Worcestershire Regiment
| The Worcestershire Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1881–1970 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line infantry |
| Size |
1–4 Regular Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Norton Barracks, Worcestershire |
| Motto | Firm |
| March |
Quick: Royal Windsor, The Poacher Slow: Duchess of Kent |
| Anniversaries |
Glorious First of June, 1 June Battle of Gheluvelt, 31 Oct |
The Worcestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment fought in many conflicts, including both the First and Second world wars, until 1970 when it was amalgamated with the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) to form the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment which was amalgamated again with the Cheshire Regiment and the Staffordshire Regiment to form the Mercian Regiment.
History
Postings
During 1903 to 1905 the 4th Battalion were stationed in the West Indies, being responsible for guarding prisoners from the Boer War. In 1906–1907 they were stationed in Malta. From 1908–1913 they were stationed at Bareilly, India.
In August 1911 troops from the regiment shot dead 2 men during the Llanelli railway strike.[1]
First World War
In the Great War the Regiment saw action in the retreat from Mons, the Battle of the Marne and at Langemark, Aisne, Gheluvelt and Ypres in 1914. Nonne Bosschen, Festubert and Gallipoli in 1915, and Loos and the Battle of the Somme in 1916. In 1917 it saw involvement in actions at Bagentin, Delville Wood, Le Transloy, Arras, Ypres Menin Road, Polygon Wood, and Passchendale. The regiment then fought at Cambrai, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Hindenburg Line, St. Quentin Canal and Selle in 1918.
Members of the Regiment won nine Victoria Crosses, 70 Distinguished Service Orders (and 12 bars), 288 Military Crosses ( and 36 bars), 227 Distinguished Conduct Medals (and 8 bars).[2]
In December 1918 they were used to suppress the Taranto Revolt, executing one of the rebels by firing squad.[3]
Second World War
Regular Army
The 1st Battalion was a Regular Army battalion that was stationed in the Middle East on the outbreak of war and was destined to see service in the Western Desert. In 1940 the battalion joined the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade, 5th Indian Infantry Division. In May 1942 the battalion, still fighting in North Africa, surrendered, along with 30,000 other British Commonwealth troops, at Tobruk during the disastrous Battle of Gazala. The battalion was reformed in England by the redesignation of the 11th Battalion.
The 2nd Battalion was also a Regular Army unit stationed in India on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. The battalion operated in the Burma Campaign from 1944 to 1945, fighting the fanatical Imperial Japanese Army, with the 64th Indian Infantry Brigade attached to the 19th Indian Infantry Division, and were involved in the recapture of Mandalay.
Territorial Army
The 7th and 8th battalions of the regiment were both 1st Line Territorial Army units. They were both part of the 144th Infantry Brigade attached to 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division. With the division, both battalions were sent overseas in early 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. Almost as soon as they arrived, however, the 7th Battalion were exchanged for the 2nd Royal Warwicks and became part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Both the 7th and 8th battalions fought in the battles of Belgium and France and were forced to be evacuated to England after the German Army attempted to surround the BEF and cut it off from the French armies. After preparing for the German invasion of England that never came, the 2nd Division was sent to India in 1942. The 7th Battalion fought in the Burma Campaign and took part in the Battle of Kohima and the Battle of Imphal that helped turn the tide of the war with Japan. After Dunkirk, the 8th Battalion spent the rest of the war as a training battalion.
The 9th Battalion was formed in late August 1939 as a duplicate of the 7th Battalion. Assigned to the 182nd Infantry Brigade
Hostilities-only
The regiment also raised two other battalions for hostilities-only, the 11th and 12th, in 1940. The 11th Battalion was raised in July 1940 at Norton Barracks and joined the 213th Infantry Brigade. The 11th Battalion was disbanded on 1 January 1943 and renumbered the 1st Battalion after the original 1st Battalion was destroyed in North Africa. The reformed 1st Battalion transferred to the 214th Infantry Brigade, 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. On 18 November 1944 the 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, moved across the Dutch-German border and commenced an attack on German soil to take the village of Tripsrath. With their parent unit, 214th Infantry Brigade, they were the first British troops to fight on German soil. Their job was to take the north-west side of Gelsenkirchen to cover the left flank and support the American forces.
The 12th Battalion was raised as the 50th (Holding) Battalion on 1 June 1940 and was later, in October, redesignated as the 12th Battalion. In 1942 it was transferred to the Royal Artillery and converted into the 179th Field Regiment and served alongside the reformed 1st Battalion, previously the 11th Battalion, in the 43rd (Wessex) Division.
After the war
After service in the First and Second World Wars, it was amalgamated with the Sherwood Foresters to form The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) in 1970.
Worcestershire Regimental Museum
The collections of the Worcestershire Regimental Museum are on display in the Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum in Worcester.
The museum was formerly operated as an independent museum that was located at Norton Barracks in Norton, Worcestershire, but became part of the Worcester City Museum in 1970.[4]
Battle honours
- From the 29th Regiment of Foot: Rolica, Vimiera, Talavera, Albuhera, Peninsula, Ferozeshah, Sobraon, Chillianwallah, Goojerat, Punjaub
- From the 36th Regiment of Foot: Hindoostan, Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Salamanca, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula
- Ramillies, Bellisle, Ushant, Mysore, South Africa 1900–02
- The Great War (22 battalions): Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 ‘18, La Bassée 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17 '18, Langemarck 1914 '17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ‘18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Arleux, Messines 1917 '18, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ‘18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917–18, Doiran 1917 ‘18, Macedonia 1915–18, Helles, Landing at Helles, Krithia, Suvla, Sari Bair, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915–16, Egypt 1916, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916–18, Baku, Persia 1918
- The Second World War: Defence of Escaut, St. Omer-La Bassée, Wormhoudt, Odon, Bourguébus Ridge, Maltot, Mont Pincon, Jurques, La Varinière, Noireau Crossing, Seine 1944, Nederrijn, Geilenkirchen, Rhineland, Goch, Rhine, North-West Europe 1940 '44–45, Gogni, Barentu, Keren, Amba Alagi, Abyssinia 1940–41, Gazala, Via Balbia, North Africa 1941–42, Kohima, Relief of Kohima, Naga Village, Mao Songsang, Shwebo, Mandalay, Irrawaddy, Mt. Popa, Burma 1944–45
- 7th Battalion: South Africa 1900–01
Notes
- ↑ Prior, Neil (16 August 2011). "Llanelli's 'forgotten' riot – 100 years ago". BBC News Wales. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
- ↑ Stacke, Capt H FitzM (1927) The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War Kidderminster: G T Cheshire & Sons
- ↑ Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: Caribbean Radicalism in Early Twentieth-Century America by Winston James, Verso, 1998
- ↑ "Worcestershire Regimental Collection". Retrieved 8 November 2014.
References
- Mills, T.F. "The Worcestershire Regiment". regiments.org. Retrieved 9 February 2007. Includes chronological index of titles.
External links
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