Mobilisation The battalion had just arrived in camp at Cowgate,
Eastbourne, for annual training on Sunday 2 August 1914 when news reached them of the mobilisation of the Continental Powers. The battalion immediately entrained for London and the men returned to their homes, whence they were summoned the following day (3 August) to Farringdon Road in anticipation of the official mobilisation orders, which were issued on 4 August. Within a day or so the battalion was at full strength, having been joined by about 200 recruits from the KRRC Cadets. Like the other London TF units, a sufficiently high proportion of the CLR volunteered for foreign service to make the battalion eligible to be sent overseas. The men who did not so volunteer, or were unfit, were constituted as a second battalion to which the flood of new recruits were directed. This was named the 2/6th Londons, the service battalion becoming the 1/6th Londons. Later a reserve battalion, named 3/6th Londons, was organised to train and supply drafts to the other battalions serving overseas.
1/6th Battalion In mid-August the battalion went into camp at
Bisley, Surrey and a month later moved to
Crowborough, Sussex, where it was trained in field operations. By 5 November, a number of individual London TF battalions had already been sent overseas and the 1/6th was transferred to the
4th London Brigade in
2nd London Division to bring it up to full strength in order to proceed to France as a formation. The battalion moved to
Watford to join its new brigade, and field training continued until 16 March 1915, when it entrained for
Southampton to embark for the
Western Front. During the night of 17/18 March the 1/6th Londons sailed to
Le Havre aboard the SS
La Marguerite. The 2nd London Division, soon afterwards numbered
47th (1/2nd London) Division, went into the line near
Béthune to be instructed in trench warfare by the Regular
2nd Division. The 1/6th Londons were teamed with the 1st Bn KRRC and 2nd Bn
South Staffordshire Regiment. During April the battalion began to take responsibility for holding its own section of the line, and suffered its first casualties. The 1/6th Bn was not involved in 47th Division's first attack, at the
Battle of Festubert (15–25 May), but was heavily shelled for several days while holding the line adjacent to the attacks.
Loos The first full-scale attack carried out by the CLR was at the
Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. This was a carefully rehearsed attack following four days of bombardment and the release of a
gas cloud. The 1/6th Bn's objective was the German trench system running from a mining
spoil tip known as the Double Crassier to the
Lens–Béthune Road. The battalion reached the German front line with few casualties, but the
wire in front of the second line was a more serious obstacle, there was no natural cover, and the battalion suffered many casualties here. However, the objectives were taken by 08.00, after which the battalion consolidated its position and beat off counter-attacks.
Vimy 1/6th Battalion was withdrawn from the Loos sector on 30 September, and after a period of line-holding, it was sent in mid-November for rest and training with new equipment such as
Lewis guns and
rifle grenades. It returned to the line in mid-December, and carried out regular tours of duty around
Hulluch and then from March 1916 on the
Vimy Ridge. On 30 April the 1/6th Bn suffered over 80 casualties when the Germans exploded a mine under their line. However, the CLR successfully occupied and fortified the resulting crater, which was named 'Mildren Crater' after their commanding officer. On the night of 20/21 May, 140 Bde relieved another formation for a further tour of duty on Vimy Ridge, but the following day (while the supporting artillery were being changed over and could not offer support) the front line was heavily bombarded, as was the support line in 'Zouave Valley' in which 1/6th Bn was stationed. The Germans began their attack at 19.45, taking most of the front line, and at 22.00 the 1/6th was ordered to make a counter-attack to restore the position. The battalion made some progress, but its flanks were 'in the air'. At 02.00 on 22 May it attacked again, but once again the flanking units were held up. However, the Germans had achieved their object (to destroy the British mine shafts under the ridge) and withdrew on the flanks, so that the positions recaptured by the 1/6th became the new British front line for months to come.
