September 30, 1914

Birmingham Daily Mail

SPORTSMAN’S BATTALION

BIRMINGHAM RECRUITING OFFICE

To cope with the enormous number of written applications received from the Midlands, it has been decided to open a temporary recruiting office in Birmingham for one day only.

This special Battalion for active service, sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, is being recruited from sportsmen up to 45 years of age. Now is the opportunity for the right man to join a Sportsman’s Corps. Pay at Army rates.

JOIN TO-DAY!

Recruiting Office:

STORK HOTEL, BIRMINGHAM

Thursday, October 1.

One Day Only!

9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Birmingham Gazette

SPORTSMAN’S CORPS.

BIG GAME HUNTER CHOSEN TO COMMAND

The Sportsman’s Battalion goes into barracks on 12 October at a training ground in Essex which has been offered for its use. The name before the War Office for approval as commanding officer for the battalion is one of the most popular big game hunters, who served in the South African War.

The Sportsman’s Battalion is a corps for gentlemen up to forty-five years of age, and only those exceptionally fit and accustomed to outdoor sports are accepted. It is the only corps in England for which the age limit has been specially extended by the authorities. Directly its full complement has been reached and passed by the authorities it becomes a unit of the Regular Army. The chief recruiting officer is E. Cunliffe-Owen, and the recruiting station is the Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, London, applicants being seen from ten in the morning until six in the evening. Recruiting officers have also visited provincial centres.

The force is to be 1,300 strong and reserve battalions are in contemplation. Payment by the recruit for his equipment is optional. Three large parks were offered the battalion as training grounds, and one has been accepted. The medical examinations by the War Office are on 6 and 9 October, and the battalion is expected to go into camp on 12 October.

Nottingham Post

Sportsman’s Battalion. 

Nottingham Recruiting Office.

To cope with the enormous number of written applications received from the Midlands, it has been decided to open a temporary recruiting office in Nottingham for one day only.

This special Battalion for active service, sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, is being recruited from sportsmen up to 45 years of age. Now is the opportunity for the right man to join a Sportsman’s Corps. Pay at Army rates.

JOIN TO-DAY.

Recruiting Office:
Victoria Station Hotel, Nottingham.
Wednesday, Sept. 30.

 ONE DAY only. 

9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Western Daily Press

SPORTSMAN’S BATTALION

RECRUITING OFFICERS’ VISIT TO-DAY

The following letter has been received by the Lord Mayor of Bristol from the Chief Recruiting Office of the Sportsman’s Battalion, dated September 28th September: –

Sir, – I take this opportunity of advising you that on Wednesday, the 30th inst., I am sending a recruitment officer to Bristol, where he will enrol applicants for the above battalion at the Royal Hotel, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for that day only. I should esteem it a personal favor if you will be so good as to make this fact known amongst the townsfolk if your city, and do all you possibly can to help us to obtain recruits. It is owing to the great number of applicants that I have received from all parts of the country that I have received from all parts of the country that I have decided to open temporary provincial offices.

Thanking you in anticipation for your generous help and assistance towards the universal aim.

I am, sir, yours faithfully,
E. CUNLIFFE OWEN.
Chief Recruiting Office.

September 29, 1914

London Standard

THE SPORTSMEN’S BATTALION

To clear up any misunderstanding that may have lately occurred as to the standing of the Sportsmen’s Battalion, it is stated that it was originally sanctioned by Lord Kitchener. At an interview yesterday at the Horse Guards General Adye, the officer commanding the Eastern Command, gave instructions to Mr. E. Cunliffe-Owen, the chief recruiting officer of the Sportsmen’s Battalion, with regard to its control. Directly its full complement has been reached and passed it becomes a unit of the Regular Army.

September 28, 1914

Western Daily Mail

SPORTSMEN’S BATTALION.

For the benefit of sportsmen in the provinces who wish to present themselves to the Sportsmen’s Battalion, for which Mr. E. Cunliffe-Owen is now recruiting at the Hotel Cecil, but find it inconvenient to go up to London, the corps proposes very shortly to send recruiting officers to various provincial officers to various centres to examine and enrol recruits.

