The programme in Tobruk perimeter until November 18th, this being early October, was as follows: At early morning and again in the evening, we were subjected to periods of artillery fire in Bn. Thank you for your detailed reply to my query and I await any further information. The 2nd Bn The Kings Own formed 41 and 46 Columns in 111 Bde in the Chindits; 2nd 13n The Border Regt in 20th Indian Division; 4th Bn The Border Regt in 23 Brigade forming 34 and 55 Columns; and the 9th Bn The Border Regt in 17th Indian Division. The regiment was continually called upon to fight hostile Indians, guard the courts of justice, assist revenue officers, aid in executing convicted criminals, supervise elections, pursue outlaws and murderers, and in general institute lawful proceedings where anarchy reigned. Inter-war The inter-war period saw 1st Battalion fighting on the North West Frontier in 1921, garrisoning India and then moving to Palestine. I believe that the Bn. This was the old date for 'Empire Day'. Alongside the Borders were the 4th 'Buffs' who ran into bombardment in the streets of Fcamp. Three months later, it became the first British unit to join a major engagement by glider, when it landed in Sicily as part of 1st Airborne Division. 42 PDF version, 681.5 KB Footnotes GO 155/05. Eighteen battalions were to see active service in the war, in every theatre. Archive List > United Kingdom > Hereford and Worcester. The 1st Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment and the 4th Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment (from Aschaffenburg, Germany) patrolled the Czechoslovakia border with Germany for years in preparation for war with The Soviet Union (USSR . Hudson John. Similar to 1 SAI, 4 SAI's mechanised leaders followed the same training route all students attended the course until the Section Leaders Phase had been completed. 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment The Bn. During the training period from October the only time the Bn. After an uneventful journey through the Suez Canal, with a visit to Simon Artz store in Port Said, and a few days lying in Gibraltar Harbour, we arrived at Greenock. The German invaders over-ran Rennes on Tuesday 18th June and currently I have an account of their initial arrival and occupation in translation. left there was for a brief visit to Birmingham to participate in bomb-damage relief. The regiment captured an Imperial Chinese Dragon Standard which hangs in Kendal Church, and was awarded the Dragon as a regimental badge. to Ceylon. Both predecessor regiments were affiliated with counties just south of the English-Scottish border, in what is now Cumbria, and so the new unit was named The Border Regiment. Sadly he died on 6th. service, in Northern Ireland, my final posting being with a unit of Lancashire Fusiliers at St. Patricks barracks, Ballymena, my dear wifes home town, and where both my sons were born. The 4th and 5th landed with the Army in the Crimea in 1854 and fought at the Battles of Alma and Inkerman. Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. whose name, curiously, was the same as mine, Capt. Mr Hutchinson has written the article which was then sent it in to BBC Radio Cumbria, Carlisle. 1st Battalion spent the 1920s in India, Aden, England and Shanghai, prior to postings in Belfast and Palestine during the 1930s. [All the above relieved the Australian infantry. Good. It shifted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in July 1942, before fighting in Burma from November 1943 onwards. Moving out from the Brittany towns of Brest, Morlaix and St Malo, and then finally arriving at Aumale, the 4th Border was allotted the task of capturing three bridges west of Amiens on the River Somme. As the war progressed and further horsed regiments were . Whilst waiting to board the riverboat, a Japanese Zero fighter flew over but did not attack and that was all we saw of the Japanese during this period. We looked up and saw a Japanese officer looking down at us. Although up to recent years they have been head-hunters, when we were amongst them, they behaved in a civilised and friendly manner and each village had a detached Christian village where those who were converted went to live and they all lived amicably if separately. Instead of being flown by glider into Burma to remain during the monsoon period, whilst the other brigades of Special Force were withdrawn, 23rd Brigade was put under the operational command of 14th Army to harass the Japanese L. of C. from the Chindwin to the Imphal/Kohima area, the former town now having been infested by the enemy and the main supply road from railhead to Dimapore cut between the two towns. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. An account of the visit is contributed to WW2 Peoples War. After Napoleons escape from Elba in 1815, the Kings Own crossed from England to Belgium, and by marching 48 miles in 30 hours, took part in the Battle of Waterloo. The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". Lucia 1778.. World War II Iraq War. Bombing and shelling here in Tobruk became the daily and nightly portion. Part of the new brigade was the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment. 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. 