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Early Volunteers
The City of Bristol Rifles was a Volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 to 1955. Here we take a look into the history of the unit and it's brief link to Whitchurch.
There have been volunteers for home defence in Bristol, which have supplemented the Regular Army, since the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It wasn't until the passing of the Volunteer Act during the French Revolutionary War in 1794 that then openly encouraged the enlisting of part-time local volunteers. This gave rise to the Bristol Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Lt. Col Evan Baillie, formed in 1797. With 1500 men enrolled, these volunteers were immune from conscription and received pay while on service. Wearing a red uniform with yellow facings, they were called out to Civil disturbances and were on duty during several Bristol Riots (pic). After peace with France was declared in 1802, the volunteers were disbanded. That peace broke down a year later and gave rise to a new threat of invasion, the volunteer units were called back in. The Bristol unit was reformed in 1803 and became the Royal Bristol Volunteers. Again commanded by Lt. Col Baillie, these volunteers were the first to use the motto "In Danger, Ready". Although there is no evidence of a Royal link, the facing colour on their uniform was changed to blue to reflect the "Royal" in the title.
1793 - Bristol Bridge Riots
The Bristol Bridge Riot of 1793 began as a protest at an act levying tolls on Bristol Bridge, which included proposals to demolish houses to make way for an access road. Eleven people were killed and 45 injured making it one of the worst riots in 18th Century England.
Rifle Volunteers
The volunteers were again disbanded at the end of the Napoleonic Wars however the volunteer movement had been very successful. Following a new invasion scare in 1859, several Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) were created. One being the City of Bristol Rifles under the command of Lt-Cl Robert Bush, they continued to adopt the motto "In Danger, Ready" and their uniforms changed to rifle green with green facings. In 1872, under the "Localisation of the Forces Scheme", the Volunteers were grouped into county brigades along with their local Regular Battalions, this being Brigade No 37 in the Western District for the Bristol Battalion. In 1881, this was taken even further and the Battalion was formally affiliated with their local Regiment, the Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly known as the Glosters. In 1883 the Battalion changed it's title to 1st (City of Bristol) Volunteer Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment. The 1st VB was assigned to the Severn Brigade, charged with defending the ports of the Severn Estuary. Their Drill Hall was situated in Queens Road, next to Bristol Museum (in the late 19th century, the museum and library was situated where Browns is now and the Drill Hall was in what is now Bristol Museum, above) and they were also using a Rifle Range at Avonmouth for practice and competition and had been since 1865.
The Back Badge
The badge of the Glosters shows a sphinx together with EGYPT. This commemorates the 1801 Battle of Alexandria in the Napoleonic Wars. The Regiment was attacked by the French from both the front and the back and had to fight back-to-back. In remembrance, the Regiment were allowed a badge on both the front and back of their caps, the only Regiment in the Army permitted to do so. During the First World War, the regiment encountered a similar situation fighting the Germans. As a result, in 1919 the size of the Back Badge (right) was increased as a sign of respect. A service is held in Gloucester on the weekend nearest 21st March to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Alexandria, this is knows as Back Badge Day.
In 1888 Charles Lucas Methuen was appointed Colonel, an ex soldier of the 79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and cousin of Lord Methuen. He was a popular man and had moved to Bristol some time ago and married a relative of the family at Blaise Castle. He worked tirelessly on improving the HQ and the Drill Hall. However, in 1897 the Rifle Range at Avonmouth was shut down to make way for a railway line to connect to the Severn Tunnel, and a new location needed to be found.
Col. Methuen would have been more than aware of the need for a location which offered adequate space, for targets to be possibly set up to 1000 yards, has good access in the way of roads or rail links and offers a safe environment for the users and surrounding community. This was not an easy task. Although the range at Avonmouth was in use for over 30 years, it was not without incident. In 1878, a man was killed after a gun fired accidentally, the bullet penetrating a passing train and fatally wounding a passenger and in 1885 a young man was shot in the leg as he was walking along a pathway adjacent to the range.
This newspaper article from the Bristol Mercury dated 23rd November 1896, describes that Col. Methuen had already opened talks with a landowner in Kelston regarding a suitable piece of land. Unfortunately this did not come to pass and attention turned to a possible site in Patchway, again to no avail.
Attention turns to Whitchurch
This article from the Bristol Mercury dated 17th October 1898 talked about a possible location at the Maes Knoll in Whitchurch. Not only did it offer adequate space, it had a nearby railway line, albeit without a station however the presence of a range would have certainly helped the argument as the local community had already met to petition for a station. It would also have offered the safety of the hills as a backdrop. The article went on to explain that such a location could be home to a range of considerable standing, one that could become a central range for the district and would presumably be one of the finest in the country.
Already a year had passed since the range at Avonmouth had been closed and the Rifles didn't have a suitable place to practice, there was a range at Bedminster however it only offered targets up to 600 yards and there were concerns over safety. Negotiations had commenced with Sir Greville Smyth but these were progressing slowly. Eventually, an agreement was met, however construction wouldn't commence for some time.
In 1889 war broke out in South Africa, known as the Second Boer War. In 1900 a detachment of volunteers from the 1st VB were called up to serve with the 2nd Regular Battalion of the Glosters.
The Second Boer War, 1899 - 1902
The Second Boer War, also known as the Anglo-Boer War or the South African War was a conflict between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free States) over the British Empire's influence in Southern Africa. The conflict started in 1899 when Boer militia attacked colonial settlements. As a result an increased number of British soldiers were brought to South Africa and mounted attacks against the Boers. British forces were aided by large numbers of Colonial volunteers, particularly from Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand however the war attracted significant international interest, largely sympathetic to the Boers which resulted in thousands of foreign volunteers taking up arms against the British Empire such as Germany, Russia and the United States.
