THE POST OFFICE RIFLES are a little known Regiment, here is some info I found out about them:
An armed battalion of Post Office volunteers was formed in 1867 to help defend various installations, including Post Offices that came under attack from Fenians (Irish Republicans).
Once this Fenian threat had passed, it was agreed with the War Office on 13 February 1868 that a regiment of 1,000 men be formed from Post Office employees, the 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Post Office Rifles).
The men of the 49th – later re-numbered as the 24th Middlesex (1880) – formed the backbone of the Army Post Office Corps in the Egyptian and Sudanese campaigns of 1882 and 1885.
In 1882, hostilities in Egypt threatened British control of the Suez Canal. The War Office drew upon the 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers to form the 100-strong Army Post Office Corps and they quickly saw military action at the Battle of Kassassin on 9th September 1882.
In 1885 The Post Office Rifles were again deployed this time it was as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) dispatched to support General Gordon in Khartoum.
The Post Office Rifles went on to fight with great distinction in the BOER WAR and WW1.
The Post Office Rifles finds its successor today in the Royal Logistics Corps.
The figures shown here are from TROPHY
EGYPT and THE SUDAN set’s
DE6V and DE7V
Cheers
Martyn
