The Kensington Battalion

The Kensington Battalion
Author: G. I. S. Inglis
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 591
Release: 2011-02-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 178346108X

Raised by the Mayor of Kensington, the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (the Kensington Battalion) were a strange mixture of social classes (bankers and stevedores, writers and laborers) with a strong sprinkling of irreverent colonials thrown in. Such a disparate group needed a strong leader and, luckily, in Randle Barratt Barker, they found one, first as their trainer and then as the Commanding Officer.As this superb book reveals The Kensington Battalion had a unique spirit and given their ordeals they needed this. They suffered severely in the battles of 1917 and, starved of reinforcements, were disbanded in 1918. Yet thanks to a strong Old Comrades Association, a special magazine Mufti, welfare work and reunions the Battalions close spirit lived on.The author has successfully drawn on a wealth of first hand material (diaries, letters and official documents) as well as interviews from the 1980s to produce a fitting and atmospheric record of service and sacrifice.

Othe Kensingtons O 13th London Regiment

Othe Kensingtons O 13th London Regiment
Author: O. F. Bailey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2002-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781843423645

A brief account of the history of the Kensingtons before the Great War is given in the opening chapter of this book. In 1908 the TF came into existence and with it the unwieldy London Regiment with its 26 battalions, among which was the 13th (County of London) Battalion (Kensington). When war broke out the battalion was already allocated to the 4th London Brigade, 2nd London Division, but in November 1914 it left the division and went to France, arriving on 4th; it was allocated to 25th Brigade, 8th Division, a newly formed regular division, with which it fought its first major action, at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915. After a spell on the Lines of Communication the battalion joined the re-formed 1st London Division (now numbered 56th) in 168th Brigade, and it fought in that brigade on the Western Front for the rest of the war. In September 1914 a second line battalion was formed (2/13th) and assigned to179th Brigade 60th Division. An unexpected diversion occurred at the end of April 1916 when the brigade was sent to Ireland on internal security duties following the Easter rebellion. A fortnight later it returned to England and on 21 June 60th Division began its move to France. After about four months in the Vimy sector the division was transferred to Macedonia where the battalion arrived at the end of November 1916. Its spell in that theatre was comparatively short for in May 1917 the division moved again - to Palestine where it served with the EEF till the end of the war. This history is arranged in two parts, the first deals with the first line battalion, 1/4th, and is written by Sgt Bailey; the second part is the history of the 2/4th, written by Sgt Hollier. There is a final chapter covering the post-war period up to 1935, written by one of the commanding officers. The Roll of Honour lists the dead (60 officers 1003 men), alphabetically by ranks, without identifying battalion, nor does the list of Honours and Awards identfy the battalion. The two sergeants have a produced a very workmanlike record of the battalions even though, according to their introduction, relevant material had not been easy to come by and official records were scarce. Nevertheless, aided by the loan of diaries and the assistance of fellow members, I am sure the result was very much appreciated by the Kensingtons Old Comrades Association.

Kensington in the Great War

Kensington in the Great War
Author: G. I. S. Inglis
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2014-09-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473841909

How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Kensington were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. The Royal Borough of Kensington was an area of huge contrasts: vast riches in the south, but marked poverty in the north. It was close enough to the heart of London that national and London-wide affairs often impinged on local life, while local residents might have national reputations. Thus enormous crowds attended the interment at Brompton Cemetery of one of Britain's finest air heroes, Sub-Lieutenant Warneford, striking London policemen left an indelible impression as they marched their way through the Borough, while Kensington resident Mrs Dorothy Peel attempted to teach the nation how to make food economies in answer to the submarine threat, but there are also quirky magistrates, stroppy butchers, Mr Bushman the ultra-patriotic cartoon character, dangerous dog-walkers who would sweep your feet from under you in the dark nights and some vivid first-hand accounts such as watching the first Zeppelin come down. The man who turned Kensington into a Borough at war was undoubtedly William Davison (later Sir William) - Kensington's Mayor throughout the war years. He helped complete the local territorial battalion (the 13th Kensingtons), threw his weight behind recruiting a second battalion, and finally raised a Kitchener battalion from scratch, the 22nd Royal Fusiliers, with all their clothing and accoutrements, and even a fully-fitted hutted camp. He was obliged to display enormous organising energy in the in early years and thereafter seemed to be involved in almost everything, from getting food parcels to POWs to serving on Tribunals.We are fortunate that the Mayor left behind 7 volumes of wartime cuttings, while the local Kensington News was an outstanding source

