1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
| 1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 29 August 1859 – 10 March 1955 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Role |
Infantry Air Defence |
| Part of | 162nd (East Midland) Brigade |
| Engagements |
World War I: Blitz Operation Doomsday |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer William Fitzroy, Earl of Euston Henry James Fitzroy, Earl of Euston |
World War I:
Gallipoli
Senussi Campaign
Palestine
The 1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteers were a unit of the British Army raised from 1859 onwards as a group of originally separate Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs). They later became the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment and saw action in the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns during World War I. Converted into a searchlight unit between the wars, they served in the defence of the United Kingdom and as an infantry regiment in liberated Norway during World War II. Postwar they continued in the air defence role until 1961 when they reverted to infantry as part of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm throughout Great Britain for joining local RVCs. The War Office issued a Circular Letter on 12 May inviting volunteers, and within three days Earl Spencer had offered to raise a company from his tenants at Althorp in Northamptonshire. This became the Althorp Rifles, later 1st Northamptonshire RVC. The unit had a song, sung to the tune of The British Grenadiers:
Within months the following units had been raised in the county:
All these units were included in the 1st Administrative Battalion, Northamptonshire RVCs, in 1860, under the command of William Fitzroy, Earl of Euston (later 6th Duke of Grafton) as lieutenant-colonel, with Earl Spencer and the Earl of Pomfret as majors. (There was no 2nd Admin Bn in Northamptonshire.) Three further volunteer corps were raised in the county and added to the 1st Admin Bn:
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