| Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment | |
| Active | 1881–1922 |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry Regiment |
| Role | Line Infantry |
| Size | 2 Regular Battalions 3Militia andSpecial Reserve Battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | Birr Barracks,Birr |
| Nickname(s) | Royal Canadians |
| Patron | Prince of Wales |
| Motto(s) | Ich Dien (I Serve) |
| March | Quick:The Royal Canadian;Come Back to Erin |
The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was aninfantryregiment of the line in theBritish Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry). The 100th Foot was first raised in 1858 and the 109th was first raised in 1853.[1][2][3] Between the time of its formation andIrish independence, it was one of eightIrish regiments raised largely inIreland, with itsBirr Barracks home depot inBirr.[4] It was disbanded with thePartition of Ireland following establishment of the independentIrish Free State in 1922 when the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded.[5]
The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry). The amalgamation of the two regiments into one with the titlePrince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), was part of theUnited Kingdom government's reorganization of theBritish Army under theChilders Reforms, a continuation of theCardwell Reforms implemented in 1879.[6]
It was one of eightIrish regiments raised largely inIreland, with its home depot atBirr Barracks inBirr.[7] The regiment recruited mainly in theprovince ofLeinster. Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within theUnited Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) inDublin, directly under theWar Office in London.[8]
The 1st Battalion, which had been in India, moved to Ireland in 1894. A detachment took part in theFourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895, but the rest of the battalion remained in Ireland until moving toHalifax, Canada, in 1898.[9] The 2nd Battalion moved to Ireland in 1882 and to England in 1888. It transferred toMalta in 1894, and joined theBermuda Garrison the following year. In 1897, it moved to Halifax, and in 1898 to theWest Indies.[9]
Both regular battalions were deployed toSouth Africa for theSecond Boer War. The 1st Battalion saw action aroundBethlehem in April 1902 when 14 men were wounded while the 2nd Battalion held the Heilbron branch line in February 1902 when they had 10 casualties.[10] The 1st battalion stayed until the end of the war, following which 370 officers and men leftCape Town on the SSEnglishman in late September 1902, and arrived at Southampton in late October, when they were posted toFermoy.[11] The3rd (King's County Militia) Battalion, formed from the formerKing's County Royal Rifle Militia, was embodied in early 1900 for service in South Africa. 520 officers and men embarked from Southampton on theSS Kildonan Castle in early March 1900,[12] returning to Ireland after more than two years in late May 1902.[13]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force and the latter theSpecial Reserve;[14] the regiment now had three Special Reserve but no Territorial battalions.[15][16]
The 1st Battalion, which had been atFaizabad in India, landed atLe Havre as part of the82nd Brigade in the27th Division in December 1914 for service on theWestern Front but moved toSalonika in December 1915 and then moved toEgypt for service inPalestine in September 1917.[17] The 2nd Battalion landed atSaint-Nazaire as part of the17th Brigade in the6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front.[17]
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed atAnzac Cove as part of the29th Brigade in the10th (Irish) Division in August 1915 but moved to Salonika in September 1915 and on to Egypt forservice in Palestine in September 1917 before landing atMarseille in June 1918 for service on the Western Front.[17] The 7th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the47th Brigade in the16th (Irish) Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front.[17]
After the war the 1st Leinsters returned to Madras. In August 1921, the governor of Madras requested military support to suppress resistance byMappila rebels. By February 1922 the Malabar Force (which included the Leinsters) under command ofEdward Thomas Humphreys had put down the rebellion.[18]
Due to substantial defence cuts and the establishment of theIrish Free State in 1922, it was agreed that the six formerSouthern Ireland regiments would be disbanded,[19][5] including the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians). On 12 June, five regimentalcolours were laid up in a ceremony at St George's Hall,Windsor Castle in the presence ofHM King George V.[20] The six regiments were then all disbanded on 31 July 1922.[16] With the simultaneous outbreak of theIrish Civil War conflict some thousands of their ex-servicemen and officers contributed to expanding the Free State government's newly formedNational Army. They brought considerable combat experience with them and by May 1923 comprised 50 per cent of its 53,000 soldiers and 20 per cent of its officers.[21] Serving personnel of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment were given the option of transferring to other units if they wished to continue to serve in the British Army.[22]
In recognition of their Canadian roots, the officers of the 1st Battalion decided to give their officers' mess silver 'in trust' to the Government of Canada "as a token of the regard for the Great Dominion which gave birth to the Battalion to be held in trust until such time as the Battalion is again raised". The silver, known as "The Leinster Plate", was deposited for safe keeping at theRoyal Military College of Canada in 1923 at the suggestion ofEdward Mortimer Macdonald andJames MacBrien, Canada'sMinister of National Defence andChief of Staff respectively. The silver is on display at Royal Military College of Canada in the Senior Staff Mess and Museum (Fort Frederic).[23]
In 2013 the Regimental Association erected a memorial to commemorate the regiment's strong linkages with the Birr area, particularly toBirr Barracks.[24]
The regiment'sbattle honours were as follows:[16]
| Campaign | Battle | Date |
|---|---|---|
| None | Armentières 1914 | 1914 |
| Second Battle of Ypres | Battle of Gravenstafel | 22–23 April 1915 |
| Battle of St. Julien | 24 April – 4 May 1915 | |
| Battle of Frezenberg | 8–13 May 1915 | |
| Battle of the Somme | Bourlon Wood | |
| Battle of Guillemont | 3–6 September 1916 | |
| Battle of Ginchy | 9 September 1916 | |
| Battle of Arras | Battle of Vimy Ridge | 9 – 14 April 1917 |
| Third Battle of Ypres | Battle of Messines | 7 – 14 June 1917 |
| Battle of Pilckem Ridge | 31 July – 3 August 1917 | |
| Battle of Langemarck (1917) | 16–18 August 1917 | |
| First Battle of Passchendaele | 12 October 1917 | |
| Second Battle of Passchendaele | 26 October – 10 November 1917 | |
| The German Offensives 1918 | First Battles of the Somme, 1918 | |
| St. Quentin | 21–23 March 1918 | |
| Actions at the Somme Crossings | 24–25 March 1918 | |
| Battle of Rosieres | 26–27 March 1918 | |
| Courtrai 1918 | 28 June 1918 | |
| The Advance To Victory 1918 | Battle of Amiens | 8 – 11 August 1918 |
| Second Battles of the Somme, 1918 | Delville Wood | |
| Cambrai, 1918 (Capture of Cambrai) | 8–9 October 1918 | |
| Battle of Ypres, 1918 | 28 September – 2 October 1918 | |
| Battle of Courtrai | 14–19 October 1918 | |
| Macedonia 1915–17 | Battle of Kastrino | |
| Battle of Struma | ||
| Gallipoli 1915 | Suvla | |
| Sari Bair | ||
| Palestine 1917–18 | First Battle of Gaza | 26 March 1917 |
| Battle of Jerusalem (1917) | 26–30 December 1917 | |
| Battle of Megiddo (1918) | 19 and 25 September 1918 | |
| Nablus | 19 and 25 September 1918 | |
| Battle of Tell 'Asur | 8 and 12 March 1918 |
Colonels of the regiment were:[16]
