22nd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Queen's)
military unit
The 22nd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Queen's) was an auxiliary unit of the British Army. Formed in 1908 from Volunteer units in the Surrey suburbs of London that dated back to 1860, it was part of the London Regiment in the Territorial Force (TF). Its battalions served on the Western Front and in Palestine during World War I. When the London Regiment was abolished in 1937 the unit reverted to the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and during World War II its battalions fought in North Africa, Tunisia, Italy and North West Europe. It was amalgamated with other battalions into the Queen's Regiment in 1961.
Volunteer Force
The invasion scare of 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm for joining Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. Among the RVCs raised in the county of Surrey at this time were those from Bermondsey and Rotherhithe in the south-east suburbs of London:
10th (Bermondsey) Surrey RVC, raised as two companies on 7 February 1860
23rd (Rotherhithe) Surrey RVC, raised on 1 February 1861; it had two companies by 1866, increased to six by 1868.
These two units were attached for administrative purposes to the larger 19th (Lambeth) Surrey RVC, but on 10 October 1868 they were grouped into the 4th Administrative Battalion with its headquarters (HQ) at Bermondsey, moving to Rotherhithe the following year. Captain-Commandant James Payne of the 23rd was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the battalion. Samuel Bourne Bevington, a member of a leading Bermondsey industrial family, had enlisted as a Private in the 1st Surrey Rifles in 1859. He was appointed Captain-Commandant of the 10th Surrey RVC on 22 February 1868 and promoted to Major of the 4th Admin Bn under Payne's command on 17 December 1873.
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