ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The Royal Fusiliers (7th Foot) was one of five infantry of the line regiments to have four regular battalions (all the others had two each) and two Special Reserve, numbered 1 to 6. In addition the RF had an Extra Reserve battalion, the 7th. By the end of the war the number of battalions had risen to 44, and in the first half of 1919 a further two battalions (45 and 46 ) were raised for service in North Russia. The regiment did not have its own Territorial battalions but the first four battalions of the London Regiment were affiliated and included ‘(Royal Fusiliers)’ as part of their full title. These in turn raised 2nd, 3rd and 4th line duplicate battalions. Leaving aside the London Regiment battalions this history quotes an estimated 195,000 as having served in the RF (more than the whole of the original BEF); if the Londons are included the total rises to 235,476. They fought in every theatre of war except Mesopotamia and 15,600 died. 80 Battle Honours and 12 VCs were awarded (James’s ‘British Regiments 1914-1918). The first two VCs of the Great War were awarded to Lieut M Dease (posthumous) and Pte S Godley, both of the 4th Battalion, both at Mons on 23 August 1914.
To cover so many battalions in detail in a single volume is hardly practical, but the author has managed a fair compromise. He has set out to deal with every significant engagement as correctly and completely as possible, while singling out incidents he judges worthy of note. He does not devote separate chapters or sections to each battalion but lets the story unroll, bringing in the battalions as they appear on the scene. There are separate chapters on Gallipoli, Salonika and East Africa; the rest of the book is concerned with the Western Front. His sources are the battalion diaries, personal diaries of officers, special accounts of particular actions contributed by soldiers actually involved, letters and conversations.
The opening chapter is of particular interest because here the author explains in some detail how the regiment expanded and how each wartime battalion came to be formed. The appendix gives the Roll of Honour of officers (1054 names); a table showing the numbers of Warrant Officers, NCOs and Men on the Roll of Honour, by battalions; a table summarising decorations awarded, including foreign awards; brief biographies or notes on a number of RF general ranking officers; and several accounts of soldiers who took part in the various operations. There is a good, 24-page index.