In October, Major H. D. Lewis was appointed Officer Commanding Depot, and was followed in the command of “B” Company by Lieutenant L. C. Morris, M.C., a young officer, who distinguished himself while in command of a Company of the 1st Battalion in the fighting at Bourlon Wood.
Shortly after the Armistice the Battalion was broken up, most of the men not due for demobilisation being transferred to the 6th London Regiment at Blackdown, and the officers to the 9th London, also in the Aldershot Command.
The number of recruits that passed through the 3rd Battalion was approximately 6,000.
Regimental Aid Fund.
In July, 1916, Sir John Lithiby, a former member of the Regiment, inaugurated a Fund with the object of providing comforts for the men at the front, food and other necessaries for the prisoners of war, and temporary help, where needed, for the widows and dependents of men killed.
An influential Committee, representative of almost all the Government Departments, was formed; with an Executive Committee, consisting of past and present Officers of the Regiment, with Sir H. J. Gibson, K.C.B., as Chairman, and Sir John Lithiby as Honorary Secretary.
The appeal for subscriptions met with a ready response. £2,850 was received for the general objects of the Fund, chiefly from the Public Offices and the Officers and men of the Regiment; while a further £5,000 was subscribed for the prisoners of war, by the Regiment, the Public Departments, the Central Prisoners of War Committee, and the relatives and friends of the men themselves.
The comforts most appreciated by the Battalions overseas seemed to be luxuries wherewith to supplement the ordinary rations, and consignments of various kinds were, from time to time, sent out from home both to France and Palestine. In addition, the Commanding Officers were supplied with funds to use at their discretion in brightening the sombre monotony of trench life whenever opportunity offered.
The appeals from widows and dependents were fewer than had been expected, but many necessitous cases were helped in a quiet and unobtrusive way.
The chief activities of the Fund were connected with the care of the prisoners of war, of whom there were about 210 at the date of the Armistice, scattered throughout the various prison camps in Germany and Palestine. Each man was provided at intervals with a complete outfit of clothing, and three food parcels with bread, tobacco and cigarettes were sent to him every fortnight. This work was carried out at the Depot under the direction of the Officer Commanding, Captain C. E. Doubleday. Most of the parcels reached their destination safely, and the men, on their return after the Armistice, expressed great appreciation of what had been done for them. Only a few, happily, had to complain of exceptionally harsh treatment at the hands of their German captors.