Birmingham Daily Post

Recruiting for the Sportsman’s Battalion will take place on Thursday next at the Stork Hotel, Birmingham, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is to suit the large number of applicants that wish to join the battalion but find it inconvenient to visit London. The battalion is for gentlemen up to 45 years of age who are thoroughly sound and fit, and only those used to outdoor sports need apply. It is an infantry corps, the pay is at Army rates, and the medical examination is the ordinary one. The corps is sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, and is the only one in England for which the age limit has been specially extended.

London Evening News

THE SPORTSMAN BATTALION

Recruiting for the Sportsman Battalion will open at Brighton on Thursday next.

By the courtesy of Mr. Harry Preston, Mr. Cunliffe Owen will attend at the Royal Albion Hotel from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the purpose of obtaining recruits.

The Sportsman Battalion has been recognized by Lord Kitchener, it is open to men up to 45, and it is not a rich man’s battalion. Only fit men need apply.

Western Daily Press

RECRUITING FOR SPORTSMEN UP TO FORTY-FIVE

Recruiting for the Sportsman’s Battalion will go on all day on Wednesday, the 30th, at the Royal Hotel, Bristol, from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. This is to suit the large number of applicants who wish to join the battalion, but find it inconvenient to come up to London. The Sportsman’s Battalion is for gentlemen up to 45 years of age, who are thoroughly sound and fit, and only those used to outdoor sport need apply. It is an infantry corps, the pay is at Army rates, and the medical examination is the ordinary Army one. It is sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, and is the only corps in England for which the age limit has been specially extended. The headquarters are the Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, London. The chief recruiting officer is Mr. E. Cunliffe-Owen, C.M.G.

Devon and Exeter Gazette

SPORTSMEN’S BATTALION.

EXETER RECRUITING OFFICE.

To cope with the enormous number of written applications received from the West of England, it has been decided to open a temporary recruiting office in Exter for one day only.

This special Battalion for active service, sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, is being recruited from sportsmen up to 45 years of age. Now is the opportunity for the right man to join a Sportsman’s Corps. Pay at Army rates.

JOIN TO-DAY!

Recruiting Office,

New London Hotel, Exeter

Thursday, Sept. 29th,

ONE DAY ONLY, 

9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Western Times

Recruiting for the Sportsman’s Battalion

Recruiting for the Sportsman’s Battalion will go on all day on Tuesday, the 29th, at the New London Hotel, Exeter, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is to suit the large number of applicants who find it inconvenient to come up to London. The Sportsman’s Battalion is for gentlemen up to 45 years of age, who are thoroughly sound and fit, and only those used to outdoor sport need apply.

It is an infantry corps, the pay is at Army rates, and the medical examination is the ordinary Army one. It is sanctioned by Lord Kitchener, and is the only corps in England for which the age limit has been specially extended. The headquarters are the Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, London. The chief recruiting officer is Mr. E. Cunliffe-Owen, C.M.G.

September 26, 1914

Grantham Journal

The Recruiting Boom.

The boom in recruiting in London still continues. […] The Sportsmen Battalion (appropriately nicknamed the “Hard-as-Nails Corps”) is recruiting briskly at the Hotel Cecil. Every morning’s post brings hundreds of written applications, and there are, of course, large numbers of applicants who make personal enquiries at the hotel. Indeed, so heavy are the applications that difficulty is experienced in dealing with the recruits.

A well-known K.C.M.G. was amongst those who offered their services on Tuesday. He was willing to enlist as an ordinary private. He has had considerable experience, having commanded or served in numerous expeditions in Africa, and is the possessor of three medals and five clasps. Other well-known sportsmen and explorers of high social distinction have presented themselves. The post bag contained a letter from a young Belgian nobleman, a hunter, asking to be allowed to join, as he cannot, he said, serve in his own country, because he cannot obtain equipment there. A good many retired officers have offered their services, and the question is asked why their services are not accepted by the War Office. It is worth noting that a doctor who has visited many recruiting stations has declared that the men already in the Sportsmen’s Battalion are from the finest stamp of men he has seen. The Battalion is private and self-supporting, and was approved by the War Office before it was embodied. Mr. Cunliffe-Owen is the chief recruiting officer. Sir William Plender, it was announced, has consented to act as hon. treasurer.

Manchester Courier

THE SPORTSMAN’S BATTALION

Being the only corps in England in which the age limit has been extended to forty-five, the Sportsman’s Battalion now recruiting at the Hotel Cecil in London has attracted an immense number of applications of the highest type of men. At the same time the organisers will gladly welcome any further recruits, as many will no doubt be rejected by the doctor.

The corps is to be 1,300 strong, and will, when complete, be taken over by the War Office, by which it is directly sanctioned. It is composed of gentlemen up to the age of forty-five accustomed to sport and outdoor life and thoroughly fit and physically sound. The training will be the ordinary infantry training. The organisers wish to make it clear that the corps is an infantry, not a cavalry one, as many have applied under the impression that it was to be mounted.

Golf clubs which had intended abandoning their autumn meetings owing to the war have continued them instead, and given the value of the prizes to the Sportsman’s Battalion account. This enables members unable to serve to help their country, and it is hoped that other clubs will follow suit.

September 25, 1914

The Times

Enlist in the SPORTSMAN’S BATTALION

A SPECIAL COMPLETE INFANTRY BATTALION for active duty sanctioned by Lord Kitchener is now being recruited from sportsmen up to 45 YEARS OF AGE. Only those used to outdoor sport, who are thoroughly sound and fit, need apply. Now is the opportunity for the RIGHT MAN to join a sportsman’s corps.

PAY AT ARMY RATES. JOIN TO-DAY!

Write or call Chief Recruiting Officer, Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, Strand, W.C.

Hours: Daily, 10 to 6.

Emma Pauline Cunliffe-Owen

The Sportsman’s Battalions owed their creation to Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen, a well-connected society lady who took on a friendly challenge and formed not one, but two complete corps of soldiers for The Front during the First World War.

Who was Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen?

Emma Pauline Cunliffe-Owen was born in 1863, in Kensington, London. She was the sixth of ten children for Sir Francis Phillip and Jenny (nee Von Reitzenstein) Cunliffe-Owen. Her father was the director of the prestigious South Kensington Museum, which would later become the Victoria and Albert Museum. There is a story that Emma’s mother gave birth to her while inside the museum, but whether this is true or not, she was without doubt born into a family surrounded by the daily organization and management of one of the world’s premier collections of arts and design.

Sir Francis Cunliffe-Owen.

In her youth, Emma was well known as an “all round sportswoman” and was very active in outdoor pursuits. However, she suffered throughout her life from rheumatoid arthritis, and later on contracted septic pneumonia and phlebitis. These ailments and her reduced mobility may well have had some influence on her desire to create a legacy for middle-aged sportsmen who were being overlooked when the Great War started.

In 1882 Emma married her first cousin, Edward Cunliffe Cunliffe-Owen, a barrister who was 6 years her elder. Edward’s father was the late Col. Henry Cunliffe-Owen, V.C., and the bride and groom were both grandchildren of the late Capt. Charles Cunliffe-Owen. In 1885 the couple was living at Inverness Terrace, near Hyde Park, when their first child, a son (Francis Edward) was born. Over the next 10 years they would remain in the Paddington area and their family would grow with two girls (Dorothey and Sybil). It appears that they lived in some comfort (but not great wealth); a census of that time lists six servants in the household.

When Emma was 31, her father died, followed by her mother the same year. Given that she was the sixth of ten children, and a woman, she likely received only a moderate inheritance. Four years later, in Sonning, Berkshire, she gave birth to her last child, Alexander Robert, a godson of the future Queen Alexandria, and future junior officer in the 2nd Sportsman’s Battalion.

From this point until the start of the First World War, there is less documented information about the lives of the Cunliffe-Owen family, but from what can be gleaned there appears to have been some distancing between Emma and Edward. In the 1901 census, Emma was living in Devonshire Terrace with Sybil and Alexander and three servants. Edward is not listed. According to the 1911 census, she and Alexander were visiting the surgeon Robert Basil Stamford in Loughborough. Although she was 48 by now, her age was listed as 42. Robert Stamford was 40.

Two years before the start of the war, Francis Edward died. A phone directory has Edward living in Buckingham Gate; Emma is not listed with him.

Any perceived differences between Emma and Edward seem to have been put to one side when war was declared between England and Germany. In early September 1914, possibly Sunday 6th, as the story goes,:

“Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen, on rallying some men-friends for not being in khaki, was challenged to raise a battalion of middle and upper class men up to the age of forty-five. She promptly went with them to a post-office and telegraphed to Lord Kitchener, " Will you accept complete battalion of upper and middle class men, physically fit, able to shoot and ride, up to the age of forty-five ? " The reply was, " Lord Kitchener gratefully accepts complete battalion."”

Mr and Mrs Cunliffe-Owen then proceeded to set up a recruiting office in the Indian Room at the Hotel Cecil, a grand hotel on the Strand. From this point forward they worked together as a highly effective team, often dividing the labor to visit different cities in England on recruiting drives. That their names both began with the same letter (and their signatures were similar) may have been useful when it came to the tedious task of signing letters and enrollment forms.

A month after the famous telegraph to Kitchener, Alexander, now a private with the 5th Leicestershires, was discharged from Chelsea Royal Hospital to commission. In 1915, at the age of 17, and no doubt with some influence by his mother, he was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Sportsman’s Battalion.  A photograph has Mrs Cunliffe-Owen, now in a wheelchair, with her husband Edward at Alexander’s commission. One account reports that he was a rather immature, ineffective officer who earned little in the way of respect from the ranks, many of whom were themselves society men from similar upbringings.

2nd Lt. Alexander Robert Cunliffe-Owen, Second Sportsman’s Battalion.

The remainder of the story concerning the formation and training of Sportsman’s Battalions, and Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen’s involvement in both, is being told elsewhere in this blog, so what follows now returns to the story of the Cunliffe-Owens.

Later in 1915, Mr. Cunliffe-Owen had to attend Westminster County Court on behalf of his wife, for an unpaid butcher’s bill, which must have been an embarrassment for the family. It seems that Emma’s profligate ways had finally caught up with her, although it was noted during the hearings that she would had invested much of her own funds by then into the formation of the battalions. The defense noted that the Cunliffe-Owens were separated at the time.

In 1916, while the Sportsman’s Battalions (now the 23rd and 24th, Royal Fusiliers), were fighting in France, she and Alexander took a boat bound for Morocco. It seems that he was now with the Welsh Fusiliers, stationed in Gibraltar, although quite why his mother chose to travel with him is unclear. What is clear though is that a Robert Basil Stamford, surgeon, 45, was travelling to Gibraltar on the same boat.

In 1918, at the age of 61, after a period of illness, Edward Cunliffe-Owen died, leaving Emma a widow with an uncertain future. The following year, she married her friend Robert Stamford, who had served as a medical officer in both the Boer War and the Great War. Later that year they travelled together again, this time to Marseille, France, and now as husband and wife.

In January of 1920, “Emma Pauline, Mrs. Stamford” who “Raised two battalions of Royal Fusiliers” was awarded the Order of the British Empire. Nine years later, an article on Mrs Cunliffe-Owen, now Mrs Emma Pauline Cunliffe Stamford, O.B.E., appeared in the Straits Times, celebrating her life and achievements. It does not appear to be linked to any particular event, and was written in the style of an obituary. However, she unexpectedly survived for another 21 years, outliving her second husband (d. 1935), her son Alexander (d. 1937), and her two daughters.

Emma Pauline died 13 November 1950, in Loughborough, at the age of 87.

September 24, 1914

The Times

The Sportsmen’s Battalion is recruiting briskly at the Hotel Cecil. A well-known K.C.M.G., the possessor of three medals with five clasps, offered his services as an ordinary private, and other well-known sportsmen and explorers have presented themselves. A young Belgian nobleman, a hunter, has asked to be allowed to join. A good many retired officers are coming forward. Mr. Cunliffe-Owen is the chief recruiting officer.

September 23, 1914

London Evening News

THE SPORTSMAN’S BATTALION

Among recruits who have offered to join the Sportsman’s Battalion, which is recruiting at the Indian Room at the Hotel Cecil, is a young Belgian nobleman who wrote offering to enlist.

He was not able to join his own army owing to the want of equipment, and offered to serve as interpreter in the Sportsman’s Battalion.

There are numbers of sportsmen who are unable to take active service in his Majesty’s forces, or to serve in the Sportsman’s Battalion, but it is hoped that any such will kindly communicate any suggestions or offers of help to Mr. E. Cunliffe Owen, the chief recruiting officer, a the Hotel Cecil, W.C.

The age limit is forty-five, and the battalion is not one for rich men only.

September 22, 1914

Yorkshire Telegraph

THE “HARD-AS-NAILS.”

The Sportsmen’s Battalion, nick-named the “Hard-as-Nails Corps,” is recruiting briskly. So heavy are the applications that difficulty is experienced in dealing with the recruits.

A well-known K.C.M.G was amongst those who offered their services to-day. He was willing to enlist as an ordinary private.

KCMG = Knight Commander, Order of St Michael and St George

September 19, 1914

Newcastle Journal

A BATTALION OF SPORTSMEN

An infantry battalion of sporting gentlemen up to 45 years of age is being raise by Mr E. Cunliffe Owen, son of the late Colonel Cunliffe Owen, V.C., Royal Engineers. Already 600 applications have been received, including doctors, consulting engineers, and stockbrokers, in addition to many sporting men of leisure.

Tamworth Herald

The Mayor has also received from Col. G. Cunliffe-Owen, Hotel Cecil, London, a letter requesting him to make known that recruits are wanted for a Private Battalion of 1,300 men up to the age of 45, and that funds are needed for equipping the Battalion.

September 18, 1914

Daily Express

ENLIST
in the
Sportsman’s Battalion.

A special battalion for active service sanctioned by Lord Kitchener is now being recruited from sportsmen up to 45 years of age. Only those used to shooting, hunting, and outdoor sport, who are thoroughly sound and fit, need apply. Now is the opportunity for the RIGHT MAN to join a sportsman’s corps.

JOIN TO-DAY!

Write or call Chief Recruiting Officer, Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, Strand, W.C.

Hours: Daily 10 to 6.

September 17, 1914

Daily Mirror

IRISH RALLY TO FLAG.

Boom of Recruiting in Ireland – Sportsmen’s and Athletes’ Battalion.

The class of recruits attracted to the colours is better than ever. The raising of the height standard has perhaps steadies the flow of men a little but it has improved the material.

There is a movement on foot, organized by Mr. Edward Cunliffe Owen, C.M.G., to form a special sportsmen’s battalion, and a call has been issued to sportsmen and athletes generally to supply 1,300 men.

Recruiting for this battalion is going on briskly at the Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. All sportsmen and athletes who have not yet joined the colours are asked to join at once.

Evening Standard

SPORTSMEN ONLY.

Recruiting is going on strongly for the Special Sportsman’s Battalion, which is being organized under the direction of Mr. Edward Cunliffe-Owen. The corps, of which Lord Kitchener has approved, will be 1300 strong, and consist of men used to hunting, shooting and outdoor sport; no others are eligible. The age limit is 45. The recruiting office is at the Indian Room, Hotel Cecil.

September 15, 1914

Springfield Missouri Republican – published October 1, 1914

MEN 40 TO 45 FORM ENGLISH BATTALION

Sportsmen Organizing with Men Who Are Hunters, Golfers, and So On.

(Correspondence of The Associated Press).

LONDON, Sept. 15. – War enthusiasm has caused all manner of military organizations to spring into being, among them the sportsmen’s battalion of 1300 members which Edward Cunlliffe-Owen, the twenty-third descendant of King Edward III., is engaged in forming.

It is to be exclusively made up of men of gentle birth between the ages of forty and forty-five – men whose habits and associations are so firmly fixed that they would not feel home with youngsters. Fox hunters, trained to the horse and daring, stand highest on the list of those invited to join. Grouse shooters, hardened by long tramps over the moors and quick with the gun, are strong rivals. But even the confirmed golfer is in demand, for golfing implies a cool head and steady nerves.

Some of the recruits have given funds and placed their motor cars at the disposal of the battalion. As soon as the command is pronounced ready for service by the war office, it will be attached to a line regiment and sent to the front.

The Hotel Cecil, Strand, London

The Hotel Cecil was a grand hotel built 1890–96 between the Thames Embankment and the Strand in London. It was named after Cecil House (also known as Salisbury House), a mansion belonging to the Cecil family, which occupied the site in the 17th century.

Central London map from 1908 showing the location of the Hotel Cecil, next to the Savoy.

Links to other articles on the Hotel Cecil:

• Wikipedia
• “Hotel Cecil” (Facebook page)
• Dictionary of Victorian London
• Jazz Age Club
• Stone Magazine, 1895-6 (via Google Books)

September 12, 1914

London Evening News

THE SPORTSMEN’S BATTALION

 Retired Major Enlists as a Private.

In the Indian Room at the Hotel Cecil a dozen men at a dozen tables are kept busy registering the names and addresses of hardy, bronzed youngsters or from forty to forty-five, who were eager to join the new sportsmen’s battalion.

Lord Kitchener has sanctioned the raising of the battalion for active service, and has expressed his sincere thanks for the offer of its services.

For this middle-aged unit is calculated to be one of the most active and useful little fighting forces which have been produced during the war.

Only those who are used to outdoor sport, who can shoot, ride, and tramp seven or eight hours a day are accepted.

And there strikes the eye of each candidate as he enters the recruiting room the notice, printed in big type, that he must be “exceptionally fit” if he wishes to stand a chance of enrollment.

More than 250 names had been given in before the office had been open a few hours, and telegrams have arrived from all over the Kingdom requesting places in the ranks.

THE PRIVATE BRINGS HIS CAR

One of the first of the recruits to arrive at the Indian Room was a well-known M.F.H. He was followed by a retired major. They have been accepted, and will be two of the privates of the battalion.

Several hardy sportsmen from the Argentine have also registered, and crack shots from the Midlands and the North have telegraphed their desire to serve. It is, in fact, expected that many more than the 1,300 men required for the battalion will come forward.

Some of the men have not only offered themselves for the ranks, but have also placed their motor-cars at the disposal of the force.

Tact is needed in enrolling the sporting recruits, for questions about their fitness are liable to produce challenges to box, shoot, ride, or march the questioners for any wager they like to name.

It has been promised that the battalion shall see active service at the earliest possible moment, and it will be attached to a line regiment.

There are so many fine riders already enrolled that it may be possible to form a cavalry regiment from the recruits, as well as the infantry battalion.

The Indian Room, Hotel Cecil, London.

September 8, 1914

Yorkshire Evening Post

A BATTALION FOR SPORTING MEN BETWEEN 40 AND 45.

The Acting Secretary of the Stock Exchange has received a letter stating that a private battalion is being formed of 1,000 strong, hardy, sporting gentlemen between 40 and 45. This battalion has been accepted by Lord Kitchener. Recruits can either apply by writing and sending their names, addresses, age, height, weight, and medical certificate to the Officer in Command, Recruiting Office, Hotel Cecil, Strand, or by applying in person at the address, between 10 and 6, on or after September 10th.

Formation of the Sportsman’s Battalions: Perspectives

Various books and articles have been published that include useful information about the events surrounding the formation of the Sportsman’s Battalions. With little in the way of formal documentary evidence of what actually happened in late August or early September 1914, these serve as some of the best accounts.

The Sportsmen's Battalion - Raised by a Lady
The Dominion, 1915

A very interesting account is given in the “British Australasian” just to hand of the raising of the Sportsmen’s Battalion in England by Mrs. E. Cunliffe-Owen. Like so many of the important things in life, it all apparently happened by chance. The lady in question was walking down Bond Street with her son when she met two well-known big game hunters of her acquaintance and gently rallied them upon not being at the front. They told her they had volunteered but had been rejected because of the age limit. Half-humorously, the suggestion was made that Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen should raise a corps of sportsmen without giving undue prominence to their birth certificates. The lady communicated with Lord Kitchener, and, to shorten the story, the Secretary of War gave permission for a battalion of 1600 to be formed.

The duties of recruiting officer were performed by Mrs Cunliffe-Owen herself, with headquarters at the Hotel Cecil.

The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War
H. C. O'Neill, 1922

The 23rd and 24th were the Sportsman's Battalions, which owed their origin to Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen, daughter of the late Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen, K.C.B., and wife of the late Edward Cunliffe-Owen, C.M.G.

The idea arose quite spontaneously. Mrs. Cunliffe- Owen, on rallying some men-friends for not being in khaki, was challenged to raise a battalion of middle and upper class men up to the age of forty-five. She promptly went with them to a post-office and telegraphed to Lord Kitchener, " Will you accept complete battalion of upper and middle class men, physically fit, able to shoot and ride, up to the age of forty-five ? " The reply was, " Lord Kitchener gratefully accepts complete battalion."

The India Room, Hotel Cecil, was taken for a month, a dozen ex-officers were begged from the Officers' Association, and the enrolment began. Each applicant, in the presence of one of these ex-officers, filled in a form stating his chest measurement, height, weight, nationality, and whether he could shoot and ride and walked well. The form was then taken to a screened-off part of the room, where Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen signed it. The men were then sent to a recruiting office to be medically examined and attested.

The first battalion was complete in four weeks, and Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen hustled a contractor into putting up a fully equipped and model camp in nineteen days. These were astounding achievements. Most other battalions raised outside the War Office regime called upon more or less elaborate organisations. Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen formed her own organisation, looked into everything — even the menu — and pushed the scheme through to a triumphant success.

[…] The recruits for these battalions were a fine body of men, and were drawn from all parts of the world. " A man who had gone up the Yukon with Frank Slavin, the boxer ; another who had been sealing round Alaska ; trappers from the Canadian woods ; railway engineers from the Argentine ; planters from Ceylon : big-game hunters from Central Africa ; others from China, Japan, the Malay States, India, Egypt — these were just a few . . ." of those who presented themselves at the Hotel Cecil in the autumn of 1914.

The connection of the 23rd and 24th with London was very intimate. They did physical jerks in Savoy Street, and were put through their early paces in the very heart of London. The men were all big fellows, the average height being over 6 feet, and they took to their work gaily.

The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's)
Fred W. Ward, 1920

Formed almost as soon as the war broke out in 1914, the First Sportsman's Battalion may have provoked some criticism. It was uncertain at first as to what branch of the service it was to represent. Personally I thought it was to be mounted, and I was not alone in this idea either. More than a few of us got busy at once in settling how, if possible, we could provide our own mounts. That was in the days when we were new to war, long before we began to know what something approaching the real thing was.

Recruiting went on briskly at the Hotel Cecil, London, where Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen and her staff worked hard and late. Lieutenant-Colonel Winter, then Second-Lieutenant Winter, with his ledger-like book and his green-baize-covered table, was a familiar figure. So, too, was the tailor who had been entrusted with the task of fitting us out with our uniforms. He, poor man, was soon in trouble. The stock sizes could be secured, but stock sizes were at a discount with the majority of the men who first joined up. They wanted outside sizes, and very considerable outside sizes, too, for the average height was a little over six feet, and the chest measurements in proportion.

Still, we recognized that these things had to be, and we kept on with a smile and a joke for everything. Perhaps we had a pair of army trousers and a sports-coat. Perhaps we had a pair of puttees, and the rest of the costume was our own. It didn't matter. It was good enough to parade in off the Embankment Gardens. It was good enough to route march in through the London streets. And the traffic was always stopped for us when we came home up the Strand, and proceeded down the steps by the side of "the Coal Hole" to the "dismiss." Rude things might be said to us by the crowd, but there was a warm spot in their hearts for us. We just carried on.

The Embankment Gardens, London in June 1915. Note the Hotel Cecil in the near background.

Bit by bit we were provided with our uniforms, and we began to fancy ourselves as the real thing. We began to make new friends, and we were drawn closer to those we knew. We came from all over the world. At the call men had come home from the Far East and the Far West. A man who had gone up the Yukon with Frank Slavin, the boxer; another who had been sealing round Alaska; trappers from the Canadians woods; railway engineers from the Argentine; planters from Ceylon; big-game hunters from Central Africa; others from China, Japan, the Malay States, India, Egypt--these were just a few of the Battalion who were ready and eager to shoulder a rifle, and do their bit as just common or garden Tommies. The thought of taking a commission did not enter our minds at the start. Every man was eager to get on with the work, with but a dim thought of what it was going to be like, but worrying not a bit about the future.

In a few weeks the Battalion had learnt how to form fours, to wheel, and to maintain a uniformity of step. Every man was desperately keen; to be late for parade was a great big sin. And this despite the fact that every man had to come into London from all parts of the suburbs, and farther out than that in many instances, by train (paying his own fare) every morning.

A True Sportswoman
The Straits Times, 1929

Thousands of men will remember that Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen raised the 1st and 2nd Sportsmen’s Battalions (Royal Fusiliers) during the early days of the War, and was responsible for the organisation and equipment of the two camps – a record that no other woman can claim.

[…] In her youth Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen was a good all-round sportswoman, and when the need for men came in 1914 she secured official permission to raise the Sportsmen’s Battalions – a task she really left her sick bed to carry through with determination and subsequent success.

From Sept. 4, 1914, practically to the end of the conflict she worked strenuously for King and Country, and it was at the request of the War Office that the first Sportsmen’s camp was raised at Grey Towers, in Hornchurch, in 19 days under her personal supervision.

The Fighting Nation: Lord Kitchener and His Armies
A. J. Smithers, L. Cooper, 1994

The Friends of the Royal Fusiliers were still working overtime. City regiment though it was, Society was not excluded. Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen was a notable sportswoman; when teasing like-minded male friends about why they were not in khaki she was struck with an idea. This she took to a Post Office, wrote down on a telegraph form and sent to Lord Kitchener by name. `Will you accept complete battalion of middle and upper class men physically fit able to shoot and to ride up to the age of forty five?' ...The answer ...came back immediately. `Lord Kitchener gratefully accepts complete battalion.' Mrs Cunliffe-Owen took over the India Room at the Hotel Cecil - soon itself to be commandeered by the Royal Flying Corps - and, one way or another, obtained the service of a dozen retired officers of her acquaintance to do the paper work. The forms of application for acceptance were more searching than most. Not just names, ages, schools and such like but skills with rifle, scatter-gun, climbing irons (oddly enough not fishing rod), horses and even `walking well'. The 1st (Sportsman's) Battalion, later 23rd Royal Fusiliers was completed within 4 weeks; Mrs Cunliffe-Owen bullied contractors into having a proper hutted camp ready for them at Hornchurch a week before that. To avoid accusations of unwomanliness she prepared their menus herself in the intervals between personally conducting drill parades. Before long sheer weight of numbers, each of some idiosyncratic kind such as big-game hunters, planters and whalers, compelled bifurcation and a 24th Battalion appeared.

Hard As Nails
Michael Foley, 2007

A letter was sent from the hotel by Mrs. Cunliffe Owen in September 1914 regarding the formation of a private battalion of 1,300 men who would comprise strong, hearty sporting gentlemen of up to forty-five years of age. There was also a request to the recipient of the letter to inform any friends who would also be willing to serve ‘King and Country’. Anyone interested was to send details of name, age, height, weight and their medical certificate to the Hotel Cecil.