria. Princess Louise was a Freeman of the Borough of Kensington and
also Colonel in Chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess
Louise's Own). The Princess died on 3 Dec 1939.

In WWI, the 13th Battalion, The County of London Regiment formed two and
later three lines. These were the 1/13th, 2/13th Battalion and the 3/13th
(Reserve) Battalions.

The 1/13th (County of London) Princess Louise's Kensington Battalion, The
County of London Regiment was mobilised on 4 Aug 1914 at Iverna Gardens,
Kensington in 4th London Brigade and the 2nd London Division. Later that
month it moved to Abbots Langley, Herts. In Nov 1914 it left the 2nd
London Division and embarked for France landing at Le Havre on 4 Nov
1914. On 13 Nov 1914 it assigned to 25th Brigade in 8th Division. On 20
May 1915 the battalion was reassigned to GHQ Troops and until 11 Aug 1915
formed a composite battalion with the 1/5th and 1/12th London Battalions
for work on the Lines of Communication. On 11 Feb 1916 the battalion was
reassigned to 168th Brigade in 56th (1st London) Division then forming in
the Hallencourt area. The 1/13th Battalion was fully committed during the
Battle of the Somme from the first attack on 1 Jul 1916 at Gommecourt, when
it was in support of the 1/14th Battalion. The leading waves did not reach
further tan no-mans land and still the battalion suffered 326
casualties. The battalion was intermittently in the front line during the
rest of Jul, Aug and early Sep. The battalion moved to a forward area
south of Leuze Wood on 6 Sep. An attak from the wood at night was met by a
German counter attack. The battalion moved to Casement Trench on 8 Sep and
to Billon Farm on 11 Sep. It continued to be deployed in the Somme sector
until 23 Oct 1916. The 1/13th Battalion ended the war in the same
formation at Blaregnies, north of Maubeuge, Belgium.

5. It was normal practice for the War Office (driven by an always generous
Treasury) to recover any advances of pay that had been made to an officer
or soldier who subsequently died early in a month. The normal practice
adopted after the Great war was for officers to be paid monthly in
arrears. Then the obligation was to pay into a dead man's estate the pay
and allowances that were due.
Yours aye,

Iain Kerr in Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Web Page at: http://home.clara.net/iainkerr/index.htm
RootsWeb Sponsor and Listowner for the WORLDWAR2 Mailing List.

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