The Isle of Wight Rifles

• 1859 - 1914
  • South African War
• 1914 - 1918
  • Gallipoli
  • Egypt & Palestine
• 1918 - 1939
  • Conversion To Artillery
• 1939 - 1945
  • Coastal Defence
  • Service Overseas
• 1945 - 1967
  • Disbanded
  • Epilogue

1859 - 1914
Public opinion during the war scare of 1859 eventually convinced the Government of the need again to authorise the formation of Artillery and Infantry Corps of Volunteers for home defence. In the past the Isle of Wight had been particularly vulnerable as it made a handy "stepping stone" to attack the ports at Southampton and Portsmouth. History records many instances of coastal towns, villages and shipping suffering from enemy action.

The citizens who formed the Volunteer Corps had to undertake to provide their own arms and equipment and defray all costs. The first active measures were taken at Winchester in Hampshire where the Mayor called a public meeting on the 26th May and the citizens had raised the County's first Corps by the 23rd September. Corps formed in Southampton, Lymington, Havant, Portsmouth, Gosport, Ryde and Newport were recognised before the end of 1859. Many others followed soon afterwards.

Progress on the Island was swift and by November six corps of volunteers were raised, the 1st and 3rd at Ryde, the 2nd at Newport, the 4th at Nunwell, the 5th at Ventnor and the 6th at Sandown. These six units operated independently of each other until, on the 6th July 1860, they were formed into the "1st Administrative Battalion, Isle of Wight Volunteers". The first commanding officer was Colonel Dunsmere, late of the 42nd Highlanders. The three thousand volunteers were reinforced by over four thousand troops from the mainland and this provided a density of one soldier to every three civilians. Fortunately the threat of invasion passed uneventfully.

The "Administrative Battalion" continued until April 1880 when the six corps fully amalgamated and became the "1st Isle of Wight Rifle Volunteer Corps". In 1885 the unit was to change its title yet again to the "5th (Isle of Wight, Princess Beatrice's) Volunteer Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment". His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg was appointed as the regiment's first Honorary Colonel.<Top>

South African War
When volunteers were called for to serve in South Africa only twenty rifleman from the Island were actually accepted. They were named the "1st Active Service Section of the Isle of Wight Rifles". They were sent to Browndown for musketry training and on their return were presented to Princess Beatrice at Osborne House. These men joined a company formed from various volunteer battalions from the county of Hampshire. They set sail for South Africa aboard the Douane Castle from Southampton on the 11th February 1890, arriving at Table Bay on the 5th March and the volunteers were landed on the 6th. Throughout the campaign their role was mainly in support and they saw little action. After one epic march of thirty-five miles, covered in just over twelve hours they supported the withdrawal of a detachment of other troops under attack near Mafeking. This march is believed to have been the record march of the entire South African War. They returned home aboard the steamer Lake Erie and arrived at Southampton on the 6th May 1901. On the 16th March 1901 a second company of the Hampshire Volunteers had sailed for South Africa on the Kildonan Castle. Although many from the Rifles had volunteered only ten had been accepted and only three rifleman passed the medical. In May 1902 these three men and their Captain returned to Southampton

Of these two groups of volunteers all returned safely except one man who asked to remain at the front. Unfortunately two men subsequently succumbed to illnesses contracted in South Africa. They had all won the distinction of being able to wear the battle honour "South Africa 1900-01" and this was incorporated into the regimental cap badge.

After the South African War the battalion reverted to its normal peacetime duties, holding regular week-end camps and their annual two week summer camp. In 1907 the Territorial Army Act was passed through Parliament and the battalion gained a new title, "Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles, 8th Battalion the Hampshire Regiment". The new Territorial Army was very popular as the troops were paid while they were in camp and received an annual bounty of £5, a small fortune at the time!<Top>

1914 - 1918
In 1913 the command of the regiment had passed to Lieutenant Colonel John Edward Rhodes, a veteran of the South African War. John Rhodes was also the Agent for the Little Marlow Estate in Buckinghampshire and following the outbreak of war in 1914 he called for volunteers from the area and offered £1 as an incentive to join up. As this represented more than a weeks wages for some of them the ranks of the Isle of Wight Rifles were swelled by men from the mainland.

The special service section of the Rifles were called up on the 29th July 1914, they were issued with ammunition and sent to take up various prearranged posts around the Island. The battalion fully mobilised on the 4th August 1914 and took up their duties at the Island Forts. In December 1914 the 1st battalion of the Rifles was accepted for service overseas and as a result they started to form a second battalion. Nine hundred men were required to bring both battalions up to full strength so a large recruiting campaign was launched and within a few weeks both battalions had a full complement. Training commenced at Parkhurst in preparation for active service. In April 1915 the 1st battalion was sent to Bury St. Edmonds and Watford before sailing from Liverpool as part of the 163rd Infantry Brigade, 54th Division on the 30th July 1915. They sailed aboard the Aquitania bound for the Dardenelles and the inhospitable shores of the Gallipoli peninsula.<Top>

Gallipoli
On the 10th August the battalion transferred to smaller ships and were landed at Suvla Bay. Their first action was on the 12th August, the objective was to capture the Anafarta Ridge. The Rifles suffered very heavy casualties trying to cross open land in daylight and after a thousand yards the losses were so great the advance began to slow, eventually dying away altogether. There are many recorded tragedies that occurred during that first day but perhaps none more poignant than the loss of brothers Clayton and Donald Ratsey, both Captains with the Isle of Wight Rifles. The family were to lose a third son in Palestine later in the war. The rifles were relieved by the Essex Regiment but by this time had suffered almost fifty per cent casualties. Losses caused by enemy sniper activity and disease further depleted the ranks. In September the battalion was moved back to Anzac Cove where they were to remain until they were evacuated in November.<Top>

Egypt & Palestine
On arrival in Alexandria the battalion was sent to an acclimatisation camp at Sidi Bish, just outside the city, and here they spent their first Christmas overseas. From Sidi Bish the Rifles moved to Mena Camp, a tented camp in the shadow of the Great Pyramids at Giza. From April until December 1916 the battalion occupied positions near the Bitter Lakes on the Suez Canal line.

Meanwhile, back in England, the 2nd battalion were manning the Island forts and building up their numbers after sending two drafts of reinforcements to the 1st battalion. During August 1916 a draft of 250 men were sent to Romsey, Hampshire, to join the 4th Hampshires. In September a large contingent of the 4th Hampshires, including the men from the Rifles, embarked for India under the command of Captain J. T. Fardell of the 1st battalion. Captain Fardell had only been back in England a few months after serving with the 1st battalion in Gallipoli. The 2/4th Hampshires were only stationed in India a short time before they were ordered to head for Mesopotamia. They landed at Basra and then travelled by road and river to Baghdad, passing through Amarah, Kut and Ctesiphon, the scenes of the 6th Divisions battles and the historic siege. Most of 1917 was spent in Mesopotamia before moving into Persia and Russian Turkestan early in 1918. This detachment of the Rifles saw no major action but were constantly engaged in minor skirmishes with the enemy until they returned home early in 1919 after passing through Constantinople, Salonika, Italy and France.

In January 1917 the 1st Battalion moved from the Bitter Lakes to begin preparation for the march across the Sinai Desert to the town of Gaza. On the 1st February 1917 the battalion left Moacsar in full marching order and entered the Sinai Desert. At Romani the battalion was rested for a week having covered almost seventy miles of desert in a mere five days. The battalion was rested again at Mazar and arrived at its destination at El Arish on the 26th February having covered one hundred and forty five miles of desert in twelve days marching. Quite an accomplishment in searing heat across some of the most barren country in the world.<Top>

Early April saw the Battalion preparing for the coming offensive against the Gaza line. On the night of the 16th/17th April the second battle for Gaza began, each infantry battalion was supported by one or two tanks, this was the first time the men of the Rifles had seen them in action. The 19th April was intended to be a major assault on the Turkish lines but after some success during darkness the daylight attacks were a disastrous failure. The Isle of Wight Rifles left two hundred men in reserve and went into battle eight hundred strong, at the roll call on the same evening only two officers and ninety men were there to answer. During the battle a number of rifleman were taken prisoner by the Turkish army, some were later transferred to prison camps in Austria.

At the end of April 1917 General Allenby took command of the army and started to regroup his battalions for a further push against the Turkish line. The Rifles took part in several minor probing raids against the enemy and after one successful sortie Lt. C. W. Brannon was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry shown in the attack. On the 31st October General Allenby launched his attack on the Gaza to Beersheba line, three divisions including the Isle of Wight Rifles took part in a diversionary attack on Gaza itself, while the main force wheeled northwards to attack Beersheba. The battalion did not suffer too many casualties in the engagement although several men were killed and a number wounded. The outcome of the attack was successful and Allenby's force drove the enemy back towards Jerusalem. On the 9th December British forces occupied Jerusalem, the Rifles were not there as they were dug in on the Judean hills fighting a long and drawn out battle.

The Rifles remained in Palestine right through 1918 until, in September, General Allenby launched his final offensive as a result of which the Turkish army was defeated. On the 11th November the battalion was still continuing to advance when hostilities finally ceased. They were shipped out from Beyrout to Alexandria and then on to Cairo where demobilisation started, this was halted when severe rioting broke out in Egypt. After rioting was quelled a cadre of volunteers was formed to become part of the Army of Occupation in the Sudan. These men were the last to return to the Island, they arrived on the 24th March 1920 to an official welcome. The long overseas campaign of the Rifles was finally over.

Due to the similarity of the Rifles uniform to that of the Ghurka's the battalion obtained a new nickname for itself during the First World War, they were known as the "Isle of Wight Gurkas". The nickname may not have been entirely due to the similarity of uniform but more to their tenacity and bravery in action. This nickname was to stick, even after their conversion to artillery in 1937.<Top>

1918 - 1939

After the war a large amount of reorganisation took place within the army and it took the personal intervention of Princess Beatrice to stop the Rifles being disbanded. During the coal strike of 1921 the Rifles were called out on to full time service again, this time they become a unit of the "Defence Force" and were stationed at Albany Barracks, Parkhurst. During the remaining years of peace the Rifles held their annual summer camps and took part in several civic events. The photograph on the right, of Ted Hunnybun, was taken between the wars, probably in the 1930's and almost certainly at one of the summer camps. The photograph was kindly donated by John Pidgley, a relative of Ted. On the 11th August 1935 a drumhead service was held in Northwood Park at Cowes, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of their landings at Suvla Bay when, during the severest fighting, they had lost so many of their comrades. The service was attended by Princess Beatrice, Princess Alice, the Earl of Athlone, Lord Mottistone and other distinguished people. In 1936 Lt. Colonel Wilfred Brannon took command of the Rifles, the only man ever to have risen through the ranks to take command of the Isle of Wight Rifles. <Top>

Conversion To Artillery
"The 8th Battalion Hampshire Regiment (Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles) is to be converted to a brigade of the heavy artillery, charged with the important duty of manning some of the Isle of Wight Batteries which are part of the outer defences of Portsmouth and Southampton." This announcement was made by General Sir Richard Haking, the Colonel of the Hampshire Regiment, on the 1st April 1937 and with it ended the Rifles career as an infantry unit. The "530 Coast Regiment R.A., Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles", as was their new title, had a new role to learn and it was tackled with enthusiasm. At the beginning of May 1937 the infantry activities were wound up and the conversion to artillery began. At this time the unit had a total strength of seventeen officers and two hundred and fifty other ranks.<Top>

1939 - 1945
530 Coast Defence Regiment were finally called out on the 25th August 1939 for the duration of the war, after a few false starts. Being artillery there were no guarantees that anyone would stay with his own unit; many of the old Riflemen were posted to other units, where their particular skills may be required, and men from other units were posted in. Some of the original members of 530 Coast Regiment were to serve worldwide.<Top>

