THE RESERVE BATTALION
Reserve Battalion. 1914-18.
The Reserve Battalion, originally known as the 4th Battalion, sprang into existence at the School of Mines at the London University at Kensington as soon as war was declared in 1914. Within five days one thousand seven hundred reservists had arrived from all parts of England and Wales, and retired officers appeared on the scene, whether they belonged to the Reserve or not. This mass of men had to be converted into a disciplined Battalion, non-commissioned officers appointed, and the whole machinery of a battalion created. Yet so smoothly did the mobilisation work that within a few days every man was fully equipped, and companies were drilling in the Park, with N.C.O.'s shouting out their drill as if they had never been away.
Lieut.-Colonel G. D. White was appointed Commanding Officer, Major G. W. Duberly Second-in-Command, Captain E. N. E. M. Vaughan, Adjutant, and Lieutenant J. C. Rolinson, Quartermaster.
The whole conditions of service were now different. Instead of the usual apathy on the part of the men to learn anything new, they noweagerly seized every occasion to acquire knowledge. The Army was no longer a profession, where a man could reduce to a science the practice of doing the least possible amount of work without getting into trouble. It was now a matter of life and death. The latest developments of modern warfare had to be learnt quickly, and the men, who were already seasoned soldiers, set to work with a will to learn from officers and N.C.O.'s at first as ignorant as themselves, the new drill and the latest method of attack and defence. By the time the Reserve Battalion moved to Chelsea Barracks, about three weeks later, it had already become a serviceable body of men. A large number of N.C.O.'s and old soldiers, mostly "D" section reserve, were selected and sent as instructors to train the new battalions of "Kitchener's Army." Nearly all proved excellent instructors, and many privates rose almost at once to be sergeants and even warrant officers. In the early days of the war the National Guard and Volunteers did not exist, and consequently the duty of finding guards to protect the reservoirs, electric power stations, and other vulnerable points, devolved on the regular troops in London. The number of small guards all over London was so great that it took the field officer, whose duty it was to visit them, over five hours in a motor to go his rounds. About October 1914 the majority of these guards were taken over by the Special Home Service Units.
Soon the heavy casualties incurred by the battalions in France made the sending of large drafts necessary, and the Reserve Battalion beganto change completely, with new officers and new men constantly arriving from Caterham. The number of men in the Battalion became so great that there were two thousand five hundred men in barracks, and the problem of accommodation was a very difficult one. Early in 1915, Aylwin huts were erected at Burton's Court, which somewhat relieved the pressure. On the formation of the Welsh Guards in February 1915, five officers and six hundred and thirty-four other ranks were transferred to this new regiment, and in July of the same year, when it was decided to form another battalion of the Grenadier Guards from the Reserve Battalion, the latter automatically became the 5th Battalion.
The officers at that time were as follows:
In Command—
Major—
Captains—
Lieutenants—
Second Lieutenants—
Adjutant—
Quartermaster—
In February 1916 Lieut.-Colonel G. D. White left to take up a Staff appointment in France, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel G. C. Hamilton, D.S.O. From January 1916 until the end of the war, the Battalion was organised on a nine-company basis in the following manner: the first four companies were composed of recruits who were being trained to feed the Battalions at the front. No. 5 Company consisted of men employed on various duties, and the remaining four companies, six to nine, comprised sick and wounded men from France.
On May 29, 1916, Lieut.-General Sir Francis Lloyd, commanding the London Districts, inspected the Battalion, and expressed himself much pleased with its appearance on parade. General Sir George Higginson also paid a visit to the Battalion that year, and both officers and men much appreciated this attention from a veteranGrenadier, who had fought in the Crimean War. In September a duty, somewhat out of the ordinary routine, was assigned to the Reserve Battalion. During an air raid over London, one of the German Zeppelins was brought down in flames in Essex, and the Battalion was ordered to provide a guard over what was left of it during the two following days. In December Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton was given command of the 4th Battalion in France, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Lord Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, D.S.O.
Nothing of interest occurred until 1918, when, owing to the large numbers of men who joined in consequence of the protected trades being brought under the Military Enlistment Act, a Provisional Battalion was formed at Tadworth. This Battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Maitland, D.S.O., proceeded to Aldershot four companies strong, leaving behind two companies under Captain Lord Forbes. A month later Lieut.-Colonel Maitland was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel G. E. C. Rasch. Throughout the war the Reserve Battalion found the public duties in London, and on several occasions provided guards of honour, notably at the funeral of Field-Marshal Earl Roberts at St. Paul's Cathedral on November 19, 1914.
Field training was carried out by one company at a time at Basildon Park, lent by Captain J. A. Morrison, during the autumn of 1914, and at Bovingdon Green Camp, Marlow, during the summer of 1915, and after that at Tadworth Camp. In addition, there were specialist courses: bombing at Southfields and Godstone, Musketryat Rainham and Hythe, Machine Gun courses and Gas Instruction at Chelsea.
The arduous and somewhat thankless task of continually training men as quickly as possible, to feed the battalions in France, was successfully carried on during the four years of the war, and letters from the four Commanding Officers bear ample testimony to the efficiency of the Battalion organisation. The greater part of the work fell on the Commanding Officer, Adjutant, and the senior Captains, whose untiring efforts will ever be gratefully remembered by the regiment. Day in and day out, during four long years, these officers strived to maintain with each draft the high standard of the regiment, and this result could not have been effected without the invaluable assistance of the warrant officers and sergeants.