25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle battalion of the London Regiment of the British Army.[1] The battalion was converted to a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals in 1922.[2]
26th (Cyclist) Volunteer Corps 25th (County of London) (Cyclists) Battalion, London Regiment | |
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![]() Recruiting Poster for the 25th County of London) Cyclists, c1912 (Imperial War Museum) | |
Active | 1888–1922 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Cyclist Battalion Infantry Battalion |
Garrison/HQ | 2 Queen's Road West, Chelsea (1890) 68 Lillie Road, West Brompton (1899) Fulham House, London (1908) |
Engagements | Third Anglo-Afghan War Waziristan campaign (1919–20) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/26th_Middlesex_Rifles_%28Cyclists%29%2C_1896.jpg/220px-26th_Middlesex_Rifles_%28Cyclists%29%2C_1896.jpg)
The unit was originally formed on 26 February 1888 as the 26th Middlesex (Cyclist) Volunteer Corps, as part of a growing interest in the use of bicycles for military uses. It originally comprised three troops lettered 'A' to 'C' and was originally linked to the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[3] It was attached to the Inns of Court Regiment and was affiliated with the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own).[4]
In 1908 on the formation of the Territorial Force as part of the Haldane Reforms the unit became part of the newly created London Regiment.[5]
Men from the unit took part in the campaign in Waziristan (1919), 3rd Afghan War and some were present at the Amritsar Massacre in 1919.[6]
Memorials
Its First World War memorial is located in All Saints Church, Fulham.[7]
References
Bibliography
- Maj R. Money Barnes, The Soldiers of London, London: Seeley, Service, 1963.
- Ian F. W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0-85936-271-X.
- Osborne, Mike, 2006. Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces, Partizan Press, Essex. ISBN 1-85818-509-2
- Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.