The 22nd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Kensington) was a 'Pals battalion' raised in London for 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. Half of the volunteers came from the Royal Borough of Kensington, the other half were 'Colonials' from around the British Empire. This unusual battalion served on the Western Front from November 1915 until its disbandment in February 1918, seeing action at the Somme, the Ancre, Arras and Cambrai.

Recruitment

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.War Office Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8. The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed soon afterwards. But the flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them, and the K5 units were largely raised by local initiative rather than at regimental depots, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as 'Pals battalions'. The 'Pals' phenomenon quickly spread across the country, as local recruiting committees offered complete units to the War Office (WO). One such unit was offered by the Mayor (William Davison) and Borough of Kensington in London following a public meeting on 11 September 1914 and accepted by the WO the same day. Some groups enrolled in the battalion together, for example from Whiteleys department store in Queensway, and Notting Hill Rugby Club, but Kensington volunteers had already filled the 13th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Kensington) of the Territorial Force to its full establishment strength of 1100 men, and formed its 2nd Line battalion. The flood of volunteers was ebbing, and Davison feared that he would not get the 1100 required, despite extending recruitment to neighbouring Hammersmith and to Regent Street Polytechnic. King Edward's Horse (known as the King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) had filled its second regiment from 'Colonials' in London but was also struggling to fill an additional infantry battalion. The General Officer Commanding London District, Major-General Sir Francis Lloyd, suggested that the two battalions should merge and this was done. A and B Companies of the new 22nd (Service) Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (22nd RF), were Colonials, while C and D were from Kensington. Major Archibald Innes, formerly of the Rifle Brigade, who had won a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the Boer War, was recommended as commanding officer (CO) by one of the Kensington Aldermen, and Captain Randle Barnett Barker, formerly of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and a relative of the mayor's wife, was appointed second-in-command. At one of the early parades Lieutenant-Colonel Innes asked the assembled recruits whether they wanted to be known as the 'Imperial', 'Colonial' or 'Kensington' battalion, but pointed out that if they chose the latter they would be 'adopted' by the royal borough. That is what was chosen.Frederick, p. 287.Inglis, pp. 13–24.James, p. 50.O'Neill, pp. 17–9, 23.Royal Fusiliers at Long, Long Trail.War Office Instruction No 56 of September 1915, Appendix IX.

Training The recruits assembled at the White City exhibition grounds in Hammersmith. Drill was carried out at Wormwood Scrubs. Training was hindered by the same shortages of weapons, equipment and instructors as the other Kitchener battalions, although the Kensingtons were able to place contracts with local firms such as Harrods, Lillywhites and Derry & Toms, and its men were clothed in khaki service dress while many other units had to make do with temporary blue uniforms. White City became so crowded, with troops of the Territorial Force (TF) also using the site, that on 27 October the Kensington battalion moved to Roffey Park at Horsham, Sussex, with the men billeted in local homes until huts could be built. Drill was carried out in Denne Park and manoeuvres at Plummers Plain and Mannings Heath. E Company was formed at Roffey as the battalion reserve company, later joined by F Company.Inglis, pp. 22, 27–38.Inglis, pp. 39–40.

The battalion was assigned to 120th Brigade of 40th Division, which were renumbered 99th Brigade and 33rd Division in May 1915. This brigade consisted of the 17th (Empire), 22nd (Kensington), 23rd (1st Sportsman's) and 24th (2nd Sportsman's) service battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. In June 22nd RF, less E and F Companies, moved to Clipstone Camp in Nottinghamshire, where 33rd Division was concentrating. At the beginning of August the division moved to Tidworth Camp for final battle training on Salisbury Plain, where Lt-Col Innes moved to take command of 27th (Reserve) Bn (see below) and Maj Barker was promoted to succeed him in command of 22nd RF.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 31–9.33rd Division at Long, Long Trail.Inglis, pp. 44–8.

27th (Reserve) Battalion The two reserve companies of the 22nd RF remained at Horsham when the battalion departed for Clipstone Camp in June 1915. In August they were joined by the reserve companies of the 17th (Empire) battalion from Warlingham in Surrey and formed into 27th (Reserve) Battalion, commanded by Lt-Col Innes from the 22nd RF. The 32nd (East Ham) Battalion, RF, was formed in October 1915 and eventually its reserve companies also joined 27th (R) Bn. In November the battalion moved to Oxford as part of 24th Reserve Brigade (an all-Royal Fusiliers brigade), and in April 1916 the brigade moved to Edinburgh. On 1 September 1916 the Local Reserve battalions were transferred to the Training Reserve and 27th (R) Bn RF became 103rd Training Reserve Battalion, though the training staff retained their Royal Fusiliers badges. The battalion was disbanded on 14 December 1917 at Catterick Camp.Inglis, p. 186.Training Reserve at Long, Long Trail.

