Two other nicknames associated with the new regiment were inherited from the 61st Regiment; The Flowers of Toulouse, from the scarlet uniforms of that regiment's many dead in the Battle of Toulouse, and The Silver-Tailed Dandies, from the silver decorations on the longer-than-normal coat tails of the 61st Regiment's uniform. Other units fared little better, with 3rd Brigade having been reduced to little more than battalion strength. Sixteen battalions of the regiment saw active service in France and Flanders, Italy, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Salonika, losing a total of 8,100 men killed and winning 72 different battle honours. The outmanned ranks of the 28 th (North Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot) were given the order “Front rank stay as you are, rear rank about turn.” They held their ground in a desperate battle and the British accepted the surrender of the French garrison a few months later. Each of the Territorial Force battalions volunteered for service overseas and raised a second battalion. The Boers discovered the incursion at dawn and surrounded the position, and although the British held out for several hours they were forced to surrender at 12:30. [48], The first-line territorials proceeded to France in March 1915 as part of the 48th (South Midland) Division; the 1/4th and 1/6th Battalions in the 144th Brigade, and the 1/5th Battalion in the 145th Brigade. He had no choice but to leave the wounded, estimated at some 100. The Korean War accounted for 113 fatalities among the Glosters, 36 of them in captivity. The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is a registered charity. By 28 May, the battalion had concentrated at Ledringhem, where it was surrounded, and it withdrew under orders in the early hours of 29 May. They were low on ammunition, though in their favour the 45th Field Regiment were still able to provide support. We were prisoners. [69] 1st Battalion returned to the area on 5 October when they occupied the trenches in a chalk pit just behind Bois Hugo, now in enemy hands. [114], On reverting to the infantry role, the 10th Battalion was assigned to the 72nd Brigade in the 36th Infantry Division. Beret / Cap / Gloucestershire Regiment Front; Gloucestershire Regiment Front. Call 01676 525 840 for availability and to check the current price so we can place a back order | Add to Compare; Quick Overview. The six territorial battalions were numbered 1/4th, 2/4th, 1/5th, 2/5th, 1/6th, and 2/6th. In this battle the British First Army attacked in the area of Neuve Chapelle in support of the French Tenth Army offensive to the south (the Second Battle of Artois). [53] In March and April 1917, the three battalions saw action in the advance to the Hindenburg Line south of the Somme. Later that day B Company twice took the hill, both times being forced back by heavy artillery fire which cost it some 30 casualties. [89][90][91], 8th Battalion was back in action on 30 July in another attack on the Intermediate Trench, which also failed, and for the second time in a week the battalion lost its commanding officer when Major Lord A.G. Thynne, who had taken over command on 24 July, was wounded. shipping: + $12.14 shipping . The survivors split into small groups and attempted to evade the Chinese surrounding them to reach friendly lines. Following the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 – part of the Haldane Reforms which restructured the British Army and converted the militia and volunteer battalions into the Special Reserve and the Territorial Force – the 4th (Militia) Battalion was disbanded, and at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the Gloucestershire Regiment comprised: During the war the regiment raised an additional 18 battalions, and in total 16 battalions of the Gloucestershire Regiment saw active service in France and Flanders, Italy, Gallipoli, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and Salonika. Nov 30, 2015 - This Pin was discovered by Barry Ranns. The third engagement of the battle, the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge, began 8 May when three Germans Corps attacked the salient in an arc across the Menin road from northeast to southeast. Daniell pp. [73], On the third day of the Battle of Albert (1–13 July 1916), the opening engagement of the offensive, 57th Brigade attacked from the west and north of La Boiselle and then entered the village. [47], As the battle raged on around Ypres the Glosters were repeatedly called upon to participate in costly counter-attacks: on 31 October and 2 November around Gheluvelt; on 6 November towards Zwarteleen some 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Ypres; and on 11 November in the Battle of Nonne Bosschen. Boots and Beret Cold Cast Bronze Military Statue Sculpture. The loss of the F echelon position meant that the battalion was now cut off. During the latter, the battalion was held up for nearly four hours until Private Francis George Miles went forward alone and knocked out two enemy machine-gun positions, for which action he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). Base 5 x 5 inches. [46], On 28 October 1st Battalion was notified that it may be called on as a reserve by 1st Brigade. Daniell refers to Salonika as Macedonia. [1][2] The new regiment comprised two regular and four auxiliary battalions. At 06:30 the next day Lt.Duncan appeared at battalion HQ to report the loss of his guns; a large German force had emerged from the early morning mist and practically annihilated the Guards battalions. 166, 168. [19][20] The reforms also added the county's auxiliary forces to the regiment's establishment, and at its formation it thus comprised two regular, two militia and two volunteer battalions: The Gloucestershire Regiment inherited from the 28th Regiment the privilege of wearing the back badge. Company C was in reserve near Hill 314, overlooking battalion headquarters (HQ) and Support Company at Solma-Ri. The battalion lost 4 officers and 36 other ranks in the fighting, and two MCs and three DCMs were awarded. Littlewood, p. 197, gives total 'casualties' to the regiment as 7,958, including officers attached to other units, but excluding reserve and home depot casualties. [61][62], In the Battle of Loos (25 September–8 October 1915) the British First Army attacked between Grenay and Givenchy in support of the French Tenth Army attack further south against Vimy (the Third Battle of Artois). We hope to increase the size of our database with names of soldiers from … Brought back up to strength in September, the battalion was engaged in four days of fierce fighting at Pinwe in November, losing all the officers in both A and C Companies, and all but one in B Company, before being relieved on 26 November. In early December, during the Battle of Cambrai, a heavy German counter-attack forced both the 2/4th and 2/6th Battalions out of their positions in the front line at La Vacquerie, 7.5 miles (12 km) south-west of Cambrai, reducing the 2/4th Battalion to two companies and inflicting casualties of 16 officers and 308 other ranks on the 2/6th Battalion. Later in 1915, the battalion saw action in the Battle of Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Loos, and it was active during the Somme offensive in 1916 during the Battles of Bazentin and Pozières, and in an attack on High Wood. On 15 March, the battalion entered the Boer city of Bloemfontein, where it remained on garrison duties until 1904. [145][123][146], The other battalions of the 29th Brigade had also been engaged in desperate fighting, though without the same scale of losses, and in total the brigade suffered 1,091 casualties. [117] At the end of August, 14th Battalion went with 35th Division to the Third Army on the Arras front, and in February 1917 they were transferred again, to the Fourth Army to relieve the French 154th Division around Chaulnes and Chilly, over 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Barleux. The battle had reduced the battalion's strength to about 550 all ranks. The 8th Battalion was formed from the National Defence Companies and consisted of men too old, too young or unfit for active service, and the younger contingent from this battalion later formed the 70th Battalion. The troops were caught in the open for several hours before they were able to extricate themselves at the cost of five men killed, including the battalion commander, and 58 wounded. When hit by bullets they snapped like glass and the fragments were responsible for 7 head and neck wounds. If an engraving is required, please leave a note of what is required at checkout. The battalion's quartermaster had to move fast to secure custody of the wine inventory before the quartermasters of other regiments arrived. The 11th Battalion was created in October 1940 from a re-designation of the 50th (Holding) Battalion, and 32,000 men in 19 battalions of the Home Guard wore the badges of the regiment. On 8 October they took the brunt of an enemy counter-attack there that was estimated at six battalions, which, with support from the artillery of 15th Division, was quickly broken up. [43][44] In July 1918, the 27th Division was transferred to XII Corps south-west of Dojran, and the capture of the Roche Noire salient on 1 September, at a cost of 89 casualties, was the last action of the 2nd Battalion in the war. Including attached troops, the total strength in the forward positions on the Imjin river was around 774 men. Their assault on the hill was finally broken up after sunrise by airstrikes. [93] On the eve of the Second World War, the Territorial Army (TA), as the Territorial Force had been renamed, was doubled in size, and the 7th Battalion was created in August 1939 as the second-line duplicate of the 5th Battalion.