The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle infantrybattalion of the British Army. Formed in the Territorial Force in February 1914, it remained in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War. After the war, in 1920, it was converted to infantry and became the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, in the Territorial Army. The battalion saw extensive service in the Second World War, fighting in France in 1940, Tunisia from 1942–43 and later Sicily and Italy from 1943–45 before ending the war in May 1945 in Austria. It continued to serve after the Second World War until May 1961 when it was amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, to form the 4th/5th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment.
History
Antecedents
From being close allies in the Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856), Anglo-French relations had deteriorated to such an extent that by 1859 an invasion of Britain seemed a real possibility. An attempt to assassinate the French Emperor, Napoleon III, by Italian nationalists – the Orsini affair – had been linked to Britain as the bombs used in the attempt had been made and tested in England, coupled with the British Government's refusal to restrict the right of asylum. With the regularBritish Army stretched in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny (May 1857 – June 1858), a popular movement saw the creation of the Volunteer Force.[1] The first volunteer unit in Huntingdonshire was raised in Huntingdon in 1860 as the 1st Huntingdonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. By June 1880, it had been reduced to J Company, 1st Cambridgeshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, at St Neots. J Company was disbanded in 1889.[2]
On 4 December 1900, the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, was raised with headquarters at Huntingdon and eight companies at Huntingdon, St Ives, Fletton, and St Neots. In April 1901, it was redesignated as the 4th (Huntingdonshire) Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment. It was later reduced to six companies.[2]
The Volunteer Force was reorganised and combined with the Yeomanry to form the Territorial Force on 1 April 1908. As a result, the battalion was amalgamated with 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, to form 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment.[2][a] The new unit included just two companies from Huntingdonshire – G Company at Fletton (with a detachment at Yaxley) and H Company at Huntingdon (with detachments at St Ives and Ramsey).[5]
Formation
With the formation of the Territorial Force, Huntingdonshire was one of the few counties that did not have its own battalion. After protracted negotiations with the War Office, agreement was reached in March 1913 that the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion could be formed.[6] The battalion was raised on 27 February 1914;[b] as such, it was the last battalion of the Territorial Force to be raised before the outbreak of the First World War. Once established, men of the two Huntingdonshire companies of the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, were allowed to transfer and almost all did so.[6] Its headquarters were at St Mary's Street drill hall, Huntingdon, and it had the following companies:[2]
The battalion was in Eastern Command, unattached to any higher formation.[7] It was to be used as mobile infantry, and for work on signals, scouting and similar activities.[8]
First World War
In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7, c.9) which brought the Territorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split in August and September 1914 into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. Later, 3rd Line units were formed to act as reserves, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Lines.[9]
1/1st Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion
The battalion was mobilised on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War and moved to its war station at Grimsby. It remained in England throughout the war. In 1916 it was at Scarborough and in June 1918 it was at Whitby where it remained until the end of the war.[10] The battalion was disembodied on 14 April 1919.[2][11]
The 2nd Line battalion was formed in October 1914. It spent most of the war in Lincolnshire on coastal defence duties. In 1916 it was at Sutton-le-Marsh near Mablethorpe, in March 1917 at Alford and in July at Chapel St Leonards. In May 1918 it was at Skegness where it remained until the end of the war.[10] The battalion was disbanded on 12 December 1919.[11]
3/1st Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion
The 3rd Line battalion was formed in 1915 to provide trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line battalions.[8] It was disbanded in March 1916 and the men were posted to 1/1st and 2/1st Battalions and to the Machine Gun Corps.[10]
Between the wars
The Territorial Force was disbanded after the First World War, although this was a formality and it was reformed in 1920. On 1 October 1921 it was renamed as the Territorial Army.[12]
One major change with the new Territorial Army had an effect on the number of infantry battalions. The original 14 divisions were reformed with the pre-war standard of three brigades of four battalions each, for a total of 168 battalions. Infantry were no longer to be included as Army Troops or part of the Coastal Defence Forces so the pre-war total of 208 battalions had to be reduced by 40. This was achieved by either converting certain battalions to other roles, usually artillery or engineers, or by amalgamating pairs of battalions within a regiment.[12] In particular, based on war time experience, the Army decided to dispense with cyclists units and the existing battalions were either disbanded or converted to artillery or signals units.[13] However, the Huntingdonshire Battalion was converted to infantry and on 7 February 1920 was reconstituted as 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment,[d] with headquarters at Peterborough.[2] It joined the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, in the 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, which also included the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, and the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment. The 162nd Brigade was part of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division.[15]
