Queen Victoria's Rifles

The Queen Victoria's Rifles was the designation of the 9th Battalion the London Regiment, a Territorial unit of the British Army. This was formed in 1908 in order to regiment the various Volunteer Force battalions in the newly formed County of London, and the Queen Victoria's Rifles were one of twenty eight units brought together in this way.

The Queen Victoria’s Rifles could trace their origins back to the old volunteer regiments of the Napoleonic Wars when the Duke of Cumberland’s Sharpshooters were formed as a Corps of Riflemen on September 5, 1803.

Many transformations occurred over the next century until the passing of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act came into effect on April 1, 1908 and the old volunteer regiments were reorganised into the new Territorial Force. In this way the QVRs were formed by the amalgamation of:

• 1st Middlesex (Victoria and St George’s) Volunteer Rifle Corps (previously 4th Volunteer Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps
• 19th Middlesex (St Giles and St George’s, Bloomsbury) Volunteer Rifle Corps (previously 6th Volunteer Battalion, The Rifle Brigade

World War I service

The QVRs arrived in Le Havre on November 5, 1914 and so became one of the first Territorial battalions to serve in France and were attached to the 5th Division.

On April 17, 1915, an attack was mounted on Hill 60 by the 13th Infantry Brigade which included:

• 2nd King’s Own Scottish Borderers;
• 2nd Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment;
• 1st......
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