| Worcestershire Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge | |
| Active | 1881–1970 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Line infantry |
| Size | 1–4 Regular Battalions 2Militia andSpecial Reserve Battalions |
| RHQ | Norton Barracks,Worcestershire |
| Motto | Firm |
| March | Quick:Royal Windsor,The Poacher Slow:Duchess of Kent |
| Anniversaries | Glorious First of June, 1 June Battle of Gheluvelt, 31 Oct |
TheWorcestershire Regiment was alineinfantryregiment in theBritish Army, formed in 1881 under theChilders Reforms by the amalgamation of the29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment fought in many conflicts, including both theFirst andSecond World Wars, until 1970, when it was amalgamated with theSherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) to form theWorcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/44th Foot). In September 2007, the regiment amalgamated with theCheshire Regiment and theStaffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) to form theMercian Regiment.
The regiment was formed in 1881 under theChilders Reforms by the amalgamation of the29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot.[1] The 1st Battalion was initially deployed toIndia, while the 2nd Battalion was initially deployed toIreland, theChannel Islands,Malta,Bermuda and thenCanada.[2]
Both battalions were posted toSouth Africa during theSecond Boer War. The 1st Battalion left the UK in March 1900 on board theBraemar Castle,[3] and was primarily based atLadybrand during the war. The 2nd Battalion saw heavy fighting near theModder River.[4]
As the war in South Africa dragged on, a number of regiments containing large centres of population formed additional regular battalions. The Worcestershire regiment formed 3rd and 4th regular Battalions in February 1900,[5] when the existing militia battalions were relabeled as the 5th and 6th battalions.[6] The 3rd and 4th (Militia) battalions, from 1900 renamed as 5th and 6th battalions, were reserve battalions formed from the Worcester Militia in 1881. The 6th battalion was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in October that year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War.[7] About 615 officers and men returned to Southampton on the SSGreek in early October 1902, following the end of the war, when the battalion was disembodied at Worcester.[8]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force and the latter theSpecial Reserve;[9] the regiment now had two Reserve and two Territorial battalions.[10][6] Troops from the regiment shot dead two men during theLlanelli railway strike in August 1911.[11]
During theFirst World War, members of the Regiment were awarded nineVictoria Crosses, 70Distinguished Service Orders (and 12 bars), 288Military Crosses (and 36 bars), 227Distinguished Conduct Medals (and 8 bars).[12]
The 1st Battalion landed atLe Havre as part of the24th Brigade in the8th Division in November 1914 for service on theWestern Front.[13] The 1st Battalion played an important role at theBattle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 but lost their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. F. Wodehouse, who was killed in action.[14]
The 2nd Battalion landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of the5th Brigade in the2nd Division August 1914 also for service on the Western Front.[13] The 2nd Battalion captured the Chateau ofGheluvelt and held the line against overwhelming odds in October 1914 during theFirst Battle of Ypres[15] and then took part in the allied victory at theBattle of St. Quentin Canal in September 1918.[16]
The 3rd Battalion landed atRouen as part of the7th Brigade in the3rd Division in August 1914 also for service on the Western Front.[13] The 3rd Battalion saw action at theBattle of Messines in June 1917.[17]
The 4th Battalion landed inGallipoli as part of the88th Brigade in the29th Division in March 1915; the battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt in January 1916 and then landed atMarseille for service in on the Western Front in March 1916.[13] The 4th Battalion then took part in theBattle of Le Transloy in October 1916.[18]
The 1/7th and 1/8th Battalions landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of theGloucester and Worcester Brigade in theSouth Midland Division in March 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.[13] The 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions landed in France as part of the2nd Gloucester & Worcester Brigade in the2nd South Midland Division in May 1916 for service on the Western Front.[13]
The 9th (Service) Battalion landed in Gallipoli as part of the39th Brigade in the13th (Western) Division in July 1915; the battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt in January 1916 and transferred toNorth Persia Force in July 1918.[13] The 10th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the57th Brigade in the19th (Western) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front.[13] The 11th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the78th Brigade in the26th Division in September 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved toSalonika in November 1915.[13]
In December 1918, the regiment was used to suppress theTaranto Revolt, executing one of the rebels by firing squad.[19]
