Bloomsbury Rifles
| St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Volunteers 37th (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Middlesex RVC 19th (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Middlesex RVC | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1803–1814 1860–1908 |
| Country |  Rifle Brigade North London Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | Foundling Hospital (1860–1882) Chenies Street drill hall (1882–1908) |
| Colors | None (Rifle regiment) |
| Engagements | Second Boer War |
The St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Rifle Volunteer Corps, more familiarly known as the Bloomsbury Rifles, was a
Early history
The 'Bloomsbury and Inns of Court Volunteers' was one of the Volunteer Corps raised in June 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was formed by the residents of the London district of Bloomsbury and the lawyers of the Inns of Court. Its uniform was depicted by Thomas Rowlandson as a red jacket with yellow facings, white breeches and black gaiters, with white cross-belts and a 'round hat' (similar to a Top hat) surmounted by a comb-like black plume.[1][2]
This unit was disbanded at the
Rifle Volunteers
The enthusiasm for the
The St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Rifles was officially formed on 31 March 1860 at the
- Corps Headquarters at Local Board of Works, Holborn
- No.1 Company
- No.2 Company
- No.3 Company
- No.4 Company
The new Bloomsbury Rifles consisted of one company, which joined the 4th Administrative Battalion of Middlesex RVCs. It maintained its independence despite suggestions that it should merge with the 28th (St Pancras) Middlesex RVC, and the existence of another corps in Bloomsbury, the 19th, formed at the Working Men's College by Thomas Hughes.[6][3][9] The Bloomsbury Rifles had four companies within a year, was made independent of the 4th Admin Bn in 1861, and its strength had risen to eight companies by 1866. The unit adopted a uniform of Rifle green with green facings. The title of St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury was officially added to its number in 1869, when the 19th (Working Men's College, Bloomsbury) Middlesex RVC was obliged to drop the 'Bloomsbury' from its title.[5][3][10]
Training
From the beginning the Foundling Hospital in Guilford Street gave permission for the Bloomsbury Rifles to use its grounds (Coram's Fields) for drill and soon the headquarters was established at the Hospital. Old Russian muskets captured in the Crimean War were at first used for drill.[3]
In its early days the corps organised a private camp at
When the
Drill Hall
The last former member of the St Giles and St George's (GGB) Volunteers of 1803–14 died in 1877, and a High Court ruling allowed the newer unit to take over its remaining funds (£2000). This sum was put towards building a dedicated drill hall and battalion HQ. Designed by the architect Samuel Knight, an officer in the corps, and costing £11,000, The Drill Hall in Chenies Street was built in 1882–3.[3][14]
Reorganisation
The
The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.[15][16] The Bloomsbury Rifles were assigned to the North London Brigade.[11]
The Bloomsbury Rifles Freemason Lodge No 2362 was formed by members of the battalion on 1 May 1890.[5]
Second Boer War
After '
Territorial Force
When the
Commanding officers
The following officers commanded the corps during its existence:[3][11]
- Lt-Col John Jeakes, 1860–63
- Lt-Col Malcolm Corrie, 1863–66
- Lt-Col Robert Stedall, 1866–80
- Lt-Col Samuel Richards, 1880–98
- Lt-Col B.W. Hardcastle, 1898–1904
- Lt-Col A.S. Bargam, 1904–08
Notes
- ^ Rowlandson, Plate 8.
- ^ Money Barnes, p. 122, Plate IV/5 and Appendix I.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Keeson, Appendix I: VIII.
- ^ Beckett.
- ^ a b c d e Westlake, p. 174.
- ^ a b c Beckett, Appendix VII.
- ^ a b c d St Giles & St George's Bloomsbury Rifles at Regiments.org.
- ^ Westlake, pp. 171, 175.
- ^ Westlake, p. 168.
- ^ Money Barnes, Appendix III.
- ^ a b c d e Army List, various dates.
- ^ Spiers, p. 198.
- ^ Grierson, p. 192.
- ^ Cherry & Pevsner, p. 334.
- ^ Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 60–1.
- ^ Dunlop, Chapter 14.
- ^ Spiers, Chapter 10.
- ^ Wheeler-Holohan & Wyatt, p. 11.
- ^ Westlake, pp. 163–4, 174.
- ^ Money Barnes, p. 220.
- ^ London Gazette 20 March 1908.
References
- 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.
- Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 4: North, London: Yae University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-300-09653-4.
- Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.
- Lt-Col James Moncrieff Grierson (Col Peter S. Walton, ed.), Scarlet into Khaki: The British Army on the Eve of the Boer War, London: Sampson Low, 1899/London: Greenhill, 1988, ISBN 0-947898-81-6.
- Maj C.A. Cuthbert Keeson, The History and Records of Queen Victoria's Rifles 1792–1922, London: Constable, 1923//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-843422-17-4.
- Thomas Rowlandson, Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs, London: Rudolf Acermann, 1798–9.
- Edward M. Spiers, The Army and Society 1815–1914, London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.
- Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.
- Capt A.V. Wheeler-Holohan & Capt C.M.G. Wyatt (eds), The Rangers' Historical Records from 1859 to the Conclusion of the Great War, London, 1921/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1843426110.
External sources
Media related to Bloomsbury Rifles at Wikimedia Commons