The King's Regiment
Encyclopedia
The King's Regiment, officially abbreviated as KINGS, was an infantry
regiment
of the British Army
, part of the King's Division
. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of The King's Regiment (Liverpool) which had been raised in 1685 and The Manchester Regiment which traced its history to 1758. In existence for almost 50 years, the regular battalion, 1 KINGS, served in Kenya
, Kuwait
, British Guiana
(Guyana
), West Germany
, Northern Ireland
, the Falkland Islands
, Cyprus
, and Iraq
. Between 1972 and 1990, 15 Kingsmen died during military operations in Northern Ireland during a violent period in the province's history known as "The Troubles
".
When formed in 1958, The King's Regiment consisted of one infantry battalion, known within the Army as 1 KINGS, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Derek Horsford
DSO and bar MBE. Under a system known colloquially as the "Arms plot", infantry battalions were trained and equipped for different roles for a period of between two and six years. Converted first to a mechanized battalion equipped with FV432 armoured personnel carriers in the late 1960s in West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany), it converted back to a light battalion in UK and subsequently in Hong Kong and Northern Ireland, back to a mechanized battalion in 1980 and then again to a light battalion. Finally when amalgamated in 2006 the regiment was roled as armoured infantry equipped primarily with the Warrior
infantry fighting vehicle
. 1 KINGS establishment in 2004 was 620, although its substantive strength was recorded as being 60 below that.
' 1957 Defence White Paper
. Conscription (National Service
) was to be abolished and the Armed Forces' size rationalised over a gradual period. Retired soldiers and some serving personnel despaired at the prospect of the demise of their respective regiments. The regular 1st Battalions of both regiments formally amalgamated on 1 September 1958, at Brentwood
, to form the 1st Battalion, The King's Regiment (Manchester and Liverpool). The title reflected the seniority of The King's Regiment (Liverpool), formerly eighth in the infantry's order of precedence
. Regimental subtitles (i.e. Manchester and Liverpool) would be omitted in 1968 without affecting recruitment boundaries in North West England
. The regiment inherited from its predecessors certain traditions, uniform distinctions, battle honour
s, and an association with the Royal Family
, principally Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
. As Queen of the United Kingdom in 1947, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had assumed the position of Colonel-in-Chief
of The Manchester Regiment, formalising a relationship conceived during the Second World War
.
Queen's and Regimental colours were presented to the 1st Battalion by the 18th Earl of Derby on 28 November. In addition to 1 KINGS, the regiment at that time consisted of three territorial battalions, all of which retained their historical designations, colours, uniforms, and honorary colonels. This practice continued until the Territorial Army's restructuring in the late 1960s: the 5th Battalion, The King's Regiment (Liverpool), was reduced to a company of the Lancastrian Volunteers; the 8th (Ardwick
) Battalion, The Manchester Regiment amalgamated with the 9th Battalion, to form The Manchester Regiment (Ardwick and Ashton) Territorials and a separate company within The Lancastrian Volunteers. Other units were constituted by elements of The King's Regiment and its predecessors, albeit in different services of the Army. Personnel from the Liverpool Scottish and defunct 5 KINGS became part of "R" (King's) Battery, West Lancashire Regiment, Royal Artillery while the heritage of the Liverpool Irish
and Liverpool Rifles was claimed by troops of other Royal Artillery
batteries.
Within months, the regiment received notification that it would be stationed in Kenya
, which was emerging from the Mau Mau Uprising
and nearing independence. Arriving in 1959, 1 KINGS was accommodated in Gilgil, situated in the Rift Valley between Naivasha
and Nakuru
, until relocated to Muthaiga Camp, near Nairobi
. Detached from the regiment at this time were elements of headquarters and two rifle companies ("A" and "D"), which became part of the Army's contribution to the Persian Gulf
garrison in Bahrain for more than a year. Subordinated to 24 Infantry Brigade, which Britain maintained in Kenya as part of the Strategic Reserve
, 1 KINGS became liable for deployment to various locations in Africa and Asia.
Subsequent to Kuwait
's independence from Britain in June 1961, President Abd al-Karim Qasim directed belligerent speeches against the oil-rich Gulf state, declaring it an integral component of sovereign Iraq
. Perceiving Qassim's rhetoric to constitute a possible military threat to Kuwait's sovereignty, Sheikh Abdullah III
appealed to Britain and Saudi Arabia
for assistance. Britain responded to the emergency by concentrating military forces in the Persian Gulf
, composed initially of naval assets, as a deterrence to aggression. The Strategic Reserve's 24 Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Horsford, was transported to Kuwait in Bristol Britannia
s in early July to augment the country's defences. Opportunity for the Kingsmen to acclimatise before relieving 45 Commando
was fleeting. Just days after arrival, 1 KINGS occupied a ridge formation approximately 30-miles west of Kuwait City
to prepare a defensive position.
When the emergency ended, 1 KINGS returned to Kenya, and in early 1962 proceeded to Britain. By July, the regiment was based in West Berlin
. While there, the regiment patrolled the border with Soviet occupied East Berlin
. On returning to Britain in 1964, 1 KINGS became part of the UK Strategic Reserve. A company from the regiment deployed to British Honduras
later that year.
