Drum of the 2/1st Royal Bucks Hussars, 1914

The raising of the 2/1^st Royal Bucks Hussars at Buckingham was authorised on 14 September 1914 as part of the initial expansion of the Territorial Force under the command of the Hon. William Lawson, later 3^rd Lord Burnham, who had commanded the 38^th (Royal Bucks Hussars) Company of the Imperial yeomanry in the South African War.  Indeed, the drum bears the battle honour ‘South Africa’ earned by the four Royal Bucks Hussars companies of the Imperial Yeomanry – 37^th, 38^th, 56^th and 57^th – that saw service in South Africa. The second in command of the 2/1^st RBH was the former RSM, H. W. Haughton, who had been commissioned in the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa.

The primary purpose of the ‘second line’ was to provide reinforcing drafts to the ‘first line’, namely the 1/1^st Royal Bucks Hussars. The 2/1^st remained in Buckingham in billets until May 1915 before moving to Churn and then successively to King’s Lynn in June 1915, Upminster in April 1916, Thorndon Park near Brentwood in June 1916, and Much Hadham in October 1916 before returning to Thorndon in May 1917. Having been converted to cyclists in June 1917, it moved to Stanstead in October 1917 and to Ramsgate in February 1918 before being disbanded in Canterbury in March 1918. When 2/1^st RBH left Buckingham, the whole town turned out to see it off as well as the recruits of the 3/1^st RBH, which had been authorised in March 1915. The latter was commanded by the Hon. Harry Lawson, later 2^nd Lord Burnham, who had commanded the Royal Bucks Hussars from 1902 to 1913.

A report on the 2/1^st Regiment’s accommodation at Churn sent in May 1915 revealed a lack of bathing facilities and the need for a dry canteen as too much time was being spent trying to get supplies from local tradesmen. While at King’s Lynn a number of men carved their names into the brickwork of the library tower being used as a zeppelin observation post. They can be seen to this day. The adjutant, Lieutenant Albert Benedict, a well-known actor, died whilst the 2/1^st RBH was at King’s Lynn. The 2/1^st RBH also stood guard over the remains of the Zeppelin L32 that was shot down near Great Burstead on the night of 23/24 September 1916. The bodies of the crew were collected and buried while those on guard were able to salvage various souvenirs such as pieces of aluminium and burnt canopy silk that they sold to the crowds of sightseers who they were keeping back from the site.

In the course of the war, 2,093 men passed through the 2/1^st RBH including at least 500 soldiers too young for overseas service at various times. A total of 77 officers served with the regiment in addition to 50 officers attached temporarily for duty ‘at rest’ from the BEF. Drafts were set regularly to the 1/1^st RBH, the largest comprising three officers and 129 other ranks in August 1915 as well as 267 men passed to the 3/1^st RBH for varying reasons in April 1915 and another 118 in May 1915. In 1916, however, some drafts went to the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry and the 1^st Life Guards. No less than 67 men from the 2/1^st Royal Bucks Hussars were commissioned during the war. The Birmingham-born Lance Corporal Alfred Wilcox of the 2/4^th OBLI, who won the VC in September 1918, enlisted first in the 2/1^st Royal Bucks Hussars before being drafted overseas.