4th battalion border regiment ww2

Eighteen battalions were to see active service in the war, in every theatre. 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. At first they headed towards Dieppe. The officers were billeted in, and had the Officers Mess in, the school buildings, the school having been evacuated by staff and pupils. Almost the last sight of land which we had before going out into the Atlantic Ocean was the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, where my wife, Hazel, was then living and where she stayed for most of the war. David G. Thanks for taking the time to read the article about the 4 Bn Borders in WW2 and your most interesting question. We first took over Baqush Box, a defended area east of Mersah Matruh, which was uncomfortable living, excepting for glorious Mediterranean sea bathing, and the companies were on detachment on aerodrome defence further forward. But then, on hearing that Rouen had fallen into enemy hands, Fcamp became the destination. The third company reached their allotted bridge, crossed to the east bank and drove off the enemy. The 9th Battalion The Border Regiment took part in several such actions, notably at Wetlet, Yindaw, Kinde and Pywabwe. This was when your uncle would have been ordered to leave. It deployed to France in September 1939 with the initial British Expeditionary Force, but was evacuated home in June 1940. 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. Personal information on file in military records on individual soldiers is only available to the soldier himself or to next of kin. Discover more about The Border Regiment by visiting Cumbria's Museum of Military Life at Carlisle Castle. 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. Men of 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment, at Arnhem, 20 September 1944. 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). List of battalions of the Border Regiment, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), "Cumberland militia history Cumbria County Council", "Border Regiment 4th Battalion (TF) 1908-1914", "Border Regiment 5th Battalion (TF) 1908-1914", "The Border Regiment Cumbria's Museum of Military Life", "1st Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "2nd Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "4th (Westmoreland and Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "5th (Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "6th (East Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "8th (Home Defence) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "9th Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "1st Battalion, 34th Regiment of Foot 17021881/1st Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1959", "1st Battalion, 55th Regiment of Foot 17551881/2nd Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1950", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_battalions_of_the_Border_Regiment&oldid=1127169899, Lists of British Army units and formations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Amalgamation of the 1st (Cumberland) and 2nd (Westmorland) Volunteer Battalions, Absorbed into the 4th (Reserve) (Cumberland and Westmorland) on 1 September 1916, Absorbed into the Training Reserve Battalion of the 4th Reserve Brigade, Absorbed into the 1/5th (Cumberland) Battalion on 31 July 1918, Absorbed into the 75th Training Reserve Battalion, 1/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment, 2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment, Amalgamated with the 1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918, 1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment, Amalgamated with the 2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918, Disbanded post war, Soldiers drafted to one of the nine battalions making up the, October 1940, redesignation of the 50th (Holding) Battalion, Amalgamated with the 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion, taking on the name of the latter on 1 December 1945, Redesignated as the 9th Battalion in October 1940, Amalgamated with 2nd Battalion on the 28 October 1950, without a change in title, Amalgamated with 1st Battalion on the 28 October 1950, Amalgamated with 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), to form 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, Transferred to the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, without a change in title, This page was last edited on 13 December 2022, at 07:48. Normal infantry training was resumed and included two weeks jungle warfare training, which gave us a welcome change of location from our camp area. From the recollections of 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. to a Company at an airfield at Side Barrani, where a roving Messerschmidt attacked us. Military Digest: Sudan evacuation a reminder of India's World War II ties By the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45), 1st Battalion was back in Britain. Moved to billets in Blackpool. By the end of the war, in May 1945, 1st Battalion had recovered sufficiently to help disarm the German occupation force in Norway. During these engagements the H.Q. 1/4th Border Regiment 2/4th Border Regiment (home service battalion) 3/4th Border Regiment (depot/training battalion) Roll of Honour[edit| edit source| hide] moved from Aleppo to a town called Idlib, some distance away, where we remained for a further three weeks, and then returned to the military barracks in Aleppo. Mixed fortunes followed: one company was ambushed before they reached their objective and scattered. Company - A company was made up of three or more platoons and was commanded by a captain. The two platoons set up two roadblocks outside the village and H.Q. 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. 01 FEB 44; 21 July - 10 AUG 44 ; 01 APR 45- 22 JUN 45; 19 FEB 45; 01 FEB 44. Have a look at pages 181-187. The troubles at Gaya were not serious and we returned to Ranchi after two weeks. The main duties of the battalion in this situation were the control of and dispersal of mobs and setting up of roadblocks and checkpoints. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. 4th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia was established in a school and detachments were sent out to areas north of here, right up to the Nepalese border. SADF 4 SAI Ratels were known for their conspicuous red call sign markings. There had been some severe fighting around Marjayoun, a nearby village, but after our arrival the main area of battle moved to the Coastal strip and, apart from twice daily shelling by the Vichy French forces, the only activity on the ground was infantry patrolling in the surrounding villages mostly at night. 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. 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 9th Infantry Regiment (United States) | Military Wiki | Fandom 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. 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. Some weeks later we were off again by train to Suez. Lineage and Honors - 144th Infantry Regiment - Texas Military Forces Museum I think he was one of the Burgess newspaper family so he may have written his memoirs somewhere. It was still there two years later, when it was amalgamated with the Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to form the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment. There were varying degrees of success. Not in any way belittling the heroic battles fought around Kohima by the 2nd British and 7th Indian Divisions, the harassing operations by 23rd Brigade of which 4 Border Regt. But it was in the Napoleonic wars, and particularly in the Peninsula War that the regiment gained its battle honours. 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. After a few days, an H.Q. 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. Border Regiment in the Second World War 1939-1945 - The Wartime 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines - Wikipedia and in 1944, fought at Arnhem. Now, with some air cover, the Battalion reached the shelter of woods on the outskirts of that town, 'Radio Normandie' being situated there. Border Regiment - The Long, Long Trail He wrote out this contribution out long hand and sent it to Radio Cumbria. 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. Finally, while still holding Incheville with 'D Company', the Borders and Foresters were driven back, suffering casualties from heavy German mortaring and shelling. 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. As a last thumb-to-nose effort the Japanese next day rained artillery shells on Thetsemi, but little damage and no casualties resulted. At the time of the merger, 1st Battalion was in India. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. Raising of the Regiment. In any case, I hope you find out what happened. Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Line of Communication troops were brigaded together as infantry to act as support to those two Divisions. I would like here to pay tribute to the RAF, who kept us supplied with all the necessities of life from rations to supplementary and replacement equipment, and to the Q side of Force H.Q., for an almost 100% response to requests for such supplies from Column H.Q.. During the whole period of operation from May to August, we missed only one meal, despite most difficult flying conditions due to mountainous terrain, and frequent early morning mists common in this area. Capstick William. This infantry regiment was raised in 1755. The Luftwaffe harassed the evacuation which is when your uncle was unfortunately killed. The regiment lost over 7,700 men during the war. had. 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 . and I met their M.O. This was carried out by C Company. Humphreys William. 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. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.[9]. As there is as yet so much more to learn about incident I ask perchance does your Mr Hutchinson have any knowledge of that incident? Hello Joseph, were evacuated. Intensive field training was carried out but, in addition, we enjoyed the considerable amenities of Hereford. The hills were 6,000 to 8,000 feet high and, as we marched up them, so we had to march down them and up the next hill. Border Regiment - Wikipedia The 11th and 12th Borderers, New Army "Service" battalions, were referred to as "Pals" Battalions because they were predominantly composed of colleagues. In 1702, the regiment which became the 34th (Cumberland) Regt was raised, and the 55th (Westmorland)) Regt was raised in 1755. In October 1940 I joined 4 Border at Kington Camp, Hereford, where I had been posted as Regimental M.O., following my officer recruitment training at RAMC Depot, Crookham, Aldershot. 1940 1945 On the subject of the environment, I would like to make a comment here on the conditions in which the columns were operating. 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. We remained in Bangalore until coming up to Christmas and, just before Christmas, we entrained again, this time for Dehra Dun, a military cantonment in north India. This story has been placed in the following categories. 