The battalion's first deployment to Northern Ireland under the hostile conditions of the Troubles occurred in 1970, although it did not suffer its first fatal casualties until a second tour in 1972. Violence escalated substantially in 1972, resulting in the deaths of 470 people. The year witnessed the most loss of life during the conflict – punctuated by two episodes known as Bloody Sunday
and Bloody Friday
– and imposition of direct rule following the prorogation of the Stormont Parliament by the Westminster Government Operating in West Belfast, 1 KINGS sustained 49 casualties (seven fatalities and 42 wounded) during the four-month tour. The King's first fatality was Corporal Alan Buckley, who died after being mortally wounded during an engagement with the PIRA
. One-week later, on 23 May, a PIRA sniper shot Kingsman Hanley, who had been guarding a party of Royal Engineers
removing barricades in the Ballymurphy sector. On the 30th, an IRA bomb detonated within the battalion headquarters killed two, including Kingsman Doglay. An initial report by The Times identified six casualties, including four wounded soldiers and two civilian cooks, and suggested officials believed losses would have been higher had the bomb exploded while hundreds of soldiers watched a film in the canteen. The headquarters, located in RUC Springfield Road, had been the "most heavily guarded" police station in Belfast. Four more Kingsmen – Jones, Thomas, Christopher, and Layfield – died between July and August.
In 1978 1 KINGS, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Colin Denning, received new Colours from the Colonel in Chief.
The battalion returned to Belfast
in 1979. During the four month tour three Kingsmen died: Kingsman Shanley and Lance Corporal Rumble were killed in the same vehicle by a PIRA sniper, while Lance Corporal Webster was killed by a remote-controlled bomb.
, the 1st Battalion paraded with the Territorial Army 5th/8th (Volunteer) Battalion in the presence of the Queen Mother and many guests. Subsequently 1 KINGS deployed to the Falkland Islands
for four months and then again to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland remained the British Army's largest operational commitment into the early 1990s. Violence had declined in frequency and casualties reduced in number; however, a new method of attack emerged during the regiment's two-year posting to County Londonderry
as a resident infantry battalion in 1990. The attack on 1 KINGS was the first in a series of vehicle-delivered "proxy bomb
" attacks against multiple targets in 1990, three of which occurred on 25 October. Three men accused by the PIRA of collaborating with the security forces were abducted and their families held hostage. Employed by the British Army as a civilian cook, Patrick Gillespie was instructed to drive his vehicle, laden with explosives, to a designated checkpoint on the border with County Donegal
, Republic of Ireland
. Approximately 1,000 pounds of explosives contained within Gillespie's vehicle was detonated remotely when it reached the permanent checkpoint on Buncrana Road, near Derry
, wounding many and killing Lance-Corporal Burrows and Kingsmen Beecham, Scott, Sweeney and Worrall. Structural damage to buildings in a nearby housing estate and to military infrastructure was extensive.
In 1992 1 KINGS moved to west London
to serve as a Public Duties Battalion. Almost immediately it received new Colours from the Colonel in Chief. Whilst in London one platoon was detached to 1 KINGS OWN BORDER in Derry whilst two platoons were attached from the newly formed The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, abbreviated PWRR. A company reinforced by one of the PWRR platoons deployed as the Resident Infantry Company to the Falkland Islands
and South Georgia for a four-month tour of duty. However the principal task of the battalion was to provide troops to guard Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace, HM Tower of London and Windsor Castle. As Public Duties came to an end in September 1994 the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robin Hodges handed over command to his brother, Lieutenant Colonel Clive Hodges MBE. Another tour-of-duty to Northern Ireland followed in 1995. The following year, the battalion was stationed in the Sovereign Base Areas
in Cyprus
. On return to the UK further deployments to Northern Ireland followed in 1998 and 1999.
area during the strikes as part of Operation Fresco
.
Almost two-months after President George W. Bush
declared an end to "major combat operations"
in Iraq in his "Mission Accomplished" speech on 1 May 2003, 1 KINGS reinforced from the Territorial Army King's and Cheshire Regiment
deployed to the country with 19 Mechanised Brigade. Under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Ciaran Griffin, 1 KINGS Battlegroup
operated primarily in Basra Province during the initial period of post-war occupation. Tactics, familiar to the Regiment, that had been employed in Northern Ireland and the Balkans, were adopted by the British forces occupying the south of Iraq. Unless conditions dictated the wearing of helmets and deployment of Warriors, 1 KINGS disembarked from Land Rovers to conduct foot patrols in "soft hats" (beret
s). During its tour, 1 King's organised vehicle checkpoints, seized munitions, trained local forces, mediated tribal disputes, and engaged in a "hearts and minds
" campaign. Civil disorder also occupied the battalion, particularly when rioting occurred in August and October. The British attributed the violent demonstrations in August to Iraqi grievances over the scarcity of fuel and power shortages, compounded by oppressive temperatures exceeding 50 °C (122 °F).
