King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
| The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1680–1959 |
| Country |
 Kingdom of England (1680–1707).svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1959) |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster |
| Nickname | Barrell's Blues, The Lions |
| Colours | Blue Facings, Gold Braided Lace |
| March |
Quick: Corn Riggs are Bonnie Slow: And Shall Trelawny Die? |
| Engagements | Nine Years War, War of the Spanish Succession, Battle of Culloden, Seven Years' War, French Revolutionary Wars, Peninsula War, War of 1812, Waterloo, Crimean War, Indian Rebellion of 1857, 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, Anglo-Zulu War, Second Boer War, First World War, Second World War |
The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959 it was amalgamated with the Border Regiment to form the King's Own Royal Border Regiment which itself was amalgamated, in 2006, with the King's Regiment (Liverpool and Manchester) and the Queen's Lancashire Regiment to form the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (Kings, Lancashire and Border).
History
The regiment was raised on 13 July 1680, as the 2nd Tangier, or Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Foot. It saw service for nearly three centuries. In 1751, after various name changes, the regiment was titled the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot. The regiment retained this title until the Childers Reforms of 1881, when it became The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). In 1921, it was re-designated The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster).
The regiment's first battle honour was gained at Namur (1695) during the War of the Augsburg League, 1688-1697. Soon after, they saw action at Gibraltar in 1704-1705, Guadeloupe 1759, and St. Lucia 1778. In 1746, the regiment received most of the government casualties at the Battle of Culloden.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment fought at Corunna, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Nive, Bladensburg, and Waterloo.
During the Crimean War, the regiment fought at Alma, Inkerman, and Sevastopol. It also saw action in Abyssinia in 1868, South Africa in 1879 and from 1899 to 1902, where it took part in the Relief of Ladysmith.
The regiment also saw colonial service in Australia from 1832 until 1837, being stationed variously at Tasmania, Sydney, Victoria, South Australia, and the Swan River Colony under the command of Lieut. Colonel J. K. McKenzie.
First World War
The following battalions of the King's Own served during the First World War[1][2][3]
- 1st Battalion: landed in France with the 12th Brigade, 4th Division of the British Expeditionary Force. The battalion served on the Western Front for the war.
- 2nd Battalion: returned from India and served with the 83rd Brigade, 28th Division in Salonika.
Special Reserve (formerly Militia)
- 3rd (Reserve) Battalion: remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war and supplied drafts of trained infantrymen as replacements to the regular battalions that were serving overseas.
Territorial Force (TF)
- 1/4th Battalion: mobilised in the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division; temporarily attached to 154th (3rd Highland) Brigade in 51st (Highland) Division and landed in France in May 1915; returned to 164 Brigade in January 1916.
- 1/5th Battalion: mobilised in the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division; landed in France in February 1915 and temporarily attached to 28th Division and 1st Division; returned to 55th Division (166th (South Lancashire) Brigade) in January 1916.
- 2/4th Battalion: formed September 1914 as a 2nd Line duplicate of 1/4th Battalion; became 4th (Reserve) Battalion and absorbed 5th (Reserve) Battalion 1916; stationed in Dublin from June 1918.
- 2/5th Battalion: formed September 1914 as a 2nd Line duplicate of 1/5th Battalion; attached to the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division February 1915, then to 170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Brigade of 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division; landed in France February 1917.
- 3/4th Battalion: formed June 1915 as a reserve battalion; amalgamated with 2/4th Battalion in January 1916.
- 3/5th Battalion: formed June 1915 as a reserve battalion; remained in the United Kingdom and supplied drafts of trained infantrymen to the 1/5th and 2/5th battalions; became 5th (Reserve) Battalion.
- 12th Battalion: formed 1 January 1917 from 41st Provisional Battalion (TF) in 218th Brigade of 73rd Division, a Home Defence formation; disbanded March 1918.
- 6th (Service) Battalion: formed August 1914; attached to 38th Brigade in 13th (Western) Division; landed at Gallipoli July 1915; later served in Mesopotamia.
- 7th (Service) Battalion: formed September 1914; attached to 56th Brigade in 19th (Western) Division; landed in France July 1915; disbanded February 1918 due to an Army-wide reorganisation.
- 8th (Service) Battalion: formed October 1914; attached to 76th Brigade in 25th Division; landed in France September 1915 and served on the Western Front for the war.
- 9th (Service) Battalion: formed October 1914; attached to 65th Brigade in 22nd Division and served in Salonika.
- 10th (Reserve) Battalion: formed October 1914; remained in the United Kingdom and supplied drafts to the Service battalions overseas; converted into 43rd Training Reserve Battalion in September 1916.
- 11th (Service) Battalion: formed August 1915 as a Bantam battalion; attached to 120th Brigade in 40th Division; landed in France June 1916; disbanded February 1918.
- 12th (Reserve) Battalion: formed January 1916; remained in the United Kingdom and supplied drafts to the Service battalions overseas; converted into 76th Training Reserve Battalion September 1916.
Second World War
The following battalions served during the Second World War:
- 1st Battalion was stationed in Malta on the outbreak of war, moving to Karachi in British India at the end of 1939. It subsequently served in Iraq and Syria with 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, with which it served until October 1943, of 10th Indian Infantry Division. In August 1942, the battalion embarked from Egypt for Cyprus, but the transport was torpedoed and the troops had to return and re-embark later. In May 1943, the battalion returned to Syria, and then it joined 234th Infantry Brigade in the Aegean Islands in October 1943. Here, the bulk of the battalion was captured by the Germans on 16 November, after the Battle of Leros and only 57 officers and men managed to escape the island. The 1st Battalion was reformed in 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, on 30 January 1944, by amalgamating with the 8th Battalion King's Own. The reformed battalion later served in the Italian Campaign with 25th Indian Brigade for the rest of the war.[4]
- 2nd Battalion formed part of the British garrison of Jerusalem when war broke out.[5] It joined 14th Infantry Brigade in Palestine in March 1940 and moved with it to Egypt in July.[6] The battalion served with 16th Infantry Brigade of 6th Infantry Division (later redesignated 70th Infantry Division) in the defence of Tobruk and later formed part of the garrison of Ceylon.[7] In September 1943, the battalion was stationed with 70th Division at Bangalore in India when it was selected for attachment to the second Long Range Penetration or Chindits brigade (111th Indian Infantry Brigade) for the Burma Campaign. It formed 41 and 46 Columns in the Second Chindit Campaign, crossing into Burma in March 1944 and being flown out to India in July 1944.[8] From November 1944 to February 1945, the battalion was assigned to 14th Airlanding Brigade in 44th Indian Airborne Division.[9]
- 4th Battalion converted to artillery in November 1938, forming the 56th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery.
- On the outbreak of war, 56th Anti-Tank Regiment mobilised in 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, with which it served in the Battle of France in 1940 and was evacuated at Dunkirk. In 1942, it was sent to join 70th Infantry Division in India, where it was converted into a Light Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank Regiment in 1943. In this guise it served in the Burma Campaign, mainly with 5th Indian Infantry Division. It reconverted to the anti-tank role in late 1944 and in June 1945 it returned to India as a Royal Artillery training unit.[10][11]
- In June 1939, the 56th Anti-Tank Regiment spun off a duplicate unit, the 66th Anti-Tank Regiment, which served in Home Forces throughout the war, mainly with the 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division.[12][13]
- 5th Battalion mobilised with 126th Infantry Brigade attached to 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and served with the British Expeditionary Force in the battles of France and Belgium in 1940. When the division was converted to armour, becoming 42nd Armoured Division, in October 1941, 5th Battalion was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps and became 107th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps.[14][15] The regiment continued to wear the King's Own cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps, as did all infantry units converted in this way.[16] However, the regiment was disbanded in December 1943 and a few of its officers and men were sent to 151st Regiment, which was converted from the 10th Battalion King's Own.
