Defending Albion Also by K. W Mitchinson COTION TOWN COMRADES SADDLEWORTH, 1914-1919: The Experience of a Pennine Community During the Great War GENTLEMEN AND OFFICERS: The Impact and Experience of War on a Territorial Regiment PIONEER BATIALIONS IN THE GREAT WAR EPEHY RIQUEVAL VILLERS-PLOUICH AMATEUR SOLDIERS: A History of Oldham's Volunteers and Territorials 1859-1938 Defending Albion Britain's Home Army 1908-1919 K.W. Mitchinson palqrave _,_ rnacrn1l!an * © K.W. Mitchinson 2005 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-1-4039-3825-1 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Totten ham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin's Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-51931-6 ISBN 978-0-230-51211-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230512115 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mitchinson, K. W., 1951- DefendingAlbion: Britain's Home Army, 1908-1919/ by K. W. Mitchinson. p. em.-(Studies in military and strategic history) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Great Britain-History, Military-20th century. 2. Great Britain - Defenses-History-20th century. 3. Civil defense -Great Britain History-20th century. 4. World War, 1914--1918-Great Britain. I. Title. II. Studies in military and strategic history (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm)) DA69.M57 2005 940.3' 41-dc22 2004056892 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 OS Transferred to Digital Printing 2011 For my parents When the day that they must go hence was come, many accompanied them to the river side, into which, as they went, they said, 'Death, where is thy sting?' And as they went down deeper, they said, 'Grave, where is thy victory?' So they passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for them on the other side. (After John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress) Contents List of Illustrations viii Preface and Acknowledgements xiii List of Abbreviations xiv Introduction: The Invasion Issue 1 1 Supplementing the Home Army 13 2 Planning for Defence 34 3 Mobilization and New Auxiliaries 52 4 Protection Companies and Invasion Scares 76 5 The Home Army in 1915 98 6 Reforming and Expanding the Home Army 123 7 Restructuring and Compulsion 14 7 8 'A Sham or a Real Thing'? The Volunteer Force in 1917 166 9 The Diminishing Threat 178 Epilogue 194 Appendix I Extra Reserve Battalions 205 Appendix II Home Defence Scheme, July 1914 206 Appendix III Provisional Units 208 Appendix IV The Home Army in November 1918 209 Appendix V Coastal Fortresses and Garrisons 211 Notes 213 Bibliography 248 Index 254 vii List of Illustrations 1 The pre-war Territorial Force was often accused of being 'plagued by inex perience and youth'. Perhaps in an attempt to demonstrate both matu rity and sophistication, these young soldiers of the London Regiment pose with pipes at their 1913 annual camp. (Author's collection) 2 Six scouts of the London Scottish rode to their 1913 camp at Abergavenny on motorcycles. These privately owned machines, all of which are of different make, illustrate the problems Territorial battalions experienced in trying to secure a degree of homogeneity in much of their pre-war equipment. (London Scottish Museum) 3 Providing sufficient accommodation for the burgeoning New Army and Territorial Force was a major problem for the War Office. These Birmingham Boy Scouts are erecting huts for troops of the home army in February 1915, possibly on Cannock Chase. (IWM QS3647) 4 In August 1914, the Fusilier Brigade of the 1st London Division was deployed to guard the railway network which would carry the BEF to Southampton for embarkation. These Third Line troops of the 2nd (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) are thought to have been billeted in railway carriages at Epsom for a period in early 1915. (IWM QS3968) 5 Using what are probably jam tins as 'grenades' and almost devoid of other equipment, Territo rials of the 11th (Co. of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles) take part in a cheery bomb and bayonet charge for the benefit of the camera. The First Line battalion, which in 1914 was meant to be part of the Central Force, was transferred to the 54th (East Anglian) Division in April 1915 and landed at Suvla Bay in August 1915. These troops are probably the Second Line in training near Ipswich. (IWM QS3973) 6 The exclusive Territorial battalions of the London Regiment placed great emphasis on their men's physical prowess. Inter-regimental speed marches, tugs of war and efficiency competitions were annual events. Several units also ran Schools of Arms. This photo shows what is probably the London Rifle Brigade's Third Line at Tadworth giving a fencing exhibition. (IWM QS3850) 7 With the 1st Battalion already overseas and soon to see action on Messines Ridge, members of the Second Line London Scottish enjoy their beer ration on Wimbledon Common in October 1914. Despite viii List of Illustrations ix Kitchener's assurance that First Line units of the home army would not go abroad until their Second Line was trained and equipped, some of the Scottish are still in civilian clothes. Presumably the boy was not on strength. (IWM Q53967) 8 The good-natured pre-war rivalry between Territorial battalions con tinued into the war. Having equipped themselves with blankets as kilts, scarves, towels and shaving brushes as sporrans, and pillows and swagger canes for bagpipes, these 1916 recruits to the Reserve Battalion of the 5th (City of London), demanded a transfer to the London Scottish. (Author's collection) 9 Having first erected the pontoon bridge, sappers of the 3/1st London RE haul their tool carts across it in October 1915. Owing to the shortage of equipment, Second and Third Line RE spent much of their early months of training undertaking far more mundane duties: they were used extensively on wiring and digging coastal defences. (IWM Q53809) 10 A battery of the 2/2nd Co. of London RFA training in 1915. These Second Line men are members of either the Woolwich or Eltham batteries and are practising with a 15 pdr. Most first line RFA units of the home army used 15 pdr guns rather than the 18 pdr issued to Regular batteries. Depending upon exactly when in 1915 the photo was taken, these gunners were probably fortunate to have any sort of working gun. (IWM Q54287) 11 Personnel of the Territorial Force, Kitchener's Army and the VTC were often used to clear up after Zeppelin and Gotha raids. These Territorial troops are going through the debris of a house near King's Lynn in January 1915. (IWM Q53589) 12 A task common to all infantry units of the home army - digging. Troops of the 3/22nd (The Queen's) London Regiment practise trench construction in September 1915. Many Third Line or Reserve battalions of the Territorial Force were used to dig coastal defences as part of their training. (IWM Q53838) 13 In the days before wearing a brassard became compulsory, members of the Wandsworth Home Defence Battalion practise with dummy weapons under the eye of their Commandant, F.A. Webster. (IWM Q53426) 14 The 3/llth (Co. of London) Battalion (Finsbury Rifles) undergoing rifle instruction in the autumn of 1915. By that time, the supply of SMLEs had improved for troops serving with the Expeditionary Forces, but most training units were still using the older pattern Lee Enfield or weapons purchased from overseas. (IWM Q53823) x List of Illustrations 15 VTC despatch riders, some perhaps anticipating a chilly alfresco night, on parade in November 1914. (IWM Q53425) 16 Elements of the 2/1st Kent Cyclists in April 1915. In addition to the ten Territorial regiments which formed cyclist battalions, there were another four Territorial cyclist units. Their role was to patrol the coast during the Precautionary Period and, if an enemy landed, to deploy as skirmishers and provide a link between the forward defenders and reinforcement units of the Central Force. (IWM Q53673) 17 Rare photos of a 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion in training. These men are from the 3/Bedfordshire at a camp probably in the Harwich area. These photos were taken in October 1915. Fourteen months into the war, the only pre-war Special Reservists still with 3rd Battalions would be recovering wounded or instructors. Although these battalions were filled with recruits, their emergency role as coast defence troops was a vital element in the home army's strategy. By late 1915, 3rd Battalions generally possessed sufficient equipment to allow rudimentary train ing with specialized equipment but it was not until mid-1917 that Field Marshal Sir John French, C-in-C Home Forces, expressed con tentment with the number of machine guns available for coast defence. (IWM Q53842/Q53844) 18 Like all home service units, field ambulances trained with whatever supplies they could obtain. Most of their medical work involved dealing with scabies, flu and tonsilitis but they were also responsi ble for inspecting billets and VAD hospitals, for checking the qual ity of food supplies, arranging bathing facilities and organizing the disinfecting of clothes. There was a perpetual shortage of MOs and the units for which they were responsible were frequently scattered up to 20 miles from the ambulance. (IWM Q53720) 19 In late 1916 a scheme was prepared by which up to 26 MG companies would be sent from the MG Training Centre at Grantham as rein forcements to Eastern, Northern and Scottish Commands. In an emergency, the Commandant of the Training Centre was to requisi tion sufficient private cars to convey four companies; the remaining units were to move by rail. Motor MG batteries patrolled the Lincolnshire area as part of their training. (IWM Q53903) 20 By late 1917, cyclist units were the front line anti-invasion forces of the home army. The sergeant is probably a member of the 2/1st Dorset Yeomanry which converted to a cyclist unit in July 1916. (IWM Q30429) 21 The call up notice for a Special Reservist of the 3/Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Most such notices were despatched on 4 August