The increasing need to defend against attack from the air led to a number of Territorial Army units being converted to the anti-aircraft role in the 1930s and a major reorganisation in 1938 saw the TA divisions reduced from twelve to nine battalions.[16] The combination of these factors led to the battalion being transferred, in 1938, to the 143rd (Warwickshire) Infantry Brigade, 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division, after the second of four battalions of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment had been converted to the anti-aircraft role.[17][e]
By 1939 it became clear that a new European war was likely to break out and, as a direct result of the German invasion of Czechoslovakia on 15 March,[16] the doubling of the Territorial Army was authorised, with each unit and formation forming a duplicate.[18] Consequently, the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion formed the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment.[19][f]
The 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion mobilised on 1 September 1939[11] with the 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division along with the rest of the Territorial Army when the German Armyinvaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war and the Second World War had begun. With the division, it joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France on 5 January 1940 – being the first Territorial Army division to do so – and joined I Corps. As part of the BEF's official policy to integrate Regular Army units into Territorial Army formations, on 29 January it transferred to 11th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, swapping places with the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.[21] The battalion remained with 11th Infantry Brigade for the rest of the war, serving alongside the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, and the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, both Regular formations.[22]
In June 1942, 4th Infantry Division was reorganised as a Mixed Division[g] when 21st Tank Brigade was assigned.[23] On 5 June 1942, 11th Infantry Brigade left the division and came under command of First Army, before joining the 78th "Battleaxe" Infantry Division on 22 June.[27] The 11th Brigade remained with the Battleaxe Division for the rest of the war.[24]
The battalion was transferred to Egypt on 17 July for rest and refitting, arriving back in Italy on 16 September. Again in V Corps, it took part in the final offensive in Italy (codenamed Operation Grapeshot) with the crossing of The Senio (9 – 12 April 1945) followed immediately by the Battle of the Argenta Gap (13 – 21 April).[22][29][30]
The battalion entered Austria on 8 May 1945, following the surrender of German forces in Italy.[22] It remained in Austria on occupation duties[30] until it was placed in suspended animation[i] on 15 September 1946.[11]
On 28 August 1944, it transferred to 115th Infantry Brigade and remained with the brigade for the rest of the war. This formation was the core of Force 135 which was planning the liberation of the Channel Islands. In the event, the plan did not go ahead and the brigade left Force 135 on 30 January 1945.[40] On 12 February, the battalion moved with the brigade to North West Europe where it remained until the end of the war[20] serving variously under the direct command of VIII, XII and I Corps.[40]
The 4th Battalion was placed in suspended animation[i] in Germany on 4 February 1946. On 1 January 1947 it was amalgamated with the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion.[11]
Post war
The Territorial Army was disbanded at the end of the Second World War but, again, this was a formality. TA units were reactivated on 1 January 1947, though no personnel were assigned until commanding officers and permanent staff had been appointed in March and April 1947.[41] The battalion was formally reconstituted on 1 January 1947 at Peterborough, absorbing its wartime duplicate 4th Battalion at the same time.[2]
^The first commanding officer – Colonel E. Roland Herbert – was promoted and transferred from second in command of the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment on 27 February 1914.[6]
^The battalion should not be confused with the 5th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, which was a Kitchener's Army unit in the First World War. It was formed on 15 August 1914 at Northampton as part of First New Army – K1 – initially as an Army Troops battalion attached to the 12th (Eastern) Division. In January 1915, it became the Pioneer Battalion of the division and on 30 May crossed over to France. It remained the Pioneer Battalion of the 12th (Eastern) Division on the Western Front for the rest of the war.[14] It was disbanded on 26 June 1919 at Aintree.[11]
^The 4th Battalion was not given the "Huntingdonshire" subtitle.[20]
^A Mixed Division had one tank brigade with infantry tanks and two non-motorised infantry brigades,[25] which was intended to improve tank/infantry cooperation. The experiment considered to be a failure and Mixed Divisions reverted to divisions of three infantry brigades in 1943.[26]