8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London Regiment Sweetheart Brooch

 8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London Regiment Sweetheart Brooch
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H1A/59 : SOLD
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Description

Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original 8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London Regiment Sweetheart Brooch for sale. In good condition. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military badges for sale including other 8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London Regiment sweetheart brooches.
For more original sweetheart brooches for sale, click here. The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force. The unit evolved several times until 1921, after which the name was lost during one of many reorganisations. In 1882 a detachment of two officers and 102 men volunteered for service in Egypt, where they performed postal and telegraph duties under the command of General Garnet Wolseley. As the Army Post Office Corps (APOC) they came under enemy fire at Kassassin in so doing became the first 'volunteers' to see enemy action. The 24th Battalion was awarded their first battle honour "Egypt 1882". During the Second Boer War the 24th Battalion contributed a large number of volunteers comprising 16 officers and more than 1,000 other ranks. In 1907 they were awarded the battle honour "South Africa 1899-1902". In 1902 the 24th Middlesex (Post office) was one of six rifle corps to form the 4th or City of London Brigade, a volunteer infantry brigade. More changes were introduced upon the creation of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. This Act brought the part-time Volunteer Force infantry artillery and engineer units and Yeomanry (mounted) regiments from across the country together into a single Territorial Force in 1908. As a result of this, the 24th Middlesex became the 8th Battalion, London Regiment (Post Office Rifles). The Post Office Rifles served with distinction in the Great War. They arrived in France on 18 March 1915. By the end of the war, 1,800 men from the Post Office Rifles would be dead and 4,500 more would be wounded. After the outbreak of the war, the existing units of the Territorial Force each formed duplicate (or "second line") units. The existing Post Office Rifles was redesignated as the 1/8th Battalion, London Regiment when a second Post Office Rifles battalion, the 2/8th Londons, was formed in September 1914. In 1915 a third line battalion, the 3/8th was formed. Between them, the three battalions earned 19 battle honours. At the Battle of Wurst Farm Ridge, in September 1917, the 2/8th lost over half its fighting strength, dead or wounded, but its men were awarded a total of 40 gallantry medals. These included a Victoria Cross won by Sergeant A. J. Knight, making him the only Post Office Rifleman to win this honour. Please see our other items for more original WW1, WW2 & post war British military badges for sale including other 8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London sweetheart brooches.