We now proceeded towards the concentration area at Column H.Q. Some weeks later we were off again by train to Suez. 4th Durham Survey Section 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. 9th Battalion, Border Regiment in the Second World War 1939-1945 - The There seems to be some accounts in the Public Records Office about what happened. The Border Regiment. The Tobruk perimeter defences were not a system of continuous trenches like WW1, but consisted of underground concrete strong points built by the Italians before they came into the war. However I have been to Rennes, visited his grave and spoke to some local people. There were varying degrees of success. 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. Next day the force moved North to regroup. When the breakout came, more aggressive raids began, until they were relieved by the Polish Carpathian Division. Men of the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment travel in the back of a lorry, France, May 1940. 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. 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. So, all the units of the 70th Division were glad to take the airfield. At the time of the merger, 1st Battalion was in India. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. Part of the new brigade was the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment. There were so many that the newspapers at home dubbed Kendal, the hometown of most of them, 'The Town of Missing Men'. The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". In 1959, it was amalgamated with The Border Regiment to form The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment. I know a little about the period and the Brittany area slightly, but not to the fine detail that you are seeking, David. Inter-war The inter-war period saw 1st Battalion fighting on the North West Frontier in 1921, garrisoning India and then moving to Palestine. Capt. 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 4th and 5th landed with the Army in the Crimea in 1854 and fought at the Battles of Alma and Inkerman. But it was in the Napoleonic wars, and particularly in the Peninsula War that the regiment gained its battle honours. It shifted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in July 1942, before fighting in Burma from November 1943 onwards. The third company reached their allotted bridge, crossed to the east bank and drove off the enemy. There was the odd troublesome one, but mostly its own muleteer learned how to control it and to keep it in line. 1st Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry They were small, around 5 ft. in height, but wiry and capable of running up and down hills with heavy loads. Then, after yet another railway journey, this time at night, they arrived at Brest. Soon, other battalions of the regiment were formed. 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. The regiment captured an Imperial Chinese Dragon Standard which hangs in Kendal Church, and was awarded the Dragon as a regimental badge. those of the BBC. Border Regiment - Wikipedia 1947-1959. It was planned at 8th Army H.Q. 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. I've left a message for Jemma, the co-ordinator for the Radio Cumbria volunteer story gatherers, asking for your question to be passed on to Mr Hutchinson, and if he has further details. 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. Bombing and shelling here in Tobruk became the daily and nightly portion. 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. at this time. "First time @NAM_London today. After some delay, the 4th Battalion left the port and moved to Rennes by rail. Part of the new brigade was the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment. included our brigade, 23 Bde., and the 4th Border Regiment. He was R.M.O. After re-training for D-Day, the battalion eventually had to wait until August 1944 to deploy to North-West Europe. While it isn't strictly what you are looking for I thought it might shed a little more light on it. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 18811908 occurred in 1900, when a new volunteer battalion was raised, namely the 3rd (Cumberland) Volunteer Battalion. 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. Just before Christmas we again moved, this time to Malvern, in the neighbouring county of Worcester, the home of a famous English school. H.W.W. 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.. 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. The two Divisions were the 51st Highland Division and the 1st Armoured Brigade. 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. Be the first to hear about our latest events, exhibitions and offers. At this time things were going well in the second Wavell offensive and the Bn. ORIGINS: The 144th traces its lineage to six volunteer militia companies of the Texas Volunteer Guard in northeast Texas organized as the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, April, 1880. But knowing what is there and what to ask for is not easy. was established in a school and detachments were sent out to areas north of here, right up to the Nepalese border. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. (d.5th December 1943) Hutchinson J. Pte. 4th (Westmoreland & Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War 1939-1945. Some days afterwards the Bn. The Border Regiment - Cumbria's Museum of Military Life Under orders from the 10th French Army Commander, the 4th Border moved North-West to the line of the River Bresle. 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 We looked up and saw a Japanese officer looking down at us. column from 8th Army arrived but was quickly cut off by the enemy and had to remain in Tobruk. During World War II, the regiment fought German forces on three fronts, North Africa, Italy, and Northwest Europe. In 1857 they fought at the Relief of Lucknow. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. These patrols included the entering of the Vichy French village of Mergyioun and taking prisoners. The Border Regiment's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 19141918. 4th Raider Battalion designated as 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the The 4th Border lads were split into 2 groups and didn't meet up until they got back into Britain. 4 Border Regt., 1940-1945 and R.M.O. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion had returned to Britain from South Africa in 1907 and deployed straight to France in September 1914. 1 Kings Own later fought in Italy with the 10th Indian Div. 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. We spent a day or two in a transit area before being taken by guides up to the perimeter defences. We arrived at Avonmouth Docks in Bristol and embarked on the liner Orontes. Platoon, with Major Douglas Scott in command, attacked various areas around the village itself. After a few days, an H.Q. Timeline of WW2 Raiders EXPLORE THE TIMELINES BELOW . referenced. It would seem reasonable therefore to assume your Mr. Hutchinson and his comrades transited through Rennes shortly before. Regards, All of the component units were federalized during the Spanish American War as the Second Infantry, Texas Volunteers. On the retreat of the German / Italian Forces, the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment occupied the airfield of El Adem. 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. 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 Suez Harbour lay the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, which were transporting Australians to Egypt and Italian prisoners to Australia, and the Mauritania. 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 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. Posted on . Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter. At nighttime, the Companies sent out patrols between their fronts and the enemy but no major clashes occurred before November 18th. As M.O., I had my own difficulties. So, into the breech stepped the Naga Hillmen. I will try to have it completed for contribution in advance of the imminent closure. 2 Border soon followed with the 7th Dlv, and fought in the first Battle of Ypres in defence of the Channel Ports. This dragon now appears on the regimental buttons. Military Digest: Sudan evacuation a reminder of India's World War II ties packs on my back. H.Q. The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions [7] and lost almost 7,000 [8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. But even so, the fighting patrols still went out, many of them at night. joined 23rd Brigade as a reserve brigade in the 4th Indian Division. 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. 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. 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. The set-up for columns entering Burma proper was that a stronghold was formed from which the columns operated and which contained an airstrip. The 9th Battalion The Border Regiment took part in several such actions, notably at Wetlet, Yindaw, Kinde and Pywabwe. 1940 1945 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. 11th Sikh Regiment, 4th . On this day in 1944 Captain D.V. Subsequently, in March 1941, the men of the 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment left on the troopship H.M.T. The Bn. For any other comments, please Contact Us. 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. 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. KOSB A3/1-3. RECORDS DOWN TO 1805. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 4th Bn. The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit, originally assigned to the 126th Infantry Brigade, 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division. Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed on the Texas border in 1913. 21 It landed again in WO 169 / 1737 1st Northumberland Fusiliers This was the old date for 'Empire Day'. Just then the monsoon broke and all military operations became static. Over in Europe it seems a lot easier finding out official information about the war and commemoration is taken very seriously. The 3d Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment was reactivated on 16 October 2009 in Germany as part of the 170th Infantry . This dragon now appears on the regimental buttons. No ground action was experienced by the Bn. 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. 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. But then, on hearing that Rouen had fallen into enemy hands, Fcamp became the destination. 6 Royal Ulster Rifles, (T.A.) In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.[9]. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites If I get a better reply I've got your e-mail and I will send a message to you that way. It continued in British Army service until 2006, when it was merged into The Duke of Lancasters Regiment. The Border Regiments final independent deployment was to West Berlin in 1957. We subsequently moved across the Ganges to Muzzaffapur, where H.Q. Subsequently we found that this Col. Blimp and N.W. This infantry regiment was first raised in 1702. left there was for a brief visit to Birmingham to participate in bomb-damage relief. The "Fighting Eagles" Regiment: 8th U.S. Infantry 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'. 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. KOSB A2/1& 2. 