18 It was redesignated '1st Battalion, The South Saskatchewan Regiment, CASF' on 7 November 1940, 19 and on 15 December 1940 it embarked for Great Britain. Find out more about the site contributors. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. At this point I should mention that the 51st Regiment of the Royal Field Artillery, comprising of men from Carlisle and all over Cumberland were present during the whole of the siege. those of the BBC. troops and travelled by road and rail down through Beirut, Tyre and Sidon to Haifa, where we entrained and eventually ended up at Amyriah transit camp west of Alexandria. During World War II, the regiment fought German forces on three fronts, North Africa, Italy, and Northwest Europe. This infantry regiment was first raised in 1702. As winter was approaching the Bn. (2d, 3d, and 4th Battalions ordered into active Federal service 2 May 1992 at home stations; released 9 May 1992 from active Federal service and reverted to state control) Reorganized 1 October. Arroyo dos Molinos is unique to the regiment, mainly on account of the fact that the English 34th met and defeated in battle the French 34th, capturing their drums and drum-majors mace, both of which are still in possession of the regiment and trooped every year on the anniversary of the battle. Depots were open in Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster for The Kings Own, and in The Castle, Carlisle for The Border Regt. Gaya is supposed to be the birthplace of Buddha and there is an interesting Buddhist temple there, although India was at that time largely Hindu/Moslem and Buddhism associated more with Ceylon and countries further east. I met here one Sheikh Hamoudi, who was a friend of Lawrence of Arabia, and Glubb Pasha. It had been from this airfield of El Adem that the garrison of Tobruk had suffered the attentions of the Luftwaffe dive-bombers almost daily. Especially we enjoyed the amenities of the St. Georges Hotel. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft. He wrote out this contribution out long hand and sent it to Radio Cumbria. The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit, originally assigned to the 126th Infantry Brigade, 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division. The regiment captured an Imperial Chinese Dragon Standard which hangs in Kendal Church, and was awarded the Dragon as a regimental badge. The Brigade now moved into Imphal and was thereafter moved by truck to railhead at Dimapur. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. From there patrols were sent out, during which areas occupied by the Japanese were attacked and in all cases the enemy were routed with many casualties and few casualties sustained by our troops. 2nd Kings Own and 2, 4 and 9 Border all fought in Burma as explained in the beginning of this article. The HQ of the battalion was in Kendal, then in Westmorland. to a Company at an airfield at Side Barrani, where a roving Messerschmidt attacked us. Over a period of a few days, an army veterinary team removed the vocal chords of the brigades mules under anaesthetic without causing much distress to the mules, which were given 10 days convalescence and seemed none the worse for their operations, which were a big success. We now proceeded towards the concentration area at Column H.Q. We had a difficult, but frail, L. of C. back to Brigade H.Q. But it was in the Napoleonic wars, and particularly in the Peninsula War that the regiment gained its battle honours. As the troops were pretty tired from lack of sleep and the exertions of the two days march, I doled out a dose of Benzedrine tablets, which had a miraculous effect in shrugging off the inertia. had attacked a strongpoint ahead of us and occupied it and we passed through them with a squadron of Matilda tanks and, by daylight, had occupied an escarpment short of El Adam. The troubles at Gaya were not serious and we returned to Ranchi after two weeks. We duly set sail from Calcutta in a British India ship, the Ethiopia, and arrived at the port of Chittagong in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). and A.E.R. As darkness fell and both battalions having prevented the German attempt at encirclement, they moved out on the road to Goderville and finally to the woods and port of Le Havre. At this time, the Japanese advance into India west of the Chindwin had begun and we were quite ignorant of the exact location of the forward Japanese troops and felt that there was a threat to the railway line with its many bridges, but we arrived safely without incident at Mariani. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the war. Passing through Kohima was like viewing a scene of Flanders in the 1914-18 War with skeletons of trees with no leaves on them. Under orders from the 10th French Army Commander, the 4th Border moved North-West to the line of the River Bresle. This was a regimental formation of men drawn from the towns and villages of Cumberland and Westmorland: Carlisle, Penrith, Keswick, Grasmere, Longtown, Brampton, Hexham, Alston and many others. 