1st Surrey Rifles
The 1st Surrey Rifles (often spelled out in full as First Surrey Rifles and abbreviated as FSR) was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 until 1993. It saw considerable service on the Western Front, at Salonika and in Palestine during World War I. It served as a searchlight unit and as a light anti-aircraft regiment during World War II. Origins An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm for joining local Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs). The 1st Surrey RVC or South London Rifles was one of the first such units formed, being based on the existing Peckham Rifle Club and recruiting many other members from the Hanover Sports Club at Peckham. The first officers were commissioned into the unit on 14 June 1859, and the headquarters was established in Camberwell. The following year it absorbed the 3rd Surrey RVC (first commissions 26 August 1859), also based at Camberwell, which became No 2 Company. The 1st Surrey RVC was active in trying to take over other South London groups: in November 1859 it made an unsuccessful approach to a new sub-unit formed in Putney (which actually joined the 9th Surrey