On 1 July 1881 the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment of Foot were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, respectively.[1][2] In 1903 the Regiment was granted a grey hackle for their fusilier raccoon-skin hats to commemorate the original grey uniforms of the Inniskilling Regiment.[3][4]
Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London.[6]
Under the Childers system, one regular battalion of each regiment was to be at a "home" station, while the other was abroad. Every few years, there was to be an exchange of battalions. In the period from the regiment's formation to the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the two regular battalions were stationed as follows:
Boer War memorial to the men of the Inniskilling Fusiliers in Omagh
In October 1899 war broke out between the United Kingdom and the Boer Republics in what is now South Africa. The 1st Battalion landed at Durban, where they became part of the 5th (Irish) Brigade.[7] The battalion was involved in a series of military reverses at the hands of the Boers, which became known as the "Black Week", culminating in defeat at the Battle of Colenso.[9]
The unit subsequently took part in the Tugela Campaign before helping relieve Ladysmith in early 1900. The regiment lent its name to "Inniskilling Hill", which was taken by the 5th brigade on 24/25 February 1900.[10] The 2nd Battalion arrived in South Africa from India only in the late stages of the war and saw little action.[9][11]
Following the war in South Africa, the system of rotating battalions between home and foreign stations resumed as follows:
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve.[12] There were no Territorial units in Ireland; the three militia battalions were reorganised with the 4th (Royal Tyrone Militia) becoming the 3rd (Reserve) Bn, the 3rd (Fermanagh Militia) becoming the 4th (Extra Reserve) Bn, and the 5th (Donegal Militia) being disbanded.[5][2]
First World War
Soldiers of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917Portrait of Captain Wood of Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers painted by Sir William Orpen in 1919
The 3rd and 4th Battalions fulfilled their role of training reinforcement drafts for the 1st and 2nd Bns. Both were stationed in Northern Ireland until April 1918 when they moved to Oswestry in the Welsh Borders and were amalgamated, at the same time absorbing the 12th (Reserve) Bn (originally formed from the depot companies of the 9th, 10th and 11th Bns).[2][14][13]
New Armies
The 5th (Service) Battalion and 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Suvla Bay at Gallipoli as part of the 31st Brigade in the 10th (Irish) Division in August 1915, but it was moved to Salonika in September 1915 for service on the Macedonian front. It was moved to France in May 1918 for service on the Western Front.[13][14] The 7th (Service) Battalion and 8th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the 49th Brigade in the 16th (Irish) Division in February 1916 for service on the Western Front.[13][14] The 9th (Service) Battalion (County Tyrone), the 10th (Service) Battalion (Derry), and the 11th (Service) Battalion (Donegal and Fermanagh) landed in France as part of the 109th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[13][14]
During the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin, the 12th (Reserve) Battalion fought against Irish rebels who were fighting to end British rule in Ireland and to establish the Irish Republic. Two Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers were killed and seven more wounded.[16][17]
13th (Garrison) Battalion was formed in France in June 1918 from No 7 Garrison Guard Battalion, composed of 'B1' medical category men. After rigorous training it dropped the 'Garrison' designation in July, and then served as a frontline battalion in 40th Division during the final advance to victory.[2][13][14]
Inter War
After the war, the Childers system was resumed, with the 1st Battalion moving to India for foreign service, and the 2nd Battalion based on Salisbury Plain for home service. With the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, all the Irish line infantry regiments of the British army regiments were to be disbanded. However, this decision was later amended to exclude four battalions. After a successful campaign by the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's), the Army agreed that the disbandment would not be of the most junior regiment but of the two most junior battalions. These were the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, the old 89th Foot, and the 2nd Battalion, Inniskillings, the old 108th Foot.[8]
The Inniskillings moved from India to Iraq in 1922, returning to Shorncliffe, England in 1925. They were stationed in Northern Ireland from 1927 to 1933, before moving to Aldershot. They resumed foreign service in 1934, moving to Shanghai and then Singapore two years later.[7][18]
In 1937 there was an expansion of the army, and the 2nd Battalion was re-raised at Omagh, moving to Catterick in the following year. The 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers was also reformed, and the arrangement of 1922 ended.[18] The 1st Inniskillings moved to Wellington, Madras in 1938. The two battalions were in these locations when the Second World War broke out in 1939.[18]
Second World War
In addition to the 1st and 2nd Battalions, both part of the Regular Army, the regiment raised three other battalions (5th, 6th and 70th) to fight in the Second World War.[2][5]
Men of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in France, September 1939.