Coastal Defence
The regiment manned the forts at Bouldner, Old and New Needles, Cliff End, Fort Albert, Hurst Castle and part of Fort Warden. At the time of the Dunkirk evacuation, because of manpower shortages, only fifteen men were left to man the Old and New Needles forts. They worked forty-eight hours on and twenty-four off and to make the forts look as if they were fully manned pieces of pipe were rigged to look like anti-aircraft guns and this subterfuge was made more realistic by employing tailors dummies as crew. The same deceptive ruse was used at other forts.

The following is a copy of some notes written by Ray Wesley Jones, an Ex Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, about his experiences at the outbreak of war: "Sergeant Harry Bannister raised me from my bed around midnight on 25th August. 'You are to report to the Cowes Drill Halt, Ray, as soon as possible.' I was there by 1:00am and during the night other pals continued to arrive. So did some trucks into which we loaded our kit bags, for we were veterans of our recent summer camp. Off we went to the Needles Battery, stalwarts of 530 Coast Regiment (Princess Beatrice's 1W Rifles) R.A."

"We gradually settled in to the unfamiliar surroundings and adjusted to a drastic change of routine. Our uniforms, at first, were strange for artillerymen. We wore black buttons and R.A. titles and a Sam Browne belt. I seem to remember the green puttees. That all changed when we got our battle dress tunics and proper badges."

"With the seagulls for company and not allowed to leave the fort the days passed slowly until the fateful Sunday, September 3rd. We all assembled in the hut, which was our canteen to hear the fateful words from Neville Chamberlain, 'This country is at war with Germany'."<Top>

"Most of us were teenagers and it took a while to realise that our comfortable way of life in Island towns and villages was going to be so rudely interrupted. We watched the sea for signs of the 'Germada' invading us and scanned the skies for Luftwaffe pilots sent to destroy us. Nothing much happened and soon we were allowed to go down the cliff steps to the Needles Hotel for a couple of hours fraternal quaffing. Mew's XXXX ale was popular, and potent."

"We settled into a routine at the Battery, doing watches, datuming the huge 9.2inch guns against the datum post over on the Hurst Castle side. Eventually we were allowed 24-hour passes and we would cycle home overnight. War still seemed far away. Captain White and a new Lieutenant named Ralph Ince did their best to keep us on our toes. I seem to remember some ATS girls turning up to help with the cooking. The canteen hut was a haven in the evenings and I tried my hand at the piano, wrestling with the tunes of the moment. And the bottles of brown ale, which would appear on the piano from time to time."

"It couldn't last, this quiet, almost dreamlike, period. Friends got posted away, new faces arrived. Several of us were transferred to Bouldnor. In early 1940 I took a searchlight course at Southsea Castle. After a short stay at Fort Warden, I was rewarded with sole manning of a searchlight emplacement on the seashore at Bouldnor. Rather scary for a nineteen-year-old, being locked into a concrete and metal shuttered searchlight emplacement overnight on one's own, with only a huge searchlight for ompany."

"A detachment of Island lads, including myself, left Bouldnor for Southend, the Clyde and a convoy to the Middle East and almost got into Tobruk. But that's another story, and a different sort of war. I prefer to remember the dances on Saturday nights at the Memorial Hall in Freshwater. For we lads at the Needles, Bouldnor, Fort Warden and Golden Hill our war hadn't even begun."

