The Wartime Memories Project - The Great War
6th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment. The City of London Rifles

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At the outbreak of the Great War, the 6th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment was with the 2nd London Brigade, 1st London Division. In November 1914 the battalion was transferred to 4th London Brigade, 2nd London Division, later transferring to 140th Brigade, 47th Division with which it remained till January 1918. The 6th Battalion landed in France in March 1915 and saw its first major action at Loos in September. Teh Battalion fought on the Somme, and at Messines, in the Third Battle of Ypres and at Cambrai. At the end of January 1918 the battalion amalgamated with the 2/6th Battalion and joined the 174th Brigade, 58th Division. Looking for help with Family History Research?      Please read our Family History FAQ's Thanks to everyone who attended our event We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates, add a comment or ask a question. If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page. Dec 2011     Please note we currently have a large backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great Those known to have served with 6th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment during the Great War. Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site. Cpl. Henry James Olaf Allen 1st/6th Btn. (d.7th Jun 1917) Cpl. Knightley Trevor Barlow MID. 1/6th Btn. Read their Story. Sgt. Joseph Edward Goode MM. 6th Battalion Read their Story. Rifleman Alexander E R Hirst 1st/6th Bn. (d.15th Sep 1916) Read their Story. Cpl. William Charles Mills 1/6th Btn. (d.7th Jun 1917) Read their Story. Sgt. Francis O'Leary 1/6th Btn. (d.15th Sept 1916) Rfm. William Phillips 6th Btn. Read their Story. Rfm. Walter " " Rowen 2nd/6th (City of London Rifles) Battalion (d.28th Oct 1917) Read their Story. Rfm. William Taylor 1/6th Btn. (d.23rd Nov 1916) If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch. Rifleman Alexander E R Hirst 1st/6th Bn. London Regiment (City of London Rifles) (d.15th Sep 1916) Alexander Hirst was my wife's maternal Grandfather. He worked for the Gas Company in the Old Kent Road,London as a gas fitter. A neighbour threatened to report him to the Gas Company for "moonlighting" which in those days may well have led to his dismissal, so he volunteered to join the Army and was sent off to France where he died during one of the Battles of the Somme. Ironically, with a wife, 2 children and another baby on the way, he was probably unlikely to have been called up! His name appeared on the Roll of Honour displayed by the Gas Company at their premises in the Old Kent Road, but no-one seems to know what happened to it. Perhaps your contributors or readers might be able to help? Rfm. Walter " " Rowen 2nd/6th (City of London Rifles) Battalion London Regiment (d.28th Oct 1917) Wally was born in 1900 and at the age of 15 he signed up and was posted and embodied on 21st May 1915 at 57a Faringdon Road in the 3rd/6th Battalion City of London Rifles. He was in England from 21 May 1915 to 2 Dec 1915. He received 28 days detention 25th Oct 1915 to 21st Nov 1915 and on 30th Nov 1915 he was transferred to 1/6th London Rifles. He embarked for France on 3rd Dec 1915 from Southampton, and disembarked 4th Dec 1915 at le Havre. On the 15th Dec he joined his new Battalion in the field. But on 30th Dec 1915 he had Chilled Feet and was treated at No 4 L. Field Ambulance. On the 7th Jan 1916 He was admitted to hospital with Chilled Feet and 8th Feb he was transferred to England as Under Age. Between 14th July 1916 to 25th July 1916 he was awarded 10 days Field Punishment No.2 His mother consistently wrote to the War Dept who merely returned his birth certificate saying that he had "Stated Age as 19 years 3 months" on enlistment. I have the letter. Eventually he was discharged 25th July 1916 because he "Made a false statement as to age on enlistment". His medical Card shows Height 5ft 3 inchs Chest 34. Physical Development Good At the end of the War Wally was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. He died in 1969 following a road traffic accident. Cpl. William Charles Mills 1/6th Btn. London Regiment (d.7th Jun 1917) William Charles Mills is commemorated on the Menin Gate memorial on panel 54. He was the husband of Florence Elizabeth Mills. Cpl. Knightley Trevor Barlow MID. 1/6th Btn. London Regiment My grandfather served with the Cast Iron Sixth throughout WW1. He wrote an account (not very detailed) in 1973 which gives snippets of information and has inspired me to find out more. He was gassed in August 1918 and was given a medical discharge in October 1918. Rfm. William Phillips 6th Btn. London Regiment My step grandfather, William Phillips was born in Milton,Gravesend in Kent on 20.6.1892. He was posted to France on 24.12.1916 with the 6th Londons. He was blown up by a shell and had abdominal pain. He was sent to Huddersfield War Hospital and subsequently sent back to France. He sufferred from inhaling gas on five occasions but managed to see the war out and was discharged on 11.3.1919.and sent home. He married my grandmother on 28.12.1915 and lived until 29.9.1973. Sgt. Joseph Edward Goode MM. 6th Battalion London Regiment My grandfather, Joseph Goode enlisted in "The Cast Iron" Sixth (also known as the Printers Pals) on