List of battalions of the Border Regiment

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This is a list of battalions of the Border Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959.

Contents

Original composition

When the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot amalgamated with the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot, to become The Border Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, four pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Cumberland and Westmorland 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 occurred in 1900, when a new volunteer battalion was raised, namely the 3rd (Cumberland) Volunteer Battalion.

BattalionFormedFormerly
Regular
1st17021st Battalion, 34th Regiment of Foot
2nd17551st Battalion, 55th Regiment of Foot
Militia
3rd (Militia)1760Royal Cumberland Regiment of Militia [1]
4th (Militia)1759Royal Westmoreland Regiment of Militia [2]
Volunteers
1st (Cumberland) Volunteer18591st Cumberland Rifle Volunteer Corps [3]
2nd (Westmorland) Volunteer18591st Westmorland 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. Alongside this, the 4th (Militia) Battalion was also disbanded in 1908. [2]

BattalionFormerly
4th (Cumberland and Westmorland)Amalgamation of the 1st (Cumberland) and 2nd (Westmorland) Volunteer Battalions [5]
5th (Cumberland)3rd (Cumberland) Volunteer Battalion [6]

First World War

The Border Regiment fielded 18 battalions [7] and lost almost 7,000 [8] officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th 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 11th and 12th Borderers, New Army "Service" battalions, were referred to as "Pals" Battalions because they were predominantly composed of colleagues. 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. [9]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular [10] [11]
1st1702 Gallipoli, Western Front
2nd1755Western Front, Italy
Special Reserve [10] [11]
3rd (Reserve)1798Britain
Territorial Force [10] [11]
1/4th (Cumberland and Westmorland)1908 India
1/5th (Cumberland)1900Western Front
2/4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Kendal, October 1914IndiaDisbanded in 1920
2/5th (Cumberland)Kendal, October 1914BritainAbsorbed into the 2/4th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers
3/4th (Cumberland and Westmorland),
4th (Reserve) (Cumberland and Westmorland) from 8 April 1916		March 1915BritainDisbanded in 1919
3/5th (Cumberland),
5th (Reserve) (Cumberland) from 8 April 1916		March 1915BritainAbsorbed into the 4th (Reserve) (Cumberland and Westmorland) on 1 September 1916
New Army [10] [11]
6th (Service) Carlisle, August 1914Gallipoli, Suez Canal, Western FrontDisbanded on 9 February 1918
7th (Service),
7th (Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry) from 22 September 1917		Carlisle, 7 September 1914Western FrontDisbanded in 1919
8th (Service)Carlisle, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded on 7 July 1918
9th (Service)Carlisle, September 1914 Salonika Disbanded in 1919
10th (Reserve) Southend, October 1914BritainAbsorbed into the Training Reserve Battalion of the 4th Reserve Brigade
11th (Lonsdale) (Service)Carlisle, 17 September 1914Western FrontAbsorbed into the 1/5th (Cumberland) Battalion on 31 July 1918
12th (Reserve) Prees Heath, 1915BritainAbsorbed into the 75th Training Reserve Battalion
Others [10] [11]
13th Lowestoft, 1 June 1918BritainAbsorbed into 11th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment on 18 June 1918
Volunteer Training Corps [12]
1/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment
later 1/1st Battalion Cumberland and Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment
later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Border Regiment		CarlisleDisbanded post war
2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer RegimentWorkingtonAmalgamated with the 1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918
1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment
later the 2nd (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Volunteer Battalion, Border Regiment		Kendal, WorkingtonAmalgamated with the 2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918, Disbanded post war

Inter-War

By 1920, 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.

Second World War

The Border Regiment'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 12 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge. A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories. [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]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular
1st1702 France, Sicily, Italy, Western Front [15] See Post-World War II
2nd1755 Burma [16] See Post-World War II
Supplementary Reserve
3rd1798See Post-World War II
Territorial Army
4th (Cumberland and Westmorland)1908France, North Africa, Burma (Chindits) [17] See Post-World War II
5th (Cumberland)1900France, Britain [18] Disbanded in 1947
6th (East Cumberland)April 1939France [19] Soldiers drafted to one of the nine battalions making up the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, formally disbanded in 1947
7th (Cumberland)April 1939Disbanded in 1947
8th (Home Defence)1939Britain [20] Disbanded 1942
9thOctober 1940, redesignation of the 50th (Holding) BattalionBritain, Burma, India [21] Amalgamated with the 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion, taking on the name of the latter on 1 December 1945
30th1941Disbanded? 1942
Others
50th (Holding)June 1940BritainRedesignated as the 9th Battalion in October 1940
70th (Young Soldier)1940BritainDisbanded 1943
Home Guard [22]
BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)
Cumberland
1stLongtownCUM 12ndCarlisle CityCUM 2
3rdCarlisleCUM 34thCockermouthCUM 4
5thWorkingtonCUM 56thWhitehavenCUM 6
7thMillomCUM 78thPenrithCUM 8
12thWarwick BridgeCUM 12
Westmoreland
9th "Lakes"KeswickWES 910thApplebyWES 10
11thKendallWES 11
Home Guard Light Anti-Aircraft units [13]
Formation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and DesignationFormation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and Designation
CUM 5Workington
Workington Iron and Steel Co. Ltd		A and B Troops LAACUM 5Distington
High Duty Alloys Ltd		C Troop LAA
CUM 7Drigg
Royal Ordnance Factory		A and B Troops 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 2nd Battalion on the 28 October 1950, without a change in title [23]
2ndAmalgamated with 1st Battalion on the 28 October 1950 [24]

Amalgamation

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.

BattalionFate
1stAmalgamated with 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), to form 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
4th (Cumberland and Westmorland)Transferred to the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, without a change in title

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References

  1. ↑ "Cumberland militia history – Cumbria County Council" (PDF). cumbria.gov.uk. p. 1. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 Parkyn, H. G. (1936). "English Militia Regiments, 1757-1935: Their Badges and Buttons". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 15 (60): 216–248. JSTOR   44219688.
  3. ↑ Westlake, Ray (January 2010). Tracing the Rifle Volunteers: A Guide for Military and Family Historians. p. 55. ISBN   9781848842113 . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Westlake, Ray (19 August 2010). Tracing the Rifle Volunteers: A Guide for Military and Family Historians. p. 244. ISBN   9781844686940 . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Border Regiment – 4th Battalion (TF) – 1908-1914". armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Border Regiment – 5th Battalion (TF) – 1908-1914". armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "The Border Regiment". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "The Border Regiment – Cumbria's Museum of Military Life". cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  9. ↑ Westlake, Ray (2020). Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps 1914-1918. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN   9781783315390.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Border Regiment" . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Unit History: Border Regiment" . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Westlake pps. 117, 125
  13. 1 2 Whittaker p. 118
  14. ↑ Whittaker p. 23
  15. ↑ "1st Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "2nd Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "4th (Westmoreland and Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "5th (Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  19. ↑ "6th (East Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "8th (Home Defence) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "9th Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War". wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "History of the Home Guard" . Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "1st Battalion, 34th Regiment of Foot 1702–1881/1st Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1959". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "1st Battalion, 55th Regiment of Foot 1755–1881/2nd Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1950". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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