8th & 9th London Regiment updates

I've added some dates and army service numbers within the re-numbered six digit range for two London Regiment battalions: the 8th (City of London) Battalion (Post Office Rifles) and the 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles).

If anybody has a good 8th London's photo I can use on that post, I'll gladly acknowledge and reciprocate with a link.


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The London Regiment - City of London battalions

Before I move on to the County of London battalions I just thought I 'd pause for a minute to look at the recruiting patterns in the City battalions. They all follow a similar pattern but I think it's worth noting.

In the early days of the battalions' existence, that's to say 1908, you see large numbers of men who'd served with the Volunteers, re-enlisting in the newly formed battalions. Even so, many Volunteers chose not to re-enlist. I'll publish a more detailed article about Volunteers and the Territorial battalions at a later date.

By 1910 though, recruitment into the City of London battalions had slowed dramatically. Looking across the eight battalions, the Post Office Rifles (8th London Regiment) seems to have been most popular with 765 Riflemen having enlisted since 1st April 1908, whereas the 5th City of London Regiment seems to have struggled more than the others.

From 1910 until August 1914, most of the battalions were recruiting at the rate of only one or two hundred a year - if that. Taking the 3rd (City of London) Bn as an example of low recruitment, number 900 was signed up on 2nd June 1910. Number 942 joined on 11th October that year, and number 959 by January 1911. By 26th September 1911 the battalion recruited its 1043rd rifleman. So that's just 143 enlistments for that battalion in 16 months, less than nine recruits a month.

Now look at the picture for August to December 1914. Looking at my army service numbers database, I'm going to take the first date that I have for an enlistment in August 1914 and then the last date I have in December. Here's the picture:

1st Londons
1231 enlistments between 12th August and 8th December 1914
2nd Londons
1457 enlistments between 10th August and 29th December 1914
3rd Londons
1392 enlistments between 3rd May 1914 (I have no data for August currently) and 26th December 1914
4th Londons
1349 enlistments between 10th August and 14th December 1914
5th Londons
1534 enlistments between 4th August and 10th December 1914
6th Londons
I have no figures for this battalion for the months October 1914 to February 1915 inclusive. However, by September 8th the battalion was numbering at 3091 and by 9th March 1915 it had reached 3289. From 7th August 1914 until 8th September 1914, the battalion appears - unless there was a large block of numbers which was not used, to have recruited 1215 men.
7th Londons
1536 enlistments between 4th August and 7th December 1914
8th Londons
I have no figures for this battalion for the months October 1914 to January 1915 inclusive. By September 28th the battalion was numbering at 2994 and by 15th February 1915 it had reached 3132. From 15th August 1914 until 28th September 1914, the battalion appears - unless there was a large block of numbers which was not used, to have recruited 1015 men.

Adding up the totals above, we arrive at 10729 men or the equivalent of close to eleven battalions of men enlisting with Territorial Force City of London Regiments in the space of five months (with the exceptions to the 3rd, 6th and 8th battalions mentioned above). These patterns would be repeated in virtually every other battalion and army unit throughout Britain in 1914, but the numbers would dip dramatically in 1915, leading to the creation of the Derby Scheme (and another peak in attestations in November and December 1915) and ultimately the introduction of conscription in 1916.

Finally, I should not leave the City of London Regiments without mentioning my great uncle, S/18321 Rifleman John Frederick Nixon, known to his family as Jack. Jack attested with the London Rifle Brigade under the Derby Scheme in 1915 but it was whilst he was attached to the 8th London Regiment (Post Office Rifles), that he was killed in action on 3rd October 1918. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Vis En Artois memorial in France.

8th (City of London) Bn, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles)

The Post Office Rifles had its origins in the 24th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps and, like the 5th (City of London) Bn, The London Regiment, had its headquarters in Bunhill Row in the City of London.

