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. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion had moved from England to Ireland shortly after the regiments formation. All three regiments were involved in minor wars on the frontiers of India, and the 4th in the Zulu War of 1879. WO 169 / 1737 1st Northumberland Fusiliers As patrolling was the means of harassment of the Japanese, I will describe one patrol, which I accompanied. We arrived in the early hours of the morning at the Christian village of Phakedzumi, where the inhabitants gave us hot tea. The fighting continued all day in the beautiful spring day until nightfall when all the companies withdrew, taking numbers of prisoners with them. to Ceylon. (d.5th December 1943) Hutchinson J. Pte. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion had returned to Britain from South Africa in 1907 and deployed straight to France in September 1914. KOSB A1/1& 2. Platoon killed 30 Japanese and wounded 10 more and suffered two casualties only. However, as I was in the Cumbria Archives Office today I went to check a reference book I knew was in there with a little about 4th Border Regiment in WW2 ('The Story of the Border Regiment' by Philip J. Shears). Shortly afterwards we left Ranchi and went to an area of West Bengal, east of Calcutta, where we were billeted in a deserted village. As the Bn. During that night, and still under constant harassment, embarkation took place on to ships and Naval craft. They were highly thought of by the Australian troops and the commander, General Leslie Morshead. public. 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. 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. By January 1915, it was back in Britain and later that year fought at Gallipoli. The Brigade now moved into Imphal and was thereafter moved by truck to railhead at Dimapur. There was much suffering but also much success, including the taking of many prisoners. 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. H.Q., which was replied to by our R.A. batteries. The regiment raised in 1680 as one of the Tangier regiments, was granted the name Kings Own and the distinction of The Lion of England as a badge, by William of Orange in 1688. The regiment captured an Imperial Chinese Dragon Standard which hangs in Kendal Church, and was awarded the Dragon as a regimental badge. There is usually someone locally at these places who will know everything that happened! 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, having brushed aside the customs hiccup, we were duly transported to Poona, which may be described as the epitome of the Indian Army. Line of Communication troops were brigaded together as infantry to act as support to those two Divisions. At 3.45pm Orders issued in accordance with above and 4th Batt. The 4th Border Regimentrefers to three individuals battalions of the Territorial Force (Cumberland & Westmorland). 1st Raider Battalion; 2nd Raider Battalion . This is a list of regiments within the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during the Second World War.. On the creation of the corps in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, it comprised those regular cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry regiments that had been mechanised, together with the Royal Tank Regiment. This story has been placed in the following categories. After a week or two of rest at railhead, during which malaria began to take its toll, we once more entrained for the long journey back to our old haunt Bangalore. and A.E.R. 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. and after a night in the open, we rejoined the complete column. We set off up the hill to join a track running into the village. 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. Intensive field training was carried out but, in addition, we enjoyed the considerable amenities of Hereford. The casualties were mainly exhaustion with malaria. In the meantime, I've had a look through your postings, and also the CWGC website about their cemetery at Rennes. However we got into the unit lines without casualties, only to be shelled by our own Howitzers from inside Tobruk. 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4th Marines) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps.The battalion, nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards from the Vietnam War, is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and is a part of the 5th Marine Regiment and 1st Marine Division. On the subject of the environment, I would like to make a comment here on the conditions in which the columns were operating. Regards, By then, they were surrounded. 4th Raider Battalion designated as 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. David G. Thanks for taking the time to read the article about the 4 Bn Borders in WW2 and your most interesting question. The days 16 - 18 June 1940 were really vital to what happened in France, because it was when De Gaulle was trying to get the French Government to continue fighting the war, and Ptain took over and asked the Germans for an Armistice. In the advance into Burma, 2 Border crossed the Irrawaddy on February 13, whilst in April, 1945, 9 Border fought in the battles for Meiktila. From the recollections of The Border Regiments final independent deployment was to West Berlin in 1957. 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. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. Moved to billets in Blackpool. Men of the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment travel in the back of a lorry, France, May 1940. Fighting in the Forest continued for two days in support of the 5th Sherwood Foresters. Then, in 1966, the first three battalions of the 8th deployed to Vietnam, fighting in 9 campaigns and . 