Post World War I Territorial Force Discharge Certificate of 6515092 George William Clapshew of the 1st London Regiment, Territorial Force. It appears that he rejoined the T.F. after the War on 12 July 1920 and was discharged at his own request on 24 July, 1921 (possibly to emigrate to Canada). The London Regiment was unusual. Not only were all of its battalions of the Territorial Force (although the first four were affiliated to the other City of London regiment, the all-regular Royal Fusiliers) but each battalion was regarded as a Corps in its own right. 1/1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) August 1914 : at Handel Street in Bloomsbury [Bloomsbury is an area of the London Borough of Camden, in central London, between Euston Road and Holborn]. Part of 1st London Brigade, 1st London Division. Moved on mobilisation to guarding the London-Newhaven railway. 4 September 1914 : sailed with Brigade from Southampton to Malta, arriving Valetta 14 September. 11 February 1915 : left Malta, arrived at Avonmouth on 21 February. 11 March 1915 : landed at Le Havre and joined the 25th Brigade in 8th Division. 8 February 1916 : transferred to 167th Brigade in 56th (London) Division. 6 February 1918 : absorbed the disbanded 2/1st Bn and renamed 1st Bn. The London Regiment In 1907 the Secretary of State for War, R B Haldane, introduced the Territorial and Reserve Forces Bill by which the Volunteers were to be abolished and replaced by the Territorial Force organised into fourteen Divisions, each complete with all arms and capable of rapid embodiment in time of war. By now the County of London had been established (taking over parts of Surrey, Kent and Middlesex) and, as no Regular Regiment existed within this area, the London Regiment was formed to be a new Territorial Regiment. (The City of London did have a Regular Regiment - the Royal Fusiliers). The order which scheduled twenty-eight battalions, including the Honourable Artillery Company infantry battalion as the 26th and the 14th Middlesex (Inns of Court) Volunteer Rifle Corps as the 27th, was rescinded and these two numbers were not used. The first eight battalions were classified as City of London Battalions and the remaining eighteen as County of London Battalions. At twenty-six battalions, the Regiment was unique, the largest in the Army and the only one not to have a common cap badge as each battalion wore its own. On the outbreak of the First World War, the Regiment was embodied and at the end of 1914 had expanded to fifty-eight battalions, increasing to a maximum strength of eighty-two battalions by May 1915. By 1916 all the battalions were posted to Regular Line or Rifle Regiments, although they did not change their titles. Of these, fifty-six fought in battle with forty-nine battalions taking part in ten battles in France and Flanders, six were at Gallipoli, twelve fought at Salonika, fourteen against the Turks in Palestine and one served in Waziristan and Afghanistan. After the Armistice the battalions were re-formed as part of the Territorial Army and in 1922 each was given the status of a separate London Regiment, although they still formed part of Regular regiments. By then there were only twenty-three battalions because of amalgamations.