List of battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment

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This is a list of battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958.

Contents

Original composition

When the 16th (Bedfordshire) Regiment of Foot became The Bedfordshire Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, five pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 1881–1908, was the addition of a 4th volunteer battalion in 1900, being the 4th Volunteer Battalion, later renamed to 4th (Huntingdonshire) Volunteer Battalion.

BattalionFormedFormerly
Regular
1st1688
2nd1859
Militia
3rd (Militia)1760 Bedfordshire Light Infantry Militia [1]
4th (Militia)1758 Hertfordshire Militia [2]
Volunteers
1st (Hertfordshire) Volunteer18611st Hertfordshire Rifle Volunteers [3]
2nd (Hertfordshire) Volunteer18602nd Hertfordshire Rifle Volunteers [3]
3rd (Bedfordshire) Volunteer18601st Bedfordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps [4]

Reorganisation

The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. The Hertfordshire Battalion created during the reforms, left the Bedfordshire Regiment completely in 1909 to create the Hertfordshire Regiment. [5]

BattalionFormerly
5thAmalgamation of 3rd (Bedfordshire) and 4th (Huntingdonshire) Volunteer Battalions [4]
The Hertfordshire BattalionAmalgamation of 1st and 2nd (Hertfordshire) Volunteer Battalions [6]

First World War

The Bedfordshire Regiment fielded 26 battalions and lost around 7,200 officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The regiment's territorial component formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 5th Beds were numbered as the 1/5th, 2/5th, and 3/5th respectively. 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. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names. 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. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments. [7]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular [8] [9]
1st1688 Western Front, Italy
2nd1859Western Front
Special Reserve [8] [9]
3rd (Reserve) 1760Britain
4th (Extra Reserve) 1758Western Front
Territorial Force [8] [9]
1/5th1908 Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine campaign
2/5th Bedford, September 1914BritainDisbanded on 18 March 1918
3/5th,
5th (Reserve) from 8 April 1916		Bedford, June 1915BritainDisbanded in March 1919
11th Lowestoft, 1 January 1917, from 68th Provisional Battalion (Territorial Force) BritainDisbanded in 1919
New Army [8] [9]
6th (Service)Bedford, August 1914Western FrontDisbanded on 4 August 1918
7th (Service)Bedford, September 1914Western FrontAbsorbed into the 2nd Battalion
8th (Service)Bedford, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded on 16 February 1918
9th (Reserve) Felixstowe, October 1914BritainAbsorbed into the Training Reserve Battalions of the 6th Reserve Brigade
10th (Reserve) Dovercourt, November 1914BritainBecame the 27th Training Reserve Battalion of the 6th Reserve Brigade
Others [8] [9]
12th (Transport Workers)December 1916BritainDisbanded 1919
13th (Transport Workers)December 1916BritainDisbanded 1919
1st GarrisonBedford, December 1915 India Disbanded 1920
2nd GarrisonBedford, December 1916 India Disbanded 1920
3rd GarrisonBedford, January 1917 India, Burma Disbanded 1920
51st (Graduated) Colchester, 27 October 1917, from the 249th Graduated BattalionBritainDisbanded 1919
52nd (Graduated) Colchester, 27 October 1917, from the 252nd Graduated Battalion BritainBecame a service battalion 1919; disbanded 1920
53rd (Young Soldier) Clipstone, 27 October 1917, from the 27th Training Reserve BattalionBritainDisbanded 1920
Volunteer Training Corps [10]
1st Battalion Bedfordshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment		BedfordDisbanded post war
2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment		LutonDisbanded post war
1st Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment		HerefordDisbanded post war
2nd Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment		WatfordDisbanded post war
3rd Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment		St AlbansDisbanded post war

Inter-War

By 1921, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. 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'. 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. The regiment was renamed the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, in 1919, in recognition of the large amounts of soldiers from Hertfordshire that fought in the Great War.

