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 arrived in the early hours of the morning at the Christian village of Phakedzumi, where the inhabitants gave us hot tea. The Battalion began the task of disarming some 2,000 Japanese and controlling the activity of dacoits on the Mokpalin and Bilin areas. Over in Europe it seems a lot easier finding out official information about the war and commemoration is taken very seriously. 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). After some delay, the 4th Battalion left the port and moved to Rennes by rail. had. By the end of the war, in May 1945, 1st Battalion had recovered sufficiently to help disarm the German occupation force in Norway. Capstick William. As the war progressed and further horsed regiments were . 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. Especially we enjoyed the amenities of the St. Georges Hotel. It was air-dropped on Arnhem the following month and suffered such heavy casualties during Operation Market Garden that it saw no further action for the rest of the conflict. 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines - Wikipedia The 4th Battalion of the Borders were given the task of clearing the woods that were partially held by the Germans. 1st battalion, 8th infantry, 4th infantry division vietnam Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the war. In 1857 they fought at the Relief of Lucknow. 4th Battalion (Territorial Force) Border Regiment (Cumberland 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. The Lancastria was sunk during the afternoon of same day. A. 51st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery WO 169 / 1705 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment Men of the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment travel in the back of a lorry, France, May 1940. The Border Regiment - Cumbria's Museum of Military Life 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. 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. Under orders from the 10th French Army Commander, the 4th Border moved North-West to the line of the River Bresle. It served on the Western Front until November 1917, when it was sent to Italy. Two M.C.s and two M.M.s were awarded for the Phakedzumi Patrol Action. They had not been informed as to our whereabouts. By then, they were surrounded. Between 1809 and 1814, 11 battle honours were won by the regiment. 1947-1959. 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. Find out how you can use this. David G. We haven't had a message back from Mr Hutchinson yet I'm afraid. 6 Border were a beach landing group at the Normandy landings. 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 the 1st December 1945 the Battalion amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, taking on the name of the latter. These messages were added to this story by site members between June 2003 and January 2006. 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). During the training period from October the only time the Bn. Nowhere in the Naga Hills was there 50 yards of flat terrain. The 4th Border group that took the train was headed by Captain J.L. 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. In the Army reforms of 1881, the 4th Kings Own Royal Regt was territorially affiliated to Lancaster, and recruited in Furness and North Lancashire. The latter service included punitive expeditions against the tribesmen of the North-West Frontier. At nighttime, the Companies sent out patrols between their fronts and the enemy but no major clashes occurred before November 18th. Many battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. It was also atthis time that the 'Lancastria' was hit. We set sail down the Bristol Channel on 21st March. The Border Regiment was a line infantry infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. 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. This infantry unit was raised in 1680 and subsequently served in many British Army campaigns during its long history. WO 169 / 1713 Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry Bn. 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!! Some days afterwards the Bn. After an uneventful voyage across the Indian Ocean, we eventually arrived at Bombay. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. 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'. One Victoria Cross was awarded to the regiment during the Mutiny. 5th Battalion, Border Regiment in the Great War - The Wartime Memories Faulkner James Edward . 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. 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. From Brest, they went by ship to Southampton, where they arrived on the morning of June 18th 1940. All three regiments were involved in minor wars on the frontiers of India, and the 4th in the Zulu War of 1879. This infantry regiment was formed in 1959. 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 battalion was moved to Dehra Dun to concentrate 23rd Bde. 9th Battalion, Border Regiment in the Second World War 1939-1945 - The joined 23rd Brigade as a reserve brigade in the 4th Indian Division. 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. The Bn. The officers were billeted in, and had the Officers Mess in, the school buildings, the school having been evacuated by staff and pupils. column from 8th Army arrived but was quickly cut off by the enemy and had to remain in Tobruk. It would seem reasonable therefore to assume your Mr. Hutchinson and his comrades transited through Rennes shortly before. The hotel served the best curry we had ever tasted. Eighteen battalions were to see active service in the war, in every theatre. The column now moved to another hilltop village, Thetsemi, and after many more harassing raids against the Japanese, one night we noticed heavy traffic along a track leading to the Chindwin River crossing into Burma proper. Todays regiment incorporates the history and traditions of three former regiments. This infantry regiment was raised in 1755. Again, the problem is finding the right person. An uncle of mine was killed along with more than 800 others in an air attack on trains in Rennes, Monday 17th June. Thought the presentation & interpretation made the subject accessible". As M.O., I had my own difficulties. Sadly he died on 6th. In the meantime, I've had a look through your postings, and also the CWGC website about their cemetery at Rennes. 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. Thank you for your detailed reply to my query and I await any further information. The regiment mobilized 'The South Saskatchewan Regiment, CASF' for active service on 1 September 1939. The railway complex at Rennes was bombed during mid morning Monday 17th June. to Ceylon. The size of a battalion could range from 500 to 1,500 troops. After Dunkirk, 1 Border were converted to gliderborne troops. Humphreys William. Regimental Orders. Trouble with Mexico caused the regiment to be stationed on the Texas border in 1913. This regiment was formed in 1881 by amalgamating the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. The Luftwaffe harassed the evacuation which is when your uncle was unfortunately killed. WW2 Raiders - US Marine Raider Association 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. But even so, the fighting patrols still went out, many of them at night. 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 A3/1-3. After three weeks in Aleppo Barracks we were relieved by an unruly lot of Australian A.E.F. They were also given the task of relieving the Black Watch Battalion who were in the village of Incheville. Repatriation to the U.K. had begun for those with three years and eight months overseas service, so the strength of the battalion was gradually diminishing. The casualties were mainly exhaustion with malaria. After we had travelled a mile or two from the village, Major Scott said that there was a wounded NCO left in the village and would I return there with a section of ten men and try to recover him. Pte. The fighting continued all day in the beautiful spring day until nightfall when all the companies withdrew, taking numbers of prisoners with them. Correspondence. and A.E.R. We were actually on the train on Christmas Day, 1944, and it stopped all day at Delhi Station platform. left there was for a brief visit to Birmingham to participate in bomb-damage relief. Raising of the Regiment. 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. to a Company at an airfield at Side Barrani, where a roving Messerschmidt attacked us. Soon, other battalions of the regiment were formed. 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. The History of the Border Regiment - Burma Star Memorial Fund At first they headed towards Dieppe. But knowing what is there and what to ask for is not easy. On 1 January 1914 the regiment was at Galveston, . The South Saskatchewan Regiment - Canada.ca This would have prevented later train traffic. In 1756, the 4th and 34th were both included in the small garrison on the island of Minorca. Pte. After the obvious withdrawal of the Japanese, the column moved westwards to Ukhrul and here then operations were complete. 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. From there we travelled by road up the length of Palestine through Tiberias and past the Sea of Galilee to Khiyam in Southern Lebanon. 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 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. 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. Subsequently we found that this Col. Blimp and N.W. The regiment also raised 13 Territorial Army and New Army battalions during the war. 1st Punjab Regiment, 4th (Outram's) Bn. REGIMENTAL HISTORY | 6th Cavalry Museum It remained in Britain re-equipping until April 1943, when it took part in the landings in Tunisia. Tobruk by Frank Harrison [ISBN 1-85409-361-6], War Diaries: After being earmarked for support in General Archibald Wavell's offensive 'Battleaxe' the next departure was for the Syrian campaign. Our whole Brigade embarked on the Mauritania and so began the next phase of our travels, this time much further east. It would be almost impossible for me to source documentary evidence of kinship to my grand-uncle George. Many men from 'D Company' of the Borders were killed or captured. The German invaders over-ran Rennes on Tuesday 18th June and currently I have an account of their initial arrival and occupation in translation. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. As 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. As a last thumb-to-nose effort the Japanese next day rained artillery shells on Thetsemi, but little damage and no casualties resulted. 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? 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. H.W.W. 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. The Bn. He was R.M.O. From the recollections of At the time of the merger, 1st Battalion was in India. 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. This infantry regiment was created in 1881. This immediately changed the role of 23rd Brigade. 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. The Border Regiment | National Army Museum Normal infantry training was resumed and included two weeks jungle warfare training, which gave us a welcome change of location from our camp area. 