[94]. C Company advanced into the chateau northeast of the village, but took several casualties early on and ceased to exist as a company when the few officers remaining became separated. The battalion had lost 7 officers and 160 other ranks. [111], It had been agreed in November that the British Fourth Army would take over the French Sixth Army's positions between Peronne and Roye south of the Somme, and by February 1917 the territorials of 1/4th and 1/6th were in the front line north of Barleux, with 1/5th in reserve at Flaucourt. On 16 March 1900, a company of 124 officers and men from the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions landed at Cape Town. 1st Battalion sustained 264 casualties this day - 11 officers and 253 other ranks. In the early hours of 12 May Captain Vicary conducted a lone reconnaissance of a small hill that overlooked the British lines and which had been lost the previous day. He was nevertheless able to gather the remnants, now numbering 7 officers and 170 other ranks, at Shwebo on 27 April, and the battalion was subsequently reinforced by a draft of 3 officers and 120 other ranks. - The Long, Long Trail", "What was an Infantry Brigade? By 1951, the United Nations forces had successfully repelled the Soviet-supported North Korean army, led by Kim Il-Sung, from the southern part of the peninsula, and pushed the dividing line to north of the 38 th parallel. The Battle of Imjin River saw 866 … Tresise, who assumed command after both officers became casualties, was awarded the DCM. [24], The Gloucestershire Regiment began life quietly. [124] The 657 men of the 1st Battalion's fighting component, supported by C Troop 170th Heavy Mortar Battery RA, were thinly spread on the brigade's left flank in positions set back some 2,000 yards (1,800 m) from the river, guarding a ford near the village of Choksong. [119], "I can go on taking the damned hill as often as you want, but I cannot hold it", Active service battalions and their brigade/division attachments, The Territorial Force was originally designed to replace the regular army in home defence when the latter was sent overseas. Accordingly a platoon and Lt. Duncan's machine-gun section went into the line alongside the Coldstream Guards at the Kruiseecke crossroads on the Menin road 1 mile (1.6 km) south east of Gheluvelt. [37][38] The battalion saw action again in September and October on the Hindenburg Line in the Battles of Épehy and St Quentin Canal. [50], In December 1917, the 48th Division transferred to Italy, where the battalions were weakened by an outbreak of influenza. As a measure of the fighting that engulfed the whole brigade, the, 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, 1st (City of Bristol) Volunteer Battalion, 7th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, 12th (Service) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment (Bristol's Own), Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 66th (Gloucesters) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery, 118th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies, "Bragg's Regiment and the 28th Foot – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "The Creation of the 61st Regiment of Foot – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "North and South Gloucestershire – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "The Battle of Alexandria – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "The Gloucestershire Regiment – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "The Siege of Ladysmith – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "Regulars and Volunteers in the Boer War – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "Outbreak of First World War – Soldiers of Gloucestershire", "The Gloucesters on the Somme – Soldiers of Gloucestershire", "Outbreak of First World War – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "The Fifth Gloucester Gazette a chronicle, serious and humorous, of the Battalion while serving with the British Expeditionary Force", "The muse in arms, a collection of war poems, for the most part written in the field of action", "The Hindenburg Line & Third Ypres – Soldier of Gloucestershire", "Cassel and Ledringhem – Soldiers of Gloucestershire", "Front Line Frankie & Vinegar Joe – Soldiers of Gloucestershire", "The End of the War in South-East Asia – Soldiers of Gloucestershire", "Heroic last stand of the Glosters – Battle of Imjin River", "The Trials and Release of the P.O.Ws – Imjin River", "Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 December 1953", "28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot", "61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot", The Official Website of the Gloucestershire Regimental Association, The Regimental Museum – The Soldiers of Gloucestershire, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gloucestershire_Regiment&oldid=990465508, Military units and formations established in 1881, Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War, Regiments of the British Army in World War II, Regiments of the British Army in World War I, Military units and formations in Gloucestershire, Military units and formations disestablished in 1994, 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom, Military units and formations in Burma in World War II, Recipients of the Presidential Unit Citation (United States), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Ramillies, Louisburg, Guadaloupe 1759, Quebec 1759, Martinique 1762, Havannah, St Lucia 1778, Corunna, Barrosa, Albuhera, Vittoria, Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Maida, Talavera, Busaco, Salamanca, Chillianwallah, Goojerat, Punjaub, Delhi 1857, Egypt, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, A badge of the Reconnaissance Corps with years '1944–1945' and scroll 'North-West Europe', 1st Battalion – formerly the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, 2nd Battalion – formerly the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, 3rd (Militia) Battalion – formerly the Royal South Gloucestershire Militia, 4th (Militia) Battalion – formerly the Royal North Gloucestershire Militia, 2nd Battalion – deployed to Tianjin, China, 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion – formerly 3rd (Militia) Battalion, 1st Battalion – stationed around Rangoon in Burma. The newly formed Gloucestershire Regiment went on to serve in the Second Boer War (1899 to 1902) and two World Wars. Gloucestershire Regiment Front. [105] The battalion was rested and brought back up to strength in India, where it spent the remainder of the war, and saw no further action. The Glosters advanced 500 yards (460 m) with three companies forward and the fourth in support, but lost touch with both Borderers and Guards. [10], In March 1801, the 28th Regiment formed part of the British expeditionary force that landed at Aboukir Bay in Egypt to oppose Napoleon's Army of the East. It was recaptured in a counter-attack led by the adjutant, Captain Anthony Farrar-Hockley, and the Chinese launched seven attacks in one hour in an attempt to take it again, all without success. [79][80] The gazette featured jokes, poetry, short stories, news and satirical adverts. [94] On the 1/4th's right, 1/6th Battalion was engaged in two days of fierce fighting before finally subduing the enemy and securing the flank on the morning of 23 July. [123][127][d] The battalion's second-in-command, Major Digby Grist, was with rear headquarters ("F echelon") some five miles (eight kilometres) behind, on route Five Yankee (5Y) to Seoul. Shortly after celebrating its tercentenary in 1994, the regiment, which carried more battle honours on its colours than any other regiment of the line, was merged with the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment to form the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. In the afternoon 3rd Brigade came up and relieved the surviving Glosters, though a party of some 50 or 60 men under B Company commander Captain Blunt remained in positions in front of the line until the evening. At the end of March, 10 days of fighting, retreating and digging-in near St. Quentin reduced the 2/5th Battalion to 150 men during Operation Michael, the opening phase of the German Spring Offensive. It pushed south along the Mandalay railway and captured Taungni on 9 August, during which period the 10th Battalion lost more men to sickness than enemy action. Daniell pp. [25], Five days later, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion were part of a small force tasked with seizing Nicholson's Nek, a pass some 6 miles (10 km) north of Ladysmith, during the Battle of Ladysmith. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion was posted to India, with a five-month interlude in Shanghai at short notice from February 1927 when warring Chinese factions threatened the Shanghai International Settlement. 117–118. The battalion continued to act as rearguard, crossing the River Chindwin at Kalewa on 9 May and into India at Tamu at the end of the month. Daniell p208 Daniell gives the casualties as 11 officers and 275 other ranks, Wyrall p122. Before World War I it comprised two regular battalions, two reserve battalions, and two territorial battalions. At the end of a two-week retreat from Mons the French managed to stop the Germans on the outskirts of Paris in the First Battle of the Marne. [61], The 9th Battalion was formed in Bristol in September 1914 and reached France in September 1915 as part of the 78th Brigade in the 26th Division. your own Pins on Pinterest The regiment itself, along with C Troop 170th Heavy Mortar Battery, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. back badge with slider to reverse . [71], Before dawn on 30 June, during the Battle of the Boar's Head (30 June 1916), the pioneers of 13th Battalion supported the 116th Brigade attack on a German salient south of Neuve Chapelle known as the Boar's Head. Littlewood pp. The other Regiments on our flanks got it worse if anything. [134] Company B had not been pressed during the night, but the withdrawal of D Company on its left and the Fusiliers on its right left the company exposed, and it fell back to Hill 314, 800 yards (730 m) east of C Company. I am awfully sorry". [4][5] Another predecessor, the 61st Regiment of Foot, was formed in 1758 when the British Army was expanded during the Seven Years' War. Eleven schools throughout our area had Combined Cadet Force contingents and some 18 months later the 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, with its headquarters based at … It ran for 25 issues, the last of which appeared in January 1919. [138][e] With the Glosters' position still vital to the integrity of Line Kansas, Carne received orders at 07:00 on 24 April from the 3rd Division commander, General Soule, to stand his ground. By 1760, Gloucestershire had raised two battalions of militia, and these were organised in 1763 as the South Gloucestershire Militia based at Gloucester and the North Gloucestershire Militia at Cirencester. [154][155] The Glosters paraded for the last time on 26 March 1994 in Gloucester. [62], Unnamed lance-corporal, 10th BattalionBattle of Loos[63], The 10th Battalion was raised in September 1914 in Bristol, but was recruited mainly by volunteers from Cheltenham. The battalion saw its last action of the war supporting the 26th Indian Brigade attack at Myitson on the River Shweli, during which D Company was cut off for five days before the rest of the battalion was able to link up with it on 16 February. 10th Princess Mary`s Own Gurkha Rifles Anodised Aluminium Beret Badge with fixing. The 61st Division moved to Ypres in July, and all three battalions fought near Gheluvelt in the Battle of Passchendaele the following month, when the 2/4th Battalion suffered particularly badly with over 200 casualties. Beret / Cap / Gloucestershire Regiment Front; Gloucestershire Regiment Front. [129][130] There was a two-mile (three-kilometre) gap between the Glosters and the 1st Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers on their right, and on their left the 12th Regiment of the South Korean (ROK) 1st Infantry Division was one mile (two kilometres) away. Awarded for actions during the First World War; Hardy Falconer Parsons – 14th Battalion. [114] 8th Battalion spent the rest of 1916 out of the line at Gézaincourt, Beauval, and Bayencourt, with spells in the trenches around Hébuterne and Courcelles in January and February 1917. That same year, the 1st Battalion was reduced to a cadre and returned from India to the UK, and the 2nd Battalion was posted to Jamaica and detached companies to Bermuda and British Honduras (modern day Belize). [135] In the afternoon, Major Grist was with the battalion HQ during a lull in the fighting, having come up with supplies, when news came through of an attack on the F echelon position. £10.00 ... £100.00 . After the war it was republished as a compilation titled The Fifth Gloucester Gazette a chronicle, serious and humorous, of the Battalion while serving with the British Expeditionary Force. Their situation had become critical when the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards was forced back, exposing the Glosters' left flank. [83][84][85], All second-line territorial and New Army battalions had been disbanded and the regiment returned to its pre-war establishment by the end of 1919. Photographic memories of the 1st Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment: The Purpose of this web site is to remember the personnel who served in The Gloucestershire Regiment and to help trace ex Glosters. It lined the route of King George VI's funeral procession on 15 February 1952, and it was presented with its first colours at a ceremony in Gloucester on 26 April, the two regular battalions having retained those of their predecessor regiments up to that point. I passed him on his way down – though hit in seven places, his courage was wonderful. The division was destined for Burma, and thus the battalion "having been trained as infantry, tank troops, and combined-operations troops, went straight into jungle warfare, for which we had had no training".