Antecedent Units of The Rifle Volunteer Corps
- In 1858 relations with Napoleon III's France were seriously strained, and the British public, with memories of the earlier Napoleon, became thoroughly apprehensive. Aware of the country's unpreparedness for war, they demanded the right to train in their own defence. Although the Government was reluctant, and the War Office antagonistic, the popular clamour could not be withstood; and on 12th May 1859 the raising of Volunteer Corps was officially authorised.
- It is from Rifle Volunteer Corps raised in the City of London and the surrounding districts in 1859-60 that The London Regiment is directly descended.
- There is some connection with earlier volunteers – the Armed Associations that were raised by parishes at the end of the eighteenth century; some units claim descent from them. The Armed Associations were, however, disbanded by the end of the Napoleonic Wars; although some continued as rifle clubs which eventually formed the nucleus of the new Volunteer Corps in 1859. Being raised in the same localities, some of the Volunteer Corps adopted the insignia of the earlier Armed Associations, although this cannot be considered as proof of direct descent. The official origins of The London Regiment lie in the Rifle Volunteer Corps of 1859.
- The only exceptions were 9th Battalion, The London Regiment whose ancestors were The Royal Victoria Rifles in 1853. This unit was formed from the Royal Victoria Rifle Club, and in 1859 it became part of the Volunteer Force as 1st Middlesex (Victoria) Rifle Volunteer Corps. A similar claim may also be made by the 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles).
- When the Rifle Volunteer Corps were raised there was no County of London. London consisted solely of the City. Surrey and Kent extended to the south bank of the Thames, with Middlesex on the north bank. Consequently, units raised in what later became the County of London bore the old county names.
- In 1860 the ancestors of The London Regiment stood as follows:
1908 London
Regiment Battalion
(The left-hand column shows the units' eventual numbering as Battalions of The London Regiment of 1908)51st City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade62nd London Rifle Volunteer Corps73rd London Rifle Volunteer Corps42nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps173rd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps44th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps177th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps178th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps179th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps1710th Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps91st Middlesex (Victoria) Rifle Volunteer Corps132nd Middlesex (South Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps134th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps137th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps911th Middlesex (St George's) Rifle Volunteer Corps1415th Middlesex (London Scottish) Rifle Volunteer Corps119th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps320th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Railway Rifles)1521st Middlesex (Civil Service) Rifle Volunteer Corps1622nd Middlesex (Queen's) Rifle Volunteer Corps1726th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1527th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1828th Middlesex (London Irish) Rifle Volunteer Corps1929th Middlesex (North Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps1531st Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1534th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1036th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps937th Middlesex (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Rifle Volunteer Corps2838th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteer Corps1139th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (The Finsbury Rifle Volunteer Corps)1240th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Central London Rangers)1742nd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps246th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps203rd Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps204th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2012th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2013th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2018th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2021st Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2025th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2026th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2027th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2028th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2030th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps2034th Kent Rifle Volunteer Corps211st Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps213rd Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps237th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps2210th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps2419th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps2223rd Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps - The following additional ancestor units were raised between 1868 and 1875:
849th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1550th Middlesex (Bank of England) Rifle Volunteer Corps2326th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps
- The strength of the original Rifle Volunteer Corps varied considerably. Some recruited to Battalion strength, but the majority were initially individual companies. In 1880 the smaller corps were amalgamated into corps of Battalion strength, and all were re-numbered.
- In 1880 the ancestors of The London Regiment stood as follows:
1908 London Regiment Battalion648th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps51st City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade62nd London Rifle Volunteer Corps73rd London Rifle Volunteer Corps41st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps172nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps91st Middlesex (Victoria) Rifle Volunteer Corps132nd Middlesex (South Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps134th Middlesex (West London) Rifle Volunteer Corps 6th Middlesex (St George's) Rifle Volunteer Corps147th Middlesex (London Scottish) Rifle Volunteer Corps110th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps311th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1512th Middlesex (Civil Service) Rifle Volunteer Corps1613th Middlesex (Queen's) Rifle Volunteer Corps (Westminster)1715th Middlesex (The Customs and The Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps1816th Middlesex (London Irish) Rifle Volunteer Corps1917th Middlesex (North Middlesex) Rifle Volunteer Corps1018th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps919th Middlesex (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Rifle Volunteer Corps2820th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteer Corps1121st Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (The Finsbury Rifle Volunteer Corps)1222nd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Central London Rangers)223rd Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps824th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps1525th Middlesex (Bank of England) Rifle Volunteer Corps203rd Kent (West Kent) Rifle Volunteer Corps204th Kent (Royal Arsenal) Rifle Volunteer Corps211st Surrey (South London) Rifle Volunteer Corps226th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps237th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps248th Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps