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7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment was a unit of the Territorial Force with its HQ in Priory Road, Hornsey They were part of the Middlesex Infantry Brigade, Home Counties Division. A Coy were based at the Drill Hall, Holly Bush Vale, Heath Street, Hampstead (The Everyman Theatre). When war broke out in August 1915 they were at once mobilised for war and moved to the Isle of Grain. In September 1914 they left the Division and moved to Gibraltar, arriving on the 17th. In February 1915 they returned to England, going to Barnet to prepare for deployment. They proceeded to France on the 13th of March 1915 landing at Le Havre and joining 23rd Brigade, 8th Division. They fought at The Battle of Aubers and The action of Bois Grenier. Between the 23rd of June and 2nd of August 1915, they amalgamated with 1/8th Battalion On the 8th of February 1916 they transferred to 167th Brigade in 56th (London) Division who were reforming in the Hallencourt area. In 1916 they were in action on The Somme taking part in the diversionary attack at Gommecourt on the 1st of July. Also The Battle of Ginchy, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval in which the Division captured Combles and The Battle of the Transloy Ridges. In 1917 they were in action during The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Battles of Arras in April, then The Battle of Langemarck in August, then the Cambrai Operations in November. In 1918 They were in action on The Somme, in the Second Battles of Arras, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice the infantry were in a rest period, whilst the artillery were in action. The Division received orders to join the British force to occupy the Rhine bridgeheads, but these orders were cancelled on the 21st of November, when they were in the area of Harveng undertaking road and railway repairs. Demobilisation was completed on the 18th of May 1919.
4th of February 1915 Chicken Sentries
25th Mar 1915 Orders 
26th Mar 1915 Preparations
27th Mar 1915 In the Line
30th Mar 1915 Instruction
31st Mar 1915 Reliefs
10th Apr 1915 Orders
23rd of October 1915 Reorganisation
11th of November 1915 Trench foot
1st Dec 1916 Reliefs
27th January 1918 Brigade Church parade and Medal presentations
7th Nov 1918 Reliefs
8th Nov 1918 Advance
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment? There are:5243 items tagged 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Atkins Arthur Leslie. Pte.
- Bowker MC. Archibald Edgar Baron. Capt.
- Bullock MM. Rees Morris. 2nd Lt.
- Cain Walter Frederick. Pte. (d.7th Oct 1916)
- Cooke Frederic Arthur. Pte. (d.9th Sept 1916)
- Ewington Charles Henry. L/Cpl.
- Harding William. Cpl. (d.London)
- Heacock Joseph. Sgt. (d.7th October 1916)
- Higgs William Joseph. Pte.
- Jacques Frederick James. Pte. (d.31st Jul 1917)
- Johnson Eric Ronald. 2Lt.
- Lane William James. Pte.
- Plant Lawrence. Pte. (d.28th Aug 1918)
- Ripley Percy. Pte. (d.26th May 1918)
- Sanderson Arthur Gilbert. Pte.
- Whisson William Henry. 2nd Lt. (d.6th May 1917)
All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment from other sources.
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2nd Lt. Rees Morris Bullock MM. 7th Btn, F Coy Middlesex Regiment  Rees M. Bullock was born in Holloway North London and was living in Wood Green when he joined the Territorial Force enlisting at Enfield in F Company of the 7th Battalion the Middlesex Regiment. His Regimental number was 2438. He was mobilised on 5th August 1914 and moved to the Battalion Mobilisation station on the Isle of Grain involved in coastal defence. The Battalion sailed to Gibraltar on September 3rd moving back to the UK on the 8th February 1915 where they went in to billets in Barnet. The Battalion then sailed for France on the 12th March 1915.
Rees Bullock must have made steady progress through the ranks to at least Sergeant as he appears to have been commissioned to 2nd Lieutenant on 25th May 1918. His name does not appear on the 7th Bn roll of Officers’ so it must be assumed that he was transferred to another battalion on commissioning.
Cpl Bullock was awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry in the face of the enemy whilst in the line at ‘Hebuterne’ between Arras and Albert from May 4th to May23rd 1916. On the night of May 8th 1916: "Lance Corporal Bullock’s small patrol ran into a hostile patrol twice their size. The German soldiers drew first blood, a grenade wounding Private Ede, but Bullock and the third man returned fire and were able to withdraw taking their wounded colleague with them."