1st battalion, 8th infantry, 4th infantry division vietnam. As the Bn. The badge of todays regiment includes the Lion of England of the Kings Own and the laurel wreath awarded to the 34th for their part in the rearguard which saved the Army at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745. During that night, and still under constant harassment, embarkation took place on to ships and Naval craft. The officers were billeted in, and had the Officers Mess in, the school buildings, the school having been evacuated by staff and pupils. moved off at 4.55 followed by 5th Btn and arrived in bivouac at 6pm. This story has been placed in the following categories. Often for this kind of enquiry I've asked at the Town Hall and someone there can usually know where to start or who to contact. As we were not now in touch with the two platoons on roadblocks, and as I was not an infantry officer and Major Scott was wounded, it was decided to withdraw as the party was no longer large enough to carry out an assault on the strong point on the hill from which the LMG fire had come. Among the Indian Infantry battalions which formed part of this Division were 3rd Battalion (Bn.) Her ended the war of the 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment. We immediately realised that we were almost caught in an ambush, so, at the double, we made for the rice paddy fields at the side of the track in the direction of a secondary jungle area 100 yards or so lower down. With reference to the siege of Tobruk, I append a list of North Country Regiments below. It deals with the experiences of the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment during World War Two. But then, on hearing that Rouen had fallen into enemy hands, Fcamp became the destination. Part of the new brigade was the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment. was attached to the 4th Battalion Border Regiment, as Platoon Commander of 12th Field Company RE . where they had an airstrip. The 4th Border group that took the train was headed by Captain J.L. After three weeks in Aleppo Barracks we were relieved by an unruly lot of Australian A.E.F. Here, the 6th British Division was relieving the Australians who had been besieged there since the previous April and who had inflicted the very first defeat of German arms on land. The 8th Army eventually arrived on December 8th and we were subsequently transported back by truck to railhead at Buq Buq and then in goods wagons to a transit camp in the Canal Zone of Egypt, from which we were given four days leave in the fleshpots of Cairo, especially Shepherds Hotel and the Mena House at the Pyramids. H.W.W. The Burma Star Memorial Fund10 A High StreetPewseySN9 5AQ. At the time of the merger, 1st Battalion was in India. "Now little remembered, regarded and even by-passed in the history of the time, there were men who fought on in France after the main force of the B.E.F. They were small, around 5 ft. in height, but wiry and capable of running up and down hills with heavy loads. Here in the Basse Fort d'Eu, supported by the artillery of the 51st Highland Division. The Durham Light Infantry Bn. Unfortunately for this account I do not have contact details for Mr Hutchinson personally. They were highly thought of by the Australian troops and the commander, General Leslie Morshead. The following article has been submitted to the BBC "People's War" website on behalf of Mr Hutchinson. The regiment also raised 13 Territorial Army and New Army battalions during the war. Find out how you can use this. 4 Border Regt., 1940-1945 and R.M.O. 4th (Westmoreland & Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War 1939-1945. The Army rescued European captives from the Emperor Theodores mountain stronghold, Magdala, and returned to the coast before the spring rains swelled the rivers and blocked the route. However I have been to Rennes, visited his grave and spoke to some local people. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 4th Bn. This is a list of battalions of the Border Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. After kitting up we were transported one morning to the dockside in Alexandria and boarded R.N. It deployed to France in September 1939 with the initial British Expeditionary Force, but was evacuated home in June 1940. Carrying the lineage of Battery C, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, the battalion carries campaign streamers from World War I, World War II, and Vietnam, and has served with the 4th Infantry Division and . was at the centre and in rear of the strong points and in my Regimental Aid Post, we lived in dugouts as did the rest of H.Q.. When we had an airdrop, with five days rations, our packs weighed 80 lbs., which, along with the troops equipment and weapons was a considerable weight to carry up and down the hills. It remained in Britain re-equipping until April 1943, when it took part in the landings in Tunisia. This was a well-planned and executed campaign, overcoming incredible supply difficulties. The Bn. Bangalore was a fine town and the climate was temperate for India. Unfortunately, this book doesn't specifically mention the train incident that your uncle lost his life. The National Army Museum works with a network of Regimental and Corps Museums across the UK to help preserve and share the history and traditions of the Army and its soldiers. We were given fourteen days leave, which Bob Watt and I took together. Bob and I had a bathe in the lake the first day we were there, but, as someone told us that a woman had been carried off by a crocodile the previous week, we did not repeat that event. This infantry regiment was formed in 1881. 