The following is an extract from the memoirs of Gunner Bob Davies who served throughout the war: "On Thursday the 23rd August 1939 I went to work as usual in West Cowes, commencing at 8:30am. At 4:30pm a proclamation was made for all army, navy and airforce reservists to report to their respective units. I had with me the kit of a Territorial Soldier as I was a member of the local unit based in the Drill Hall, Drill Hall Road, West Cowes. As the day was also that of the annual Newport Carnival Night it was some time before all the men reported to their units. Our unit was 189 Battery R.A. T.A. and we were part of 530 Coast Regiment R.A. T.A. (Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight Rifles). The 189 Battery was comprised of men drawn from Cowes and Freshwater Drill Halls, our role was to man the guns at the Needles Batteries. The Battery Commander was Captain Charles White of Freshwater, next in seniority were Lt. Burnett of Totland and 2nd Lt. Caple of Freshwater." Click here for a list of the men stationed at the Needles New Battery during August/September 1939.

"Our first night at the Needles was spent organising guard duty rosters, issuing equipment and arranging rations. We only had bare essentials and the ablutions were quite primitive as we had only cold water. There were two huts for accommodation, the beds were three wooden boards supported by trestles and we were issued with four blankets. Our kit was sparse and if any part of it was lost we had to pay the Quartermaster for replacements. Although our pay was poor we were fed well; for breakfast we had porridge, egg and bacon, fried bread, two rounds of one-inch thick bread with margarine and a dollop of jam. Dinner was tinned meat with vegetables and gravy; for pudding we had rice and jam. Teatime was two rounds of one-inch thick bread with margarine and jam. All meals were washed down with a pint mug of tea. There was no picking or choosing you ate what was given to you."

"On the 2nd September a draft from the Needles and Bouldner batteries was sent to Blythe, Northumberland, to install guns on the beach near Blythe Fort, to protect the submarine base. A number of men, including myself, were loaned to the Northumberland Heavy Regiment. The officer in charge of the draft was Captain Naish of Bouldner Battery, the sergeant was Sgt. Groves from Cowes. Conditions were primitive; we had to sleep in bell tents, there were no proper ablutions or toilets and a field kitchen provided our food. We were stationed at Blythe until just before Christmas 1939 and then we returned to the Island. After two weeks leave I returned to my duties at the Needles New Battery."

"Around the clock watches and constant alerts kept us on our toes but we were allowed out occasionally. As an invasion by the enemy seemed iminent an order stated we had to go out in groups of four, armed with rifles and ammunition and carrying our gas masks and steel helmets. We walked into Totland to catch a bus into Newport and on arriving tipped the caretaker of a public toilet to care for our equipment while we went for a drink. As we had to report back to the Guardroom by 11pm we had to stay sober! This pattern continued for me until September 1940 when I received a posting to Gibraltar."<Top>

Service Overseas
In March 1941 a contingent from the Rifles sailed aboard the Empress of Canada in a convoy bound for Tobruk. They sailed down the west coast of Africa, around the Cape, and onward to Port Tewfic in the Red Sea. Once again the men of the Rifles had landed in Egypt, where, twenty-two years earlier their gallant predecessors had seen action in the Great War. They moved to Alexandria where the boarded the HMAS Voyager and continued their journey to the besieged garrison at Tobruk. Conditions in Tobruk were horrendous, the constant shelling, bombing and shortage of supplies made life very difficult. For one brief period during December 1941 to April 1942 the garrison was relieved, and supplies were able to get through, after Rommel abandoned the siege. After that the tempo of enemy activity increased and on the 21st June 1942 Tobruk fell to the enemy. Some 35,000 thousand British and Commonwealth men were taken prisoner, among them the men from the Rifles. Some of them were not destined to be repatriated until the war ended in Europe, that was after enduring forced marches in Germany in their final months there.

Another contingent of men from the Rifles were sent to Gibralter to help defend the naval base. Meetings between General Franco of Spain and Hitler had created the possibility of the "Rock" being invaded by the Germans across the border from Spain. Gibraltar was turned into a fortress and the tunnels, some dating back to the 18th century, were extended and enlarged. The following is a further extract from the memoirs of Gunner Bob Davies: "We sailed from Liverpool on the SS Aquila, the Commodore's ship of a convoy of thirty-five vessels going to Gibraltar. We became the gun crew for the stern 4-inch naval gun and the one Lewis gun, the relief watch was drawn from the regular crew. The journey took twenty days so we were relieved to get ashore. Eventually I was posted to the 3rd Coast Regiment, I joined two 4inch guns on Mediterranean Road along with my mate Paddy Whelan. Conditions on the "Rock" were apalling, during 1941-43 there were up to 80,000 troops in the garrison. The food was quite disgusting, so bad the whole garrison used to volunteer for North Africa, Malta of even gunners on Mediterranean convoys! On one occasion the cook told us we had a special treat, rice with sultanas. We found out later the "sultanas" were cockroaches that had got into the rice. I've never eaten rice since!"

