On the evacuation of Palestine in 1948, it served in Somali-land, and later in the Canal Zone of Egypt. It had been from this airfield of El Adem that the garrison of Tobruk had suffered the attentions of the Luftwaffe dive-bombers almost daily. 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. As darkness fell and both battalions having prevented the German attempt at encirclement, they moved out on the road to Goderville and finally to the woods and port of Le Havre. 'Orontes' bound for Suez. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion was in India on the outbreak of the war. An account of the visit is contributed to WW2 Peoples War. If you can find these people I am sure they will share it with you as a relative. Line of Communication troops were brigaded together as infantry to act as support to those two Divisions. The long and illustrious history of the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines began in April of 1914 during WWI when it was activated as one of the three battalions of the Fourth Marine Regiment moved by road the whole length of the Lebanon and Syria to Aleppo, where we were billeted in the aerodrome with companies on detachment to towns on the Turkish frontier - Djerablus, Actarine and Azzaz. 6 Border were a beach landing group at the Normandy landings. When the breakout came, more aggressive raids began, until they were relieved by the Polish Carpathian Division. I met here one Sheikh Hamoudi, who was a friend of Lawrence of Arabia, and Glubb Pasha. was established in a school and detachments were sent out to areas north of here, right up to the Nepalese border. were evacuated. So, once again, we moved from Bangalore to the Jhansi-Sangor area of Central India. But then, on hearing that Rouen had fallen into enemy hands, Fcamp became the destination. In Suez Harbour lay the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, which were transporting Australians to Egypt and Italian prisoners to Australia, and the Mauritania. Intensive field training was carried out but, in addition, we enjoyed the considerable amenities of Hereford. Hello Joseph, Some days afterwards the Bn. My email address is david05803@yahoo.co.uk and I would really appreciate any information to that address post the closure. This was a regimental formation of men drawn from the towns and villages of Cumberland and Westmorland: Carlisle, Penrith,. "Now little remembered, regarded and even by-passed in the history of the time, there were men who fought on in France after the main force of the B.E.F. There was the odd troublesome one, but mostly its own muleteer learned how to control it and to keep it in line. Two whole Divisions, plus many lines of communications and troops were drawn into battle with the Germans. We duly set sail from Calcutta in a British India ship, the Ethiopia, and arrived at the port of Chittagong in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). It continued to serve there, as well as in Burma, until 1890, when it was replaced by 2nd Battalion. Orders soon arrived for us to move south towards the area of the Japanese L. of C. Our first objective was Mokokchung in the Naga Hills, east of Kohima. It deals with the experiences of the 4th Battalion The Border Regiment during World War Two. Hutchinson M.B.E. Evacuation of casualties was a further problem. up the Tiddim Road and in the battles round Bishenpur and also in defence of the Silchar Track; 4 Border in 23 Bde, harassed the lines of communication of the Japanese 31st Div., and met up with 2 Border on the Ukhrul Road in June, 1944. After being earmarked for support in General Archibald Wavell's offensive 'Battleaxe' the next departure was for the Syrian campaign. This would have prevented later train traffic. As I am a volunteer story-gatherer, and no doubt because I have done some research about the war in France, I was asked to type it out and post it to the website. Instead of being flown by glider into Burma to remain during the monsoon period, whilst the other brigades of Special Force were withdrawn, 23rd Brigade was put under the operational command of 14th Army to harass the Japanese L. of C. from the Chindwin to the Imphal/Kohima area, the former town now having been infested by the enemy and the main supply road from railhead to Dimapore cut between the two towns. The 2nd Bn The Kings Own formed 41 and 46 Columns in 111 Bde in the Chindits; 2nd 13n The Border Regt in 20th Indian Division; 4th Bn The Border Regt in 23 Brigade forming 34 and 55 Columns; and the 9th Bn The Border Regt in 17th Indian Division. Remained in India throughout the war. Having fought in the West Indies in the early years of the French Revolutionary War in the 1790s, the 55th were in the Army of the Duke of York in his campaign in the Low Countries in 1799, showing particular gallantry at the Battle of Egmont-op-Zee. These messages were added to this story by site members between June 2003 and January 2006. 1st battalion, 8th infantry, 4th infantry division vietnam. At 3pm Orders received for the 4th and 5th Battalions Northumberland Fusiliers to move from huts they are at present occupying to bivouac in H2g - HQ to Hopital Farm. The Battalion began the task of disarming some 2,000 Japanese and controlling the activity of dacoits on the Mokpalin and Bilin areas. Almost the last sight of land which we had before going out into the Atlantic Ocean was the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, where my wife, Hazel, was then living and where she stayed for most of the war. Even though suppressive Mepacrine tablets were regularly taken, malaria was not entirely suppressed. Some weeks later we were off again by train to Suez. At this time, the Japanese advance into India west of the Chindwin had begun and we were quite ignorant of the exact location of the forward Japanese troops and felt that there was a threat to the railway line with its many bridges, but we arrived safely without incident at Mariani. Repatriation to the U.K. had begun for those with three years and eight months overseas service, so the strength of the battalion was gradually diminishing. 2nd Battalion The Border Regiment on the North-West Frontier of India, c1933. It remained in Britain re-equipping until April 1943, when it took part in the landings in Tunisia. In October 1941, they were taken by destroyer to Tobruk. vessels en route by sea to Tobruk. After returning from the Crimea the 34th were soon on their way to India as reinforcements to fight in the Indian Mutiny. At this time things were going well in the second Wavell offensive and the Bn. 4th Raider Battalion designated as 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. I've left a message for Jemma, the co-ordinator for the Radio Cumbria volunteer story gatherers, asking for your question to be passed on to Mr Hutchinson, and if he has further details. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft. We were actually on the train on Christmas Day, 1944, and it stopped all day at Delhi Station platform. Finally, while still holding Incheville with 'D Company', the Borders and Foresters were driven back, suffering casualties from heavy German mortaring and shelling. I could not imagine a more appropriate ending. had come out with the withdrawal from Europe, not through Dunkirk but further west through Cherbourg and Brest. Border Regiment soldiersatThiepval Wood, August 1916, Medals of Sergeant Fred Bowman, The Border Regiment, c1918. In the American War of Independence, the 4th and 55th fought together in the Army of General Howe, which successfully captured New York in 1776, and Philadelphia in 1777. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Borderers were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. 2/4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion Formed at Kendal in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. In 1857 they fought at the Relief of Lucknow. Pte. As casualties were left for my attention, I and my orderly marched at the rear of the column and, rather than be left behind, we carried the casualtys pack ourselves as well as our own, and it sometimes happened that I arrived at the midday or evening rendezvous with two 80 lb. It would be almost impossible for me to source documentary evidence of kinship to my grand-uncle George. The Brigade now moved into Imphal and was thereafter moved by truck to railhead at Dimapur. David G. Thanks for taking the time to read the article about the 4 Bn Borders in WW2 and your most interesting question. Our heavy equipment was transported by mules, who were the most wonderful animals, and the muleteers became most attached to their animals. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. List of battalions of the Border Regiment, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), "Cumberland militia history Cumbria County Council", "Border Regiment 4th Battalion (TF) 1908-1914", "Border Regiment 5th Battalion (TF) 1908-1914", "The Border Regiment Cumbria's Museum of Military Life", "1st Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "2nd Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "4th (Westmoreland and Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "5th (Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "6th (East Cumberland) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "8th (Home Defence) Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "9th Battalion, Border Regiment during the Second World War", "1st Battalion, 34th Regiment of Foot 17021881/1st Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1959", "1st Battalion, 55th Regiment of Foot 17551881/2nd Battalion, The Border Regiment 1881-1950", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_battalions_of_the_Border_Regiment&oldid=1127169899, Lists of British Army units and formations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Amalgamation of the 1st (Cumberland) and 2nd (Westmorland) Volunteer Battalions, Absorbed into the 4th (Reserve) (Cumberland and Westmorland) on 1 September 1916, Absorbed into the Training Reserve Battalion of the 4th Reserve Brigade, Absorbed into the 1/5th (Cumberland) Battalion on 31 July 1918, Absorbed into the 75th Training Reserve Battalion, 1/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment, 2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment, Amalgamated with the 1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918, 1st Battalion Westmoreland Volunteer Regiment, Amalgamated with the 2/1st Battalion Cumberland Volunteer Regiment February - August 1918, Disbanded post war, Soldiers drafted to one of the nine battalions making up the, October 1940, redesignation of the 50th (Holding) Battalion, Amalgamated with the 4th (Cumberland and Westmorland) Battalion, taking on the name of the latter on 1 December 1945, Redesignated as the 9th Battalion in October 1940, Amalgamated with 2nd Battalion on the 28 October 1950, without a change in title, Amalgamated with 1st Battalion on the 28 October 1950, Amalgamated with 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), to form 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, Transferred to the King's Own Royal Border Regiment, without a change in title, This page was last edited on 13 December 2022, at 07:48. The regiment was continually called upon to fight hostile Indians, guard the courts of justice, assist revenue officers, aid in executing convicted criminals, supervise elections, pursue outlaws and murderers, and in general institute lawful proceedings where anarchy reigned. The fighting continued all day in the beautiful spring day until nightfall when all the companies withdrew, taking numbers of prisoners with them. After an uneventful voyage across the Indian Ocean, we eventually arrived at Bombay. 1st Battalion was again in Burma on the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18), having returned there in 1910. those of the BBC. entrained in a railway tunnel in Malvern presumably for security reasons, although the whole town knew that we were leaving for overseas. It was always a view held amongst commentators that Deolali was a centre where those who had become mentally deranged after long service in crab stations were congregated prior to repatriation to an appropriate institution for their disablement, hence the anxiety of anyone posted to Deolali as to whether they would survive to arrive home or not, a view supported by the fact that the camp area allotted to us was just over a wall around the graveyard which contained graves of servicemen, extending well back into the last century. I've just looked through some of my notes and various books in French and English to refresh my memory of what went on. After Dunkirk, 1 Border were converted to gliderborne troops. The hotel there was situated in an elevated area above a lake with broad steps the whole way down from the hotel to the lake, which, when lighted up at night, was a lovely spectacle. The size of a regiment could range from 1,000 to 5,000 troops. A month earlier these Manchus had been in Alaska preparing for annual winter maneuvers to be conducted in temperatures of 50 below zero. This infantry regiment was formed in 1959. The 1st Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment and the 4th Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment (from Aschaffenburg, Germany) patrolled the Czechoslovakia border with Germany for years in preparation for war with The Soviet Union (USSR .