The 2nd Gloucestershire Rifle Volunteers was a volunteer unit of the British Army, which recruited in Gloucestershire from 1859. After becoming a Volunteer, and then later, a Territorial battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment (the 'Glosters'), it fought on the Western Front and in Italy during World War I. Its 1st Line battalion fought a last-ditch defensive action at the Piave and one of its number won a Victoria Cross in the closing weeks of the war. The 2nd Line battalion was involved in an epic rearguard action at Holnon Wood during the German spring offensive. In the early part of World War II the battalion distinguished itself at the defence of Ledringhem before being evacuated from Dunkirk. It then served as a unit of the Reconnaissance Corps with 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division through the campaign in North West Europe. It returned to the Glosters in the postwar Territorial Army until amalgamated with other units in 1967.

Volunteer Force An invasion scare from France in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain to supplement the Regular Army and Militia.Beckett.Spiers, pp. 163–8. The City of Bristol Rifles raised on 13 September 1859 became the 1st Gloucestershire RVC, and soon grew to be an independent battalion-sized unit. The remaining Gloucestershire RVCs were all company-sized or smaller units:Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 101.Westlake, pp. 97–9. 2nd (Gloucester Docks Company) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 21 October 1859 under Captain William Vernon Guise (later Sir William Guise, 4th Baronet) 3rd (Gloucester City) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 21 October 1859 under Capt Thomas de Winton 4th (Stroud) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 5 September 1859 under Capt Henry Daniel Cholmeley, disbanded by August 1861 5th (Stroud) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 6 September 1859 under Capt J. Watts Haliwell 6th (Stroud) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 7 September 1859 under Capt John Dutton Hunt, absorbed into 1st Gloucestershire Light Horse Volunteers and 5th Gloucestershire RVC in 1865 7th (Cheltenham) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 20 September 1859 under Capt Robert Dwarris Gibney, disbanded September 1864 8th (Tewkesbury) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 6 December 1859 as a half company under Lieutenant James Primatt Sargeaunt, raised to a full company 7 November 1860, disbanded 1876–7 9th (Cirencester) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 13 February 1860 under Capt Allen Alexander Bathurst (later 6th Earl Bathurst) 10th (Cotswold Rifles) Gloucestershire RVC at Cheltenham, raised 1 March 1860 under Capt Herbert W. Wood 11th (Dursley) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 9 March 1860 under Capt John Vizard 12th (Forest of Dean) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 21 April 1860 under Capt Sir Martin Hyde Crawley–Boevey, 4th Baronet 13th (Odd Fellows – Cheltenham) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 23 March 1860 under Capt Edmund P, Morphy, disbanded 1874 14th (Cheltenham) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 3 July 1860 under Capt Sir Alex Ramsay, disbanded September 1864 15th (Stow-on-the-Wold) Gloucestershire RVC, raised 3 December 1860 as a subdivision under Lt Cecil C.V.N. Pole; brought up to a full company in December 1868 16th (North Cotswold Rifles) Gloucestershire RVC at Moreton-in-Marsh, raised 23 November 1860 under Capt Sir John Maxwell Steele-Graves, 4th Baronet, moving to Chipping Campden in 1862

A number of the original officers of these RVCs had previous military experience, for example, Ensign Theodore Preston of the 2nd RVC was formerly in the 43rd Foot, Capt Sir William Vernon Guise in the 75th Foot, Capt de Winton of the 3rd RVC in the Royal Artillery, Capt Bathurst of the 9th RVC in the North Gloucestershire Militia, Capt Wood of the 9th RVC as a lieutenant-colonel in the 4th Madras Native Infantry, Lt Shapland Swiny of the 9th RVC as a captain in the Royal Dublin City Militia, Capt Sir Martin Crawley-Boevey of the 12th RVC as a captain in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and Capt Morphy of the 13th RVC in the Monaghan Militia.Army List, various dates.Burke. The Honorary Chaplain of the 11th (Dursley) RVC was the Rev Sir George Prevost, 2nd Baronet, son of Lt-Gen Sir George Prevost and Rural dean of Dursley.

These independent RVCs were grouped into two administrative battalions in 1860: 1st Administrative Battalion, Headquarters (HQ) at Gloucester: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th RVCs (the 1st Gloucester Light Horse Volunteers, formed at Stroud on 19 May 1860 and disbanded in 1866, and the 1st Gloucestershire Engineer Volunteer Corps formed at Gloucester on 28 January 1861, left in 1867, were also attached to this battalion.Beckett, Appendix X.). Colonel William Purnell, CB, formerly of the 90th Light Infantry, was commissioned as the battalion's commanding officer (CO) on 3 March 1860.London Gazette, 6 March 1860. 2nd Administrative Battalion, HQ at Cheltenham: 7th, 10th, 13th, 14th RVCs However, the 2nd Admin Battalion was disbanded by January 1864 and its remaining RVCs joined the 1st Admin Battalion. A new 14th (City of Gloucester Rifles) Gloucestershire RVC was formed in 1874–5 but was later absorbed into the others. When the RVCs were consolidated in 1880, the 1st Admin Bn became the 2nd Gloucestershire RVC.

