The 2nd Guards Brigade was complete on August 23, and was placed under the command of Brigadier-General J. Ponsonby, as Brigadier-General Lowther had been appointed Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief. On August 26 the officers of the four battalions of Grenadier Guards dined together at Wisques.
During the two months spent at Esquerdes the Battalion was busily engaged in training. Officers and non-commissioned officers went through several courses, and were initiated into the mysteries of bombing and the mechanism of the new Lewis gun.
On August 30 Lieutenant A. T. A. Ritchie arrived, and on September 22 Lieutenant Sir Robert Filmer, Bt., was appointed Brigade Transport Officer.
It was in July that the King on the advice of the military authorities decided to form another Battalion of Grenadier Guards, since the Reserve Battalion had swollen to enormous proportions, in spite of the standard of height being raised. Colonel H. Streatfeild received instructions to this effect, and at once summoned a conference of the commanding officers and adjutants of the two Battalions of the Regiment in London (the 3rd and Reserve Battalions). The part of Chelsea Barracks occupied by the School of Instruction was vacated to make room for the new Battalion, which was to become the 4th Battalion, while the Reserve Battalion was in future to be known as the 5th (Reserve) Battalion.
Major G. C. Hamilton, D.S.O., was appointed Commanding Officer, and Sergeant-Major E. Ludlow, Quartermaster. By July 16 the 4th Battalion completed its establishment, and on the 20th proceeded to Bovingdon Camp. Captain T. F. J. N. Thorne was appointed Adjutant, and the 3rd Battalion lent their Sergeant-Major and Orderly-Room Sergeant to assist the Staff of the 4th Battalion.
[Illustration: Colonel Sir Henry Streatfeild, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G. The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the Regiment.]
On August 15 the 4th Battalion left Bovingdon Camp, and embarked at Southampton for Havre. The King, through Lieut.-Colonel Wigram, sent the following message to Colonel Streatfeild:
His Majesty heartily congratulates the Regiment on being able to place four Battalions in the field, thereby creating a record which will always be cherished in the annals of the Regiment. His Majesty desires you to tell all ranks of the 4th Battalion that they will constantly be in the thoughts of their Colonel-in-Chief, who wishes them every success.