Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles

Early history man of the Bank of England Volunteers by Thomas Rowlandson The regiment was originally formed as a British Volunteer Corps unit known as the Bank of England Volunteers in 1798 but was disbanded in 1814 following the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The regiment was re-raised by Viscount Bury on the formation of the Volunteer Force in 1860 as the 21st Middlesex Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Civil Service Rifles). By 1880 and the re-numbering of London Rifle Volunteers the unit was titled 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) Rifle Volunteer Corps and were linked as a Volunteer Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps. the commanding officer, Lt Col RG Hayes, refused to serve overseas, an example followed by most of the men of his battalion. During the war the regiment eventually expanded to two battalions, with the 1st Battalion arriving in France in March 1915 forming part of the 4th London Brigade, part of the 2nd London Division. Inter-war Following the war the Civil Service Rifles were amalgamated with the 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment in 1921. ==Battle honours==

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: • South Africa 1900–02 • The Great War (3 battalions): • Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916, 1918, Flers-Courcelette, Le Transloy, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Cambrai 1917, St. Quentin, Ancre 1918, Albert 1918, Bapaume 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1915–18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1916–17, Gaza, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Palestine 1917–18 ==Regimental motto==

"Ich Dien" (German for "I serve", a contraction of ich diene), the motto of the Prince of Wales. ==Uniform==

From 1863 until 1888 the regiment wore a dark grey uniform with royal blue facings and a shako. In that year the home service helmet of the regular infantry was adopted as headdress. At a time when colourful uniforms were still the norm the sombre colour of this uniform was considered unattractive and blamed for a fall off in recruiting. Accordingly light grey was adopted in 1890, although royal blue was still retained for the facings in full dress uniform until 1914. Khaki drill was worn in South Africa and the standard khaki of the British Army in France during World War I. ==Regimental memorial==

The memorial for the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles is situated at Somerset House, London. It was designed in 1923 by Sir Edwin Lutyens OM, KCIE, PRA. ==References==