After re-fitting, the 2nd Battalion, with the rest of 5th Division, left England in 1942 for the East Indies. They traveled to Madagascar, where they fought the Vichy French in a brief campaign in Madagascar to ensure that the Japanese did not occupy the island to interdict Allied shipping. They continued to British India, Persia and Syria. They deployed for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, followed by that of Italy, now serving with the British Eighth Army in both.[21]
In February 1943 the 6th Skins, Irish Brigade included, was exchanged for 1st Guards Brigade and joined the 78th Battleaxe Division, considered to be one of the best divisions of the British Army during the Second World War. It remained with them until disbandment in 1944. The 6th Battalion fought in Sicily and Italy, most notably at Centuripe in Sicily, where its unexpected assault on the hilltop town took the Germans by surprise and earned the 78th Division great praise in their first battle with the British Eighth Army. In Italy the battalion fought at the terrible Battle of Monte Cassino and in the pursuit north of Rome, but it was disbanded after the battles at Lake Trasimene in June 1944 due to a shortage of manpower. Its place in the Irish Brigade was taken by the 2nd Inniskillings, from the 5th Infantry Division, which absorbed many of the personnel of 6th Inniskillings, with the rest of the men going elsewhere in the Irish Brigade.[29]
The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion was raised during the war for those young soldiers who had volunteered and had not yet reached the age to be conscripted. The battalion never saw active service abroad. It was disbanded in 1943, due to the British government lowering the age of consent for conscription.[30]
Post War
After the war, the 1st Battalion returned to India from Burma. After a stay in Hong Kong, the regiment fought in the Malayan Emergency against pro-independence and communist guerrillas known as the Malayan National Liberation Army. In 1948 both regular battalions were amalgamated as the 1st Battalion, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.[31] In 1949, after a brief spell at home, the battalion went to the West Indies. It returned to the United Kingdom in April 1951.[32] In 1952 it was presented with the Freedom of Enniskillen, the town of its founding. Later that year it went abroad to the Suez Canal Zone and afterwards to Kenya, where it helped to suppress the Mau Mau Uprising.[32] In the latter country, it received the Freedom of Nairobi in perpetuity, the first and so far only time that a British regiment has been so honoured by a colonial city. For a short time, from April 1952, the 2nd Battalion was reformed and saw service in Egypt and Cyprus, where it was in action against EOKA insurgents.[32]
The 1st Battalion returned to England in 1955. After two years at the School of Infantry, it went to Germany, being stationed in Berlin and Wuppertal.[32] In 1960 half of the battalion was back in Kenya with a detachment in Bahrain.[32] In 1961 the battalion flew into Kuwait when the sheikdom was threatened by Iraq. The battalion returned to England in 1962, stationed at Gravesend.[33]
In April 1968 the 1st Battalion had its final operational deployment, when Tactical Headquarters and B Company were ordered at short notice to Bermuda, with trouble brewing on the island due to a tense political situation.[34] Following a peaceful election, the detachment returned to Worcester in preparation, with the remainder of the battalion, for the final regimental chapter. At midnight on 30 June 1968, following a nostalgic ceremony, the regimental flag was lowered for the last time.[35]
Amalgamation
On 1 July 1968, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Royal Ulster Rifles and the Royal Irish Fusiliers became the Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling, 83rd and 87th). The date of 1 July was chosen as it marked the fifty-second anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, in which battalions of all three merging regiments fought.[2][36]
The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War and Waterloo Campaign, the Crimean and Boer Wars and both World Wars. It was disbanded after the Second World War and reformed in the 1950s as an armoured formation before being disbanded and reformed again and finally disbanded on 1 January 2012.
