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1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade
1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade were at Colchester with 11th Brigade, 4th Division when war broke out in August 1914.
4th Division was held back from the original British Expeditionary Force by a last minute decision to defend England against a possible German landing. The fate of the BEF in France and the lack of any move by the Enemy to cross the channel, reversed this decision and they proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre on the 23rd of August 1914 in time to provide infantry reinforcements at the Battle of Le Cateau. They were in action at the The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne and at The Battle of Messines in 1914. In 1915 they fought in The Second Battle of Ypres and in 1916 moved south and were in action during the Battles of the Somme. In 1917 they were at Arras, in action during the The First and Third Battles of the Scarpe, before heading north for the Third Battle of Ypres, where they fought in The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle and The First Battle of Passchendaele. In 1918 they were in action on The Somme, then returned to Flanders fighting in the Defence of Hinges Ridge during The Battle of Hazebrouck and in The Battle of Bethune, The Advance in Flanders The Second Battles of Arras, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. The 4th Division was demobilised in Belgium in early 1919.
29th Jul 1914 Troops deployed
18th Aug 1914 Concentration
19th Aug 1914 Concentration
23rd Aug 1914 1st Rifle Brigade leave Colchester 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade depart from Colchester bound for Le Harve with the BEF.
26th August 1914 In Action
26th Aug 1914 Shellfire
27th August 1914 Retreat from Action
27th Aug 1914 Enemy Advance
27th August 1914 On the Move
28th Aug 1914 Enemy Advance
28th Aug 1914 On the March
29th Aug 1914 In Action
29th Aug 1914 On the March
30th Aug 1914 Rear Guard
30th of August 1914 A Hot March
30th Aug 1914 On the March
31st Aug 1914 Rear Guard
31st August 1914 Continued withdrawals
31st Aug 1914 On the March
1st Sep 1914 Caught with their Coats Off
1st Sep 1914 Rear Guard
1st Sep 1914 Withdrawal
1st Sep 1914 On the March
1st Sep 1914 On the March
2nd September 1914 Further retreat
2nd Sep 1914 Rear Guard
2nd Sep 1914 Withdrawal
2nd Sep 1914 On the March
3rd Sep 1914 Rear Guard
3rd of September 1914 Across the Marne
3rd Sep 1914 On the March
4th September 1914 Relocation
4th Sep 1914 Rear Guard
4th Sep 1914 On the March
4th Sep 1914 At Rest
5th September 1914 Rear guard retires
5th Sep 1914 Rear Guard
6th Sep 1914 Advance Guard
6th Sep 1914 On the March
7th Sep 1914 Advance Guard
8th Sep 1914 Advance Guard
9th Sep 1914 Bridging
10th of September 1914 Marching
12th September 1914 On the March
12th Sep 1914 On the March
13th September 1914 Continued Advance
13th Sep 1914 On the March
14th September 1914 Ongoing actions
16th Sep 1914 Reorganisation
17th Sep 1914 Shelling
18th Sep 1914 Reorganisation
21st Sep 1914 Aircraft Active
22nd Sep 1914 Relief
26th Sep 1914 Holding the Line
27th Oct 1914 Defensive improvements
30th Oct 1914 Under Shellfire
5th December 1914 Quiet
9th December 1914 Uniforms
19th Dec 1914 British attack
19th Dec 1914 Attack Made
19th Dec 1914 Attack Made
23rd December 1914 Christmas Parcels
31st Jan 1915 Quiet
25th Apr 1915 Confusion
26th Apr 1915 Confusion
27th Apr 1915 Reinforcements
29th Apr 1915 Line Extended
5th May 1915 Orders
16th May 1915 Reliefs
23rd May 1915 Working Parties 
23rd May 1915 Working Parties
24th May 1915 7th Northumberlands in Trenches
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
21st November 1915 Final Party on Fatigues
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
9th February 1916 Call Ups
22nd Mar 1916 Instruction
26th Apr 1916 Trench Work
2nd May 1916 Reliefs
1st Jul 1916 Attack Made
1st July 1916 Bombardment
18th May 1917 Recce
1st Aug 1917 Destruction
2nd Aug 1917 Message of Congratulation
4th September 1917 Operational Orders
4th September 1917 March Table
4th September 1917 Administrative Instructions.
5th September 1917 Relieved 1st Rifle Brigade
27th Sep 1917 Instructions
29th Sep 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
5th February 1918 Billets in Granary & Museum Arras
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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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 with1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade during the Great War 1914-1918. - Altham Richard. Rflmn. (d.3rd May 1915)
- Amey Edmund Victor. Pte. (d.6th July 1915)
- Arnold Arthur. Pte.
- Baker MSM Henry Thomas. Rifleman.
- Barnard Robert George. Rflmn.
- Barnett Robert. Rfmn. (d.19th Dec 1914)
- Beard Richard. Rfmn. (d.23rd October 1916)
- Bentley MID Thomas Frederick. Cpl.
- Bernstein Simon. Rfm. (d.12th Oct 1917 )
- Brayshaw Herbert. Pte. (d.5th Aug 1915)
- Brown Rob. Rfmn. (d.3rd Sep 1918)
- Carpenter Sidney. Rflmn. (d.1st October 1917)
- Chambers Albert. (d.1916)
- Clifford John James. Pte.
- Clifford John James. Pte. (d.30th Aug 1918)
- Cole Thomas Henry. Rfn. (d.3rd Oct1917)
- Coppin Frank Ernest Herbert. L/Cpl. (d.26th Aug1914)
- Cornwell MM & bar. Alfred Ernest. A/Cpl.
- Cresswell William. Rflmn. (d.28th June 1915)
- Cutbush Charles. Pte. (d.3rd May 1915)
- Day Stamford Percy. Rflmn. (d.1st Sep 1918)
- Deer Ernest. Rflmn. (d.16th June 1918)
- Edmondson John. Rfm. (d.1st Nov 1918)
- Farr James William. Rfmn.
- Flint Albert Edward. Rfn. (d.23rd April 1917)
- Ford MID. Joseph William. Pte.
- Frost Herbert Charles. Rflmn. (d.1st Nov 1918)
- Gibson Thomas. Rflmn. (d.15th June 1918)
- Girling Thomas William Carter. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- Graut Herbert Mallett. L/Cpl. (d.3 May 1915)
- Hamer William Evan. Rflmn.
- Hamer William Evan. Rflmn.
- Herrmann James Thomas. Rifleman (d.15th October 1917)
- Hoare Ralph John. Pte. (d.31st October 1916)
- Hodges George W.. Cpl
- Lesurf William Frederick. Rfm. (d.19th Oct 1916)
- Lewis Henry. Rfmn.
- Lodge Thomas James. Rfmn. (d.5th Nov 1914)
- Magill Charles. Rflmn. (d.1st Nov 1918)
- Mason Alfred. Cpl (d.1st July 1916)
- Mason Alfred. Cpl. (d.1st July 1916)
- Mason Alfred. Cpl. (d.1st July 1916)
- Mason Alfred. Cpl. (d.1st July 1916)
- Matthews Frank Harold. Pte.
- Oliver Albert George. Rfmn.
- Orsler Arthur Edmond. Pte. (d.2nd Oct 1917)
- Perry George Henry. Rflmn. (d.1st December 1917)
- Phillips Edward Campbell.
- Phillips MM. Walter Arthur. Rflman. (d.13th Oct 1917)
- Pretty Frederick Luce. Cpl.
- Reynolds William Benjamin. Rflmn. (d.6th July 1915)
- Seary Sidney George. L/Cpl. (d.3rd May 1915)
- Shaw DCM. Percy. CSM..
- Spratt Walter Edward. Rfmn. (d.4th Oct 1917)
- Sullivan Stephen. Pte. (d.19th Dec 1914)
- Taylor Albert Edward. (d.19 October 1916)
- Taylor Thomas. Rfm. (d.1st Nov 1918)
- Thumwood Albert James. Rflmn.
- Tomlinson Harold. L/Cpl. (d.23rd Oct 1916)
- Trevelyan James Victor. (d.4th October 1917)
- Wardle Albert Henry. Rflmn. (d.6th April 1918)
- Wells Thomas W.. Rflmn. (d.27th April 1915)
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 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade from other sources.
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Pte. Charles Cutbush 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.3rd May 1915) Entrenched Between Devils Cross Roads and Douchy Farm, half a mile north of Zonnebeke. Charles Cutbush was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres and is Honoured on The Ypres Menin Gate Memorial. He still remains entrenched with his comrades till this day, not known to his grandchildren but never forgotten.
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L/Cpl. Harold Tomlinson 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.23rd Oct 1916) Harold Tomlinson was a pawnbroker's apprentice before he signed up.
He is one of the missing.
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Albert Chambers 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.1916) I would like to know more information please if anyone can help me please.
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Pte. Joseph William Ford MID. 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade Joseph Ford was injured at Battle of Mons. He took shrapnel to the head, but was saved by a metal plate fitted after being kicked by a horse as a younger man. He was captured by the Germans, sent to Chemnitz POW camp. During his time there he was captain of the tug of war team, in the brass band and made the camp dentist, he sent postcards home picturing himself in these activities.
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Pte. John James Clifford 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.30th Aug 1918) Uncle John Clifford was wounded in 1917 and sent back to England to convalescence. He was then returned to France where he died on 30th of August 1918.
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James Victor Trevelyan 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.4th October 1917) James Trevelyan enlisted in Lambeth, Surrey. He died on 4th of October 1917 at war.
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Rflmn. William Evan Hamer 8th, 1st and 10th Btns. Rifle Brigade William Hamer joined up from Winchester having been in service for a family in Newbury, at the age of 15 years 10 months on 4th September 1914.
He embarked with 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade in August 1915, was wounded with 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade in September 1916. Wounded a second time in August 1917 with 10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade, he was awarded the Silver War Badge and honourably discharged due to wounds on 4th of February 1918.
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Rflmn. William Evan Hamer 10th Btn. Rifle Brigade My Grandfather William Hamer served in three Rifle Brigade Battalions, the 1st, 8th and finally 10th. This was probably due to him being wounded twice, once in 1916 and once again in 1917. He was medically discharged from 10th Battalion, Rifle Brigade on 4th of February 1918.
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Rfmn. Robert Barnett 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.19th Dec 1914) 5509 Rfmn. Robert Barnett of the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade was one of the youngest soldiers to be killed during WW1 at the age of 15 years and 6 months.
He, like so many others of his age got caught up in what some in 1914 were terming as 'The great adventure of their time'. Lying about his age and name he managed to enlist in the Army at the very start of the war just after his 15th birthday, which was made easy by the floods of volunteers to be processed, the fact that proof of age was not a requirement at the time and that the final decision was down to the judgement of recruiting officers. Robert died during an action in the area of Ploegsteert Woods and is buried alongside others from his Battalion in the Rifle House Cemetery, Belgium.
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Rflmn. William Cresswell 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade (d.28th June 1915) William Cresswell is my great uncle. I know nothing about him would but would love to know what battles he was in and how he died. He had brothers who survived the war.
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Rflmn. Thomas W. Wells 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.27th April 1915) Thomas W. Wells was the brother of my maternal grandfather, Percy Wells, who served in the Second World War in the Troop Transport Ships and then in the Royal Navy Reserve in a Minesweeper.
I am aware that Thomas was a Rifleman (No 745) in the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) killed at Ypres Salient, France on the 27th April 1915, but know little else about him. I have a photograph that is purported to be him. However, the uniform he is wearing does not seem to match any that I have been able to find for his Battalion on the internet.
If anyone is able to enlighten me as to where I may find details of his service, it would be most appreciated, as I live in Australia, and I think I am the only one endeavouring to piece together the Well's family story.
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Pte. Arthur Arnold 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade Arthur Arnold joined the British Army as a Regular on 28th December 1899. He was working as a clerk and had won prizes for his ace marksmanship in competitions. He and his friend Augusto Walston Arturo Blackbory Bampkin Davis from Montevideo, Uraguay (better named as Arthur Blackburn Bamkins), served then onwards in South Africa, India and Malta. They were held in reserve in August 1914 before shipping to Le Havre. They went straight into battle at Le Cateau. They were in action through every major battle from 1914 to 1918 and Arthur ended service 1919.