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. We did not go ashore there, nor at Cape Town, where we lay off Table Mountain for a day, but we had four very pleasant days in Durban, entertained royally by the very hospitable residents. But knowing what is there and what to ask for is not easy. I think he was one of the Burgess newspaper family so he may have written his memoirs somewhere. Faulkner James Edward . It would seem reasonable therefore to assume your Mr. Hutchinson and his comrades transited through Rennes shortly before. During the daylight hours, shelling of the British positions in Raschid-el-Fokkar was continuous. [2], The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions[7] and lost almost 7,000[8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) and The Border Regiment (Carlisle) amalgamated to form The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment in 1959. Moved to the West Indies to counter the French threat, the 4th and 55th share the battle honour St. those of the BBC. It was like Beau Geste excepting instead of arriving on camels, they came in the latest American cars. In October 1941, they were taken by destroyer to Tobruk. Men of the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment travel in the back of a lorry, France, May 1940. referenced. Between 1944 and 1946 I had in all nine attacks, but none after that. You should be able to get hold of a book in English entitled 'Finest Hour' by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig (1999), Hodder & Stoughton. Other ranks' cap badge, The Border Regiment, c1905, 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment, in South Africa, 1900. READ MORE. Attached on arrival to Poona Brigade in 6th (Poona) Divisional Area. that day. I had been left behind the advance attending an officer of ours who had been wounded by one of our own tanks, and when we were being guided back to join the battalion, as we approached, we saw two crowds like at a football match with about a quarter of a mile between them. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible". The 2nd Bn The Kings Own and the 1st Bn The Border Regt fought in the Boer War and both were present at the Relief of Ladysmith in 1900 and in the battles before the Relief. National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HTRegistered Charity Number: 237902, The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). As I had an attack of malaria that morning, I was unable to go up to the town and my Christmas dinner consisted of bully beef, army biscuits, pickles, cheese and tinned fruit, whereas all the other officers had their Christmas dinner in the New Imperial Hotel in Delhi. In addition 12 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge. However, 21 days in 38th British General Hospital in Bangalore and a fortnights convalescent leave in Ootacomund, a very popular hill station in peace time with quite a colony of permanent British residents, soon put me on my feet and I never looked back. These messages were added to this story by site members between June 2003 and January 2006. The two platoons set up two roadblocks outside the village and H.Q. So, all the units of the 70th Division were glad to take the airfield. Regimental Orders. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. 4th (Westmoreland & Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment 5th (Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment 6th (East Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment 7th Battalion, Border Regiment 8th (Home Defence) Battalion, Border Regiment 9th Battalion, Border Regiment 30th Battalion, Border Regiment 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion, Border Regiment The 4th Regt particularly distinguished themselves at San Sebastian in Northern Spain in 1813, where they were instrumental in breaching the wall of the town. My email address is david05803@yahoo.co.uk and I would really appreciate any information to that address post the closure. Remained in India throughout the war. FEB '44 - JUN '45. We were deposited in a paddy field area around the village of Khunti, which was 20 miles from Ranchi and had never before been occupied by troops and we proceeded to set up camp. I know a little about the period and the Brittany area slightly, but not to the fine detail that you are seeking, David. I know what you mean about the problems of getting information, David, when you are not either the person who served in the Forces or their Next of Kin. 1947-1959. This article was written by my father to record his personal experiences of WW2. was an integral part made a major impact on the Japanese to bring about a withdrawal from the Imphal/Kohima area of operations and they did not again attempt an invasion of India. (d.5th Dec 1941) Grant James Alexander. The 4th Kings Own formed a part of General Napiers Army that fought the Abyssinian War of 1867-68. 1 Kings Own were flown from India to Iraq in 1941, and took part in the defence of Habbaniya, one of the earliest examples of a battalion being flown into action. The Naga Hillmen were 100% loyal to us and never let us down. H.Q., which was replied to by our R.A. batteries.

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