Here are some army service numbers and enlistment / joining dates for the 8th London Regiment (Post Office Rifles):

357 joined on 8th April 1908
765 joined on 25 January 1909
1270 joined on 15th July 1910
1295 joined on 14th January 1911
1412 joined on 27th February 1912
1606 joined on 25th March 1913
1767 joined on 20th January 1914
1979 joined on 15th August 1914
2162 joined on 8th September 1914
3132 joined on 15th February 1915
3263 joined on 6th March 1915
3591 joined on 17th April 1915
3758 joined on 2nd May 1915
4007 joined on 13th June 1915
4183 joined on 10th July 1915
4386 joined on 20th August 1915
4440 joined on 6th September 1915
4567 joined on 31st October 1915
4811 joined on 3rd December 1915
4974 joined on 9th January 1916
5193 joined on 1st February 1916
5765 joined on 5th April 1916
6018 joined on 6th May 1916
6213 joined on 6th June 1916
6571 joined on 25th August 1916
6761 joined on 6th September 1916
8184 joined on 2nd November 1916
8657 joined on 5th December 1916
8695 joined on 3rd January 1917

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, the Post Office Rifles re-numbered within the block 370001 to 390000. What follows is a snapshot of army service numbers and joining dates for the six digit number series. Service records and MIC cards for all of the men whose numbers feature in this post, are accessible at the National Archives in Kew. They are also available on line via the Ancestry website. Click HERE for a FREE 14 day trial.

370001 originally joined on 1st April (and was a 24th Middlesex Volunteer before that)
370195 originally joined on 12th December 1912
370229 originally joined on 29th March 1913
370316 originally joined on 9th February 1914
370402 originally joined on 15th August 1914
370756 originally joined on 5th September 1914
370993 originally joined on 21st October 1914
371113 originally joined on 21st February 1915
371196 originally joined on 11th March 1915
371425 originally joined on 18th April 1915
371532 originally joined on 2nd May 1915
371699 originally joined on 10th June 1915
371822 originally joined on 1st July 1915
371999 originally joined on 29th August 1915
372026 originally joined on 6th September 1915
372243 originally joined on 24th November 1915
372261 originally joined on 3rd December 1915
372376 originally joined on 9th January 1916
372545 originally joined on 1st February 1916
372857 originally joined on 5th April 1916
373049 originally joined on 8th May 1916
373774 originally joined on 18th September 1916
374688 joined on 23rd January 1917
374932 joined on 28th February 1917
375085 joined on 7th March 1917
375332 joined on 1st April 1917
375676 joined on 23rd May 1917
375886 joined on 23rd August 1917
375991 joined on 26th September 1917
376072 joined on 12th November 1917
376189 joined on 21st January 1918
376201 joined on 11th March 1918
376344 joined on 25th May 1918
376503 joined on 19th June 1918

This concludes the brief examination of army service numbers and their corresponding dates of issue for the eight City battalions of the London Regiment. An analysis of numbering within the County battalions will follow.

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HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE RIFLES, 8th Battalion City of London Regiment 1914 to 1918



This is a slender volume, another re-print from the Naval & Military Press (N&MP). I've not seen this book so I can't comment on it. However, the N&MP has this to say:

This is a brief, unvarnished account of two battalions of the London Regiment: 1/8th which went to France with 47th (2nd London) Division in March 1915; and its second line counterpart, 2/8th, which arrived out with 58th (2/2nd London) Division in January 1917. In February 1918, the reduction of the number of battalions in a brigade from 12 to 9 resulted in both battalions amalgamating to form the 8th Battalion - in the 58th Division. There is a list of Honours and Awards, headed by the VC won by Sgt Knight of 2/8th Battalion in the Salient in September 1917. A summary of casualties shows a total of 201 Officers and 5051 Other Ranks of whom 53 and 1027 respectively were dead.


I also offer a comprehensive, fast and cost-effective military history research service. Follow the link for more information.

Read my other posts on numbering in the London Regiment battalions:

City of London Battalions

1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
3rd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
4th (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
5th (City of London) Battalion (Rifle Brigade)
6th (City of London) Battalion (Rifles)
7th (City of London) Battalion

County of London Battalions

9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
10th County of London) Battalion (Hackney) [Originally Paddington Rifles]
11th (County of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles)
12th (County of London) Battalion (The Rangers)
13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensington)
14th (County of London) Battalion (London Scottish)
15th (County of London) Battalion (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles)
16th (County of London) Battalion (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
17th (County of London) Battalion (Poplar & Stepney Rifles)
18th (County of London) Battalion (London Irish Rifles)
19th (County of London) Battalion (St Pancras)
20th (County of London) Battalion (Blackheath & Woolwich)
21st (County of London) Battalion (First Surrey Rifles)
22nd (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
23rd (County of London) Battalion
24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's)
25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion
28th (County of London) Battalion (Artists Rifles)