"The Kensingtons"

Author: Great Britain. Army. Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment. Regimental Old Comrades' Association
Publisher:
Total Pages: 392
Release: 1952
Genre:
ISBN:

Kensington to St Valery en Caux

Kensington to St Valery en Caux
Author: Robert Gardner
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2012-02-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752483617

This is a story of summer 1940, of a little known territorial battalion and an almost forgotten British military disaster. In April 1940 the Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment left England to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. It was attached to the 51st (Highland) Division which was moving to the Saar region to defend the Maginot Line. From May until mid-June the Kensingtons were in continuous action, first on the Saar, then on the Somme, and finally in a fighting withdrawal along the channel coast in an attempt to reach Le Havre. Outnumbered four to one the division was cornered at the little seaside town of St Valery en Caux and forced to surrender on 13 June. Three companies of the Kensingtons launched a daring escape through Le Havre to return to England and take part in the invasion defences on the Kent coast.

History of the 22nd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (Kensington)

History of the 22nd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (Kensington)
Author: Christopher Stone
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2001-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781843421061

The battalion was raised by the Mayor and Borough of Kensington as a Service (Kitchener) battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (RF) on 11 Sep 1914 at the White City. In June 1915 it became part of 99th Brigade 33rd Division, along with 17th, 23rd and 24th Battalions RF. The battalion went to France in November 1915 with 33rd Division, but almost immediately on arrival the brigade was transferred to the 2nd Division, a regular division, where the battaion remained till it was disbanded in Feb 1918 when the BEF reduced the number of brigades in a battalion from four to three.The editor stresses this book was compiled for the surviving members of the battalion, some 410 died, a VC was won by L/Sgt F.W Palmer (also MM) near Courcelette in Feb 1917. There is a Roll of Honour in which the dates of death of the officers is given, but in the case of other ranks, they are grouped by companies for each year of the war without number, rank or date of death. There is also a list of recipients of honours and awards, headed by Palmer with his VC. In this list, which includes mentioned in despatches, names are grouped alphabetically for each medal, but no number, rank or date of award.

8 Division 25 Infantry Brigade Lincolnshire Regiment 2nd Battalion, London Regiment 1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers), London Regiment 13th (County of London) Battalion (Princess Louise's Kensington Battalion) and Royal Irish Rifles 1st Bat

8 Division 25 Infantry Brigade Lincolnshire Regiment 2nd Battalion, London Regiment 1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers), London Regiment 13th (County of London) Battalion (Princess Louise's Kensington Battalion) and Royal Irish Rifles 1st Bat
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 698
Release: 2015-07-25
Genre:
ISBN: 9781474507264

The War Diaries for the Great War, held under WO95, represent one of the most popular record collections held at the National Archives, Kew, London. For researchers and family historians, the War Diaries contain a wealth of information of far greater interest than the army could ever have predicted. They provide unrivalled insight into daily events on the front line and are packed with fascinating detail. They contain no modern editing, opinions or poorly judged comments, just the war day by day, written by the men who fought this 'War to end all Wars. They are without question, the most important source of information available on the war on the Western Front. Full colour facsimile of each page with specially created chronological index. What is a War Diary? The headquarters of each unit and formation of the British Army in the field was ordered to maintain a record of its location, movements and activities. For the most part, these details were recorded on a standard army form headed 'War diary or intelligence summary'. What details are given? Details given vary greatly, depending on the nature of the unit, what it was doing and, to some extent, the style of the man writing it. The entries vary from very simple and repetitive statements like 'Training' up to many pages of description when a unit was in battle. Production of the diary was the responsibility of the Adjutant of the headquarters concerned. Is there any other information or documents with the diaries? Some diaries have other documentation attached, such as maps, operational orders and after-action reports.