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, and the First and Second World Wars. It had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence.
The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers which was later itself merged with the Royal Scots, King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Black Watch, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Highlanders to form a new large regiment, the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War and both the First and Second World Wars. On 1 May 1963, the regiment was re-titled, for the final time, as the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and became part of the Fusilier Brigade.
The Royal Irish Rifles was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd Regiment of Foot and the 86th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War.
The 38th (Irish) Brigade, is a brigade formation of the British Army that served in the Second World War. It was composed of North Irish line infantry regiments and served with distinction in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns. Following the end of the war, the brigade was disbanded, but was reformed in sixty years later in 2007 and remains the regional formation for Northern Ireland.
The 6th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence during the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War and later formed part of British Army of the Rhine.
The 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army organised during the Second World War to command a group of newly raised Home Defence battalions. It was later converted to a frontline brigade that served (under a new name) with distinction in the later years of the war, the 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade.
The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1689. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 108th Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1881.
The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers), changed in 1920 to the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's). Between the time of its formation and Irish independence, it was one of eight Irish regiments.
The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the 6th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment also fought with distinction in the Charge of the Union Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo and again as part of the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade against superior numbers at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The First World War sounded the death knell for mounted cavalry as it became apparent that technology had moved forward with greater destructive power and made horsed cavalry redundant on the modern battlefield. The British Army reorganised and reduced its cavalry corps by disbanding or amalgamating many of its famous cavalry regiments. The Inniskillings was one of those affected. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with 5th Dragoon Guards to form 5th/6th Dragoons in 1922.
The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry). The 100th Foot was first raised in 1858 and the 109th was first raised in 1853. Between the time of its formation and Irish independence, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, with its Birr Barracks home depot in Birr. It was disbanded with the Partition of Ireland following establishment of the independent Irish Free State in 1922 when the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded.
The 31st Infantry Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army, which participated in both the First and the Second World Wars. The brigade was later reformed after the end of the war serving in the British Army of the Rhine until the end of National Service in 1956, which saw the reorganisation of the brigade as the 11th Infantry Brigade.
The Liverpool Brigade, later 165th (Liverpool) Brigade was an infantry brigade of Britain's Volunteer Force that served during World War I with the 55th Division of the British Army. During World War II, again as part of the 55th Infantry Division, the brigade remained in the United Kingdom.
The 197th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army that saw distinguished active service in both the First and Second world wars.
The 113th Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the British Army active in both the First and the Second World Wars.
The 222nd Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both the First and Second World Wars
The Fermanagh Militia, later the Fermanagh Light Infantry, was an Irish militia regiment raised in 1793 for home defence and internal security during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It also served during the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny. In 1881 it became a battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and was embodied in the Second Boer War. During World War I, as part of the Special Reserve, it trained thousands of reinforcements for battalions of that regiment serving overseas. Postwar it retained a shadowy existence until it was formally disbanded in 1953.
↑ Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook. 1917. p.55. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2010.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Corbally, M J P M (1979). Outline History of The Royal Irish Rangers (27th (inniskilling), 83rd and 87th). Armagh: Royal Irish Rangers.
J.B.M. Frederick, Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.
Harris, Major Henry E. D. (1968). The Irish Regiments in the First World War. Mercer Press Cork. ISBN978-0853420729.
Brig E.A. James, British Regiments 1914–18, London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.
Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN978-1-84342-474-1.
Norman, C B (1911). Battle Honours of the British Army. London: John Massey.
Swinson, Arthur (1972). A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London: The Archive Press. ISBN0-85591-000-3.
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