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. This infantry regiment was formed in 1881. Tobruk by Frank Harrison [ISBN 1-85409-361-6], War Diaries: [2], The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions[7] and lost almost 7,000[8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. 5th Battalion, Border Regiment in the Great War - The Wartime Memories 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. Nowhere in the Naga Hills was there 50 yards of flat terrain. It served on the Western Front until November 1917, when it was sent to Italy. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion had moved from England to Ireland shortly after the regiments formation. It was after the last battle that the enemy finally broke and made for the . Delhi, hence Louis Mountbattens action on arrival to take command of S.E.A.C. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. 4 March 1915 : sailed from Avonmouth for India. These were awarded 66 battle honours and four Victoria Crosses. 1st Punjab Regiment, 4th (Outram's) Bn. in moving his G.H.Q. The battalion, nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards, is based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and are a part of the 5th Marine Regiment and 1st Marine Division. On the 1st December 1945 the Battalion amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, taking on the name of the latter. 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. Early in the year, disorders amongst the civil population in India organised by the Gandhi Congress Party resulted in a call for assistance of the military to the Civil Power to restore order. 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. 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!! 4th Battalion (Territorial Force) Border Regiment (Cumberland [13] Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of the men in the LAA troops, the troops required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular unit.[14]. and for reinforcement, which eventually led to the amalgamation of 4th and 9th Bn., The Border 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 . We remained here three weeks during which we had the opportunity to visit Beirut, which was a beautiful town with wonderful amenities and it is so sad to think of the horrors that it has suffered in recent years. 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment 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. Fighting in the Forest continued for two days in support of the 5th Sherwood Foresters. The regiment captured an Imperial Chinese Dragon Standard which hangs in Kendal Church, and was awarded the Dragon as a regimental badge. As we rested before finally stepping up onto the track, a Naga hillman came up and said Japani. 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. Intensive field training was carried out but, in addition, we enjoyed the considerable amenities of Hereford. Find out more about the site contributors. List of Royal Armoured Corps Regiments in World War II The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. This infantry regiment was created in 1881. We arrived in the early hours of the morning at the Christian village of Phakedzumi, where the inhabitants gave us hot tea. Evacuation of casualties was a further problem. 2 Border fought in the withdrawal from the Kabaw Valley to the Shenam Pass, where many engagements for the defence of Imphal in April/May, 1944 took place; 9 Border fought with 17 Div. Exhausted, the 4th Battalion of the Border Regiment set sail. Amongst all this chaos we noticed a guard mounting of the Durham Light Infantry, complete with blancoed equipment this within a week or so of one of the bitterest battles of WW2. All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. Finally, while still holding Incheville with 'D Company', the Borders and Foresters were driven back, suffering casualties from heavy German mortaring and shelling. 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. In 1919, 2nd Battalion moved from Italy to Ireland. The 2 Kings Own were flown into Broadway on March 10, 1944 and flew out from Myitkyina on July 26, having marched and fought over 1,100 miles behind the Japanese lines. 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. 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. 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. All the RAF and British troops were tehn withdrawn, and there was this mad dash to get to the ports. One of these brigades of infantry was named the 23rd Brigade and attached to the 1st Armoured Division. Mixed fortunes followed: one company was ambushed before they reached their objective and scattered. Again, intensive training was carried out for the next three months and again all enjoyed the amenities, which were just as good as in Hereford. At first they headed towards Dieppe. As the Bn. Humphreys William. 10th Parachute Battalion 11th Parachute Battalion 2nd (Oban) Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, RA 4th Parachute Squadron, RE 133 Parachute Field Ambulance, RAMC 1st Airlanding Brigade Brigade Headquarters 1st Battalion The Border Regiment 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment 7th (Galloway) Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers . In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. After the obvious withdrawal of the Japanese, the column moved westwards to Ukhrul and here then operations were complete. The main duties of the battalion in this situation were the control of and dispersal of mobs and setting up of roadblocks and checkpoints. BBC - WW2 People's War - 9th Border Regiment, The regiment assaulted Utah Beach on 6 June 1944, as part of VII Corps in the D-Day Invasion, and arrived in the vicinity of Pavenoville, France by the end of D-day.
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