Hostilities-only
- The 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th battalions were all formed in 1940 as pioneer battalions and raised specifically for hostilities-only.[2] All four units served with the British Expeditionary Force as GHQ (General Headquarters) troops during the 1940 campaign in both France and Belgium.[17]
- After being evacuated at Dunkirk, the 6th Battalion later served in a succession of Home Forces formations: 218th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), 48th Division, 54th Division, 76th Division.[18] The battalion never again served overseas and was disbanded in July 1944.[2]
- 7th Battalion served with the 71st Independent Infantry Brigade before being sent to form part of the Gibraltar garrison, with the 2nd Gibraltar Brigade, in June 1942.[19] In March 1943, the battalion was sent to India where it joined 150th Indian Training Brigade but it did not see action against the Japanese.[8] The battalion was disbanded after the war in 1947.[2]
- 8th Battalion joined the Malta garrison in August 1941 and served through the Siege.[20] It was assigned to the 232nd Infantry Brigade and briefly joined the 233rd Infantry Brigade. In November 1943, the battalion was moved to Palestine and then Italy with the 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 10th Indian Infantry Division. In Italy, on 30 January 1944, the 8th Battalion was disbanded and its personnel merged with the few surviving remnants of the 1st Battalion King's Own, which was virtually lost during the fighting at Leros and only 58 officers and men managed to escape being captured.[21]
- 9th Battalion served in the 47th (Reserve) Infantry Division in the United Kingdom until December 1941.[2][22] The battalion was transferred to the Royal Artillery and was converted into the 90th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery and served with the 45th Division from February 1942 until November 1943 when it was disbanded.
- 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in the United Kingdom on 28 May 1940. On 9 October 1940, it was renumbered as the 10th Battalion.[2][23] 10th Battalion was assigned to 225th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), formed for service in the United Kingdom. When the brigade was converted into a tank brigade in December 1941, the battalion became 151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps.[15][24] When 107th RAC was disbanded in December 1943, a cadre transferred to 151st RAC, which adopted the number of 107th to perpetuate the 5th Battalion King's Own, a 1st Line Territorial Army battalion. The new 107th Regiment went on to serve in the North-west Europe from 1944-1945.
Postwar
After the war all the units created during the war were disbanded as was the 2nd Battalion in 1948 due to Indian independence. The regiment received the freedom of Lancaster in 1953, before being amalgamated with the Border Regiment into the King's Own Royal Border Regiment on 31 October 1959. In 1953 and 1954, the 1st Battalion of the regiment was stationed in South Korea following the Korean War.[25]
Battle honours
Colours of Barrell's Regiment, carried at Culloden
- Namur 1695, Gibraltar 1704-05, Guadeloupe 1759, St. Lucia 1778, Corunna, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Nive, Peninsula, Bladensburg, Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Abyssinia, South Africa 1879, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902
- The Great War (16 battalions): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915 '17, Gravenstafel, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Béthune, Bapaume 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Struma, Doiran 1917 '18, Macedonia 1915-18, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1916, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916-18
- The Second World War: St Omer-La Bassée, Dunkirk 1940, North-West Europe 1940, Defence of Habbaniya, Falluja, Iraq 1941, Merjayun, Jebel Mazar, Syria 1941, Tobruk 1941, Tobruk Sortie, North Africa 1940-42, Montone, Citta di Castello, San Martino Sogliano, Lamone Bridgehead, Italy 1944-45, Malta 1941-42, Chindits 1944, Burma 1944
Victoria Crosses
The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:
- Private (later Sergeant) Thomas Grady, Crimean War
- Private Albert Halton, Great War
- Private Harry Christian, Great War
- Lance-Sergeant Tom Fletcher Mayson, Great War
- Second Lieutenant Joseph Henry Collin, Great War
- Lance-Corporal (later Corporal) James Hewitson, Great War
- Lance-Corporal Jack White, Great War
- Private James Miller, Great War
- Corporal Thomas Neely, Great War
King's Own Royal Regiment Museum
The King's Own Royal Regiment Museum is part of the Lancaster City Museum in Lancaster, Lancashire. Opened in 1929,[26] the exhibits include regimental uniforms, medals, regalia, silver, paintings, medals, weapons and other memorabilia reflecting the regiment's history since 1680 to 1960.
Colonels-in-Chief
- 1903 F.M. HM King Edward VII
- 1913 F.M. HM King George V
Colonels
- 1680 Col. Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth (bastard son of Charles II, d. 1680)
- 1680 Lt-Gen. Hon Percy Kirke (senior)
- 1682 Col. Charles Trelawny
- 1688 Col. Sir Charles Orby, 2nd Bt.