The night of Saturday, 13th May 1916: "B Company of the 1/7th Middlesex were determined to give the ‘Z’ Hedge a thorough going over. The field artillery were asked to shell the hedge at 11 p.m. at which point a patrol led by the intrepid L/Cpl. Bullock was to go and investigate. 11 p.m. came and the sharp crack of 18 pdrs could be heard from behind the village, then the shells whined overhead to explode loudly deep in Gommecourt Park – nearly three hundred yards off target! Hurried phone calls were made to the Divisional Artillery and a new time of midnight set for the bombardment. This time the shells fell smartly into the hedge and, as they did, fourteen men slipped out of the trenches and through the British wire. Five men were sent into the Gommecourt Road to act as a covering party and the rest, led by Bullock, approached the corner of the hedge. Six Germans then appeared and a brief fight ensued resulting in one German soldier being killed. An attempt to recover the body was thwarted when the patrol found three feet of barbed wire on the far side of the hedge and any further action was prevented when they came under fire from more Germans lined up along the stretch of the hedge that ran parallel to the road. Having achieved all they could, Bullock led his men back to the sanctuary of the British lines.
His Commanding Officer Lt Col EJ King commented as follows: “The 7th Middlesex were facing the German 169th Infantry Regiment who had to learn that they could not send out patrols against us with impunity. It was now that Cpl R Bullock made his name as one of the boldest and most enterprising of Patrol Leaders eventually gaining the Military Medal.â€
Rees Morris Bullock MM survived the war and died at Chelmsford Essex in 1972 aged 80.
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2Lt. Eric Ronald Johnson 1/7th Btn. Middlesex Regiment Eric Johnson served with the 7th Middlesex Regiment and 2nd Trench Mortar Battery.
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Pte. Frederick James Jacques 23rd Btn. B Coy. Middlesex Regiment (d.31st Jul 1917) Born in Climping, Littlehampton, Sussex, Frederick Jacques
was the son of Edward and Charlotte Jacques.
At the time of the 1901 census, the Jacques family resided at the Heath, East Malling, Kent. Head of the house was 35 year old Frensham, Surrey native Charlotte Jacques, who was a widow. Frederick married Miss Emily Webb at the Parish Church of St. James, East Malling, Kent on Monday 8th of May 1915. He enlisted in the army, For the duration of the war on Sunday 1st of October 1916 at Maidstone, Kent. He stated that he resided at East Malling, Kent and was placed on the Army Reserve. At the time of his enlistment, Frederick stated that he was 27 years and 255 days old, employed as a farm labourer, and that he was married.
Frederick was mobilized on Monday 16th of April 1917, and attested to serve in the 7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment.
On Tuesday 3rd of July 1917, Frederick was posted to France for service with the British Expeditionary Force, in the 23rd (2nd Football) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment.
Following his death, Frederick was initially posted as missing, but the Army Council later made the decision that for official purposes, it was to be assumed that Frederick had died on or after Tuesday 31st of July 1917. Age 28. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate, in Ypres.
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Pte. William Joseph Higgs 7th Btn. Middlesex Regiment William Higgs enlisted on the 17th of August 1915 and was discharged medically unfit 10th of July 1918 due to gas injury. I have found William's Discharge record and War Pension record.
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Pte. Arthur Gilbert Sanderson 2/7th Btn. Middlesex Regiment My grandfather, Arthur Sanderson born 8th May 1898, joined the Middlesex Regiment in 1915 and was assigned to 2/7th Battalion. He disembarked on 1st of September 1915 and fought in WW1 in France, Flanders, Egypt and Italy. He joined up as soon as he was 17 and survived the war without injury.
After serving with 2/7th Battalion he was moved to 1/7th Battalion and then to 23rd Battalion. He was disembodied on Demobilisation on 21st of April 1919 and was awarded 3 medals, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal, collectively known as Pip, Squeak & Wilfred.
He married Evelyn Jessie Sarah Bolter on 6th of September 1924 and they had a son. Arthur served as a Warden for the Borough of Southgate in WWII. He died in September 1993, aged 95.
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Pte. Arthur Leslie Atkins 7th Btn Middlesex Regiment  Arthur Atkins signed up on 11th of September 1914 aged 16. He lied about his age as so many did and was sent to the Battalion HQ of 7th Middlesex Regiment at Hornsey. His last home leave was on 26th of December 1914 and one night towards the end of January 1915 the battalion was told that they were to proceed to Gibraltar. He disembarked on 8th of February 1915 after a very rough voyage with many men being extremely poorly.
They left Gibraltar on 22nd July 1915 and on Sunday 25th July they saw the French coast.
There is a long story of trench warfare including the Somme, with only 9 men out of a platoon of 45 being left at one point. When at the front line at Fouquevilliers his age was discovered but he was still given necessary asses, railway warrants and was put in charge of a party being the senior soldier, aged 18.
He dodged death on many occasions, even at Passchendaele and after being wounded was sent home on 21st of March 1918 from Rouen.
He then joined the 5th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps for a hardening course then back to France and Ypres. On the morning of 11th of November 1918 they were cleaning rifles and refilling ammunition belts when a runner from HQ arrived to tell them that an armistice had been signed.
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L/Cpl. Charles Henry Ewington 2nd Btn. Middlesex Regiment I know very little about my great grandfather, Charles Ewington, except what I remember hearing as a child and what I've found in my research. I found that in 1911 he was a Lance Corporal in the 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. He was born in 1888 and married to Maud Ewington from Guernesy (not sure of her maiden name). I believe they resided in Borden, Hampshire where they raised their children.
