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2/16th (Queens Own Westminster Rifles) Battalion, London Regiment
The Queen's Westiminster Rifles trace their origin back to the
Royal Westminster Volunteers raised in 1787, but it was not until the
outbreak of this War that it consisted of more than one battalion. The
second battalion was formed on September 1st, 1914, and consisted of men from
all parts of the Metropolis.
From September, 1914, to June, 1916, the battalion underwent training
in England at Maidstone, Watford, Saffron Walden, Bishop’s Stortford and War-
minster, sending out drafts, during the earlier part of the time, to the first battalion
already on active service in France.
It proceeded to France on June 22nd, 1916, and took over a portion of the
line at Neuville St. Vaast, relieving, in conjunction with the rest of the 60th Divi-
sion, the famous 51st (Highland) Division. With the exception of a successful
raid into the enemy’s trenches in September, it was called upon for no offensive
operations during this spell in France.
On 24th October, 1916, on relief by a Canadian Division, the 60th marched
into the Somme area, from which, however, it was diverted to Salonica, the 2/16th
London embarking at Marseilles on 17th November and disembarking on the 30th.
The 179th Brigade, of which it formed part, was despatched almost immediately
on a special mission to Thessaly to guard the approaches from the South through
the Petra and Kokinopolo passes. A landing was made at Skala Vromeris
some miles down the Aegean sea and headquarters established at Katerini.
. As events turned out, there was no fighting in this part, and all threat to
the Salonican forces from this quarter having been removed by the end of February,
the Brigade marched 97 miles in seven days and " took over " on the Vardar
front on March 18th. Patrol work and various minor operations were carried
out by the Brigade on this front, this battalion capturing Goldies Hill on 8th May,
1917, and holding it in spite of many counter attacks.
In June, 1917, the 60th Division was transferred to the Egyptian Expedi-
tionary Force, this battalion embarking on June 21st, and reaching Alexandria
on the 25th. After refitting at Ismailia, it marched to Kantara, and proceeded
thence by train to Deir El Belah. From there it marched to Shellal and took
over a part of the line in the Wadi Ghuzze. For three months there were no
active operations, and advantage was taken of this to give the division a strenuous
training in the style of warfare likely to be encountered.
Throughout the campaign, which opened at the end of October, 1917,
the 60th Division held the right flank of the British line. After being in reserve
at the taking of Beersheba, the battalion carried the Turkish position at Kauwaukah
on November 6th.
It is difficult to detach the doings of a single battalion from those of the
Division to which it belonged, and, if for a bit we now talk of the 60th Division’s
doings, it must not be assumed that the 2/16th London was invariably in front
of the battle . . or invariably out of it. After the successful attack of the
179th Brigade at Kauwaukah, the 181st went through it, and, after a heavy fight,
captured Sheria Station, and enabled the advance to be carried across the Wadi
Sheria. On the same evening, the 179th drove back enemy rearguards from the
ridge at Juathiny, and, continuing their progress on the following day, carried
strong positions as far as Tor Dimreh near Huj.
In all, between October 30th and November 8th, the infantry covered
60 miles, fighting a considerable part of the way. More marching, but not much
fighting carried them on to December 7th, when the whole Brigade advanced in
single file during the night over precipitous paths to attack at dawn near Am
Karim. All objectives were taken, and, with other divisions equally successful,
the enemy was forced to evacuate Jerusalem, which was entered two days later.
The Division then held the line to the North of the city, and on December
27th the 2/16th London, with the 2/13th, bore the brunt of the determined Turk-
ish counter attack and resisted every effort to break their lines. A gallant counter
attack by the 2/ 15th London greatly helped them at a critical moment. The
enemy was subsequently forced to retreat seven miles further northward to Bireh,
where his position was carried by the 180th Brigade.
The new line was held until the middle of February, when the division
carried out successful operations against the Turkish positions at El Kuntar,
Jebel Ekteif and Talat Ed Dumm, which resulted in our occupying Jericho and
the enemy retiring to the Eastern side of the Jordan.
Towards the end of Márch the whole division was called upon to make a
colossal raid, in order to strike a blow at the Hedjaz railway communication.
The Jordan was accordingly forced by the 180th Brigade on March 22nd, and two
days later the 179th and 181st attacked the enemy on the foothills of the Eastern
side of the plain After successful attacks, the division moved forward, and on
the night of March 25th reached Es Salt. While the 181st held up the enemy
near Amman, mounted troops carried out the desired destructive work, and on
the night of April 1st the entire force was again withdrawn across the Jordan.
At the end of the month a second and similar operation was commenced,
but by this time the enemy had strongly fortified the hills at the edge of the plain,
and the attempt had to be abandoned after repeated attacks spread over the period
of four days.
The Division was now dissolved from its original composition. The bulk
of it, including the 2/16th London, came back to France and became part of the
30th Division. This battalion had its first experience of the front line at Locre
on July 31st. Ordinary trench relief took place up to 20th August, when the line
was advanced by about a thousand yards, and it was again advanced on the 30th
by this battalion, which was afterwards withdrawn to divisional reserve. It
took over the line again on September 25th and on the 28th it attacked, cap-
tured Messines and advanced the line until it conformed with the Ypres-Commines
Canal.
The 90th Brigade, of which the battalion was now part, attacked again
on October 14th, capturing Wervicq, and on the 17th the battalion forced,the
River Lys in the face of hostile machine-gun fire, and on the 18th again met with
considerable resistance in the neighbourhood of Aelb eke. The advance was
continued, with the 90th Brigade acting as advance guard to the 30th Division,
but on the 21st the Brigade was withdrawn into divisional reserve. A short
period of trench relief followed, and it had returned to divisional reserve when
hostilities ceased.