The Kingsmen returned to Catterick in November 2003. No fatal casualties had been incurred by the regiment and two officers and a Territorial Army soldier were decorated with operational gallantry awards in recognition of their contributions. Allegations of abuse were documented seven-months later in a report published by Amnesty International
on 11 May 2004. Coinciding with a controversy centred on the publication of unrelated photographs by the Daily Mirror newspaper, the report detailed the deaths of 37 civilians, including four Iraqis that were claimed to have been killed by members of 1 KINGS Battlegroup without apparent provocation. The circumstances of their deaths were disputed and senior British officers judged the actions of the soldiers responsible to have been in compliance with the Army's rules of engagement
. Iraqi families brought their cases to the High Court of Justice
in an attempt to secure independent inquiries and compensation. The court, presided over by Lord Justice Rix
and Justice Forbes, concluded in December that British jurisdiction did not extend to "the total territory of another state which is not itself a party to the
Convention
", prompting the families to challenge the judgement in the Court of Appeal. Their appeals were dismissed in December 2005, along with a Government appeal challenging the court's recommendation that an independent inquiry be held into the death of Baha Mousa
while detained by The Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
In December 2004, it was announced that The King's Regiment, King's Own Royal Border Regiment
and The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, would be amalgamated to form The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) as part of the restructuring of the infantry. On formation of the new regiment on 1 July 2006, 1 KINGS became the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, abbreviated as 2 LANCS, but very quickly the manpower of all three merging regiments was deliberately mixed to give the new regiment its own character. The three regular army battalions of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment were then merged to form two regular battalions (1 LANCS and 2 LANCS). The third, Territorial Army battalion (4 LANCS) was formed a short time after the merger. Some elements of the heritage of The King's Regiment have been preserved. In particular, the most junior rank, usually Private, in The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is Kingsman; uniform buttons display an emblem of The King's Regiment - the Fleur de Lys; the White Horse of Hanover is displayed on the colours; and the motto of the new regiment remains 'Nec Aspera Terrent'; translated in the regiment as 'Difficulties be damned!'
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, part of the King's Division
King's Division
The King's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshire Brigade and North Irish Brigade...
. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of The King's Regiment (Liverpool) which had been raised in 1685 and The Manchester Regiment which traced its history to 1758. In existence for almost 50 years, the regular battalion, 1 KINGS, served in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
(Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
), West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Between 1972 and 1990, 15 Kingsmen died during military operations in Northern Ireland during a violent period in the province's history known as "The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
".
When formed in 1958, The King's Regiment consisted of one infantry battalion, known within the Army as 1 KINGS, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Derek Horsford
Derek Horsford
Major-General Derek Gordon Thomond Horsford CBE DSO & bar was a British Army officer who commanded the 17th Gurkha Division.-Military career:...
DSO and bar MBE. Under a system known colloquially as the "Arms plot", infantry battalions were trained and equipped for different roles for a period of between two and six years. Converted first to a mechanized battalion equipped with FV432 armoured personnel carriers in the late 1960s in West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany), it converted back to a light battalion in UK and subsequently in Hong Kong and Northern Ireland, back to a mechanized battalion in 1980 and then again to a light battalion. Finally when amalgamated in 2006 the regiment was roled as armoured infantry equipped primarily with the Warrior
Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle
The Warrior tracked vehicle family is a series of British armoured vehicles, originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured vehicles. The Warrior started life as the MCV-80 project that was first broached in the 1970s, GKN Sankey/Defence winning the production contract in 1980....
infantry fighting vehicle
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
. 1 KINGS establishment in 2004 was 620, although its substantive strength was recorded as being 60 below that.
1958-1980
The King's and Manchester Regiments, consisting of regular and Territorial Army battalions, had been selected for amalgamation by Duncan SandysDuncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
' 1957 Defence White Paper
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...
. Conscription (National Service
Conscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
) was to be abolished and the Armed Forces' size rationalised over a gradual period. Retired soldiers and some serving personnel despaired at the prospect of the demise of their respective regiments. The regular 1st Battalions of both regiments formally amalgamated on 1 September 1958, at Brentwood
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
, to form the 1st Battalion, The King's Regiment (Manchester and Liverpool). The title reflected the seniority of The King's Regiment (Liverpool), formerly eighth in the infantry's order of precedence
British Army Order of Precedence
The regular army of the British Army is listed according to an order of precedence for the purposes of parading. This is the order in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme right being highest. Under ordinary circumstances, the Household Cavalry...
. Regimental subtitles (i.e. Manchester and Liverpool) would be omitted in 1968 without affecting recruitment boundaries in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. The regiment inherited from its predecessors certain traditions, uniform distinctions, battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s, and an association with the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, principally Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
. As Queen of the United Kingdom in 1947, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had assumed the position of Colonel-in-Chief
Colonel-in-Chief
In the various Commonwealth armies, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its patron. This position is distinct from that of Colonel of the Regiment. They do not have an operational role. They are however kept informed of all important activities of the regiment, and pay occasional visits to its...
of The Manchester Regiment, formalising a relationship conceived during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Queen's and Regimental colours were presented to the 1st Battalion by the 18th Earl of Derby on 28 November. In addition to 1 KINGS, the regiment at that time consisted of three territorial battalions, all of which retained their historical designations, colours, uniforms, and honorary colonels. This practice continued until the Territorial Army's restructuring in the late 1960s: the 5th Battalion, The King's Regiment (Liverpool), was reduced to a company of the Lancastrian Volunteers; the 8th (Ardwick
Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...
