The 4th Battalion

The 4th Battalion were the 'Special Reserve' Battalion (the second reserve Battalion) of the Regiment, originally formed as one of the two County Militia Battalions in 1757. They were at Bedford when war broke out on the 4th August 1914, and were moved to Felixstowe to provide home defence around Harwich as well as drafts for the front line Battalions until July 1916.

After the disaster on the Somme in July 1916, reserve troops were badly needed and the 4th Battalion, along with the equivalent units from other Regiments, were called on for service on the Western Front. They landed in France on the 25th July 1916 as part of 190th Brigade, 63rd (Royal Naval) Division in which it served until the Armistice. The Royal Naval Division was a three Brigade Division composed of:

188th Brigade:

6th (Howe) Battalion.

8th (Anson) Battalion.

1st Royal Marine Light Infantry.

2nd Royal Marine Light Infantry [disbanded in April 1918].

2nd Royal Irish Regiment [transferred from the 16th Division on 23rd April 1918]

189th Brigade:

1st (Drake) Battalion.

2nd (Hawke) Battalion.

5th (Nelson) Battalion.

7th (Hood) Battalion.

190th Brigade:

4th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment.

7th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers.

1st/28th Battalion, The London Regiment [known as "The Artists Rifles"] transferred from GHQ Troops on the 28^th June 1917]
10th Battalion, The Royal Dublin Fusiliers [left in October 1917].

1st Honorable Artillery Company [left in June 1917].

Pioneers

• The Battle of the Somme 1916
• The Battle of the Ancre 1916
• The Battle of Arras 1917
• The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) 1917
• The German Spring Offensives ("Operation Michael") 1918
• The final "Hundred Days" Offensives 1918

There are many people of interest who served in the ranks and file of the 4th Battalion, two of whom are:

Captain (Acting Lieutenant Colonel) John Stanhope Collings-Wells V.C., D.S.O. was the Battalion's Commanding Officer from late in 1916 until his death in March 1918, earning the deserved reputation as one of the regiment's finest leaders of the war, winning both the Distinguished Service Order and the Battalion's only (posthumous) Victoria Cross whilst serving in the Battalion. His photograph and Biography can be seen here.

Hollywood Actor and Director Charles Laughton of the Hunts Cyclists and 4th Battalion of the Bedfordshire regiment, who's war record has been researched in detail by Martyn Smith and Gloria Porta and can be seen here.

• Lt-Colonel James Edward Hubert GASCOYNE-CECIL (The Rt. Honourable Marquis of Salisbury) commanded the battalion from the 29th October 1892 to 8th January 1915, when he retired
• Lt-Colonel Richard Page CROFT took over from 8th January 1915 to 4th September 1916. He took the battalion out to France.
• Major A.E. GREENWELL commanded between 4th September and 20th October 1916
• Captain (Acting Lt-Colonel) John Stanhope COLLINGS-WELLS, V.C., D.S.O., from 20th October 1916 to 27th March 1918, when he was killed winning the Victoria Cross during the Spring Offensives.
• Lt-Colonel Arthur Gabell MacDONALD, D.S.O., took over between 22nd April and 3rd May 1918, at which time he was promoted to the General Staff.
• Captain Richard Brodnax KNIGHT commanded between the 3rd and 20th May 1918
• Lt-Colonel F.W. SMITH, D.S.O., D.C.M., 20th May to 22nd July 1918, when he returned to England ill.
• Major Arthur Gracie HAYWARD, M.C., 22nd July to 22nd September 1918, after which he moved on to command a Devonshire battalion
• Lt-Colonel Charles Cecil HARMAN, D.S.O., M.C., from 22nd September 1918 until the battalion was disbanded in 1919.

• Acting Brigadier C.de Rougemont [12th October to 17th October 1916]
• Major General C.Shute [17th October 1916 to 19th February 1917]
• Major General C.Lawrie [19th February 1917 to 30th August 1918]
• Major General C.Blacklock [30th August 1918 until the Armistice]