High Wood In late July 1916 the 1/6th marched south to begin training to enter the ongoing
Somme offensive. The battalion practised on positions marked out by flags, and adopted identification stripes on their arms: A Company blue, B Co green, C Co red and D Co yellow. On 15 September, 47th Division attacked High Wood to cover the left flank of the tank-led attack of the adjacent divisions on
Flers. The first objective for 140 Bde was a line clear of High Wood (the Switch Line), the second was the Starfish Line on the forward slope, after which 1/6th Londons would pass through to take the Flers Line. The leading waves were engaged in heavy fighting and the brigade got to the Starfish Line, after which 1/6th pressed on. The battalion suffered badly from enfilade machine-gun fire from the direction of High Wood (which had still not been cleared), when 'whole waves of men were mown down in line'. Although a few men reached the Flers Line it could not be held, and the remaining two officers and 100 men (including 50 who came up from the transport lines) consolidated a position known as the Cough Drop, a group of German trenches in a valley west of Flers, though their position was unknown to headquarters. The following day a follow-up attack linked up with the 1/6th holding out in the Cough Drop, and at dawn on 18 September the battalion contributed to a mixed force that succeeded in occupying the Flers Line. The 1/6th was relieved in the Cough Drop on the morning of 20 September. The regiment received the battle honour
Flers-Courcelette for this action. After eight days' rest the depleted 1/6th returned to the front line on 4 October, opposite a mound known as the
Butte de Warlencourt. Next day the battalion seized the old mill west of Eaucourt l'Abbaye. From here the battalion observed the enemy digging a new trench on the Butte, and 140 Bde was ordered to attack it and go on to take the mound. Because of its losses, 1/6th was not involved in the unsuccessful attacks over the next two days, but it suffered badly from retaliatory shellfire. It was relieved on the night of 9/10 October. This action won the regiment the battle honour
Le Transloy Ypres The 47th Division transferred to the
Ypres Salient, and the 1/6th Bn absorbed a large draft of reinforcements. Training continued between spells spent holding the line. On 20 February 1917 the 1/6th carried out a large-scale
trench raid involving all four rifle companies with attached
sappers from 520 Company
Royal Engineers and 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company, a total of 20 officers and 640 other ranks. Dummy raids, mines and bombardments on neighbouring sections of the line were used to deceive the enemy. A
Stokes mortar barrage on the German front line cut the wire in front of the attack and kept the defenders in their dugouts, while field guns laid a
box barrage to seal off the area attacked. The attack went in at 17.00, led by the second-in-command of 1/6th sounding a hunting horn, and met almost no hostile fire. A record number of prisoners were taken, dugouts, emplacements and a mine shaft were destroyed, and considerable intelligence gained. After about an hour, the raiders retired to their own lines as dusk fell.
Messines The 1/6th took part in the
Battle of Messines on 7 June. 140 Brigade attacked south of the Ypres–Comines Canal with the White Chateau and adjacent outbuildings and trenches as its objective. 1/6th left its trenches at 05.30, two hours after Zero Hour, to pass through and complete the assault on the final objectives. Finding that the White Chateau was still uncaptured, the supporting tanks bogged, and the surroundings being covered by enemy fire, the battalion had to improvise. Company Sergeant-Major C. Bitten of B Company climbed onto the chateau ruins and threw grenades and bricks at the enemy machine-gun teams, who scattered, allowing the battalion to occupy the position. While battalion HQ was set up in the chateau ruins, the battalion advanced behind a barrage to take the outbuildings and German reserve line. Two officers and 30 other ranks were killed in the attack, and 81 all ranks wounded – a comparatively low number for the period. The 1/6th Bn spent the summer of 1917 holding the line in the Ypres Salient, taking part in the usual small actions and trench raids, and during the autumn it was in the Oppy sector.
Bourlon Wood On 29 November 1917 the 47th Division took over defence of Bourlon Ridge, captured during the recent
Battle of Cambrai. The defences were rudimentary, and the Germans attacked the following day. At first the attacks fell on the neighbouring battalions on both flanks, but the 1/6th's fire on these attacks attracted a frontal attack, which penetrated between the 1/6th and the 1/15th Londons to the right. The position on the ridge was now enfiladed and casualties mounted under repeated attacks, including ground attack aircraft. The position was restored by a counter-attack led by the commanding officer and including all available men at Battalion HQ. The battalion's casualties on this day were heavy, amounting to 13 officers and 369 other ranks, many of whom were captured as their positions were rolled up. On 2 January 1918, Lt-Col W.F. Mildren, who had been commanding officer of the 1/6th since August 1915, was promoted to command 141 Bde in 47th Division, and he was not replaced. In February 1918 a number of British infantry battalions were disbanded because of a manpower crisis. 1/6th Londons was among those selected for disbandment: eight officers and 198 other ranks were sent to the 2/6th Battalion in the 58th Division (
see below). Other drafts were sent to the 1/15th and 1/18th Londons in 47th Division. The remaining men of the 1/6th were sent to join remnants of nine other battalions to form 6th Entrenching Battalion.