- 1688 Maj-Gen. Charles Trelawny [reappointed]
- 1692 Brig-Gen. Henry Trelawny
- 1702 Lt-Gen. William Seymour (also Seymour's Regt, 24th Foot; Brig-Gen. of Marine Regiments)
- 1717 Brig-Gen. The Hon. Henry Berkeley
- 1719 Gen. Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan
- 1734 Lt-Gen. William Barrell (also 22nd Foot, 28th Foot)
- 1749 Lt-Gen. Sir Robert Rich, 5th Baronet
- 1756 Lt-Gen. Alexander Duroure
- 1765 Col. The Hon. Robert Brudenell
- 1768 F.M. Studholme Hodgson
- 1782 Lt-Gen. Sir John Burgoyne
- 1792 Gen. George Morrison [also 17th Foot, 75th Foot; Quartermaster General)
- 1799 Gen. John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, KG
- 1835 Gen. John Hodgson (also 83rd Foot)
- 1846 Gen. Sir Thomas Bradford, GCB, GCH (also 30th Foot, 94th Foot; C-in-C Bombay 1825-29)
- 1853 Gen. Sir John Bell, GCB
- 1876 Gen. Studholme John Hodgson
- 1890 Gen. William Sankey, CB
- 1892 Lt-Gen. William Wilby, CB
- 1894 Gen. Sir William Gordon Cameron, GCB, VD [also Hon. Col. 9th Bn Middlesex Regt]
- 1913 Gen. Sir Archibald Hunter, GCB, GCVO, DSO, LLD, TD [also Hon. Col. 5th Bn]
- 1926 Lt-Gen. Sir Oswald Cuthbert Borrett, KCB, CMG, CBE, DSO
- 1945 Maj-Gen. Russell Mortimer Luckock, CB, CMG, DSO [also Hon. Col. The Cambridgeshire Regt]
- 1947 Brig. John Herbert Hardy, CBE, MC
- 1957 Maj-Gen. Richard Neville Anderson, CB, CBE, DSO (continued 1961 in K O R Border Regt; also 10th Gurkha Rifles)
References
- ↑ Baker, Chris. "The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) at regiments.org by T.F.Mills at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 January 2006)
- ↑ King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) on The Regimental Warpath 1914 - 1918 by PB Chappell at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 February 2010)
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 396, 535–6.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 470, 473.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 253, 257, 475.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 257–8.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Joslen, p. 536.
- ↑ Joslen, p. 416.
- ↑ Barton, Derek. "56 (Kings Own) Anti-Tank Regiment RA(TA)". The Royal Artillery 1939-45. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 49, 514, 527.
- ↑ Barton, Derek. "66 Anti-Tank Regiment RA(TA)". The Royal Artillery 1939-45. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Joslen, p. 90.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 165, 311.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Royal Armoured Corps at regiments.org by T.F.Mills at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 January 2006)
- ↑ Forty, pp. 50–1.
- ↑ Joslen, p. 462.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 330, 351, 381, 383.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 302, 448.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 392, 394–6.
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 535–6.
- ↑ Joslen, p. 272.
- ↑ 50 (Holding) Battalion The King's Own Royal Regiment at Orders of Battle.com
- ↑ Joslen, pp. 208, 388.
- ↑ Actions, Movements & Quarters: 1914–1959; and see: Korea 1953–1954 for photographs of the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan.
- ↑ "Introduction and History". King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
Bibliography
- Cannon, Richard (1839). Historical record of The Fourth, or, The King's Own Regiment of Foot.
- Donnelly, P. "The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)". www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com. Retrieved November 30, 2007. The official website of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
- Forty, George (1998). British Army Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-1403-3.
- Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (2003) [1st. pub. HMSO:1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 9781843424741. OCLC 65152579.
External links
- King's Own Royal Regiment Museum
- The Long, Long Trail
- Land Forces of Britain, The Empire and Commonwealth
- The Regimental Warpath 1914–1918
- The Royal Artillery 1939–45
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