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Pte. Percy Ripley 7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (d.26th May 1918) Percy Ripley is on our Smarden War Memorial which we are researching.
Please contact if you can add any information.
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Cpl. William Harding 7th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.London)  William Harding was born on 7th July 1889 in Purandhar, India where his Father was CSM in the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers. The family returned to England just before the start of the Boer War, as William Snr had finished his period of service. They lived in various addresses in the Kensington area of London. William Jnr was apprenticed to a firm of printers as a compositor.
In July 1908, he joined 2nd Battalion, 1st London Brigade of the Royal Field artillery. This was as a Territorial soldier and he served until July 1912, reaching the rank of Bombardier. He re-joined the TA in Sept 1913 agreeing to serve abroad with the 7th (Imperial Service) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He was promoted Corporal in Feb 1914 and was posted to Gibraltar between Sept 1914 and Feb 1915. After a brief spell in England, he was posted to France on 12th of March 1915.
He was wounded in the leg on 10th July 1915 and evacuated to England on 22 July 1915. He was promoted Sergeant in Dec 1915 and recuperated until Oct 1915 when he was declared fit for duty. He served in England until August 1917 when he was promoted CQMS and posted to the Labour Corps where he served until Feb 1919 when he was demobilized. He returned to London and lived in Bromley, marrying and having three children. He returned to his printing job until he retired. He served in the Home Guard in WW2 and died in 1968. My mother was his eldest daughter and he was the upright military grandfather I loved as a child.
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2nd Lt. William Henry Whisson 1st/7th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (d.6th May 1917) Lieutenant William Henry Whisson, of the Middlesex Regiment, who died of wounds on May 6th, was the eldest son of Mr. W. H. Whisson, 25, Arundel Road, Croydon, was born on March 19th, 1896, and was educated at the Whitgift Middle School.
In April, 1913, he joined the London Scottish, and when the war broke out he volunteered for foreign service. He went to France on September 15th, 1914, and was badly wounded in the leg at Messines on October 31st. He resumed duty in May, 1915, and was gazetted Second Lieutenant in August, 1915. He was appointed regimental musketry instructor, and carried on in that capacity until October, 1916, when he was transferred to another battalion and went to the front again on October 24th, 1916. He was made second in command of his company in January, 1917.
During an action in April his commanding officer was hit, and he took over the command, and was so successful that he was recommended for the Military Cross. After being wounded his chaplain (not thinking the wound was so serious) wrote a very reassuring letter, in which he said "May I congratulate you on the very excellent behaviour of your son whilst with the regiment and express the hope that it will not be long before he is with us again." On May 6th he died at the casualty clearing station, at which he had arrived in such a dangerous condition that all efforts to save him were unavailing. Officer friends, writing to Mr. Whisson, tell how, when he was brought in, he insisted on the wounded men who were brought in with him being attended to first, and his old head master (Rev. G. A. Jones) speaks of him, in a note to the Croydon Advertiser, as "one of the finest types of a public school boy". The Mid-Whitgiftian July 1917
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Pte. Frederic Arthur Cooke 5th Btn London Regiment (d.9th Sept 1916) Frederic Cooke died aged 19 and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He also served in Gibraltar.
A young man who was missed very severely by Katie, his sister, my grandmother, who wept so many times when I was a little girl when she told me of the loss of her lovely young brother. The family carries you in its heart Uncle Freddy. I talk of you to the next generations of our clan. Rest gently.
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Pte. William James Lane 2nd Btn. Middlesex Regiment Private 8167 William James Lane also served in the 7th and 11th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. His medal card shows that he embarked for France on 8th June 1915 meaning that he was probably, at that time, serving with the 11th Battalion as that is when they were moved to France.
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Pte. Lawrence Plant 7th Btn Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridges Own) (d.28th Aug 1918) Lawrence Plant was, originally, in the 3rd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, which was a reserve Battalion that never left England. He transferred to the 7th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment which, at the time of his death, were part of the 56th (London) Division and involved in the Battle of the Scarpe (a phase of the 2nd Battle of Arras). He died on 28th Aug 1918, aged 22 and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in France. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Plant, of 68, Furnace Rd., Normacott, Longton, Staffs.
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Capt. Archibald Edgar Baron Bowker MC. 7th Btn. Middlesex Regiment Archibald Edgar Baron Bowker went to India at the beginning of the war (details not known).
In October 1916 he joined the 7th Middlesex in the line at Neuve Chapelle. He Became Adjutant in January 1917. He was hospitalised twice being gassed at Telegragh Hill on April 24th.
He returned to the regiment in August and was awarded a Military Cross at the Battle of the Scarpe.
Having returned to civilian life, he tried to join up in 1939 but was too old. He became a leading member of the Home Guard in Golders Green, North London. He died at the age of 84.
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