Service On 4 November 1915, 33rd Division was ordered to move to France, to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting on the Western Front. On 6 November 22nd RF entrained at Tidworth Station for Folkestone, where it embarked for Boulogne. By 21 November the whole division had concentrated at Morbecque. BEF policy was to even up the experience between its New Army and Regular Army formations by exchanging brigades and then distributing the experienced Regular battalions through the New Army formations. On 25 November 99th Bde moved to Béthune where it transferred to 2nd Division in exchange for 19th Bde. Then on 13 December it exchanged two Royal Fusiliers Pals battalions for Regular battalions from 2nd Division, so that 22nd (Kensington) and 23rd (1st Sportsman's) battalions were now brigaded with 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment, 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), and for a short time 1/5th King's (Liverpool Regiment), an attached TF battalion that would soon join its own division.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 41–7.2nd Division at Long, Long Trail.Inglis, pp. 51–8.Wyrall, Vol I, pp. 245–6.

When 99th Bde joined, 2nd Division was holding the line in the Cuinchy sector, where the raw Pals battalions were introduced to Trench warfare by the experienced battalions. Parties from 22nd RF spent 24 hours at a time with the Berkshires and KRRC, and then by companies with 1/5th King's, when it suffered its first casualties from shellfire. On 16–20 and 23–26 December the battalion took over its own section of the line for the first time, near Cambrin. From 30 December to 25 January 1916 the division trained round Busnes, then returned to the Béthune sector, where the battalions began rotating between front line and reserve trenches at Festubert and Givenchy. 22nd Royal Fusiliers received its first draft of reinforcements from 27th Bn, but had to transfer a number of men to help form the brigade Trench Mortar Battery (TMB). On 28 February 2nd Division relieved a French division south of Lens and on 5 March 22nd RF went into the trenches at Souchez. It spent the next two months in this area, alternating spells in the line with training and providing working parties.Inglis, pp. 58–95.Wyrall, Vol I, pp. 247, 252.

Vimy Ridge On 21 May the Germans put in a major attack on the British positions on Vimy Ridge, preceded by a heavy bombardment and the explosion of a mine. The attack overwhelmed the forward positions of 47th (1/2nd London) Division. 2nd Division was ordered up from reserve in buses and lorries and next day 99th Bde relieved 140th (4th London) Brigade and prepared to make a counter-attack from the reserve trenches to recover the lost ground. The attack was twice postponed in order to carry out artillery preparation, but was retimed for 20.25 with 22nd RF on the right, 1st Berkshire on the left, 1st KRRC in support and 23rd RF in reserve. However, just before the attack was launched the Germans put down a heavy bombardment on the attacking battalions, with a barrage behind them to cut them off. The acting COs of both battalions (Maj Roston of 22nd RF and his opposite number of 1st Berks) sent messages back to Brigade HQ that they could not attack (though the divisions either side managed to attack). Lieutenant-Col Barker of 22nd RF had been at Brigade HQ and volunteered to go forward through the barrage and clear things up: he replaced the Berks with the KRRC and reorganised the start time for 01.30, but 47th Division advised that moonrise at 01.00 made that impractical. Eventually Barker received an order to cancel the attack. However, Nos 5 and 8 Platoons of B Company, 22nd RF, had not received the first cancellation order and had gone forward as scheduled at 20.25, accompanied by a few men from 226th Field Company, Royal Engineers. They got into the enemy front trench and held it for an hour and a half, but being unsupported they had to retire through the barrage to rejoin B Company, suffering heavy casualties. The battalion was relieved by 1st Berkshires, having suffered total casualties of 3 officers wounded (one fatally) 7 other ranks (ORs) killed and 78 wounded during the evening. The battalion moved back into the same trenches on 26 May, working hard to improve the former reserve line, and suffering further casualties. It then returned to the usual rotation of trench duties.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 216–23.Inglis, pp. 96–115.Wyrall, pp. 252–4.

Delville Wood