The 2nd Battalion was part of the 1st Rhine Brigade of theBritish Army of the Rhine from 1926 to 1928.[20]
During theSecond World War, 994officers andother ranks of the Worcestershire Regiment were killed in action or died of their wounds, the average age being 26.[21] However, the regiment was awarded 36battle honours.[6]
The 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment was aRegular Army battalion that was stationed in theMiddle East on the outbreak of theSecond World War, having been stationed there since 1938 due to the1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine.[22] On 7 September 1939, just four days after the outbreak of the war, Private Darby of the 1st Battalion died inJerusalem of wounds he had sustained earlier in the year, the first British soldier to die in the war.[23] The battalion was destined to see service in theWestern Desert. In July 1940, the battalion was assigned to the21st Infantry Brigade, serving alongside the 2nd Battalion,West Yorkshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion,Essex Regiment. On 11 October 1940, however, the brigade was redesignated29th Indian Infantry Brigade, and the other two battalions of the brigade were replaced by two battalions from theIndian Army, the 3rd Battalion,2nd Punjab Regiment and 6th Battalion,13th Frontier Force Rifles.[24] The brigade was assigned to the5th Indian Infantry Division and saw service in theEast African Campaign.[25] On 22 June 1942, the battalion, still fighting inNorth Africa, surrendered, along with 30,000 otherBritish Commonwealth troops, atTobruk during the disastrousBattle of Gazala. Of the men of the original battalion, only 68 officers and men remained.[26] The battalion was reformed in England by the redesignation of the 11th Battalion, a war service battalion raised in 1940.[22]
The 2nd Battalion was also a Regular Army unit. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, it was stationed inBritish India, where it had been since December 1936.[27] However, for most of the early years of the war the battalion remained there on internal security duties[28] until August 1942, several months after theJapanese Empire had entered the war, and there the battalion became part of the64th Indian Infantry Brigade, serving alongside the 5th Battalion,10th Baluch Regiment and 1st Battalion,6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, both battalions of theBritish Indian Army. The brigade was part of the19th Indian Infantry Division, the "Dagger Division". The battalion operated in theBurma Campaign from 1944 to 1945, fighting the fanaticalImperial Japanese Army and were involved in therecapture of Mandalay.[29]
The7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment was a 1st LineTerritorial Army unit serving alongside the 8th Worcesters and 5th Battalion,Gloucestershire Regiment as part of the144th Infantry Brigade, attached to the48th (South Midland) Infantry Division. With the division, the battalion was sent overseas in early 1940 to join theBritish Expeditionary Force in France. Almost as soon as they arrived, however, the 7th Battalion were exchanged for the 2nd Battalion,Royal Warwickshire Regiment and became part of the5th Infantry Brigade,2nd Infantry Division.[30] The battalion fought in the battles ofBelgium andFrance and were forced to beevacuated to England after theGerman Army attempted to surround the BEF and cut it off from theFrench armies. After preparing for theGerman invasion of England that never came, the 2nd Division was sent toBritish India in April 1942, arriving in June. The 7th Battalion fought in theBurma Campaign and took part in theBattle of Kohima and theBattle of Imphal.[31]
The 8th Battalion formed part of the 144th Infantry Brigade for most of the war. The battalion arrived in France during early 1940, and took part in the fighting in Belgium and France.[32] During the retreat to Dunkirk, several of the battalion's men became separated and temporarily joined the138th Infantry Brigade (of46th Division) during the final fighting in France.[33] At least 6 men from 'D' Company were killed in theWormhoudt massacre,[34] alongside other men from the 2ndRoyal Warwickshire Regiment and 4thCheshire Regiment, and men from theRoyal Artillery.[35] The battalion remained with the 144th Brigade, until it was transferred to the211th Infantry Brigade in July 1944. As part of this brigade, the battalion served with the80th Infantry (Reserve) Division and later the38th Infantry (Reserve) Division.[36]
Both the 9th and 10th battalions were formed in late August 1939, the 9th as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 7th Battalion, and the 10th a duplicate of the 8th. The 9th Battalion, formed from many former members of the 7th Battalion, was assigned to the182nd Infantry Brigade, alongside the 2/7th and 9th battalions of theRoyal Warwickshire Regiment, part of the61st Infantry Division and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war, as training battalions to supply drafts of replacements for battalions of other regiments overseas.[37][38]