) Battalion, The Manchester Regiment amalgamated with the 9th Battalion, to form The Manchester Regiment (Ardwick and Ashton) Territorials and a separate company within The Lancastrian Volunteers. Other units were constituted by elements of The King's Regiment and its predecessors, albeit in different services of the Army. Personnel from the Liverpool Scottish and defunct 5 KINGS became part of "R" (King's) Battery, West Lancashire Regiment, Royal Artillery while the heritage of the Liverpool Irish
Liverpool Irish
The Liverpool Irish is a unit of the British Territorial Army, raised in 1860 as a volunteer corps of infantry. Conversion to an anti-aircraft regiment occurred in 1947, but the regimental status of the Liverpool Irish ceased in 1955 upon reduction to a battery...
and Liverpool Rifles was claimed by troops of other Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
batteries.
Within months, the regiment received notification that it would be stationed in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, which was emerging from the Mau Mau Uprising
Mau Mau Uprising
The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...
and nearing independence. Arriving in 1959, 1 KINGS was accommodated in Gilgil, situated in the Rift Valley between Naivasha
Naivasha
Naivasha is a market town in Rift Valley Province, Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi. It is located on the shore of Lake Naivasha and along the Nairobi - Nakuru highway and Uganda Railway.Naivasha is part of the Nakuru District...
and Nakuru
Nakuru
Nakuru, the provincial capital of Kenya's Rift Valley province, with roughly 300,000 inhabitants, and currently the fourth largest urban centre in the country, lies about 1850 m above sea level...
, until relocated to Muthaiga Camp, near Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. Detached from the regiment at this time were elements of headquarters and two rifle companies ("A" and "D"), which became part of the Army's contribution to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
garrison in Bahrain for more than a year. Subordinated to 24 Infantry Brigade, which Britain maintained in Kenya as part of the Strategic Reserve
Military reserve
A military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve is a group of military personnel or units which are initially not committed to a battle by their commander so that they are available to address unforeseen situations or exploit suddenly developing...
, 1 KINGS became liable for deployment to various locations in Africa and Asia.
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
's independence from Britain in June 1961, President Abd al-Karim Qasim directed belligerent speeches against the oil-rich Gulf state, declaring it an integral component of sovereign Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Perceiving Qassim's rhetoric to constitute a possible military threat to Kuwait's sovereignty, Sheikh Abdullah III
Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah
Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah GCMG, CIE, KStJ was the last Sheikh and first Emir of Kuwait from 29 January 1950 until his death, and the eldest son of Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. As the eleventh ruler of the al-Sabah dynasty in Kuwait, he took power after the death of his cousin Sheikh Ahmad...
appealed to Britain and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
for assistance. Britain responded to the emergency by concentrating military forces in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, composed initially of naval assets, as a deterrence to aggression. The Strategic Reserve's 24 Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Horsford, was transported to Kuwait in Bristol Britannia
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...
s in early July to augment the country's defences. Opportunity for the Kingsmen to acclimatise before relieving 45 Commando
45 Commando
45 Commando Royal Marines is a battalion sized unit of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....
was fleeting. Just days after arrival, 1 KINGS occupied a ridge formation approximately 30-miles west of Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
to prepare a defensive position.
When the emergency ended, 1 KINGS returned to Kenya, and in early 1962 proceeded to Britain. By July, the regiment was based in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. While there, the regiment patrolled the border with Soviet occupied East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
. On returning to Britain in 1964, 1 KINGS became part of the UK Strategic Reserve. A company from the regiment deployed to British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
later that year.
The battalion's first deployment to Northern Ireland under the hostile conditions of the Troubles occurred in 1970, although it did not suffer its first fatal casualties until a second tour in 1972. Violence escalated substantially in 1972, resulting in the deaths of 470 people. The year witnessed the most loss of life during the conflict – punctuated by two episodes known as Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
and Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday (1972)
Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Belfast on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people and injuring 130....
– and imposition of direct rule following the prorogation of the Stormont Parliament by the Westminster Government Operating in West Belfast, 1 KINGS sustained 49 casualties (seven fatalities and 42 wounded) during the four-month tour. The King's first fatality was Corporal Alan Buckley, who died after being mortally wounded during an engagement with the PIRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
. One-week later, on 23 May, a PIRA sniper shot Kingsman Hanley, who had been guarding a party of Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
removing barricades in the Ballymurphy sector. On the 30th, an IRA bomb detonated within the battalion headquarters killed two, including Kingsman Doglay. An initial report by The Times identified six casualties, including four wounded soldiers and two civilian cooks, and suggested officials believed losses would have been higher had the bomb exploded while hundreds of soldiers watched a film in the canteen. The headquarters, located in RUC Springfield Road, had been the "most heavily guarded" police station in Belfast. Four more Kingsmen – Jones, Thomas, Christopher, and Layfield – died between July and August.
In 1978 1 KINGS, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Colin Denning, received new Colours from the Colonel in Chief.
The battalion returned to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
in 1979. During the four month tour three Kingsmen died: Kingsman Shanley and Lance Corporal Rumble were killed in the same vehicle by a PIRA sniper, while Lance Corporal Webster was killed by a remote-controlled bomb.