The Boers surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging. The treaty ended the Orange Free State as an independent republic and placed them with the British Empire. As a result of the war, over 26,000 British and Colonial soldiers died with nearly 100,000 sick or wounded and over 6,000 Boer soldiers died. There were a greater number of civilian casualties with over 46,000 fatalities and 24,000 captured and sent overseas. There were countless others left homeless and sick due to the British Empire's Scorched Earth tactics.
The Bristol Rifles returned home in 1902 and was awarded it's first Battle Honour, South Africa 1900 - 1902.
Officers of the Glosters
This is an incredible picture of the officers of the Glosters at Ladysmith. If you would like to find out more about the Second Boer War, then follow the link below.
Bristol Rifles on their return from Africa - 1902 (National Archives)
Whilst away, work had begun on the construction of the new Rifle Range at Whitchurch.
The New Range at Whitchurch
This article from the Western Daily Press dated 6th July 1902 explained that the new Rifle Range at Whitchurch was due to be completed. Started in November 1901, the work was undertaken by the Government after Col. Methuen had planned the range and reported to the Western District Commanding Officer that he had been unable to gather the funds to construct it himself due to the high rent. Although the location was remote, some 45 minutes march from the nearest tram stop at Knowle, it was deemed as one of the finest and up-to-date ranges in the country. The construction work was extensive and the numbers of bricks, sand, cement and stone used are staggering. It is incredible to imagine what it would have looked like and even more incredible that there is no apparent evidence of it today. It is interesting to note the finding of hundreds of apparent Roman arrowheads, as we know there was a settlement nearby.
The range opened in August 1902.
Officers of the 1st
This photograph from The Navy and Army Illustrated dated 31st January 1903 shows officers of the 1st VB Gloucester Regiment at camp, this could possibly be Minehead or Salisbury Plain. Col. Methuen can be see sitting 5th from the left. This was from the time that the Range at Whitchurch was in use.
For nearly two years the range was being used without incident, with only a minor issue regarding the location and lack of either tram or rail station nearby. However in 1904, there seemed to be a safety concern and the range was shut at short notice.
As reported in the Western Daily Press on 5th September 1904, the range had been closed, possibly for safety reasons. This article also raises concerns about it's location and that the sun shines in the shooters eyes late in the day.
Bullseye
Why did the range close?
This article from the Western Daily Press dated 31st October 1904 suggests that a stray bullet from the range had struck a cow in a neighbouring field and that the range had been closed for safety reasons.
This turned out to be partly true (although we cannot be sure about the unfortunate cow). In fact the matter was raised in the House of Commons on 9th March 1905 by Charles Hobhouse, member of parliament for Bristol E. and former Lt Col in the 3rd VB Gloucestershire Regiment. He asks "I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what has been the cost of the range at Whitchurch, Glos; whether the range is now closed; and, if so, for what reason, and for how long is it likely to remain closed". Mr Arnold-Forster (Secretary State of War) replied "The range cost £5,000. It is now closed, owing to some cottages in the rear being unsafe, as there is not sufficient danger area. It is not possible, however, to state at present whether it will have to be abandoned".
The matter was revisited on 21st March in which it was established that the cottages were present when the range was constructed, however they were not considered to be within the danger area. Experiments with the Lee-Metford rifle since the range was constructed had given light to the extent of ricochet shots and had changed their view on the safety of the range.
As a result of the closure of the range at Whitchurch, the Rifles returned to the range in Bedminster and continued to use it until it's closure in 1929.
do we know exactly where the range was?
Unfortunately not, despite the substantial earthworks and scale of the range, there is no obvious visible evidence of it today. Our best guess would be this area between the lower slopes of the Maes Knoll and the aptly named Arrowfield Close.
Whilst detecting some of this land we have been able to recover several .303 calibre rifle bullet tips. First used in Britain 1889, these bullets were in use throughout the time of the range and beyond the 1st World War and would have undoubtedly been fired from the range.
Col. Charles Methuen
Col. Charles Methuen
Col. Charles Methuen
Col. Charles Methuen retired in October 1904 and sadly died a short time after, in August 1905. He did much for the volunteer movement and was a distinguished and well regarded gentleman.
New name, new home
Col. Charles Methuen
Col. Charles Methuen
In 1908, volunteers were absorbed into the Territorial Force under the Haldane Reforms and as a result the 1st VB became the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment. They gave up their green uniforms and adopted the full dress uniform of the Glosters, scarlet with white facings. This regiment became part of the Gloucester and Worcester Brigade in the TF's South Midland Division. In 1915 the HQ and Drill Hall moved to Old Market Street.
The Great War
After the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the units of the South Midland Division were recalled from annual training to await mobilisation, which came on August 4th. The 4th Glosters sent 2 companies to Avonmouth Docks to guard the fuel depots and the remainder were billeted to villages outside Chelmsford, Essex and underwent training.
On 13th March 1915 they received orders to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. The 1/4th Battalion spent 16 months in the trenches in the Somme. The above photo was taken of D Company, 1/4th Battalion at Beauval with a captured German gun in July 1916. The gun was later transported back to the 4th Battalion HQ in Bristol. In the Spring of 1917 they engaged the Germans retreating from the Hindenburg Line before being despatched to Ypres in July 1917.
In November 1917 the division received orders to move to the Piave Front in Italy, which they held until March 1918. They then went on to fight at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto in October.
During the war, the Battalion had lost 48 officers and 333 other ranking soldiers. At the end of the War, they received Battle Honours for France & Flanders 1915-1917, including Ypres and the Somme. Also for Italy 1917-1918.
1st Line Unit
In August 1914 , the War Office authorised 2nd line units for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered. This created duplicate Battalions in order to cope with the influx of recruits. These units were prefixed with a 1/ or 2/.