Arthur came home and then worked at De Havilland in Hertfordshire.
He loved his football and looking after his chickens. He had four daughters and one son, and lived in Letchworth Garden City and Stotfold. He was a member of the Old Contemptibles and made regular trips to the Cenotaph and the WWI battlefields and cemetery sites.
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A/Cpl. Alfred Ernest Cornwell MM & bar. 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade Alf Cornwell was relieved from his post and when he returned 5 minutes later the man was dead. He and another Private captured a machine gun nest full of Germans alone. He earned the Military Medal and bar He also had shrapnel in his right index finger so that he couldn't straighten it. He also had a large scar from a wound that had to be sewn up: He had gone out into no man's land to bring back one of the wounded and a shell had gone off behind him and the resulting shrapnel caused the slice.
He died in 1963. He fell asleep in front of the fire in his favourite chair. He had been reading a book on cowboys and still had his reading glasses on his nose when he was found.
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Pte. Ralph John Hoare 1st Btn. The Rifle Brigade (d.31st October 1916) Ralph Hoare was my father's cousin. He was born out of wedlock and, by the time he went to war, his mother had passed away. In his informal will he left everything he owned to his friend Mr Harry Lane Bedington, Oxfordshire, his next door neighbor. A sad end to a young man who had never really lived.
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Cpl. Alfred Mason 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade (d.1st July 1916) 777 Corporal Alfred Mason was my Great Uncle he enlisted in 1914.
He was the son of Charles William and Catherine Mason.
He was 29 years old when he was killed in action , he has no known grave but his name is on the Thievpal Memorial to the Missing.
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Pte. Frank Harold Matthews 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade  My Grandfather, Frank Matthews, never spoke of his experience in the Great War. The only time he mentioned something was at his 50th wedding anniversary when a chance discussion uncovered that a party guest was related to one of his trench mates who died in his arms.
Granddad enlisted in 1910 at Woolwich Barracks. He was in the 2nd Battalion and after training went to India. He returned to the UK with the Battalion and on 7th November 1914 arrived in France.
My story gets vague from here. His medal roll shows he was with the 2nd Battalion for only a short time, and then with the 1st Battalion for the rest of the war.
We all know he was injured 4 times, once he took a bullet and three times hit by shrapnel. We assume he was badly injured early on while with 2nd Battalion and was returned to the UK. When fit again he was sent back to France to reinforce 1st Battalion as in June 1015 the Times newspaper lists him in casualties with the 1st Battalion.
All he would ever say is "I was at the Somme"
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Cpl. Alfred Mason 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.1st July 1916) My Great Uncle Alfred Mason joined the Rifle Brigade on 15th October 1914 before conscription became compulsory. He died on 1st July 1916 and has no known grave, his name appears on the Thievpal Memorial for the Missing.
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Rflmn. Herbert Charles Frost 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.1st Nov 1918) Herbert Frost was a hospital porter at the Poplar and Stepney Sick Asylum. He was called up late and went to the Rifle Brigade as a stretcher bearer. He was killed whilst retrieving the wounded on the 1st Nov 1918. He was struck above the left eye by a piece of shrapnel.
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Rflmn. William Benjamin Reynolds 1st Btn Rifle Brigade (d.6th July 1915) William Reynolds was the son of William & Emma, husband of Mary Hanna Reynolds of Prestwich. He died aged 38 in July 1916 and is recorded on the Menin Gate Memorial.
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Rflman. Walter Arthur Phillips MM. 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade (d.13th Oct 1917) Walter Phillips was born on 13th September 1888, the son of Walter and Minnie Phillips in Walworth Common, London. He joined up early in the war in London and was killed in action in October 1917. He saw service in Ypres, Arras and the Somme. He, along with thousands of others, showed great courage in what can only be described as a horror story. Rest well Walter you are not forgotten.
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