The 10th Battalion was, like the 9th, also made up of former members of the 8th Battalion and was assigned to the183rd Infantry Brigade, alongside the 7th Battalion,Gloucestershire Regiment and4th Battalion,Northamptonshire Regiment, also of the 61st Infantry Division. The service history of the 10th was much the same as with the 9th, both remaining in the United Kingdom throughout the war. However, in January 1944, while theAllies were training throughout England and preparing for theinvasion of Normandy, the 10th Worcesters and 4th Northants both played an important part in the deception plan to fool theGerman Army.[38]
The 11th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment was raised in July 1940 atNorton Barracks from a smallcadre of 150officers andother ranks, most of them from the pre-warRegular Army.[39] The battalion consisted mainly of menconscripted (or called up) straight from civilian for military service, with most of them coming fromthe Midlands. In October, the battalion joined the213th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), alongside the 13thRoyal Warwickshire Regiment, 14thSouth Staffordshire Regiment and 9thRoyal Berkshire Regiment. In December, the battalion left the brigade and transferred to become themotorised infantry element of the9th Support Group, part of the newly created9th Armoured Division. In June 1942, the Support Group was disbanded and the battalion transferred to24th Independent Guards Brigade Group and later to the33rd Independent Guards Brigade Group, where the standard offoot drill was very high.[39] TheCommanding Officer (CO) of the battalion,Lieutenant ColonelWilliam Reginald Cox of theKing's Shropshire Light Infantry, put forth a proposal to theWar Office for the old 1st Battalion, which had been destroyed atTobruk during theBattle of Gazala in June 1942, to be reformed around the 11th Battalion. The proposal was accepted and so, on 31 December 1942, the 11th Battalion was disbanded. On 1 January 1943, it was renumbered the 1st Battalion, during a parade which included theColonel of the RegimentGeorge GroganVC andField MarshalClaud Jacob.[40] The reformed 1st Battalion transferred, in September 1943, to the214th Infantry Brigade,43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, alongside the 5th Battalion,Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and 7th Battalion,Somerset Light Infantry. The battalion continued training in preparation for operations in North-Western Europe. Together with the rest of the 214th Brigade, the battalionlanded in Normandy, as part ofOperation Overlord, on 24 June 1944, and soon fought inOperation Epsom. On 18 November 1944, duringOperation Clipper, the 1st Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, moved across the Dutch-German border and commenced an attack on German soil to take the village of Tripsrath. Together with their parent unit, 214th Infantry Brigade, they were the first British troops to fight on German soil. Their job was to take the north-west side ofGeilenkirchen to cover the left flank and support the American forces.[41]
The50th (Holding) Battalion was raised inBurton upon Trent on 1 June 1940 and, like with the 11th Battalion, originally consisted of threerifle companies of civiliansconscripted for military service and a fourth formed from men returning from theDunkirk evacuation.[42] In October, it was redesignated as the12th Battalion and became a standard infantry battalion. Most of its existence was spent guardingRAF airfields and alternating between home defence duties and training to repel aGerman invasion. In June 1941, the battalion was sent toIceland, serving alongside theTerritorial49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. In September, the battalion transferred back to the United Kingdom and set forMilton Barracks,Gravesend,Kent. The Barracks was where the old 3rd Battalion had been disbanded in the 1920s. Soon after arrival, the battalion received the news fromGeneralSirBernard Paget,Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces that they were told they were going to be converted into gunners of theRoyal Artillery. On 28 February 1942, the battalion was transferred to theRoyal Artillery and converted into the179th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery and served alongside the reformed 1st Battalion, previously the 11th Battalion, in the43rd (Wessex) Division.[42]
The regiment was amalgamated with theSherwood Foresters to formThe Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) in 1970.[43]
The regiment fought in theMalayan Emergency.[44]
Gheluvelt Park inWorcester was opened on 17 June 1922 to commemorate the Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part inBattle of Gheluvelt, a First World War battle that took place on 31 October 1914 in Gheluvelt (nearYpres),Belgium. The park was opened byField MarshalJohn French, 1st Earl of Ypres, who stated, "on that day the 2nd Worcesters saved the British Empire." A plaque inside the park commemorates Captain Gerald Ernest Lea, who died on 15 September 1914 while commanding D. Company of the 2nd Battalion.[45]
French academicMarcel Mauss developed his theory of "techniques of the body" after watching the Worcester Regiment unsuccessfully incorporate a Frenchmilitary band into itsmilitary parade during the First World War.[46]
The Worcester Soldier galleries (for the Worcestershire Regiment and theQueen's Own Worcestershire Hussars) is part of theWorcester City Art Gallery & Museum[47]
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[6]
