battalion returned home on the SS Pinemore in October 1902. The 3rd (Militia) battalion, formed from the Essex Rifles in 1881, was a reserve battalion. It was embodied in December 1899, disembodied in October the following year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. About 550 officers and men returned to Southampton on the SS Cestrian in early October 1902, following the end of the war, when the battalion was disembodied at Warley. The Haldane Reforms As a result of the Haldane Reforms, the regiment's militia component, which was renamed the Special Reserve, was reduced to one battalion on 1 April 1908. In addition, the four volunteer battalions transferred to the Territorial Force and were redesignated as battalions of the Essex Regiment: 1st Volunteer Battalion became the 4th Battalion at Ongar Road in Brentwood (headquarters since demolished) 2nd Volunteer Battalion became the 5th Battalion at Stanwell Street in Colchester (headquarters since demolished) 3rd Volunteer Battalion became the 6th Battalion at Portway in West Ham (headquarters since demolished) 4th Volunteer Battalion became the 7th Battalion at Cooks Terrace in Silvertown (headquarters since demolished) The Essex Brigade joined the East Anglian Division of the TF. In 1910, the Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion, which had been raised in 1908, divided to become the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment and the 8th (Cyclist) Battalion, Essex Regiment. First World War (1914-1918) During the First World War, the Essex Regiment provided 30 infantry battalions to the British Army. The 3rd (Special Reserve) (formerly Militia) battalion was mobilised to supply drafts to the two Regular battalions. On the outbreak of war, the Territorial battalions (4th-7th, and 8th (Cyclist) battalions), all formed second line (2/4-2/8th) and eventually third line (3/4th-3/8th) battalions. Three service battalions (9th, 10th and 11th) and one reserve battalion (12th), were formed from volunteers in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army. A further service battalion, the 13th (Service) Battalion (West Ham), was raised by the Mayor and Borough of West Ham. Reserve battalions were created as the war progressed, including the 14th (from the depot companies of the 13th), the 15th, 16th and 17th (from provisional battalions), the 18th (Home Service) and 1st and 2nd Garrison Battalions. Battle of the Somme The 1st Battalion took part in the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. The battalion, which comprised W, X, Y, and