5th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers

The 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteer Corps, also referred to as the Tynemouth Rifles, was an infantry unit of Britain's part-time Volunteer Force, raised as part of the [Rifle Volunteer Movement in the 1860s. It became the 5th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers in the Territorial Force, serving during the First World War, and then the Territorial Army. It converted to an anti-aircraft role just prior to Second World War, and continued to serve until it was amalgamated in 1950.

Volunteer Force

The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. One of these new corps was the 1st Northumberland RVC (also known as the Northumberland Rifles) formed in North Shields and Tynemouth on 16 August 1859 by coal-owner Edward Potter of Cramlington. It took some moral courage to appear in the street in Volunteer uniform: members of the 1st Northumberland RVC were sneered at as 'noodles'. However, the movement continued to grow: in February 1860 the 1st absorbed the 2nd Northumberland RVC of three companies, also formed at Tynemouth on 4 January that year. In August 1861 it split to form the 1st (Tynemouth), 8th (three companies at Walker-on-Tyne) and 9th (Cramlington) Northumberland RVCs, which were all placed in the 2nd Administrative Battalion of Northumberland Rifle Volunteers. The 1st disbanded in October 1862 and the 9th in December 1864, but the 8th (Walker) Northumberland RVC thrived. The HQ of the 2nd Admin Battalion moved to Walker after the disbandment of the 1st; it was disbanded in 1865 and the 8th continued as an independent corps with James Anderson, a former ensign in the 30th Foot, as lieutenant-colonel in command.