the 6th September 1914 at the age of 34. From the 3/6th (Reserve Batt) he was absorbed into the 1/6th as an Acting Sergeant on the 19th April 1916. Within 3 weeks he was a full Sergeant and by November he was Acting Quarter Master Sgt (A/QMS) in "D" Company. He relinquished the "cushy" post in January 1917 and reverted to Sgt. The verbal family history is that he won the Military Medal for capturing six drunk Germans. In fact his was one of 14 MM's that were awarded for the most successful raid in the whole of WW1. A total of 24 medals were awarded for the capture of 1 Officer, 117 ORs and 5 machine guns, and the destuction of 3 mine shafts and the opposing trenches south of Hill 60 in the Ypres Salient. The Battalion suffered 76 casualties including 14 killed and 2 missing. As the action took place on the 20th Feb 1917 and weeks were spent practicing behind the lines it would seem that Grandad gave up the A/QMS role to be in on the raid. He stayed with the 1/6th until they were disbanded in February 1918 and spread around other Battalions. He was posted to the the 2/6th and was with them when the Germans launched their last ditch attack on the 21st March. On the 4th April the Battalion was in support of the Australian outside Villiers Bretonneux and were called forward to fill a gap in the line and it was during this action that Granddad Goode got his "Blighty wound" a shrapnel injury to his left hand, right arm and head. On the 16th he was back in England at No. 1 War Hospital, Reading from where he was discharged on the 1st June. He was then passed fit and returned to the Reserve Battalion but not for front line infantry service and in November was transferred to 358 Coy. Labour Corp escorting prisoners of war. Because of his meritous service he was allowed to keep his infantry rate of pay. He was demob'ed on the 14th Feb 1919 and was awarded 6s-6d (65p) a week for 52 weeks for his injuries. He died in 1947 when I was 8 years old and as the eldest son of the eldest son I should have inherited his medals but the story goes he gave them away to one of his drinking mates. I do however have his Gold half-hunter watch that was presented to him by his employer for winning the Military Medal. Cast-iron Sixth: A History of the Sixth Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles) E.G. Godfrey This history begins with the names of divisional and brigade commanders under whom the battalion served, followed by the Honours list where all recipients are named, except for Mention in Despatches where totals are given. The early history of the battalion is briefly narrated before the Great War, which takes up the bulk of the book. In addition to details of actions fought, in each chapter attention is given to some particular aspect of military training or operations, such as communications between front and rear, transport difficulties, individual exploits and so on, while to facilitate reading, at the head of each page appears the number of the battalion being discussed. The book ends with the Roll of Honour (1050 dead) and an index. More information on: Cast-iron Sixth: A History of the Sixth Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles) Beneath Hill 60 [DVD] BENEATH HILL 60 tells the extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward, the legendary Australian metal scientist. In 1916, Woodward faced the most difficult decision, ultimately having to separate from his new young love for the deadly carnage of the Western Front. On treacherous territory, behind the German enemy lines, Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers face a suicidal battle to defend a leaking, tunnel system. A tunnel packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War. More information on: Beneath Hill 60 [DVD] Hill 60: Ypres (Battleground Europe) Nigel Cave The shell-ravaged landscape of Hill 60, some three miles south east of Ypres, conceals a labyrinth of tu nnels and underground workings. This book offers a guide to the memorials, cemeteries and museums at the site ' More information on: Hill 60: Ypres (Battleground Europe) Beneath Hill 60 [Paperback] Will Davies 'Ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one - fire! Down goes the firing switch. At first, nothing. Then from deep down there comes a low rumble, and it as if the world is spliting apart...' On 7th June 1917, nineteen massive mines exploded beneath Messines Ridge near Ypres. The largest man-made explosion in history up until that point shattered the landscape and smashed open the German lines. Ten thousand German soldiers died. Two of the mines - at Hill 60 and the Caterpillar - were fired by men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, comprising miners and engineers rather than parade-ground soldiers. Drawing on the diaries of one of the key combatants, "Benealth Hill 60" tells the little-known, devastatingly brutal true story of this subterranean war waged beneath the Western Front - a stygian battle-ground where men drowned in viscous chalk, suffocated in the blue gray clay, choked on poisonous air or died in the darkness, caught up up in vicious hand-to-han More information on: Beneath Hill 60 [Paperback] Links The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation run by volunteers. This website is paid for out of our own pockets and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. 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