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. Our heavy equipment was transported by mules, who were the most wonderful animals, and the muleteers became most attached to their animals. On the subject of the environment, I would like to make a comment here on the conditions in which the columns were operating. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. Battalion - A battalion comprised three or more companies and was commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The problem at this time is that there is only just over a week before the site is closing down for furter postings! This article was written by my father to record his personal experiences of WW2. As casualties were left for my attention, I and my orderly marched at the rear of the column and, rather than be left behind, we carried the casualtys pack ourselves as well as our own, and it sometimes happened that I arrived at the midday or evening rendezvous with two 80 lb. In 1982, 4 SAI converted to a mechanised infantry battalion mainly consisting of Ratel-20 IFVs. 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. Hutchinson M.B.E. 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. 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. Men of the 4th Battalion, Border Regiment travel in the back of a lorry, France, May 1940. The two Divisions were the 51st Highland Division and the 1st Armoured Brigade. With reference to the siege of Tobruk, I append a list of North Country Regiments below. The 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment in WW2 The terms of the BBC Peoples War website have been read and understood. On July 12th the Bn. "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. Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter. I finished my army career, excepting for T.A. Depots were open in Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster for The Kings Own, and in The Castle, Carlisle for The Border Regt. WW2 Army Units and Sizes | World War 2 Facts were evacuated. They were part of the 70th British Infantry Division]". was in good shape, an efficient unit, discipline and morale were good, and the unit well trained. Subsequently, in March 1941, the men of the 4th Battalion, The Border Regiment left on the troopship H.M.T. Cpl. 4th Bn : The Border Regt. War Diary (27 April) #OTD 1944 In 1947, 1st Battalion moved to Palestine. It then participated in the Cherbourg Peninsula operation while attached to 2nd Armored Division from 19 July through 2 August 1944. Attached on arrival to Poona Brigade in 6th (Poona) Divisional Area. 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. WO 169 / 1737 1st Northumberland Fusiliers They are colloquially known as "The Loyal Eddies". in moving his G.H.Q. We now proceeded towards the concentration area at Column H.Q. personnel with the unit with a smattering of regulars and the remainder war service troops and emergency Commissioned Officers. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division 's 41 Canadian Brigade Group. Border Regiment soldiersatThiepval Wood, August 1916, Medals of Sergeant Fred Bowman, The Border Regiment, c1918. I've just looked through some of my notes and various books in French and English to refresh my memory of what went on. In any case, I hope you find out what happened. 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. During the siege, after being the Western Desert Force the Division became the 70th British Division. It was against a Japanese occupied village named Phakedzumi. British Army - The Border Regiment - Geni 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. Whilst 1 Border served in BAOR and Berlin, the Kings Own served in Aden and Kenya. 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 . vessels en route by sea to Tobruk. All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. 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. 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. 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. This was carried out by C Company. 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. 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. 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. (d.5th Dec 1941) Grant James Alexander. GOOD, T.D., R.A.M.C. and I met their M.O. moved, shortly afterwards, into billets in Hereford, a nice city with a fine cathedral. On the evacuation of Palestine in 1948, it served in Somali-land, and later in the Canal Zone of Egypt. It was quite pleasant living in Dehra Dun, a regular peacetime station, but early in February we moved to the transit area for repatriates at Deolali. Men of 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment, at Arnhem, 20 September 1944. 4 March 1915 : sailed from Avonmouth for India. However we got into the unit lines without casualties, only to be shelled by our own Howitzers from inside Tobruk. Part of the new brigade was the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment. 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. 4th (Westmoreland & Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment in the After re-training for D-Day, the battalion eventually had to wait until August 1944 to deploy to North-West Europe. The 4th Border lads were split into 2 groups and didn't meet up until they got back into Britain. 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines was constituted in April 1914 during World War I when it was activated as one of the three . But it was in the Napoleonic wars, and particularly in the Peninsula War that the regiment gained its battle honours. Among the Indian Infantry battalions which formed part of this Division were 3rd Battalion (Bn.)