1980-2000
Events were organised in 1985 to observe the tercentenary of the regiment's raising in 1685 as the Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. After returning to England, to be based in ChesterChester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, the 1st Battalion paraded with the Territorial Army 5th/8th (Volunteer) Battalion in the presence of the Queen Mother and many guests. Subsequently 1 KINGS deployed to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
for four months and then again to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland remained the British Army's largest operational commitment into the early 1990s. Violence had declined in frequency and casualties reduced in number; however, a new method of attack emerged during the regiment's two-year posting to County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
as a resident infantry battalion in 1990. The attack on 1 KINGS was the first in a series of vehicle-delivered "proxy bomb
Proxy Bomb
The proxy bomb was a tactic used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army for a short time in the early 1990s, whereby members of the British security forces or British Army employees were forced to drive car bombs into British military targets, after taking their families as hostages. It has...
" attacks against multiple targets in 1990, three of which occurred on 25 October. Three men accused by the PIRA of collaborating with the security forces were abducted and their families held hostage. Employed by the British Army as a civilian cook, Patrick Gillespie was instructed to drive his vehicle, laden with explosives, to a designated checkpoint on the border with County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Approximately 1,000 pounds of explosives contained within Gillespie's vehicle was detonated remotely when it reached the permanent checkpoint on Buncrana Road, near Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, wounding many and killing Lance-Corporal Burrows and Kingsmen Beecham, Scott, Sweeney and Worrall. Structural damage to buildings in a nearby housing estate and to military infrastructure was extensive.
In 1992 1 KINGS moved to west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to serve as a Public Duties Battalion. Almost immediately it received new Colours from the Colonel in Chief. Whilst in London one platoon was detached to 1 KINGS OWN BORDER in Derry whilst two platoons were attached from the newly formed The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, abbreviated PWRR. A company reinforced by one of the PWRR platoons deployed as the Resident Infantry Company to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
and South Georgia for a four-month tour of duty. However the principal task of the battalion was to provide troops to guard Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace, HM Tower of London and Windsor Castle. As Public Duties came to an end in September 1994 the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robin Hodges handed over command to his brother, Lieutenant Colonel Clive Hodges MBE. Another tour-of-duty to Northern Ireland followed in 1995. The following year, the battalion was stationed in the Sovereign Base Areas
Sovereign Base Areas
The Sovereign Base Areas are military bases located on territory in which the United Kingdom is sovereign, but which are separated from the ordinary British territory....
in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. On return to the UK further deployments to Northern Ireland followed in 1998 and 1999.
2000-2006
Prior to the firefighters' strikes of 2003, the regiment received basic firefighting training to provide emergency cover. The battalion operated in the Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
area during the strikes as part of Operation Fresco
Operation Fresco
Operation Fresco or Op FRESCO was the codename for the provision of basic emergency cover during the UK firefighter dispute 2002-2003 by civilian firefighters in the United Kingdom, in late 2002 and early 2003. The response to the industrial action was coordinated by the Office of the Deputy Prime...
.
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
declared an end to "major combat operations"
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
in Iraq in his "Mission Accomplished" speech on 1 May 2003, 1 KINGS reinforced from the Territorial Army King's and Cheshire Regiment
King's and Cheshire Regiment
The King's and Cheshire Regiment was a regiment of the British Territorial Army, with HQ in Warrington, Cheshire.The regiment was the territorial battalion of the regular King's Regiment and Cheshire Regiment...
deployed to the country with 19 Mechanised Brigade. Under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Ciaran Griffin, 1 KINGS Battlegroup
Battlegroup (army)
A battlegroup , or task force in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
operated primarily in Basra Province during the initial period of post-war occupation. Tactics, familiar to the Regiment, that had been employed in Northern Ireland and the Balkans, were adopted by the British forces occupying the south of Iraq. Unless conditions dictated the wearing of helmets and deployment of Warriors, 1 KINGS disembarked from Land Rovers to conduct foot patrols in "soft hats" (beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
s). During its tour, 1 King's organised vehicle checkpoints, seized munitions, trained local forces, mediated tribal disputes, and engaged in a "hearts and minds
Hearts and Minds
Hearts and Minds may refer to:* A biblical quotation; see the Wikisource link-Film:* Hearts and Minds , a 1974 documentary film about the Vietnam War-Television:...
" campaign. Civil disorder also occupied the battalion, particularly when rioting occurred in August and October. The British attributed the violent demonstrations in August to Iraqi grievances over the scarcity of fuel and power shortages, compounded by oppressive temperatures exceeding 50 °C (122 °F).
