The Royal Berkshire Regiment

 

In 1914 the Royal Berkshire Regiment consisted of the 1st and 2nd Regular battalions, the 3rd (Reserve) battalion and the 4th (Territorial) battalion.

 

The 1st battalion was formed from the old 49th (Hertfordshire) Regiment, raised initially in Jamaica in 1743 as Trelawney's Regiment, who fought in the American War of Independence where they acquired the distinctive red Brandywine flash worn behind the capbadge. At the start of the Napoleonic War the 49th took part in the expedition to the Netherlands in 1799 and the Battle of Copenhagen in 1802 and then spent the rest of the war in Canada. They returned home in 1816 and were awarded the title "Princess Charlotte of Wales's" at Her Royal Highness's request. In 1821 they were sent to South Africa then saw service in China and the Crimea before a further tour in the West Indies and then 10 years in India until 1875.

 

The 2nd battalion originated as the 2nd battalion of the 19th Regiment, given its own existence as the 66th Regiment in 1758. The 66th served in India, Jamaica and Canada and in 1803 a 2nd battalion was raised to take part in the Peninsular War while the 1st was in India and Ceylon. The 2nd/66th fought in Spain throughout the campaign and had to be amalgamated with the 31st Regiment after Albuhera as their numbers were so depleted by casualties. After the war, the 2nd/66th became a separate battalion again and helped guard Napoleon on St Helena. In 1870 they were sent to India and earned undying glory at Maiwand on 27 July 1880 - an event commemorated by the huge cast iron lion in the Forbury Gardens at Reading. Sherlock Holmes's companion Dr Watson was based on the Regiment's medical officer Surgeon Major A F Preston who was wounded in the battle, as was Watson. The despatch from Gen Primrose after the battle included the statement "History does not afford any grander or finer instance of gallantry and devotion to Queen and country than that displayed by the LXVI Regiment at the Battle of Maiwand on the XXVII July MDCCCLXXX."

 

The Cardwell reforms after 1870 saw the 49th and 66th amalgamated in 1881 as 1st and 2nd battalions of the Berkshire Regiment and the title "Royal" was added in 1885 in consequence of the gallantry shown by the 1st battalion in the Sudan. The 2nd battalion were in South Africa when the Boer War broke out in 1899 and served with distinction, Pte W House winning the Victoria Cross. Sgt George Johnson, a gardener at Englefield, served in that war with the Royal Berkshires.

 

The other two components of the 1914 Regiment had been separate units until the Haldane reforms of 1908. The Berkshire Militia, with its origins in the Mediaeval Fyrd was been reorganised as the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Berkshire Volunteers, formed in 1859 under the influence of Col Lloyd Lindsay VC, became the 4th (Territorial) Battalion.

 

Mobilisation

 

Under the Cardwell reforms it was determined that at any time one of the two Regular infantry battalions should be in India and the other at home, with a swap over from time to time. Thus it was that on 4 August 1914 the 1st Battalion was at Aldershot when war was declared. They departed for France on 12 August and participated in the fighting withdrawal from Mons, marching 236 miles in 15 days. The 2nd Battalion meanwhile was at Jhansi in India and they were immediately ordered home, embarking on the troopship Dongala at Bombay on 27 September. They reached Liverpool on 23 October and arrived at Le Havre on 5 November. Both battalions remained in France throughout the War.

 

War found the Territorials of 4th Royal Berkshires at their Annual Camp. They returned prematurely to Reading on 3 August and mobilised the next day. Although the conditions of service were for home defence only, on 15 August the men were invited to volunteer for unlimited service, which almost every one did. They deployed initially to Portsmouth then moved around to Swindon, Dunstable and Chelmsford, carrying on training. How many of the Englefield volunteers remained with the battalion at this time is not known. In September 1914 the Battalion, being fully recruited, was re-designated 1st/4th with a 2nd/4th Battalion being formed. The 1st/4th went to France in early 1915 remaining there until November 1917 when they were sent to Italy where they remained until the end of the War. 2nd/4th went to France on 26 May 1916 and were still there in 1918, taking part in the final Allied advance that ended the War.

 

The 3rd Battalion was a training battalion, remaining in England until November 1917 when they were sent to Ireland. They trained over 21,000 men throughout the War and afterwards handled the demobilisation of the soldiers from the front line battalions in between participating in round-ups of Sinn Feiners.

 

Kitchener Battalions

 

In addition to the two Regular battalions, the Territorial battalion and the Special Reserve battalion the Royal Berkshire Regiment raised a total of four service battalions within two months of the start of the War: the 5th Battalion on 25 August, the 6th almost immediately afterwards and the 7th shortly after that, when more men volunteered than could be accommodated in the 5th Battalion. An 8th Battalion was formed a little later than the others, towards the end of September 1914. The 5th Battalion went to France in May 1915 and was followed a month later by the 6th. Both battalions remained in France until the end of the war. The 7th Battalion went initially to France in September 1915 but after only a few weeks was sent to Salonika and remained in that theatre until the end of the war. The 8th Battalion moved to France in August 1915 and, unlike the other battalions, who had time to play themselves in with further training and routine trench duties, was almost immediately involved in the Battle of Loos where on 25/26 September it lost 17 officers and 500 other ranks. After receiving reinforcements it was soon back in action and by 14 October had suffered a further 166 casualties. Like the 5th and 6th Battalions, the 8th remained in France for the duration.

 

There was also a 9th Battalion, initially raised in November 1914 as a Service Battalion but re-designated a Reserve Battalion the following year and used to train soldiers for the front line battalions; it remained in England throughout. There were also three Labour Battalions (11th, 12th and 13th) and a Garrison Home Service Battalion.