01 FEB 44; 21 July - 10 AUG 44 ; 01 APR 45- 22 JUN 45; 19 FEB 45; 01 FEB 44. After that it was Suez, Egypt, and a transit camp, until we entrained for the Western Desert. Thanks again for your reply and interest, you have been most helpful. Our heavy equipment was transported by mules, who were the most wonderful animals, and the muleteers became most attached to their animals. It continued in British Army service until 1958, when it was amalgamated with The South Lancashire Regiment to form The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Waless Volunteers). They became part of Brigadier Orde Wingates Chindit Long Range Penetration (LRP) groups. The 4th Battalion of the Borders were given the task of clearing the woods that were partially held by the Germans. But even so, the fighting patrols still went out, many of them at night. Regimental Orders. One lot was our battalion and the other lot was the enemy, which we discovered to our cost when they opened up on our truck and ambulance with anti-tank guns. The 8th U.S. Infantry reactivated in 1947, assigned to Ft. Ord, California, remaining assigned to the 4th Infantry Division. FEB '44 - JUN '45. Especially we enjoyed the amenities of the St. Georges Hotel. It is no longer possible to leave messages here. In 1756, the 4th and 34th were both included in the small garrison on the island of Minorca. WO 169 / 1705 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment To give the reader some idea of the preparedness for, and the attitude of the British Indian Establishment, it is of interest to relate that the first action of the authorities was to try to carry out a customs examination of a mobilised British division arriving in the country complete with weapons and transport from a war zone to a potential war zone. 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. 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. 4th Durham Survey Section 4 Border Regt., 1940-1945 and R.M.O. The column commander, Major Scott, was wounded in the arm and, as I was dressing his wound, we were fired upon by a machine gun from the top of the hill. KOSB A3/1-3. We were given fourteen days leave, which Bob Watt and I took together. Bangalore was a comfortable station where we were in a semi-permanent camping site but where I discovered that I was suffering from amoebic dysentery. Our whole Brigade embarked on the Mauritania and so began the next phase of our travels, this time much further east. I sourced a 1960 local newspaper article, in French, which gives the best account of June 1940 events in Rennes that I have so far found. 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. 4 March 1915 : sailed from Avonmouth for India. had come out with the withdrawal from Europe, not through Dunkirk but further west through Cherbourg and Brest. The hotel served the best curry we had ever tasted. 20 The battalion took part in the raid on Dieppe on 19 August 1942. He was R.M.O. The 4th and 5th landed with the Army in the Crimea in 1854 and fought at the Battles of Alma and Inkerman. 2/4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion Formed at Kendal in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. At first they headed towards Dieppe. Soon, in the middle of recuperation from the long and arduous journey, enemy tanks appeared on the ridge above the woods. We spent a very pleasant few weeks in Kirkee Barracks, which in peacetime was an R.A. Barracks and in the Officers Mess was the longest dining table of any British Army Officers Mess in the world. I finished my army career, excepting for T.A. In the American War of Independence, the 4th and 55th fought together in the Army of General Howe, which successfully captured New York in 1776, and Philadelphia in 1777. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the By the end of the war, in May 1945, 1st Battalion had recovered sufficiently to help disarm the German occupation force in Norway. It deployed to France in September 1939 with the initial British Expeditionary Force, but was evacuated home in June 1940. The Border Regiment's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 19141918. to a Company at an airfield at Side Barrani, where a roving Messerschmidt attacked us. From a health point of view, the area could not have been worse as it was infested with malaria carrying mosquitoes and near a village in which malaria was endemic. In any case, I hope you find out what happened. They are colloquially known as "The Loyal Eddies". Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. With reference to the siege of Tobruk, I append a list of North Country Regiments below. At nighttime, the Companies sent out patrols between their fronts and the enemy but no major clashes occurred before November 18th. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. was withdrawn and dispatched across the Canal Zone by troop train to Beit Lid in Palestine. The Battalion began the task of disarming some 2,000 Japanese and controlling the activity of dacoits on the Mokpalin and Bilin areas. After kitting up we were transported one morning to the dockside in Alexandria and boarded R.N. An account of the visit is contributed to WW2 Peoples War. Over in Europe it seems a lot easier finding out official information about the war and commemoration is taken very seriously. that Tobruk Force, as we were called, would make diversionary incidents on the night of November 18th and that the real assault would be by the 8th Army to relieve Tobruk, which they expected would be on November 20th. public. Disembarking, they moved to El Quassasin by rail. The Bn. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites Our force consisted of two platoons and a headquarters platoon. I could not imagine a more appropriate ending. This is a list of battalions of the Border Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Indeed, there is a little about this period in the book, which must also be based on the War Diaries and personal testimony only a couple of yearas after the end of the war. On the night of 19th March, the Bn. 