The Kingsmen returned to Catterick in November 2003. No fatal casualties had been incurred by the regiment and two officers and a Territorial Army soldier were decorated with operational gallantry awards in recognition of their contributions. Allegations of abuse were documented seven-months later in a report published by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
on 11 May 2004. Coinciding with a controversy centred on the publication of unrelated photographs by the Daily Mirror newspaper, the report detailed the deaths of 37 civilians, including four Iraqis that were claimed to have been killed by members of 1 KINGS Battlegroup without apparent provocation. The circumstances of their deaths were disputed and senior British officers judged the actions of the soldiers responsible to have been in compliance with the Army's rules of engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
. Iraqi families brought their cases to the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in an attempt to secure independent inquiries and compensation. The court, presided over by Lord Justice Rix
Bernard Rix
Sir Bernard Anthony Rix , styled The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Rix, is an English judge, who has been a Lord Justice of Appeal since 2000.-Family:...
and Justice Forbes, concluded in December that British jurisdiction did not extend to "the total territory of another state which is not itself a party to the
Convention
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
", prompting the families to challenge the judgement in the Court of Appeal. Their appeals were dismissed in December 2005, along with a Government appeal challenging the court's recommendation that an independent inquiry be held into the death of Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa was an Iraqi man who was kicked and beaten to death while in British Army custody in Basra, Iraq in September 2003. The inquiry into his death heard that Mousa was hooded for almost 24 hours during his 36 hours of custody by the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and that...
while detained by The Queen's Lancashire Regiment.
In December 2004, it was announced that The King's Regiment, King's Own Royal Border Regiment
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed in 1959 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:*The King's Own Royal Regiment *The Border Regiment...
and The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, would be amalgamated to form The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) as part of the restructuring of the infantry. On formation of the new regiment on 1 July 2006, 1 KINGS became the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, abbreviated as 2 LANCS, but very quickly the manpower of all three merging regiments was deliberately mixed to give the new regiment its own character. The three regular army battalions of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment were then merged to form two regular battalions (1 LANCS and 2 LANCS). The third, Territorial Army battalion (4 LANCS) was formed a short time after the merger. Some elements of the heritage of The King's Regiment have been preserved. In particular, the most junior rank, usually Private, in The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is Kingsman; uniform buttons display an emblem of The King's Regiment - the Fleur de Lys; the White Horse of Hanover is displayed on the colours; and the motto of the new regiment remains 'Nec Aspera Terrent'; translated in the regiment as 'Difficulties be damned!'
Other information
- Freedoms: LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and the Borough of TamesideTamesideThe Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western... - Alliances:
- 10th/27th Battalion, The Royal South Australia RegimentRoyal South Australia RegimentThe Royal South Australia Regiment is a reserve regiment of the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion, the 10th/27th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade. It was raised on 1 July 1960, as The South Australia Regiment.-History:...
- The Royal Regiment of CanadaThe Royal Regiment of CanadaThe Royal Regiment of Canada is the largest army regiment in the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve. It is an infantry unit based in Toronto, Ontario, part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group....
- The Otago & Southland RegimentOtago and Southland RegimentThe Otago and Southland Regiment is a Territorial Force unit of the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1948 by the amalgamation of two separate regiments:*Otago Regiment*Southland Regiment...
- 1st Battalion (Scinde), The Frontier Force Regiment
- 5th Battalion, The Sikh RegimentThe Sikh RegimentThe Sikh Regiment is an 19 battalion strong, infantry regiment of the Indian Army, drawing a bulk of its recruits from the Sikh community. The regiment was officially raised just before the annexation of the Sikh Empire on August 1, 1846, by the British Empire...
- 10th/27th Battalion, The Royal South Australia Regiment
Battle honours
from the Regiment and its predecessors- 18th Century:
- BlenheimBattle of BlenheimThe Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
, RamilliesBattle of RamilliesThe Battle of Ramillies , fought on 23 May 1706, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705...
, OudenardeBattle of OudenardeThe Battle of Oudenaarde was a key battle in the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 11 July 1708 between the forces of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire on the one side and the French on the other...
, MalpaquetBattle of MalplaquetThe Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons of France and Spain against an alliance whose major members were the Habsburg Monarchy, Great Britain, the United Provinces and the Kingdom of...
, DettingenBattle of DettingenThe Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...
, Guadelope 1759,
- Blenheim
- 19th Century:
- Egmont-op-Zee, Peninsula, Martinique 1809, Guadeloupe 1810, NiagaraBattle of Lundy's LaneThe Battle of Lundy's Lane was a battle of the Anglo-American War of 1812, which took place on 25 July 1814, in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario...
, New Zealand, AlmaBattle of AlmaThe Battle of the Alma , which is usually considered the first battle of the Crimean War , took place just south of the River Alma in the Crimea. An Anglo-French force under General St...
, InkermanBattle of InkermanThe Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on November 5, 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and was followed by the Siege of Sevastopol...
, Sevastopol, Delhi 1857Siege of DelhiThe Siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian rebellion of 1857.The rebellion against the authority of the British East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass uprising by the sepoys of the units of the Army which...
, LucknowSiege of LucknowThe Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...
, Peiwar KotalBattle of Peiwar KotalThe Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on November 28-29 1878 between British forces under Sir Frederick Roberts and Afghan forces under Karim Khan, during the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Afghan War...
, Afghanistan 1878-80, Egypt 1882EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Burma 1885-87, Defence of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
- Egmont-op-Zee, Peninsula, Martinique 1809, Guadeloupe 1810, Niagara
- The Great War 1914-1918:
- Western Front: MonsBattle of MonsThe Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the...
, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914First Battle of the MarneThe Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
, Aisne 1914First Battle of the AisneThe First Battle of the Aisne was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army & Second Army as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914...
