Bloomsbury Rifles
| St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Volunteers 37th (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Middlesex RVC 19th (St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury) Middlesex RVC |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1803–1814 1860–1908 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Volunteer Force
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of |
Rifle Brigade North London Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ |
Foundling Hospital (1860–1882) Chenies Street drill hall (1882–1908) |
| Colors | None (Rifle regiment) |
| Engagements | Second Boer War |
The St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Rifle Volunteer Corps, more familiarly known as the Bloomsbury Rifles, was a Volunteer unit of the British Army in London from 1803 to 1814 and from 1860 until 1908.
The 'Bloomsbury and Inns of Court Volunteers' was one of the Volunteer Corps raised in June 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was formed by the residents of the London district of Bloomsbury and the lawyers of the Inns of Court. Its uniform was depicted by Thomas Rowlandson as a red jacket with yellow facings, white breeches and black gaiters, with white cross-belts and a 'round hat' (similar to a Top hat) surmounted by a comb-like black plume.
This unit was disbanded at the Peace of Amiens in 1802, and when it was resuscitated on the renewal of war in 1803, a separate St Giles's and St George's Bloomsbury Volunteers (known as the GGB) was raised in the parishes of St Giles-in-the-Fields and St George's, Bloomsbury. This unit continued until the return of peace in 1814.
The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. The formation of a new RVC for the parishes of St Giles and St George was agreed at a public meeting held at the Store Street Music Hall on 22 December 1859. The proposal was supported by Sir Samuel Morton Peto, the civil engineer and MP for Finsbury, and by Nevil Story Maskelyne of the British Museum (who later became one of the officers).
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