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment Lucia 1778.. As I had always feared, I had an attack of malaria that morning, but, on taking Mepacrine, and on having my pack carried on a vehicle, I managed to march to the station and duly arrived at Bombay Docks, where we embarked on the Queen of Bermuda. Pte. 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. 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. Most of the men were in deep slumber and in the morning, they found themselves in Cherbourg, where they disembarked to move inland and await further orders. 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. After a night of patrolling, the next day the enemy withdrew and we reached El Adam aerodrome where there were 10 New Zealand wounded left with a Medical Orderly. 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. This infantry regiment was formed in 1881. During the siege, after being the Western Desert Force the Division became the 70th British Division. at that time had no other role than a training role, we set off in motor transport and arrived at Patna on the River Ganges, where we were billeted at Patna University, which was not operating and without students. Regards, The disorders soon settled down and we returned to Ranchi, but were shortly called upon again to assist the civil power, this time at Gaya, south of Patna. There was the odd troublesome one, but mostly its own muleteer learned how to control it and to keep it in line. Battalion - A battalion comprised three or more companies and was commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The 4th Kings Own formed a part of General Napiers Army that fought the Abyssinian War of 1867-68. I will try to have it completed for contribution in advance of the imminent closure. National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HTRegistered Charity Number: 237902, The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). H.Q. Here a lot of the time was spent in processing Greek refugees, who had travelled from German-occupied Greece through Turkey to Syria, and were being sorted out for referral to the Greek authorities, in exile, in Egypt. Usually relief of the pack enabled the casualty to finish the days march to the rest area, but we had a small number of ponies in the column on which we transported the more serious casualties. During these engagements the H.Q. They had not been informed as to our whereabouts. However, the day did eventually arrive when we were instructed to march to the station to entrain for Bombay Docks. (d.11th June 1940) Fearon William Milburn. READ MORE. The 8th Army then got involved in very heavy fighting at Sidi Resegh, south of Tobruk, and our battalion was ordered to make a frontal assault from our side. 41 The battalion was disbanded on 4 April 1946. Burgess. Even though suppressive Mepacrine tablets were regularly taken, malaria was not entirely suppressed. Normal infantry training was resumed and included two weeks jungle warfare training, which gave us a welcome change of location from our camp area. Exhausted, the 4th Battalion of the Border Regiment set sail. It is of interest that one of our officers, who was wounded on a night patrol, was Anthony Steele, who later became a British film star and was married to Anita Ekberg!! On 1 June 1945, a third Active Force component of the regiment, designated '4th Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, CIC, CAOF', was mobilized for service with the Canadian Army Occupation Force in Germany. 2 Border soon followed with the 7th Dlv, and fought in the first Battle of Ypres in defence of the Channel Ports. It was believed that this was the infantry of the 7th German Panzers. Other ranks' cap badge, The Border Regiment, c1905, 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment, in South Africa, 1900. The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) and The Border Regiment (Carlisle) amalgamated to form The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment in 1959. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. The regiment was stationed in Egypt and Cyprus for the first half of the 1950s, moving on to West Germany in 1955 where it served with the British Army of the Rhine. The 1st Bn The Kings Own fought at Le Cateau and in the retreat from Mons in the first actions in the 1914-18 War. Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter. Alongside the Borders were the 4th 'Buffs' who ran into bombardment in the streets of Fcamp. This article was written by my father to record his personal experiences of WW2. The two Divisions were the 51st Highland Division and the 1st Armoured Brigade. These became the new units 1st and 2nd Battalions respectively. The following year, 2nd Battalion returned to Britain, while 1st Battalion was sent to occupy Trieste. I met here one Sheikh Hamoudi, who was a friend of Lawrence of Arabia, and Glubb Pasha. WO 169 / 1454 51st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. It was the last east-bound convoy before the liner was converted to troop carrying and the accommodation was of the 1st Class passenger variety, as was the food, though the troops mess decks were fairly cramped. Capstick William. 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. Todays regiment incorporates the history and traditions of three former regiments. It continued in British Army service until 1959, when it merged with The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to form The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment. 1st battalion, 8th infantry, 4th infantry division vietnam. moved, shortly afterwards, into billets in Hereford, a nice city with a fine cathedral. Between 1809 and 1814, 11 battle honours were won by the regiment. 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 . In 1857 they fought at the Relief of Lucknow. It then fought its way up through Italy, before returning to England in November 1943. 