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Headquarters of the 17th Battalion Poplar and Stepney Rifles |
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| In April 1908, the 17th (County of London) Battalion The
London Regiment (Poplar & Stepney Rifles), the local territorial battalion, was formed
by the amalgamation of two local Volunteer Corps, 2nd Tower Hamlets Volunteer Rifle Corps
and the 15th Middlesex (The Customs & The Docks) Volunteer Rifle Corps. The 2nd Tower
Hamlets VRC had its headquarters and Drill Hall in Tredegar Road Bow and recruited
throughout what is now Tower Hamlets. The 15th Middlx (The Customs & The Docks) VRC
had its Headquarters at the Custom House and its Drill Hall near Shadwell New Entrance,
London Docks, and recruited mainly from Customs Officers and Dockworkers in the London, St
Katharines, West India Docks. The 17th Battalion formed part of 5th London Infantry Brigade of the 2nd London Division, later renamed and numbered as the 141st Infantry Brigade of the 47th (London) Division. For their cap badge, they used a basic Rifle Brigade cap badge with their battle honour "South Africa 1900-1902", inscribed on the four arms When War was declared on the 4th August 1914, the Battalion was training on Salisbury Plains. They were recalled to headquarters for mobilisation and, then, moved to Essex to begin training for the Western Front. In March 1915, the Battalion, in the advanced party, sailed for France. Landing at Le Havre, the Battalion moved to Cassel. Later, there was a change of orders, which sent the rest of the Division to Allouagne. The Battalion was moved to the new camp at Allouagne by a fleet of forty-two London buses driven by cockney drivers. The Riflemen joked that these were the very same buses that they had ridden on along the Mile End Road. After a period of further training, and acclimatisation to conditions in the trenches, the Battalion was ready to be moved up to the front and take their place in the front line. The Poplar & Stepney Rifles fought their first battle in the coalfields at Loos. The First Battalion of the Poplar and Stepney Rifles fought throughout the First World War on the Western Front while the Second Battalion fought with the 60th Division both on the Western Front and in the Middle East and the 30th Division on the Western Front. The Third was a training and reserve Battalion. The Battle Honours won by the 17th Battalion Poplar and Stepney Rifles in the First World War were: |
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1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 |
1st /17th - LOOS HIGH WOOD (THE SOMME) EAUCOURT L'ABBAYE YPRES BOURLON WOOD LA VACQUERIE LE MESNIL BRAY SUR SOMME MOISLAINS TOURNAI |
2nd /17th - VIMY RIDGE SALONIKA SHERIA NABI SAMWELL JERUSELUM AMMEN NEUVE EGLISE HELCHIN |
| In 1916 the 17th Battalion became a Territorial Battalion of
The Rifle Brigade, thereby re-establishing its historic link with the Regiment. In the 1920s, with the re-establishment of the Territorial Army the 17th Battalion was reduced to one battalion. Then followed two small name changes until 1937 when the Battalion was renamed as the Tower Hamlets Rifles, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consorts Own). During the Second World War, the Tower Hamlets Rifles fought in the Middle East, French North Africa and Italy. In 1947 the Tower Hamlets Rifles ceased to exist as a separate unit, when it become the 625 LAA Regiment RA (Rifle Brigade). |
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