page_title: 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment / History / Formation
caption_attribution_description: English: View of a bicycle company, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Image courtesy of the Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society, Spanton Jarman Collection, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
context_page_description: The Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle infantry battalion of the British Army. Formed in the Territorial Force in February 1914, it remained in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War. After the war, in 1920, it was converted to infantry and became the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment in the Territorial Army. The battalion saw extensive service in the Second World War, fighting in France in 1940, Tunisia from 1942–43 and later Sicily and Italy from 1943–45 before ending the war in May 1945 in Austria. It continued to serve after the Second World War until May 1961 when it was amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment to form the 4th/5th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment.
context_section_description: With the formation of the Territorial Force, Huntingdonshire was one of the few counties that did not have its own battalion.  After protracted negotiations with the War Office, agreement was reached in March 1913 that the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion could be formed.  The battalion was raised on 27 February 1914; as such, it was the last battalion of the Territorial Force to be raised before the outbreak of the First World War.  Once established, men of the two Huntingdonshire companies of the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment were allowed to transfer and almost all did so.  It was headquartered at St Mary’s Street in Huntingdon and had the following companies:
  A Company – Huntingdon and Godmanchester
  B Company – Huntingdon and Godmanchester
  C Company – St. Ives and Somersham
  D Company – St. Neots and Kimbolton
  E Company – Ramsey and Warboys
  F Company – Fletton with detachments at Stanground and Peterborough
  G Company – Fletton with detachments at Stanground and Peterborough
  H Company – Yaxley and Farcet
  The battalion was in Eastern Command, unattached to any higher formation.  It was to be used as mobile infantry, and for work on signals, scouting and similar activities.
caption: View of a bicycle company at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk circa 1910
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