2/6th Battalion The 2/6th Battalion formed at Farringdon Road on 21 August 1914 after the 1/6th Bn marched away. The regimental staff were overwhelmed with recruits, 1100 being attested immediately. In October 1914 the London TF Association rented a large country house, Mount Felix at
Walton-on-Thames, to accommodate the battalion and provide training facilities. The 2/6th Bn was assigned to the 2/2nd London Brigade (later
174th (2/2nd London) Brigade) in the 2/1st London Division, which was numbered
58th (2/1st London) Division in August 1915. The Brigade concentrated in Sussex in November 1914, first at
Burgess Hill, later at Crowborough. In May and June 1915 the whole division concentrated in East Anglia. Initially, 2/6th Bn's role was to provide reinforcements for 1/6th Bn, and it sent large drafts to the senior battalion in February (just before 1/6th went overseas), August and September 1915 (after the Battle of Loos). After that, the practice stopped as the 58th Division was itself prepared for overseas service, and the duty of providing reinforcements fell on the 3/6th Bn. In July 1916, 58th Division left its coastal defence role and concentrated at
Sutton Veny for final training on
Salisbury Plain before embarkation for the Western Front. The battalion disembarked at Le Havre on 25 January 1917 and went into quiet sections of the line near
Arras to familiarise it with trench warfare. In March it advanced to follow the German retirement to the
Hindenburg Line.
Bullecourt The battalion's first offensive operation was on 20 May 1917, when it joined in the
Battle of Bullecourt. For six weeks the village had been attacked by British, Australian and New Zealand troops, and it was fully in their hands by 17 May. The 2/6th Londons entered the ruined village the following day and their task was to capture Bovis Trench beyond the village. A and B Companies made the attack behind a barrage, the other two companies protecting the flanks. But the attackers could not recognise the shelled-out trench that was their objective, so they went 200 yards beyond it and then tried to dig in. Having lost direction, a gap had opened between them and C Company on the left flank, into which enemy parties infiltrated. The attackers had already suffered badly from the German defensive barrage, and now the battalion was reduced to small parties, which were forced back by a German counter-attack. This failure cost the newly arrived battalion roughly half its strength in officers and men. It was unable to make a major effort for several months, although it did support an attack on the Hindenburg Line north of Bullecourt by
173 Brigade of 58th Division on 15 June. 58th Division was then withdrawn into a quiet area.
Menin Road On 20 September 1917 the 2/6th Bn (codenamed 'UNBOLT') took part in 58th Division's successful attack at St Julien during the
Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. Its task was to leap-frog through the 2/8th and 2/5th Bns making the initial attacks, and then turn right to attack the German lines in flank with the support of tanks. All the objectives were quickly taken, together with numerous prisoners, and with relatively few casualties mainly from the German defensive barrage. As the battalion consolidated its gains, messages sent by dog and carrier-pigeon brought down supporting artillery fire on any German troops seen attempting to form up for counter-attacks. On 30 October, as the
Canadian Corps captured
Passchendaele village, A Company of 2/6th made a diversionary attack in conjunction with 2/8th Londons. Although the company took its objective, 2/8th was stopped by impassable mud. The battalion spent the rest of the year providing labour for the
Royal Engineers consolidating the positions won during the Ypres offensive. It finally left the Salient in January 1918. When 1/6th Bn was disbanded in February 1918 (
see above), 2/6th Bn absorbed many of its officers and men, and henceforth was simply designated the 6th Bn (the 3/6th having been redesignated 6th Reserve Bn in 1916).