'Orontes' bound for Suez. Bombing and shelling here in Tobruk became the daily and nightly portion. 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. Find out how you can use this. In 1919, 2nd Battalion moved from Italy to Ireland. During the day there were frequent attacks on the Company positions by Stuka dive-bombers, but I only remember two fatal casualties from all these attacks. When the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot, to become The Border Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, four pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Cumberland and Westmorland were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Just at this time the dingdong battles with the Japanese in the Maungdau/Buthidaung area of the Arakom District in Burma flared up and the Bn. those of the BBC. The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions [7] and lost almost 7,000 [8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The other regular battalion were hastily brought home from the East, Kings Own to fight in France, and Border to join the Incomparable 29th Div. moved off at 4.55 followed by 5th Btn and arrived in bivouac at 6pm. It mentions that Churchill and the Ministry of Information kept the disaster of this evacuation quiet at that time. You might also try writing to (or visiting) the Town Hall in Rennes and asking what records they might have. Having read the contribution you have made on behalf of Mr Hutchinson I see a mention of a rail journey through Rennes and arrival in Southampton 18th June 1940 (Tuesday). Orders soon arrived for us to move south towards the area of the Japanese L. of C. Our first objective was Mokokchung in the Naga Hills, east of Kohima. Company - A company was made up of three or more platoons and was commanded by a captain. lost a Company as POWs in France but was made up by the time they re-assembled at Kington Camp, including quite a number of newly commissioned officers. It went on to serve in many British Army campaigns until 1958, when it was merged into The Kings Regiment (Manchester and Liverpool). Hutchinson M.B.E. My email address is david05803@yahoo.co.uk and I would really appreciate any information to that address post the closure. 1st Punjab Regiment, 4th (Outram's) Bn. They were small, around 5 ft. in height, but wiry and capable of running up and down hills with heavy loads. The size of a battalion could range from 500 to 1,500 troops. Leaving the desert, the 70th Division, including the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment, were now went to India and Burma. Abandoned by the fleet and besieged by the French, they were forced to surrender, but were allowed to march out with colours flying as a tribute to their gallant defence. 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. 21 It landed again in Personal information on file in military records on individual soldiers is only available to the soldier himself or to next of kin. Major Scott was evacuated and did not rejoin us until we returned to Bangalore. For any other comments, please Contact Us. At the end of the training period, the battalion was not only highly trained in jungle and Chindit operations but, with the constant exercise and increased rations, was very fit. Now, with some air cover, the Battalion reached the shelter of woods on the outskirts of that town, 'Radio Normandie' being situated there. However I have been to Rennes, visited his grave and spoke to some local people. where they had an airstrip. Todays regiment remembers with pride the four battalions who served in Burma. 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. 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.. It was against a Japanese occupied village named Phakedzumi. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. Good. First of all we had no cover and just lay and slept in the open excepting when we were in the Naga villages and managed to get some shelter from the veranda type fronts of their wooded buildings. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. Soon, other battalions of the regiment were formed. Have a look at pages 181-187. 'D Company' held on to Incheville for several days until they ran short of ammunition. entrained in a railway tunnel in Malvern presumably for security reasons, although the whole town knew that we were leaving for overseas. On 23 May they were in action near Amiens. The long and illustrious history of the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines began in April of 1914 during WWI when it was activated as one of the three battalions of the Fourth Marine Regiment The Border Regiment. consolidated and people got to know one another with the result that when the time came to embark for overseas, the Bn. Inter-war The inter-war period saw 1st Battalion fighting on the North West Frontier in 1921, garrisoning India and then moving to Palestine. We subsequently moved across the Ganges to Muzzaffapur, where H.Q. This dragon now appears on the regimental buttons. up the Tiddim Road and in the battles round Bishenpur and also in defence of the Silchar Track; 4 Border in 23 Bde, harassed the lines of communication of the Japanese 31st Div., and met up with 2 Border on the Ukhrul Road in June, 1944. This infantry regiment was created in 1881. 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 . Stretchers and litters were constructed of bamboo and casualties were evacuated with Nagas acting as stretcher-bearers. So, following in the footsteps of their fathers and uncles of the Great War, the men of Cumberland and Westmorland went down to the battle alongside the Queen's Bays of the 2nd Armoured Brigade. When the breakout came, more aggressive raids began, until they were relieved by the Polish Carpathian Division. Hudson John. This page has been archived and is no longer updated.
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