3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment
| 20th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps 3rd City of London Regiment 69th (3rd City of London) S/L Regiment 625th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 13 December 1859 – 10 March 1955 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Role |
Infantry Air Defence |
| Size | 1 Battalion 4 Battalions (WWI) 3 Batteries (WWII) |
| Part of |
Royal Fusiliers London Regiment |
| Garrison/HQ | Edward Street, Hampstead Road, St Pancras (3rd Londons) Harrow Road, Paddington (69th S/L) |
| Nickname(s) | Railway Rifles |
| Engagements |
Second Boer War 2nd Bn: WWII: |
Second Boer War
WWI:
1st Bn:
2nd Bn:
WWII:
The 3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) was a volunteer unit of the British Army under various titles from 1860 to 1961. Originally raised from railwaymen, the battalion sent a detachment to the Second Boer War and several battalions fought in World War I. Shortly before World War II it became a searchlight unit and defended the UK during the Blitz, remaining in the air defence role in the postwar Territorial Army.
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 such unit was the Railway Rifles, raised at Euston Square on 13 December 1859, chiefly from employees of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at nearby Euston Station. It became the 20th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Railway Rifles). The unit drew largely upon lower middle class volunteers, while railway managers and engineers were later recruited into the officers-only Engineer and Railway Volunteer Staff Corps based at the professional engineering institutions in Westminster.
Initially consisting of three companies, the unit was attached to the 4th Administrative Battalion of Middlesex RVCs from August 1860 to May 1861, but as the number of companies rose (it had nine by 1866) it became a fully independent battalion. The first Captain Commandant, later Lieutenant-Colonel, was Thomas Edward Bigge, who had formerly served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. His immediate successors, Henry Malet (appointed 1870) and Charles Gore-Brown (1876–83) had also been professional officers in the Grenadier Guards and 49th Foot respectively. The 3rd Duke of Sutherland, who had extensive railway interests in Scotland, became Honorary Colonel in 1867. Like many other RVCs, the uniform of the 20th Middlesex at this time was grey, which the unit wore with scarlet facings.
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