Editing Bermondsey (section)

===The Bermondsey battalions===
[[File:Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial.jpg|thumb|right|The Bermondsey and Rotherhithe War Memorial off [[Jamaica Road]].]]
During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] volunteer units were formed for home defence, including the 'Old' and 'New' Bermondsey Volunteers (existing in 1799)<ref name = Barnes>Major R. Money Barnes, ''The Soldiers of London'', London: Seeley Service, 1963, Appendices.</ref> and the Rotherhithe Volunteers in 1803.<ref>War Office, ''A List of the Officers of the Militia, the Gentlemen & Yeomanry Cavalry, and Volunteer Infantry of the United Kingdom'', 11th Edn, London: War Office, 14 October 1805/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84574-207-2.</ref> After another invasion scare, the 10th (Bermondsey) and 23rd (Rotherhithe) Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps were formed in 1860–61. Together they became a volunteer battalion of the [[Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)]] in 1883, with its drill hall in [[Jamaica Road]]. When the [[Territorial Force]] was created in 1908 this became the [[22nd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Queen's)|22nd Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's)]].<ref name = Barnes/><ref>Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers: A Guide for Military and Family Historians'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3, pp. 230–2.</ref><ref name = Step22>[https://www.steppingforwardlondon.org/22nd-county-of-london-battalion-the-london-regiment-the-queens.html '22nd Londons' at Stepping Forward: A Tribute to the Volunteer Military Reservists and Supporting Auxiliaries of Greater London.]</ref><ref>[https://www.steppingforwardlondon.org/400213.html 'Drill Halls' at Stepping Forward.]</ref> After the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914 it expanded to three battalions, of which the 1/22nd served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] and the 2/22nd in [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign|Palestine]].<ref name = Step22/>

Following the success of the recruitment campaign for '[[Kitchener's Army]]' in 1914, [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] asked the mayors of the [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London]] if they could raise more '[[Pals battalion]]s' drawn from their localities. Despite Bermondsey already supporting the 22nd Londons, the Mayor and Borough Council agreed to form another infantry battalion, which became the [[12th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Bermondsey)]]. The men wore the coat of arms of Bermondsey as their collar badge. A number of them were recruited from the 'Black Hand Gang', a notorious Bermondsey street gang of the era, and they proved so skilful at [[Trench raiding]] that 'Black Hand Gang' became a nickname for the whole battalion. It served on the Western Front: when the first tanks went into action at the [[Battle of Flers–Courcelette]] on 15 September 1916, an aircraft saw the 12th East Surreys following one to attack the village and sent back the famous report: 'A tank is walking down the high street of Flers with the British Army cheering behind'.<ref>J. Aston & L.M. Duggan, ''The History of the 12th (Bermondsey) Battalion East Surrey Regiment'' , Union Press, 1936/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-845742-75-1.</ref>

After World War I, the 12th East Surreys were disbanded and the 22nd Londons were reformed in the [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA). The London Regiment was abolished in 1937 and the battalion reverted to being the 6th (Bermondsey) Battalion, The Queen's. During [[World War II]] it again formed a second battalion, and both served in the [[Battle of France]] and [[North African campaign|North Africa]]. The 1/6th was at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein|Battle of Alamein]] and then served with the [[7th Armoured Division  (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]] (the 'Desert Rats') in [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italy]] and [[Western Front (World War II)#1944–1945: The Second Front|North West Europe]], while the 2/6th were with the [[56th (London) Division]] in Italy.<ref name = Step22/><ref>Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6, pp. 282–3, 316–7, 570.</ref> In 1961 the 6th Queen's amalgamated with the other TA battalions of the Queen's Regiment.<ref name = Barnes/><ref name = Step22/>