Second World War

The Bedfordshire's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion. In addition to this, 23 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, eight battalions in Bedfordshire wearing the cap badge of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the 15 battalions in Hertfordshire wearing the cap badge of the Hertfordshire Regiment. A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories. [11] Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of these men, the batteries required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular battery. [12]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular
1st1688 Crete, North Africa, India, Burma [13] See Post-World War II
2nd1859 Dunkirk, Britain, North Africa, Tunisia, Italy, Greece [14] See Post-World War II
Territorial Army
5th1908Britain, Malaya, Singapore [15] See Post-World War II
6th1939Britain [16] Disbanded in 1947
7th (Home Defence)1939Britain [17] Disbanded? in 1941
2/7th (Home Defence)1940Britain [18] Disbanded? in 1940
8th1940Britain [19] Disbanded? in 1942
9th1940Britain [20] Disbanded in 1946
10th (Home Defence)1940Britain [21] Redesignated as 30th Battalion in 1941
30thRedesignation of 10th (Home Defence) Battalion, 1941BritainDisbanded 1946
Others
50th (Holding)1940BritainRedesignated as the ? Battalion, 1940
70th (Young Soldier)1940BritainDisbanded 1943
71st (Young Soldier)1940BritainDisbanded 1943
Home Guard [22]
BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)
Bedfordshire
1stBedfordBDF 12ndBiggleswadeBDF 2
3rdAmpthillBDF 34thLutonBDF 4
5thBedfordBDF 56thDunstableBDF 6
7thLutonBDF 78thBedfordBDF 8
Hertfordshire
1stMuch HadhamHTS 12ndHitchinHTS 2
3rdHertfordHTS 34thWelwynHTS 4
5thHarpendenHTS 56thOxhayHTS 6
7thChipperfieldHTS 78thCroxley GreenHTS 8
9thBricket WoodHTS 910thWatfordHTS 10
11thBishop's StortfordHTS 1112thLetchworthHTS 12
13th (de Havilland)HatfieldHTS 1314thHatfieldHTS 14
15thSt. AlbansHTS 15
Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units [11]
Formation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and DesignationFormation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and Designation
BDF 4Luton,
Skefco Ball Bearing Co. Ltd		A Troop LAABDF 7Luton,
Vauxhall Motors Ltd		C Troop (LAA)
BDF 7Luton,
Percival Aircraft Ltd		B Troop LAAHTS 13Harfield,
de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd		A, C Troops LAA
HTS 13Watford,
de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd		B Troop LAAHTS 15Radlett,
Handley Page Ltd		A Troop LAA

Post-World War II

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.

BattalionFate
1stAmalgamated with the 2nd Battalion on 18 October 1948, without a change in title [23]
2ndAmalgamated with the 1st Battalion on 18 October 1948 [24]

Amalgamation

The size of the British Army was reduced following the publication of the 1957 Defence White Paper. A policy of grouping regiments in administrative brigades, and amalgamating pairs of regular battalions was inaugurated. Accordingly, the 1st Battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the Essex Regiment were merged to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) on 2 June 1958, which itself became part of a new "large regiment": the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964. The regiment's modern lineage is continued directly by D Company, 2nd Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment [25]

BattalionFate
1stAmalgamated with the 1st Battalion, The Essex Regiment to form 1st Battalion, 3rd East Anglian Regiment
5thRedesignated as The Bedfordshire Regiment (TA), before merging with the 1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment in 1961, to form The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA)

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References

  1. ↑ "Bedfordshire Light Infantry Militia Glengarry Badge circa 1874-81". coldstreammilitaryantiques.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Herts Memories - The Hertfordshire Militia". hertsmemories.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Herts Memories - Hertfordshire's Yeomanry, Volunteers and Local Militia". hertsmemories.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue". bedsarchivescat.bedford.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War - The Hertfordshire Regiment". bedfordregiment.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Hertfordshire Regiment T.A." regiments.org. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Westlake, Ray (2020). Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps 1914-1918. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN   9781783315390.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bedfordshire Regiment" . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Unit History: Bedfordshire Regiment" . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Westlake pps. 117, 125
  11. 1 2 Whittacker, L B (1990). Stand Down. Orders of battle for the units of the Home Guard of the United Kingdom, November 1944. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. p. 113. ISBN   1871167140.
  12. ↑ Whittacker, L B (1990). Stand Down. Orders of battle for the units of the Home Guard of the United Kingdom, November 1944. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. p. 23. ISBN   1871167140.
  13. ↑ "1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "6th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "7th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "2/7th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  19. ↑ "8th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "9th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "10th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "History of the Home Guard" . Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "1st Battalion, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "2nd Battalion, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "The Royal Anglian Regiment: Regimental Data" . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
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