| Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment | |
|---|---|
Helmet Plate of The Royal West Kent Regiment |
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| Active | 1881–1961 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 1-2 Regular Battalions 1-2 Militia Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Maidstone, Kent |
| Nickname | The Blind Half Hundred, The Celestials, The Devils Royals, The Dirty Half Hundred |
| Motto | Invicta (Invincible), Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt (Whither Duty and Glory Lead) |
The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1961. It was formed as The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot and the 97th (Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot. In January 1921, it was renamed The Royal West Kent Regiment (Queen's Own) and in April of the same year The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. In 1961 it was amalgamated with The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) to form The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment. It was popularly, and operationally, known as the "Royal West Kents."
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The 1st Battalion took part in the Egypt Intervention in 1882, fighting in the second battle at Kassassin on 9 September and the Battle of Tel el-Kebir a few days later. It then spent two years on garrison duty in Cyprus before being shipped to the Sudan and the Mahdist War, in which it fought at the Battle of Ginnis, notable for being the last battle fought by British Redcoats. It spent the years up to the outbreak of the Great War on garrison duty, both at home and throughout the Empire.
The 2nd Battalion was shipped to South Africa shortly after its formation, in the aftermath of the First Boer War. The following year, it was posted to Ireland and spent the remaining years of the 19th Century in Britain, being sent back to South Africa for the Second Boer War. Its only action was a skirmish at Biddulphsberg, in the company of the 2nd Battalions of the Grenadier and Scots Guards. It then moved to the East, being stationed in Ceylon, Hong Kong, Singapore, Peshawar and Multan before the outbreak of the Great War.
The outbreak of the Great War found the 1st Battalion in Dublin, whence it was moved to France as part of the 5th Infantry Division. It spent most of the war on the Western Front apart from a brief period from December 1917 to April 1918, when it was moved, with the 5th Division, to Italy.
The 2nd Battalion was shipped from Multan to Mesopotamia, via Bombay, arriving in Basra in February 1915, where it was attached to the 12th Indian Brigade. Two Companies were attached to the 30th Brigade (part of the 6th (Poona) Division) and were captured in the Siege of Kut in April 1916. The remaining Companies were attached to 34th Brigade (part of 15th Indian Division), and were transferred to 17th Indian Division in August 1917. The Battalion remained in Mesopotamia for the duration of the war.
Most of the Territorial battalions spent the war on garrison duty, particularly in India and Egypt, relieving the Regular battalions for front-line service. However, the 2/4th Battalion took part in the Gallipoli Campaign and the 3/4th Battalion served as a Pioneer battalion in France.
Several of the Service (sc. Hostilities-only) battalions of the New Army fought in France and Flanders and in the Italian Campaign.
At the end of the war, the 1st Battalion was transferred back to India, where it took part (along with the Territorial 1/4th Battalion) in the Third Afghan War and the putting down of a Mahsud tribal rebellion in the Northwest Frontier in 1920. It spent the next years in India, returning home to England in 1937.
The 2nd Battalion returned to India from Mesopotamia in 1919, and to England in 1921, briefly becoming part of the Army of Occupation in Germany (the British Army of the Rhine). It was stationed at various garrisons in Britain until 1937, when it moved to Palestine to aid suppression of the Arab revolt. In 1939, it was transferred to Malta.
The 1st Battalion was part of the 4th Infantry Division of the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940, returning to England via Dunkirk. It remained in Britain until 1943, leaving to take part in the Tunisia Campaign, the Italian Campaign and the Greek Civil War that broke out after the German withdrawal in 1944.
The 2nd Battalion was part of the garrison of Malta during its protracted siege. It then formed part of the 234th Infantry Brigade in the abortive assault on the Italian-held Dodecanese islands in 1943, being captured by the Germans on the island of Leros. It was reconstituted in 1944 by redesignation of the 7th Battalion.
Other hostilities-only battalions of the Regiment fought in North Africa, notably at El Alamein and Alam el Halfa, and in Burma.
The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 (nominally being amalgamated with the 1st Battalion).
From 1951-1954, the sole remaining Battalion contributed to the security forces that successfully contained the Communist guerrilla uprising in Malaya. Less happily, it was involved in the militarily successful, but politically disastrous, occupation of the Suez canal zone in 1956. It then took part in the campaign in Cyprus against EOKA guerrillas.
In 1959, it returned to Britain for the last time, being amalgamated in 1961 with the The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), to form The Queen's Own Buffs, Royal Kent Regiment.
The Home Guard platoon in the BBC series Dad's Army wore the cap badge of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. Although in the first episode, Lance Corporal Jones appears in his old army uniform, from his previous military service, with cap badge of the Leicestershire Regiment!
Combined battle honours of 50th Regiment and 97th Regiment, plus: