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King's Own Royal Regiment Museum Lancaster |
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REGIMENTAL HISTORY |
REGIMENTAL HISTORY 20th Century At the end of the Boer War the 2nd Battalion returned to England and the 1st Battalion was overseas in Malta and then moved to India in October 1903. This was the typical pattern of service. One battalion was based at home and the other overseas. In December 1912 the 1st Battalion returned to England and were stationed in Dover - and the 2nd Battalion left Dover for Calcutta, and later Lebong and Barrackpore in India. In Lancaster the Regimental Depot at Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster, was responsible for the training of all recruits. Also in Lancaster was the headquarters of the 5th Territorial Force Battalion. The volunteer battalions of the regiment had been re-organised in 1908 and the old Volunteer Force was re-organised. The 4th Battalion King's Own had their headquarters in Ulverston and recruited in the area around Barrow in Furness to Grange over Sands. The 5th Battalion King's Own recruited in an area from Carnforth to the north and Fleetwood to the south. More on the Haldane Reforms Interwar Years The First World War was hardly over when in 1919 the 1st Battalion were
sent to Dublin. They were to be one of the last British army units
in Ireland before the creation of the Republic. The 2nd Battalion
was sent to garrison India and Burma - spending nearly ten years overseas.
In October 1930 the 1st Battalion left England for service in Palestine,
Egypt, and India, not returning back to the UK as a battalion until 1950.
After eight years back in England - split between Lichfield and Aldershot,
the 2nd Battalion were sent to Palestine to assist the fight against Arab
terrorists. It was here, in September 1939, that the battalion was
located when the Second World War started. Post War At the end of the Second World War the 1st Battalion was in Northern Italy and within a year were based in the Trieste area on the Yugoslavian border. The 2nd Battalion after service in Burma in 1944, had been based in India, eventually leaving Calcutta in October 1947 for a move to Egypt and service in Asmara in Eritrea and Khartoum. It was here that the battalion heard the news it was to be amalgamated with the 1st Battalion. The army was reducing in size and the Regiment was to have only one regular battalion. On 22nd April 1949 the Amalgamation Parade took place at San Sabba Stadium in Trieste - and the two battalions became one. The Regiment was full of National Servicemen when it returned to
England and was based at Hadrian's Camp, Carlisle. After services as
part of the British Army of the Rhine the King's Own moved to Korea - and
were employed on peace keeping duties, the conflict having just finished.
From Korea the 1st Battalion moved to Hong Kong in 1954 for a two year
posting. Talk of further reductions in the size of the army were confirmed and it was announced that the King's Own Royal Regiment would be amalgamated with the Carlisle based Border Regiment. The last overseas tours took the King's Own to Kenya, Aden and Bahrain in 1958 before a final return to England in July 1959. In October 1959 the new King's Own Royal Border Regiment was created at Barnard Castle. The Territorial Army also underwent radical changes with the creation of Lancastrian Volunteers and the 4/5th King's Own reduced to cadre status of a handful of men. More on the Campaign Service Medal 1962- |