There is a strong connection between the Rifle Volunteer movement and Masonry. The following table takes the London Regiment Battalion structure from the first half of the 20th Century, and the second table seeks to include other relevant Lodges and Regiments:
London Regt Battalion | Volunteer Rifle Corps | Lodge |
5th (City of London) Bttn London Rifle Brigade | 1st City of London VRC | London Rifle Brigade Lodge No 1962 |
6th (City of London) Bttn City of London Rifles | 2nd London VRC | City of London Rifles Lodge No 5606 |
9th (County of London) Bttn Queen Victoria Rifles | Victoria Rifles VRC | Victoria Rifles Lodge No 822 |
[also QVR] | St Giles and St George’s Bloomsbury VRC | Bloomsbury Rifles Lodge No 2362 |
10th (County of London) Bttn Paddington Rifles | Paddington VRC | Paddington Rifles Lodge No 2807 |
11th (County of London) Bttn Finsbury Rifles | Finsbury VRC | Finsbury Archers Lodge No 5466 |
13th (County of London) Bttn Kensington | Kensington VRC | Kensington Battalion Lodge No 3624 |
14th (County of London) Bttn London Scottish | London Scottish VRC | London Scottish Rifles Lodge No 2310 |
16th (County of London) Bttn Queen’s Westminsters | Queen’s Westminster VRC | Queen’s Westminster Lodge No 2021 |
18th (County of London) Bttn London Irish | London Irish VRC | London Irish Rifles Lodge No 2312 |
28th (County of London) Bttn Artists’ Rifles | Artists VRC | Rosemary Lodge No 2851 |
Regiment/Battalion | Lodge |
Honorable Artillery Company | FitzRoy Lodge No 569 |
South Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps | South Middlesex Lodge No 858 |
1st Surrey Rifle Volunteers | MacDonald Lodge No 1216 |
The bond was such that the Lodges regularly held a shooting competition. In 1901 the Freemason reported on the forthcoming inter-Lodge competition, being organised by Victoria Rifles own Charles Keeson: