The Advent of the Volunteer Battalions and Linkages with Regular Regiments

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In the Cardwell reforms of 1873, regular infantry Regiments were paired together for alternate tours of home and foreign service. These new groupings were at first termed Brigades and given numbers; but in 1881 they were given new titles. Each pair was given a depot, and took the local militia under their wing. The two regular Battalions became 1^st and 2^nd Battalions, and the militia became 3^rd , and in some cases 4^th Battalions.
At the same time, the Rifle Volunteer Corps became part of the new Regiments as Volunteer Battalions. Unlike the regular Battalions and the militia, however, the volunteer Battalions did not, at first, adopt the new Regimental titles.
In 1881 the ancestors of The London Regiment stood as follows:

1908 London Regiment Battalion The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment):

22

6^th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps

24

8^th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment):

1

10^th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps

2

23^rd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps

The East Surrey Regiment:

21

1^st Surrey (South London) Rifle Volunteer Corps

23

7^th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps

The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment):

20

3^rd Kent (West Kent) Rifle Volunteer Corps

20

4^th Kent (Royal Arsenal) Rifle Volunteer Corps

The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment):

3

11^th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps

19

17^th Middlesex (North Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps

The King's Royal Rifle Corps:

5

1^st City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade

6

2^nd London Rifle Volunteer Corps

7

3^rd London Rifle Volunteer Corps

9

1^st Middlesex (Victoria) Rifle Volunteer Corps

13

2^nd Middlesex (South Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps

13

4^th Middlesex (West London) Rifle Volunteer Corps

9

6^th Middlesex (St George's) Rifle Volunteer Corps

15

12^th Middlesex (Civil Service) Rifle Volunteer Corps

16

13^th Middlesex (Queen's) Rifle Volunteer Corps (Westminster)

11

21^st Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (The Finsbury Rifle Volunteer Corps)

12

22^nd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Central London Rangers)

15

25^th Middlesex (Bank of England) Rifle Volunteer Corps

The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own):

4

1^st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps

17

2^nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps

14

7^th Middlesex (London Scottish) Rifle Volunteer Corps

17

15^th Middlesex (The Customs and The Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps

18

16^th Middlesex (London Irish) Rifle Volunteer Corps

10

18^th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps

9

19^th Middlesex (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Rifle Volunteer Corps

28

20^th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteer Corps

8

24^th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps
In 1883, six Rifle Volunteer Corps ( 6^th and 8^th Surrey, 10^th and 23^rd Middlesex, and 3^rd and 4^th Kent) adopted the titles of Volunteer Battalions of their parent regular Regiment; 7^th Surrey followed in 1887. 11^th Middlesex were transferred from The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) in 1890, and 1^st Tower Hamlets from The Rifle Brigade in 1904, to become Volunteer Battalions of The Royal Fusiliers. Meanwhile, in 1888, an additional antecedent unit had been raised – 26^th Middlesex (Cyclists).
In 1904 the ancestors of The London Regiment stood as follows:

1908 London Regiment Battalion

(The number in square brackets after the title indicates the Regiment Volunteer Battalion number allotted in the 1880s by the parent regular Regiment but not used in the title)

The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment):

22

3^rd Volunteer Battalion

24

4^th Volunteer Battalion

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment):

1

1^st Volunteer Battalion

2

2^nd Volunteer Battalion

3

3^rd Volunteer Battalion

4

4^th Volunteer Battalion

The East Surrey Regiment:

23

4^th Volunteer Battalion

21

1^st Surrey (South London) Volunteer Rifle Corps [1VB]

The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment):

20

2^nd Volunteer Battalion

20

3^rd Volunteer Battalion

The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment):

19

17^th Middlesex (North Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps [4VB]

The King's Royal Rifle Corps:

5

1^st London Volunteer Rifle Corps (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) [9VB]

6

2^nd London Volunteer Rifle Corps [10VB]

7

3^rd London Volunteer Rifle Corps [11VB]

9

1^st Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps (The Victoria and St George's Rifles) [1VB]

13

2^nd Middlesex (South Middlesex) Volunteer Rifle Corps [2VB]

13

4^th Middlesex (West London) Volunteer Rifle Corps [3VB]

15

The Prince of Wales's Own 12^th Middlesex (Civil Service) Volunteer Rifle Corps [5VB]

16

13^th Middlesex (Queen's) Volunteer Rifle Corps (Westminster) [6VB]

11

21^st Middlesex (Finsbury) Volunteer Rifle Corps [7VB]

12

22^nd Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps (Central London Rangers) [8VB]

The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own):

17

2^nd Tower Hamlets Volunteer Rifle Corps [9VB]

14

7^th Middlesex (London Scottish) Volunteer Rifle Corps [1VB]

17

15^th Middlesex (The Customs and The Docks) Volunteer Rifle Corps [2VB]

18

16^th Middlesex (London Irish) Volunteer Rifle Corps [3VB]

10

18^th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps [4VB]

9

19^th Middlesex (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Volunteer Rifle Corps [5VB]

28

20^th Middlesex (Artists) Volunteer Rifle Corps [6VB]

8

24^th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps [7VB]

Unattached:

25

26^th Middlesex (Cyclist) Volunteer Rifle Corps