Villers-Bretonneux During February and March the battalion occupied positions in Coucy Forest where both sides occupied no more than a line of outposts. When the
German spring offensive opened on 25 March the battalion was south of the River Oise and was not attacked, but most of 58th Division north of the river was driven back. The battalion fell back on 26 March, leaving a fighting patrol in the forest, and set up posts to guard the crossings over the Oise and St Quentin Canal until the bridges could be blown. Separated from the rest of
British Fifth Army, 58th Division came under French command. Since the Germans did not cross the river, 6th Battalion reoccupied the Coucy Forest until it was relieved by French troops on 1 April. It was then moved to
Villers-Bretonneux, through which 5th Army was retreating. The battalion was resting in the town when the German bombardment fell early on 4 April and moved out later in the day to support Australian troops attempting to hold a gap in the line. Advancing by section rushes, the 6th Londons and
36th Australians turned back the enemy advance, and dug in overnight in front of the town. It was the high-water mark of the German
Operation Michael offensive. After being relieved from the line, the battalion was sleeping in the open on the night of 16/17 April when it was subjected to gas shelling. A large number of casualties were caused by
Mustard gas, most of them temporarily blinded, who had to be led away in single file to the dressing stations. The reduced battalion was not directly engaged when the reassembled 58th Division helped to beat off the next phase of the German Spring Offensive on 24–26 April (the
Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux). After rest and reorganisation, the 6th Bn spent the next few months in reserve or holding the line. During July it introduced the US
132nd Infantry Regiment to these duties.
Amiens The 58th Division took part in the
Battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918, the 6th Bn having the objective of taking Malard Wood and its adjacent quarry. Rather than attack frontally, the plan was to envelop the wood, but the morning mist made direction-keeping difficult and the wood was taken by a mix of different battalions, including the supports. The following day the battalion was ordered the continue the attack on
Chipilly Ridge with three tanks in support. Again there was confusion, but the 6th Londons collected some disorientated US troops and together they took the objective. The battle was a resounding success, but the battalion suffered casualties of 12 officers and 308 other ranks over the two days. Despite the losses, the 6th Bn attacked again on 27 and 28 August at
Maricourt, after which it took part in what was becoming a war of movement against German rearguards. When the battalion was taken out of the line, total casualties between 8 August and 11 September amounted to 28 officers and 638 other ranks. When the unit returned to action in October, it was pursuing at about 10 miles a day, skirmishing with rearguards and raiding parties, and suffering occasional gas attacks. On 27 October the battalion reached Rongy, where it began to practise in the moat of the chateau for an assault crossing of the
River Escaut. In the event, the German infantry retreated before the crossing on 8 November, and the battalion crossed by a plank bridge with no opposition except steady shellfire that caused few casualties. When the
Armistice came into effect on 11 November, the battalion was route marching in pursuit and meeting no opposition. The 6th Londons settled into winter quarters in the Belgian town of
Péruwelz. In April 1919 it joined the
British Army of the Rhine occupying the
Rhineland. By August, most of the men had been demobilised, and the cadre returned to England.
3/6th Battalion The 3/6th Battalion formed at Farringdon Rd in March 1915 some 1300 strong. Its early training was held in
Regent's Park and
Victoria Park, moving in August 1915 to
Hurst Park Racecourse where the stands, outbuildings and stables were used as billets and the Royal Box became the Sergeants' Mess. As winter approached, the 3/6th moved to billets in
Surbiton, training on
Esher Commons. Then in January 1916 the battalion moved to
Fovant on Salisbury Plain, where there was a large purpose-built training centre. While quartered on Salisbury Plain, the men of the 3/6th cut their regimental badge into the turf of
Fovant Down to reveal the white chalk beneath, making it visible from a long distance. The Maltese Cross badge and initials 'CLR' have been preserved, as have a number of badges subsequently cut by other regiments in the camp. The 3/6th Bn was redesignated 6th Reserve Bn London Regiment on 8 April 1916, and was assigned to the
1st London Reserve Group (later Brigade). It left Fovant at the end of 1916 and moved to nearby Hurdcott Camp, to
Newton Abbot, and finally to Blackdown in April 1917, where it remained for the rest of the war training replacements and convalescents for service on the Western Front. The only excursion from Blackdown was a week spent in
Newport in July 1918 during a miners' strike in the South Wales coalfield; there were no incidents and the strike was quickly settled. The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was disbanded on 18 November 1918.
Zeppelin raids On the night of 8 September 1915,
Zeppelin L13 commanded by
Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Mathy attacked London, and two of his bombs hit Messrs Frank Stadelman's warehouse at 59–61 Farringdon Road. Falling masonry from the building did considerable damage to the 6th Londons'
drill hall behind. On 31 March 1916, Sgt J.C. "Charlie" May of 2/6th Bn won the first
Military Medal awarded for bravery in inland Britain, for rescuing members of his section from a burning house during a Zeppelin raid on
Stowmarket. Coincidentally, the raider was once again Mathy in L13. ==Interwar==