Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles

Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles
Cap badge of the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles
Active 1798–1921
Country  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Type Rifle regiment
Part of London Regiment
Garrison/HQ Somerset House
Motto(s) Ich Dien (I Serve)
Engagements Boer War
World War I

The Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles was an infantry regiment of the Volunteer Force and Territorial Force of the British Army from 1798 to 1921; it saw active service in the Boer War and World War I as part of the London Regiment.

History

Early history

The regiment was originally formed as the Bank of England Volunteers in 1798 but was disbanded in 1814 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.[1] The regiment was re-raised by Viscount Bury on the formation of the Volunteer Force as the 21st Middlesex Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Civil Service Rifles) in 1860.[2] By 1880 and the re-numbering of London Rifle Volunteers the unit was titled 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) Rifle Volunteer Corps and were linked as a Volunteer Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps.[1]

On formation of the Territorial Force in 1908 the Civil Service Rifles became part of the newly formed London Regiment and was titled 15th Battalion London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles).[1]

First World War

15th Battalion, London Regiment (Civil Service Rifles), 47th Division, marching past the Lord Mayor of London, Colonel Sir Charles Wakefield, 11th June 1916. (IWM Q633)

At the start of the First World War the battalion established its headquarters at Somerset House.[3] During the war the regiment expanded to two battalions, with the 1st Battalion arriving in France in March 1915 forming part of the 4th London Brigade, part of the 2nd London Division.[4]

Inter-war

Following the war the Civil Service Rifles were amalgamated with the 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment in 1921.[1]

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[1]

Regimental motto

Ich Dien – (German for "I serve", a contraction of ich diene), the motto of the Prince of Wales.

The Memorial of the 15th London, Somerset House, London

Regimental memorial

The memorial for the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles is situated at Somerset House, London. It was designed in 1923 by Sir Edwin Lutyens OM, KCIE, PRA.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  2. ↑ War Office Circular, 12 May 1859, published in The Times, 13 May.
  3. ↑ "15th (Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles) Battalion, The London Regiment". Wartime memories. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "The London Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Lutyens Houses and Gardens open to the public in 2006". Lutyens Trust. Retrieved 14 July 2018.

Bibliography

  • Beckett, Ian F.W. (1982) Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, ISBN 0 85936 271 X.
  • The History of the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles. London : Wyman & Sons Ltd., 1921.
  • Knight, Jill. (2004) The Civil Service Rifles in the Great War: all bloody gentlemen. Barnsley : Pen & Sword Military, ISBN 1-84415-057-7
  • Merrick, Edward, Lt, (1891) A history of the Civil Service Rifle Volunteers (including the volunteers of the Bank of England), Sheppard and St John, London
  • 2/15th Battalion. County of London Regiment Prince of Wales Own Civil Service Rifles. London: printed by The Art Reproduction Co., 1920
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