The Cheltenham College Cadet Corps was affiliated to the battalion from 1867 to 1889, and again from 1904. Gloucester County School at Hempstead contributed a cadet company from 1889 to 1891, and Cirencester School from 1896 to 1897.

Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Volunteers were grouped into county brigades with their local Regular and Militia battalions – Brigade No 37 (Gloucestershire) in Western District for the 1st Gloucestershire Admin Battalion.Spiers, pp. 195–6. The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, and the Volunteers were formally affiliated to their local Regular regiment, the Gloucestershire Regiment ('Glosters') in the case of the Gloucestershire RVCs, and on 1 May 1883 the 2nd changed its title to 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment.Daniell, pp. 191–2. When a comprehensive mobilisation scheme for the Volunteers was established after the Stanhope Memorandum of 1891, the 2nd VB of the Gloucesters was assigned to the Western Counties Brigade at Bath, Somerset, changing to the Gloucester and Somerset Brigade in 1901–2. The Volunteer Infantry Brigades were reorganised in 1906–07, when all the Gloucester Regiment VBs were assigned for training to the Portland Brigade, defending the Royal Navy's base at Portland Harbour.Dunlop, Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9.

Service companies from the regiment's volunteer battalions served with the Regular 2nd Bn in the Second Boer War, gaining the 2nd VB its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–1902.Daniell, p. 202.Leslie.

Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the battalion became the 5th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, with the following organisation:London Gazette 20 March 1908.Conrad, British Army, 1914.Daniell, pp. 204–5. Battalion HQ at The Barracks (also known as the Drill Hall) in Brunswick Road, GloucesterGloucester at Drill Hall Project. A & B Companies at Brunswick Road C Company at Drill Hall, Bath Street, StroudStroud at Drill Hall Project. D Company at Drill Hall, Back of Avon, TewkesburyTewkesbury at Drill Hall Project. E & F Companies at Drill Hall, North Street, CheltenhamCheltenham at Drill Hall Project. G Company at Drill Hall, Boulton Lane, DursleyDursley at Drill Hall Project. H Company at The Armoury, Chipping CampdenCampden at Drill Hall Project.

The Cheltenham College Cadet Corps became a contingent of the junior division of the Officers' Training Corps.

Major the Hon Benjamin Bathurst, (former and future MP for Cirencester), retired from the 4th (Royal North Gloucester Militia) Bn, Gloucestershire Regiment, was appointed Commanding Officer (CO) of the 5th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. (His elder brother, the 7th Earl Bathurst, was appointed as honorary colonel.)London Gazette, 23 June 1908.

The battalion formed part of the South Midland Brigade in the TF's South Midland Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 77–83.48 (SM) Div at Long, Long Trail

World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of war in August 1914 the units of the South Midland Division had just set out for annual training. The men of 5th Gloucesters had only spent one night in camp at Marlow, Buckinghamshire, when on 3 August they broke camp and returned to Gloucester. Mobilisation orders for TF units were issued next day. The battalion went to its war station on the Isle of Wight until relieved, when it joined the rest of South Midland Division concentrating at Swindon in Wiltshire. In mid-August the division moved to Essex as part of Central Force, with 5th Gloucesters billeted in Chelmsford.Gloucesters at Long, Long Trail.Wyrall, pp. 59–60.

Shortly after the declaration of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form them into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created from the recruits who were flooding in. For example, at a meeting at Gloucester Shire Hall, Maj John Collett (soon to be promoted to command 1/5th Bn) called for 25 men to enlist in the battalion, and as a result nine members of Gloucester Rugby Club (for which his brother Capt Gilbert Collett had played in 1898–1904) immediately volunteered from the audience. Later the 2nd Line were mobilised for overseas service in their own right and a 3rd Line created to supply drafts.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Daniell, Appendix I.Grist, p. 49.Gilbert Collett at Gloucester Rugby Heritage.

1/5th Gloucesters

The South Midland Division underwent progressive training in the area round Chelmsford until 13 March 1915 when it received orders to embark to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. The South Midland Brigade crossed from Folkestone to Boulogne, 5th Gloucesters landing on 29 March. The battalion entrained for Cassel where by 3 April the whole division had concentrated. After final training in Trench warfare the 5th Gloucesters went into the line near Ploegsteert ('Plugstreet') on 7 April, attached to the experienced 11th Brigade. A Company joined the 1st Somerset Light Infantry in the trenches while 9 and 10 Platoons were with the London Rifle Brigade. The battalion returned to its brigade on 12 April, and from then on the South Midland Division took responsibility for the Plugstreet sector for the next three months, engaging in patrols and occasional trench raids. On 12 May 1915 the division was designated 48th (South Midland) Division and the brigade became 145th (South Midland) Brigade. It moved to take over the Hébuterne sector from the French Army on 20 July, and remained there until July 1916.Daniell, p. 211.Grist, pp. 50–1.Wyrall, pp. 128–32, 137, 145–6.

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