Kent Cyclist Battalion
Kent Cyclist Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | 1 April 1908 – February 1920 |
Country | First World War
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The Kent Cyclist Battalion was a
History
Formation
The battalion was newly raised
In August 1914, the battalion was Headquartered at the Corn Exchange in Tonbridge and had the following companies:[6]
- A Company - Bromley
- B Company - Tonbridge including Pembury Troop
- C Company - Beckenham
- D Company - Maidstone including Chatham Troop
- E Company - Tunbridge Wells
- F Company - Canterbury including Ashford and Whitstable Troops
- G Company - Ramsgate including Margate and Sandwich Troops
- H Company - Sandgate including Hythe, Dover and Folkestone Troops
At the outbreak of the
First World War
In accordance with the
1/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion
The battalion was mobilized on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the
It was joined at Chiseldon by three more cyclist battalions: the
The battalion landed at
It returned to Dalhousie on 25 August where it remained until mobilizing for
It helped to quell riots in the
The battalion was posted to Dagshai from 21 August to 3 November before sailing for England on 8 November 1919. It landed at Plymouth on 6 December 1919 and was then demobilized. It became Kent Cyclist Battalion once again before being disembodied in February 1920.[11]
2/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion
The 2nd Line battalion was formed at Canterbury in 1914
In March 1918, the battalion returned to
On 4 July 1915, the battalion provided personnel for the 9th Provisional Cyclist Company.[10] The company was disbanded at Margate on 13 April 1916.[2]
3/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion
The 3rd Line battalion was formed at Canterbury[2] in 1915 to provide trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line battalions.[8] It may have been disbanded in 1915[2] or 1916.[10][c]
Post war
The Territorial Force was disbanded after the First World War, although this was a formality and it was reformed in 1920. From 1 October 1921 it was renamed as the Territorial Army.[23]
One major change with the new Territorial Army had an effect on the number of infantry battalions. The original 14 divisions were reformed with the pre-war standard of three brigades of four battalions each, for a total of 168 battalions. Infantry were no longer to be included as Army Troops or part of the Coastal Defence Forces so the pre-war total of 208 battalions had to be reduced by 40. This was achieved by either converting certain battalions to other roles, usually artillery or engineers, or by amalgamating pairs of battalions within a regiment.[23] In particular, based on war time experience, the Army decided to dispense with cyclists units and the existing battalions were either disbanded or converted to artillery or signals units.[1]
The Kent Cyclists were reformed at
Battle honours
The Kent Cyclist Battalion was awarded the following battle honours:[18]
- N.W. Frontier, India 1917
- Baluchistan 1918
- Afghanistan 1919
It was the only cyclist battalion to be awarded battle honours.[1][28]
Honorary Colonel
- 1909–1921: Brevet Colonel Sir Henry Streatfield[29]
See also
Notes
- Buffs (East Kent Regiment).[5]
- ^ From this time the battalion dropped "Cyclist" from its title.[8]
- 3/1st Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion – were all disbanded in March 1916 with personnel posted to their respective 1st and 2nd Lines or to the Machine Gun Corps.[10]
- First World War, a field artillery brigade of headquarters (4 officers, 37 other ranks), three batteries (5 and 193 each), and a brigade ammunition column (4 and 154)[25] had a total strength just under 800 so was broadly comparable to an infantry battalion (just over 1,000) or a cavalry regiment (about 550). Like an infantry battalion, an artillery brigade was usually commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel. Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938.
References
- ^ a b c "Army Cyclist Corps at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c d e f Frederick 1984, p. 207
- ^ Westlake 1986, p. 243
- ^ "The Kent Cyclist Battalion, A Short History by Cyril Bristow". Archived from the original on 2 April 2005. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ James 1978, p. 44
- ^ "Kent Cyclist Battalion" (PDF). De Laune Cycling Club. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ a b c Baker, Chris. "The Cyclist Battalions TF". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 35
- ^ a b c d e f g h i James 1978, p. 118
- ^ a b c d e f Becke 1937, p. 3
- ^ James 1978, pp. 78, 79, 114, 118
- ^ James 1978, p. 79
- ^ Perry 1993, p. 108
- ^ Perry 1993, p. 56
- ^ a b Perry 1993, p. 138
- ^ Perry 1993, p. 154
- ^ a b c d e "The Kent Cyclist Battalion 1908-1920 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 22 February 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 233
- ^ a b c d Becke 1937, p. 77
- ^ Becke 1936, pp. 28–30
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 24
- ^ a b Westlake 1986, p. 47
- ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 733
- ^ "458th (Kent) Regiment, Royal Artillery 1908-1961 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "The Army Cyclist Corps". CycleSeven. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ^ "The Kent Cyclist Battalion". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
Further reading
- Bristow, Cyril (1986). History of the Kent Cyclist Battalion, Territorial Force, 1908-20. Cyril Bristow. ISBN 0-9512880-0-8.
Bibliography
- Becke, Major A.F. (1936). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42-56). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-12-4.
- Becke, Major A.F. (1937). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2B. The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th) with The Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions. London: ISBN 1-871167-00-0.
- Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
- James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
- Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
- Rinaldi, Richard A (2008). Order of Battle of the British Army 1914. Ravi Rikhye. ISBN 978-0-97760728-0.
- Westlake, Ray (1986). The Territorial Battalions, A Pictorial History, 1859–1985. Tunbridge Wells: Spellmount.
External links
- Baker, Chris. "The Cyclist Battalions TF". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- The Kent Cyclist Battalion, A Short History by Cyril Bristow at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 April 2005)
- Kent Cyclist Battalion on The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918 by PB Chappell at the Wayback Machine (archived 16 May 2008)
- "Kent Cyclist Battalion" (PDF). De Laune Cycling Club. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- "Kent Cyclist Battalion (Territorial Force)" (PDF). Kent Fallen. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- The Kent Cyclist Battalion 1908-1920 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 February 2006)
- 458th (Kent) Regiment, Royal Artillery 1908-1961 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 January 2006)