"The whole garrison had to participate in tunneling along with the Royal Engineers and the British and Canadian miners. The purpose was to provide a defence against an attack by the enemy from Spain. Every third night I did a twelve hour shift in the tunnels, no rank was spared officers and men all did their shifts. Accidents were frequent, soldiers and miners became casualties. There wasn't any dust extraction so at the end of a shift your nose and throat was clogged with dust. In September 1943 I was informed that I was due for a posting back to Britain, along with the men who came out with me."

During 1942-43 detachments of men from the Rifles served in almost every possible theatre of operations. When Rangoon fell to the Japanese there was part of a battery with General Alexander's army which fought the rearguard action along the Imphal Road back to India. After playing a full part, in the battles along the road, they were sent to Shillong in Assam to recover and regroup. The men of the Rifles then rejoined General Alexander's army, it was thanks to the men of this army that the road into India was closed to the enemy and the westward advance of the Japanese was halted.<Top>

1945 - 1967
When the war ended the unit again reverted to its Territorial role, changing its title and style of duties, it became the "428 The Princess Beatrice's (Isle of Wight Rifles) (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment R.A." At this time Lord Mountbatten had taken over the duties of Honorary Colonel. In the Queen's Honours List of 1953 the unit was honoured with a B.E.M. for Battery Quartermaster Sergeant A. Herbert. BQMS Herbert had served since 1914 when he became a volunteer at the age of seventeen. He had served continually since that date with one short break from 1944 to 1948, due to health reasons, as a part time volunteer during peace and a full time soldier during two World Wars. In 1955 the name changed yet again, the Rifles became "P (Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight) Battery, 457 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, R.A." On Saturday the 19th September 1959 the Hampshire Volunteers held their centenary parade at Winchester, Hampshire. The salute was taken the Mayor of Winchester and Lieutenant Colonel His Grace the Duke of Wellington, at that time His Grace was the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. "P Battery" proudly took their place in the March Past.<Top>

Disbanded
The regiment was finally disbanded in 1967, their remnants forming a company of territorial infantry. The Isle of Wight Rifles had a total history of one hundred and eight years, they had seen action in the South African War and both World Wars, a distinguished career during which they were awarded a number of medals. Amongst these were at least two Distinguished Service Orders, one Distinguished Conduct Medal, four Military Crosses, seven Military Medals and several mentions in despatches, for gallantry.<Top>

Epilogue
The 85th Anniversary of the second Battle of Gaza was commemorated by a service in the chapel of Carisbrooke Castle. During the service the names of the 181 men who died in the battle were read out by four young men currently serving with the Territorials.

The following poem was found on the Internet attributed to different authors, one source claims it was written by Bill Ridley, an Isle of Wight Rifleman who returned from the Great War. In any case it is very appropriate and worth repeating here:

The webmaster would be grateful for any information about this poem. If the source can be verified then acknowledgement would be included.

Source:
National Trust Archives
http://www.regiments.org
The Memoirs of Gunner Bob Davies
The Memoirs of Ray Wesley Jones ex Lt. R.A.
http://www.littlemarlow.btinternet.co.uk/Memorial.htm
Princess Beatrices Isle of Wight Rifles by D. J. Quigley
Portrait of the Isle of Wight by Lawrence Wilson (ISBN 0709133197)
Gareth Sprack - Hon' Sec' I.W. Branch Royal Hampshire Regiment Comrades Association

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