, Ypres 1914 1917, La BasséeBattle of La BasséeThe Battle of La Bassée was a battle between British and German forces in northern France in October 1914, and was part of the Race to the Sea....
, Armentieres, Langemarck 1914-17Battle of LangemarckBattle of Langemarck can refer to :* Battle of Langemarck : part of the First Battle of Ypres* Battle of Langemarck : part of the Third Battle of Ypres...
, Gheluvelt, Battle of Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914Battle of GivenchyBattle of Givenchy was a battle fought during World War I as part of the First Battle of Champagne, that saw an initially advancing British force face strong opposition and counter-attack from a solidly entrenched German force around the village of Givenchy.With the French under heavy pressure at...
, Neuve ChapelleBattle of Neuve ChapelleThe Battles of Neuve Chapelle and Artois was a battle in the First World War. It was a British offensive in the Artois region and broke through at Neuve-Chapelle but they were unable to exploit the advantage.The battle began on 10 March 1915...
, Gravenstafel, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Battle of Aubers, Festubert 1915Battle of FestubertThe Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25.-Context:...
, LoosBattle of LoosThe Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
, Somme 1916Battle of the Somme (1916)The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
17, Albert 1916Battle of Albert (1916)The Battle of Albert, 1 July – 13 July 1916, was the opening phase of the British and French offensive that became the Battle of the Somme.-Haig's desire to break through versus Rawlinson's "bite and hold":...
1918, Bazentin, Delville Wood, GuillemontBattle of GuillemontThe Battle of Guillemont was a British assault on the German-held village of Guillemont during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Guillemont lay on the right flank of the British sector where it linked with French forces and by holding it, the Germans prevented the Allied armies from operating in...
, GinchyBattle of GinchyThe Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the United Kingdom 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process...
, Flers-CourceletteBattle of Flers-CourceletteThe Battle of Flers-Courcelette, was a battle within the Franco-British Somme Offensive which took place in the summer and autumn of 1916. Launched on the 15th of September 1916 the battle went on for one week. Flers-Courcelette began with the overall objective of cutting a hole in the German...
, MorvalBattle of MorvalThe Battle of Morval, which began on 25 September 1916, was an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German-held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs during the Battle of the Somme. These villages were originally objectives of the major British offensive of 15 September, the Battle of...
, Thiepval, Le TransloyBattle of Le TransloyThe Battle of Le Transloy was the final offensive mounted by the British Fourth Army during the 1916 Battle of the Somme.-Prelude:With the successful conclusion of the preceding Battle of Morval at the end of September, the Fourth Army of Lieutenant General Henry Rawlinson had finally captured the...
, Ancre HeightsBattle of the Ancre HeightsThe Battle of the Ancre Heights was a prolonged battle of attrition in October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Lieutenant General Hubert Gough's Reserve Army had finally managed to break out of the positions it had occupied since the start of the Somme fighting and Gough intended to maintain...
, Ancre 1916Battle of the AncreThe Battle of the Ancre was the final act of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Launched on 13 November 1916 by the British Fifth Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough, the objective of the battle was as much political as military.-Prelude:The Allied commanders were due to meet at Chantilly on 15...
1918, Bapaume 1917 1918Battle of BapaumeBattle of Bapaume may refer to:*Battle of Bapaume , a battle of the Franco-Prussian War*First Battle of Bapaume, a battle during the German Spring Offensive of World War I...
, Arras 1917 1918Battle of Arras (1917)The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
, Scarpe 1917 1918, Arleux, Bullecourt, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon WoodBattle of Polygon WoodThe Battle of Polygon Wood took place during the second phase of the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. The battle was fought near Ypres, Belgium, in an area named the Polygon Wood after the layout of the area...
, BroodseindeBattle of BroodseindeThe Battle of Broodseinde was the most successful attack of the Battle of Passchendaele. Using the "bite and hold" tactic , the Allied forces conducted an attack on well-entrenched German forces and showed that it was possible for the allies to overcome even the stoutest German...
, PoelcappelleBattle of PoelcappelleThe Battle of Poelcappelle marked the end of highly successful British attacks during the Battle of Passchendaele. Pitting the attacking forces against relatively intact German defences in rain and muddy conditions like those in August, the main attack was a failure and only the diversionary attack...
, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 and 1918Battle of Cambrai (1918)The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
, St Quentin, Rosières, Avre, LysBattle of the LysThe Battle of the Lys was part of the 1918 German offensive in Flanders during World War I...
, EstairesBattle of the LysThe Battle of the Lys was part of the 1918 German offensive in Flanders during World War I...
, Messines 1918Battle of MessinesThe Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
, Bailleul, Kemmel, Bethune, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Drocourt-Queant, Hindenburg LineHindenburg LineThe Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
, EpéhyBattle of EpéhyThe Battle of Épehy was a World War I battle fought on 18 September 1918, involving the British Fourth Army against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line.- Prelude :...
, Canal du NordBattle of the Canal du NordThe Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts...
, Battle of the St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, CourtraiBattle of Courtrai (1918)The Battle of Courtrai was one of a series of offensives in northern France and southern Belgium that took place in late September and October 1918.- Background :...
