In 1915 Lord Kitchener extended his famous "Your Country Needs You"
recruitment campaign by appealing to the Mayors of the London Metropolitan
Boroughs, urging each Mayor to raise a unit of local men for active service
overseas.
In south-west London, the response from two neighbouring
boroughs, Wandsworth and Battersea, could not have been more different. In
Wandsworth, Mayor Dawnay personally took up the challenge and soon recruited,
for the East Surrey Regiment, double the number of men needed for an infantry
battalion. In Battersea, however, there was initially no more than lukewarm
interest, partly due to the local Territorial Force unit, the 23rd London
Regiment, having expanded from one to three battalions thanks to thousands of
earlier volunteers.
But as Wandsworth’s efforts bore fruit, Battersea too pledged to
raise a full infantry battalion. Mirroring the different political leanings of
the two boroughs, Mayor Simmons pledged Battersea’s battalion to the Queen’s
(Royal West Surrey) Regiment.
Wandsworth’s 13th East Surreys and
Battersea’s 10th Queen’s both served with honour and distinction. But they, and
the communities from which they came, also suffered thousands of men wounded and
killed. This sacrifice cemented links with France, Belgium and Italy that
continue today. From the early tragic death of an adventurous boy of just 15, to
the heroic deeds of a dustman who won the Victoria Cross, this book describes
the pain and the glory of the volunteers of Wandsworth and Battersea on the
Western Front.
