The Naga Hillmen were 100% loyal to us and never let us down. All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. Between the wars the regiment was to serve in Ireland, India including the North West Frontier, Burma, China, Egypt and Palestine where Border and Kings Own were involved in the Arab Revolt of 1938-39. We arrived in Tobruk Harbour just after dark in the evening, after an uneventful journey, during which we had the nicest English breakfast of bacon and eggs in the Wardroom that we had tasted since coming to Egypt. Disembarking, they moved to El Quassasin by rail. But knowing what is there and what to ask for is not easy. Between 1944 and 1946 I had in all nine attacks, but none after that. As M.O., I had my own difficulties. From Brest, they went by ship to Southampton, where they arrived on the morning of June 18th 1940. It deployed to France in September 1939 with the initial British Expeditionary Force, but was evacuated home in June 1940. Copyright 2023. 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. 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 BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites At 3pm Orders received for the 4th and 5th Battalions Northumberland Fusiliers to move from huts they are at present occupying to bivouac in H2g - HQ to Hopital Farm. At first they headed towards Dieppe. 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] Archive List > United Kingdom > Hereford and Worcester. Company - A company was made up of three or more platoons and was commanded by a captain. Whilst we were there, we received the news that, on its return from its exploits behind the Japanese lines in Burma, Gen. Wingates Chindit force of one brigade was going to be absorbed into what became Special (Chindit) Force India. The "Fighting Eagles" Regiment: 8th U.S. Infantry The size of a regiment could range from 1,000 to 5,000 troops. 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. They were also given the task of relieving the Black Watch Battalion who were in the village of Incheville. 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. At the time of the merger, 1st Battalion was in India. 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. 1st battalion, 8th infantry, 4th infantry division vietnam. So, once again, we moved from Bangalore to the Jhansi-Sangor area of Central India. Passing through Kohima was like viewing a scene of Flanders in the 1914-18 War with skeletons of trees with no leaves on them. 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. I met here one Sheikh Hamoudi, who was a friend of Lawrence of Arabia, and Glubb Pasha. 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. Most of the content on this site is created by our users, who are members of the those of the BBC. He wrote out this contribution out long hand and sent it to Radio Cumbria. On the night of 19th March, the Bn. I could not imagine a more appropriate ending. 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. 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. 41 The battalion was disbanded on 4 April 1946. 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. 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. Moved to billets in Blackpool. We set off up the hill to join a track running into the village. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed on the Texas border in 1913. For any other comments, please Contact Us. THE BORDER REGT. Have a look at pages 181-187. 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. Even though suppressive Mepacrine tablets were regularly taken, malaria was not entirely suppressed. Posted on . 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. It would seem reasonable therefore to assume your Mr. Hutchinson and his comrades transited through Rennes shortly before. Especially we enjoyed the amenities of the St. Georges Hotel. to land in Gallipoli in April, 1915. 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. On 1 January 1914 the regiment was at Galveston, . After Dunkirk, 1 Border were converted to gliderborne troops. We left the Column concentration area at break of day and marched all day through sometimes dense jungle, where we had to cut our way through with machetes. 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 . Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. During World War II, the regiment fought German forces on three fronts, North Africa, Italy, and Northwest Europe. Find out how you can use this. Platoon killed 30 Japanese and wounded 10 more and suffered two casualties only. 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. Fighting on in France in 1940 after Dunkirk. The regiment also raised 14 Territorial, New Army and Garrison battalions. My email address is david05803@yahoo.co.uk and I would really appreciate any information to that address post the closure. On 14 January 1966, the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, was relieved from assignment to the 171st Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning" Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The Border Regiment | National Army Museum With the 34 Column of 4th Battalion Border Regiment, they departed from Mokokchung on 22 April having begun building the airstrip there as described in the previous Blog. We arrived at Avonmouth Docks in Bristol and embarked on the liner Orontes. This was when your uncle would have been ordered to leave. 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. An account of the visit is contributed to WW2 Peoples War. All the RAF and British troops were tehn withdrawn, and there was this mad dash to get to the ports. 7th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia Any information would be much appreciated. . 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. 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. The 9th Battalion The Border Regiment took part in several such actions, notably at Wetlet, Yindaw, Kinde and Pywabwe. 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. The 1957 Defence White Paper stated that the Border Regiment was due to amalgamated with The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), to form The King's Own Royal Border Regiment on the 1 October 1959. The Burma Star Memorial Fund10 A High StreetPewseySN9 5AQ. 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. 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. that day. packs on my back. They became part of Brigadier Orde Wingates Chindit Long Range Penetration (LRP) groups. Just before Christmas we again moved, this time to Malvern, in the neighbouring county of Worcester, the home of a famous English school. No escort could be provided but all casualties evacuated by these means arrived safely at Brigade H.Q.. 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. moved off at 4.55 followed by 5th Btn and arrived in bivouac at 6pm. KOSB A3/1-3. was in good shape, an efficient unit, discipline and morale were good, and the unit well trained. This dragon now appears on the regimental buttons. 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). National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HTRegistered Charity Number: 237902, The Kings Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). Good. The terms of the BBC Peoples War website have been read and understood. At this time things were going well in the second Wavell offensive and the Bn. Many men from 'D Company' of the Borders were killed or captured. The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions [7] and lost almost 7,000 [8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. 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. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. 1st Battalion was again in Burma on the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18), having returned there in 1910. "First time @NAM_London today. They landed in Sicily, fought in Italy with the 1st Airborne Div. 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. It was the only British Division of infantry in the Middle East at the time. War Diaries - Pegasus Archive 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. It shifted to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in July 1942, before fighting in Burma from November 1943 onwards. Lucia 1778.. 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. 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. 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. We subsequently moved across the Ganges to Muzzaffapur, where H.Q. As we rested before finally stepping up onto the track, a Naga hillman came up and said Japani. Having fought in the West Indies in the early years of the French Revolutionary War in the 1790s, the 55th were in the Army of the Duke of York in his campaign in the Low Countries in 1799, showing particular gallantry at the Battle of Egmont-op-Zee. At one time or another these units were part of the garrison: 1st Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine Guns) Occupying the village of Kiam in the central sector, the battalion were engaged in patrolling. R.E. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. personnel with the unit with a smattering of regulars and the remainder war service troops and emergency Commissioned Officers. By now part of the 6th British Division, the 4th Battalion of the Border Regiment were moved back to the Western Desert.