, Selle, SambreBattle of the SambreThe Battle of the Sambre refers to two battles fought along the Sambre River during World War I:* Battle of the Sambre , commonly known as the Battle of Charleroi* Battle of the Sambre - the final British offensive of the war...
, France and Flanders 1914-18Western Front (World War I)Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne... - Italy: Piave, Vittorio VenetoBattle of Vittorio VenetoThe Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...
, Italy 1917-18ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, - Macedonia: Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18
- Gallipoli Campaign: Helles, Battle of KrithiaBattle of KrithiaDuring the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, several battles were fought near the village of Krithia. The village was an objective of the first day of the landing, 25 April 1915. Over the following months, invading British Empire and French troops, who had landed near Cape Helles at the end of the...
, SuvlaSuvlaSuvla is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros.On 6 August 1915 it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as part of the August Offensive during the Battle of Gallipoli...
, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar HillBattle of Scimitar HillThe Battle of Scimitar Hill was the last offensive mounted by the British at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in World War I. It was also the largest single-day attack ever mounted by the Allies at Gallipoli, involving three divisions...
, Gallipoli 1915Battle of GallipoliThe Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War... - Mesopotamia: Tigris 1916TigrisThe Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
, Kut al AmaraSiege of KutThe siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
, BaghdadFall of Baghdad (1917)The British Indian Army fought the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. On 11 March 1917, after a series of defeats, it captured Baghdad after a two-year campaign.-Arrival of General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude:...
, Mesopotamia 1916-18Mesopotamian CampaignThe Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :... - Egypt and Palestine: Rumani, Egypt 1915-17, MegiddoBattle of Megiddo (1918)The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
, Sharon, Palestine 1918 - Other Theatres: NW Frontier, India 1915North-West Frontier (military history)The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
, Archangel 1918-1919ArkhangelskArkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
- Western Front: Mons
- Inter-War:
- Afghanistan 1919
- The Second World War 1939-45:
- North-West Europe: The Dyle, Withdrawal to Escaut, Defence of Escaut, Defence of Arras, St Omer-La Bassée, Ypres-Comines Canal, North-West Europe 1940North-West EuropeNorth-West Europe is a term that refers to a northern area of Western Europe, although the exact area or countries it comprises varies.-Geographic definition:...
, Normandy Landings, Caen, Esquay, Falaise, Nederrijn, Scheldt, Walcheren Causeway, FlushingBattle of FlushingThe Battle of Flushing was a naval battle of the Eighty Years' War, fought on April 17, 1573 near the city of Flushing, Netherlands. The Spanish fleet was led by Sancho d'Avila, the Dutch fleet by Lieven Keersmaker....
, Lower Maas, Venlo Pocket, Roer, Ourthe, RhinelandRhinelandHistorically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, ReichswaldReichswaldA Reichswald designates a historic woodland under imperial protection and usage in the lands of the former Holy Roman Empire. It may refer to:* Nürnberger Reichswald — an old cultivated forest with near Nuremberg, which is today a nature reserve....
, GochGochGoch is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Netherlands, approx. 12 km south of Kleve, and 27 km southeast of Nijmegen.-Cultural ties:...
, WeezeWeezeWeeze is a municipality in the Lower Rhine region, in the north-western part of North Rhine-Westphalia in the district of Kleve in the region of Düsseldorf....
, Rhine, IbbenburenIbbenbürenIbbenbüren or Ibbenbueren is a medium-sized town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on position 185 of the largest cities in Germany and the largest city in Tecklenburger Land.-Geography:...
, Drierwalde, AllerAllerThe Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
, Bremen, North-West Europe 1944-45North-West EuropeNorth-West Europe is a term that refers to a northern area of Western Europe, although the exact area or countries it comprises varies.-Geographic definition:... - Italy: Cassino IIBattle of Monte CassinoThe Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, Trasimene LineTrasimene LineThe Trasimene Line was a German defensive line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. It was also sometimes known as the Albert Line...
, Tuori, Gothic LineGothic LineThe Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
, Monte Gridolfo, Coriano, San Clemente, Gemmano Ridge, Montilgallo, Capture of Forli, Lamone Crossing, Lamone Bridgehead, Rimini Line, Montescudo, Cesena, Italy 1944-45ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Asia: Singapore Island, Malaya 1941-1942British MalayaBritish Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, Chindits 1943ChinditsThe Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...
, Chindits 1944ChinditsThe Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...
, North Arakan, KohimaBattle of KohimaThe Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in the Second World War. The battle was fought from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in northeast India. It is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".The battle took place in...
, Pinwe, Shwebo, Myinmu BridgeheadMyinmuMyinmu is a river town in the southeast of the Sagaing Division in Burma. The town has a rich history linked to World War II during the Burma Campaign against the Japanese, in 1944. It was also under the control of the Portuguese Missionaries in the 19th century...
, Irrawaddy, Burma 1943 1944-1945Burma CampaignThe Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from... - Other Theatres: Malta 1940MaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece 1944-45GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
- North-West Europe: The Dyle, Withdrawal to Escaut, Defence of Escaut, Defence of Arras, St Omer-La Bassée, Ypres-Comines Canal, North-West Europe 1940
- Korean War:
- The Hook 1953, Korea 1952-1953KoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
- The Hook 1953, Korea 1952-1953