| The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) |
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Cap badge of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment |
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| Active | 1 July 2006- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | 1st Battalion - Light Role 2nd Battalion - Light Role 4th Battalion - TA Reserve |
| Size | Three battalions |
| Part of | King's Division |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Preston 1st Battalion - Catterick 2nd Battalion - Weeton 4th Battalion - Preston |
| Nickname | Lions of England |
| Motto | Nec Aspera Terrent (Difficulties be Damned / No fear of difficulties) (Latin) |
| March | Quick -John Peel Slow - The Red Rose |
| Anniversaries | Ladysmith (28 February), St George's Day (23 April), Waterloo (18 June) |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HM The Queen, Duke of Lancaster |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Brigadier M T Griffiths CBE ADC |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash | |
| Arm Badge | Glider From King's Own Royal Border Regiment |
| Abbreviation | LANCS |
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army. It recruits throughout the North West of England. The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry, when it was initially to be known as the King's, Lancashire and Border Regiment. The regiment was given its new name in November 2005. Initially formed of three regular army battalions, it was eventually reduced to two regular battalions, plus a Territorial Army battalion. The regiment was formed through the merger of three single battalion regiments:
The regiment was formed on 1 July 2006. Initially, on formation, the regiment contained three regular battalions, with each battalion simply being renamed:
However, very soon after formation the regiment gained its own character as a result of the cross-posting of individuals of the antecedent regiments.
In March 2007, the 3rd Battalion was disbanded, with its personnel dispersed to the other two, leaving the final roll of two regular battalions and one TA battalion. The 4th Battalion (Volunteers) was completed in late 2006 by adding the two King's Regiment companies from the King's and Cheshire Regiment to the battalion which had been initially formed from the Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers. The 4th Battalion has its RHQ and HQ Company at Preston, A Company is at Liverpool, B (Somme) Company is at Blackburn and Blackpool, C Company is at Workington, Barrow-in-Furness,Carlisle and Lancaster. D (Inkerman) Company is at Manchester and Bury (Platoon based at Bury are Fusilers).
Private soldiers inherited the rank of Kingsman from The King's Regiment. The cap badge is a Lancaster rose in a Fontenoy laurel surmounted by a crown. At the base is a scroll with the motto Nec Aspera Terrent (Difficulties be Damned). The regiment's Colonel-in-Chief is HM The Queen, who concurrently holds the title Duke of Lancaster.
The regiment has brought forward a number of Golden Threads from its antecedents, as displays of its history and heritage:
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment serves as the county regiment for the following counties:
The 1st Battalion is a light infantry battalion based in Catterick Garrison, while the 2nd Battalion was initially an armoured infantry unit stationed at Catterick Garrison. However, it continues to arms plot. The 2nd Battalion converted to light infantry and moved to Cyprus in August 2008. As a resident battalion in Cyprus the 2nd Battalion completed the longest operational tour of Afghanistan in contemporary history, completing over 15 months on operations as the Theatre Reserve Battalion from August 2009 to October 2010. The 2nd Battalion moved back home to the North West in August 2011 and is now based in Weeton Barracks, near Blackpool, where it continues to train and operate in the light infantry role. The 3rd Battalion was a light infantry battalion stationed at St George's Barracks, North Luffenham in Rutland before being amalgamated with the 1st and 2nd Battalions. On 26 June 2008, the regiment was presented by the Queen as Colonel-in-Chief with its first stands of colours since formation. Both regular battalions have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan supported by officers and soldiers from the Territorial Army battalion.
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Infantry regiments are permitted to display 43 battle honours from the two world wars on the Queen's Colour and 46 honours from other conflicts on the Regimental Colour. Upon amalgamation, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment had to choose from the total list of honours of its three antecedents which honours would be displayed on its new colours. The chosen honours were:
In addition to the displayed honours, the regimental colour will also display four emblems from the antecedents regiments:
In addition, the Regimental Colour also features a Sphinx to distinguish the battle honour "Egypt" and a Dragon for the honour "China".
| Preceded by Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) |
Infantry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by Royal Regiment of Fusiliers |
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