Journal

1914

 

	September	23rd (First)	24th (Second)	30th (Reserve)
4 Sep	On or around this date, Mrs. E Cunliffe-Owen is given permission by Lord Kitchener to form the First Sportsman’s Battalion, and sets up the recruiting headquarters at the Hotel Cecil, London.	●
8 Sep	Recruiting commences at the Hotel Cecil. The Yorkshire Evening Post reports of “a letter stating that a private battalion is being formed of 1,000 strong, hardy, sporting gentlemen between 40 and 45.”	●
12 Sep	First article on the Sportsman’s Battalion appears in the London Evening News. By now, “a dozen men at a dozen tables are kept busy registering names and addresses”.	●
15 Sep	First article appears in an overseas newspaper (Springfield Missouri Republican).	●
18 Sep	First recruiting advert appears in a newspaper (Daily Express).	●
19 Sep	“600 applications have been received, including doctors, consulting engineers, and stockbrokers, in addition to many sporting men of leisure.”	●
22 Sep	First use of the description “Hard As Nails”.	●
28 Sep	On or around this date, the battalion is assigned to the Royal Fusiliers (City of London) regiment.	●
29 Sep	Local recruiting takes place in Exeter.
30 Sep	Local recruiting takes place in Bristol and Nottingham. The battalion’s relocation to Hornchurch is announced (later delayed). Notification of attestation dates are distributed.	●
1914	October	23rd (First)	24th (Second)	30th (Reserve)
1 Oct	Local recruiting takes place in Brighton and Birmingham. 1,000 men have joined the battalion by now, including 350 that have seen active service before.	●
6 Oct	Official medical examinations and attestations for the First Sportsman’s Battalion begin. At least 150 attest, including Ernie Hayes and Andy Sandham, the Surrey Cricketers. The first mention of a second battalion potentially being formed.	●	●
7 Oct	An advance (fatigue) party is formed to go to Hornchurch. The attestation process continues.	●
8 Oct	Rejections are reported to be less than 5%.	●
12 Oct	The advance (fatigue) party attends a social gathering at the White Hart hotel in Hornchurch. The first announced date for the battalion’s relocation to Hornchurch is not met.	●
13 Oct	Final Instructions in The Times direct London recruits to the Hotel Cecil for orders.	●
14 Oct	Recruits from the provinces are directed to the Hotel Cecil for orders.	●
15 Oct	The first recorded officer commissioned from the ranks is W Wilson (SPTS/1164). 16 more are commissioned in October, with four staying in the 23rd Royal Fusiliers.	●
16 Oct	Mrs Cunliffe-Owen files a patent for “Improvements in the Construction of Huts”. The first mention that Viscount Maitland will be the commanding officer.	●
20 Oct	Recruiting in Scotland starts at Inverness.	●
21 Oct	Trafalgar Day – the battalion marches past Nelson’s Column. The first recorded discharge of a soldier (SPTS/1178 on the same day as attestation). Recruiting in Scotland continues at Aberdeen.	●
22 Oct	First mention of the base hospital in Surrey donated by Mr. Geiger.	●
23 Oct	Mr and Mrs Cunliffe-Owen are At Home at Grey Towers, Hornchurch, Essex; recruiting continues in Scotland at Edinburgh.	●
26 Oct	Recruiting continues in Scotland at Glasgow for the whole week.	●
1914	November	23rd (First)	24th (Second)	30th (Reserve)
2 Nov	Recruiting continues in Scotland and returns to Edinburgh for the whole week. Westhead adds a total of 70 men from Scotland.	●
4 Nov	The battalion departs London for camp at Hornchurch, in Essex. The recruiting office remains at the Hotel Cecil. Pte. E A Winter is commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant; there are a total of 34 commissions in November, with 6 staying in the First Sportsman’s Battalion.	●
5 Nov	A storm topples a tree onto one of the huts at Hornchurch; no soldiers are injured.	●
21 Nov	The War Illustrated publishes an article on the First Sportsman’s Battalion. The War Office sanctions the raising of a second Sportsman’s Battalion.	●	●
24 Nov	Attestations for the Second Sportsman’s Battalion commence.		●
25 Nov	According to the London Evening News, “two hundred men have already applied for enrolment” with the Second Sportsman’s Battalion.		●
1914	December	23rd (First)	24th (Second)	30th (Reserve)
7 Dec	Capt. A. E. Dunn, ex-Mayor of Exeter, kicks off a month’s recruiting in Devon and the SouthWest for the Second Sportsman’s Battalion.		●
12 Dec	Capt. Westhead returns to Scotland to recruit a further 2-300 soldiers for the First and Second Sportsman’s Battalions. Colonel Paget will be the commander officer of the Second Sportsman’s.	●	● ●
22 Dec	The first issue of the weekly newspaper “The Sportsman’s Gazette” is published by the battalion.	●
25 Dec	The First Sportsman’s Battalion celebrates Christmas at Hornchurch camp. Mr and Mrs Cunliffe-Owen pay the soldiers a visit.	●
31 Dec	By the end of 1914, approximately 1300 men have been accepted into the First Battalion, and 500 in the Second.	●	●

1915

 

	January	23rd (First)	24th (Second)	30th (Reserve)
1 Jan	The second issue of the weekly newspaper “The Sportsman’s Gazette” is published by the battalion.	●
2 Jan	Two more Scottish pipers are added to the battalion, which is seeking to recruit a full band.	●
15 Jan	The fourth issue of the weekly newspaper “The Sportsman’s Gazette” is published by the battalion. Recruiting takes place in Devon and Exeter for the Second battalion, which expects to move to Romford in three weeks.	●	●
16 Jan	The First battalion’s soccer team plays Leytonstone, and wins by 3 goals to 2.	●
22 Jan	The fifth issue of the weekly newspaper “The Sportsman’s Gazette” is published by the battalion. Mrs Cunliffe-Owen appeals publicly for donations to contribute towards the costs of raising the two battalions.	● ●	●