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
7th Dec 1915 Brigade Training
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
9th February 1916 Call Ups
1st November 1918 Reliefs
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Pte. John "Jack" Webb 2/16th (Westminster Rifles) Btn. London Regiment .JPG) John Webb was my grandfather. He was born in Murton Colliery, Durham on 18 March 1897. His father, William Henry Webb was a coal miner and died of typhoid when John was 2 months old. His mother, Jane Ann, re-married when John was 8 years old to Thomas Collins, another miner.
At some point before December 1915 John moved away from Durham and settled in Fulham, Middx. I was told by his daughter (my mother) that he did this to avoid having to work in the mines like his father, step-father and grandfather. John became a civil servant.
On 9th December 1915 John attested. I can track his progress through his service records to Salonika, Alexandria, Taranto and France. I have found his service records interesting but since I am not familiar with Army terminology, some of it is a mystery to me. Whilst in Egypt John was kicked by a mule in the back and spent a while in hospital in Ismailia. A fellow Rifleman, D Miller, witnessed this event.
John began his journey home on 18 January 1919 and returned to his wife whom he had married two years previously. He resumed his work as a Civil Servant and later retired as an HEO at The Admiralty. John died aged 71 in Sutton, Surrey.
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L/Cpl William John Lazenby 2/16 (Queens Westminster Rifles) Btn. London Regiment My grandfather Jack Lazenby was in 13th Platoon D Company, 2/16th Battalion London Regiment, Queens Westminster Rifles. He was born 8 Nov 1886 in Manor Park. He went to school at Coopers Grammar School Mile End. Before the war he was an insurance clerk with the Central Insurance Company. He married my grandmother Elsie Butler on 5 June 1915. He was demobbed on 20th January 1919 and subsequently worked for the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Company until his retirement in 1949.
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Pte. Sidney Victor Swan 2/16th Btn. London Regiment Sidney Swan served with the 2/16th Btn. London Regiment
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Capt. King Elmes att. 2/16th London Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps (d.30th Sep 1918) As children, we heard that my grandmother's brother, King Elmes, a RAMC doctor, had been with his regiment in 'Arabia' with Lawrence. We were told that when 'all went quiet' in 'Arabia' he moved to the Western Front, and was killed on 30th September 1918, hit by a shell. He is buried in Kandahar Farm. King would have been one of a generation of young Irish doctors who would have been prevented from getting the usual entry level job at home on qualification, by a bar on employing doctors of an age to serve in the army in the Poor Law medical services. There was a history of military service as medical doctors in the family, a south Wexford farming family. His uncle Robert had served with the RAMC in the Crimea, and two other doctor brothers, Sam and Euseby, served in the Navy, Euseby being on a merchant ship in the Pacific when the ship was annexed. I'd love to know more about what King's regiment was up to in Egypt, Salonika and Palestine, and also on the western front - I gather they were advancing when King was hit.
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Pte. George Smith Havinden Queen's Westminster Rifles 1/16 Btn. London Regiment George Smith Havinden was born on the 3rd of June 1894 in Camberwell/Dulwich, Surrey. His parents were George Smith Havinden a Bonnet Manufacturer, born 29 January 1861 in Bethnal Green (died 1 May 1908); married on 28 December 1891 to Sally (Sarah) Elizabeth Davies, born 31 March 1859 in Bermondsey (died 10 February 1949). Sister: Maud Havinden, born 25 December 1892 in Dulwich, died 24 April 1996 in Croydon, Surrey.
Outline of Great War history:
These dates have been taken from 46 postcards sent by George to his mother. The postcards have been donated to the National Army Museum but scans have been retained. There are also 29 postcards/photographs without inscriptions; in twelve of these, George can be identified.
- c. May 1915: Joined up 2nd Battalion Queen’s Westminster Rifles (2/16 County of London Regiment), B Company 8 Platoon – Private 2734 (later 550622)
- 17 – 20 May 1915: Marched from Watford(?) to Saffron Walden.
- 20 May – Aug 1915: Training.
- 17 Aug 1915: To France, Active Service – C Company, 12 Platoon.
- Early Sept 1915: Rouen, convalescing (diarrhoea).
- 16 – 28 Sept 1915: Active Service Ypres.
- 20 Nov – 4 Dec 1915: Active Service Rouen, No. 2 Territorial Base; on 30 November, changed to 1/16 County of London Regiment, QWR, C Company, 12 Platoon.
- 13 Apr – 9 Oct 1916: Hospitalized to Urmston Military Hospital, Blackwater Road, Eastbourne – Urmston V. A. D., Sussex /2. Newspaper cutting shows he was then attached to 182 R. E.
- 27 Jun – 7 Aug 1917: Active Service Le Havre, QWR 14 Camp 7th IBD (Infantry Base Depot?).
- On 10 July, moved to Rouen, 1/16 London Regiment, 56th Divisional Depot Battalion, C Company, 12 Platoon.
- On 13 July, moved to Frevent (changed on 17 July to 10 Platoon).
- On 29 July, moved to St Omer.
- n 7 August, moved to Poperinghe. George lost an eye in the War. Since there are no further postcards, perhaps the injury occurred in August 1917 and he was invalided out.
In Civilian life George worked for the
Statistics Branch, Ministry of Transport, Whitehall Gardens. he lived with his mother and sister Maud in Peckham Rye. Moved with them to Selsdon, Surrey in c. 1932. and continued living there with his sister after their mother died in 1949 until his death in 1981.
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