Raised by the Mayor of Kensington, the 22nd Royal Fusiliers (the Kensington Battalion) were a strange mixture of social classes (bankers and stevedores, writers and labourers) with a strong sprinkling of irreverent colonials thrown in. Such a disparate group needed a strong leader and, luckily, in Randle Barnett Barker, they found one, first as their trainer and then as a greatly respected Commanding Officer. The Kensington Battalion had a unique sprit. They suffered severely in the battles of 1917 and, starved of reinforcements, were disbanded in 1918.
The author has used a wealth of first hand material - diaries, letters and official documents, as well as interviews from the 1980s to produce a very readable account of a remarkable Battalion.