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. The Border Regiment - Cumbria's Museum of Military Life As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. In 1959, it was amalgamated with The Border Regiment to form The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment. The latter service included punitive expeditions against the tribesmen of the North-West Frontier. Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed on the Texas border in 1913. The Durham Light Infantry Bn. After returning from the Crimea the 34th were soon on their way to India as reinforcements to fight in the Indian Mutiny. The set-up for columns entering Burma proper was that a stronghold was formed from which the columns operated and which contained an airstrip. Thanks to the step-like formation of the paddy fields, where we jumped down every few yards, and to the poor marksmanship of the Japanese, we arrived without any casualties in the jungle area, for the Japanese opened up with everything they had rifles, machine guns, mortars and grenades. Archive List > United Kingdom > Hereford and Worcester. During the few days that we were assembling at Mariani, word came through that Gen. Wingate had been killed in an air accident. List of battalions of the Border Regiment - Wikipedia 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. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not However, the day did eventually arrive when we were instructed to march to the station to entrain for Bombay Docks. By now part of the 6th British Division, the 4th Battalion of the Border Regiment were moved back to the Western Desert. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites had come out with the withdrawal from Europe, not through Dunkirk but further west through Cherbourg and Brest. A. This is a list of battalions of the Border Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. For any other comments, please Contact Us. Leaving the desert, the 70th Division, including the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment, were now went to India and Burma. As M.O., I had my own difficulties. We spent one week in the fleshpots of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay and the second week we spent at Krishnaraja Sagara in Mysore State. September 2003. 160th Infantry Regiment | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of In May the training period finished and we were transported by the Bengal Assam Railway to Mariani in Assam, passing through one railway town with the Boys Own Paper sounding name of Lumding. However I have been to Rennes, visited his grave and spoke to some local people. Subsequently we found that this Col. Blimp and N.W. It continued in British Army service until the 1881 reforms, when it was amalgamated with the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot to form The Border Regiment. An account of the visit is contributed to WW2 Peoples War. Hudson John. It was then sent to South Africa in 1899, where it fought throughout the Boer War (1899-1902). The 4th Border Regimentrefers to three individuals battalions of the Territorial Force (Cumberland & Westmorland). and for reinforcement, which eventually led to the amalgamation of 4th and 9th Bn., The Border Regiment. The Royal Regina Rifles - Canada.ca I used to go in a truck to visit a different Company each day from Aleppo, so that I really saw a lot of the country. They were part of the 70th British Infantry Division]". To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy. In addition 12 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge. vessels en route by sea to Tobruk. 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. Before Dunkirk, 1 Border, 4 and 5 Border and 5 Kings Own fought in France. Good. Just then the monsoon broke and all military operations became static. 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 1959, when it merged with The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) to form The King's Own Royal Border Regiment. On one occasion I was present in Djerablus for a conference with the Mayor of the town and a gathering of Bedouin sheikhs. They were small, around 5 ft. in height, but wiry and capable of running up and down hills with heavy loads. those of the BBC. Now began a period of intensive jungle training on Chindit lines. 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. The Chinese Dragon with which the Border Regt was always associated was awarded to the 55th after the First China War of 1841. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the war. 51st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery Two whole Divisions, plus many lines of communications and troops were drawn into battle with the Germans. This would have prevented later train traffic. 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. WW2 Raiders - US Marine Raider Association The Border Regiment | National Army Museum The result was that out of a battalion of some 950 strong, we had, in just under a year, 1,500 hospital admissions, mainly from malaria and relapses despite full anti-malaria precautions which, by and large, were rigorously carried out. At 3.45pm Orders issued in accordance with above and 4th Batt. was in good shape, an efficient unit, discipline and morale were good, and the unit well trained. Shortly afterwards we left Ranchi and went to an area of West Bengal, east of Calcutta, where we were billeted in a deserted village. 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. By then, they were surrounded.