1st Battalion - Gloucestershire Regiment

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom
Surname/tag: ww1, gloucestershire, the_great_war

The 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment

Contents 1 Formation 2 The Great War Involvement 3 World War Two Involvement 4 Sources

Formation

This regiment was formed during the 1881 Army reforms by merging the 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment and the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment. These became the new unit's 1st and 2nd Battalions respectively. 1880s and 1890s 1st Battalion moved from Britain to Malta, and then Egypt and India. In October 1899, 1st Battalion joined the Boer War (1899-1902), fighting in Cape Colony and Natal, including the Defence of Ladysmith (1899-1900). It was soon joined in South Africa by 2nd Battalion. The latter took part in the Relief of Kimberley (1900) and fought at Paardeberg (1900) and Driefontein (1900).

Both battalions remained in South Africa before undertaking further garrison duties at home, in India and Malta.

The Great War Involvement

04.08.1914 Stationed at Bordon, Hampshire as part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division. 13.08.1914 Mobilised for war and landed at Havre where the Division engaged in various actions on the Western Front including; During 1914 The Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat, The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, First Battle of Ypres. During 1915 Winter Operations 1914-15, The Battle of Aubers, The Battle of Loos. During 1916 The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Bazentin, The Battle of Pozieres, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval. During 1917 The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The Second Battle of Passchendaele. During 1918 The Battle of Estaires, The Battle of Hazebrouck, The Battle of Bethune, The Battle of Drocourt-Queant, The Battle of Epehy, The Battle of the St Quentin Canal, The Battle of Beaurevoir, The Battle of the Selle, The Battle of the Sambre. 11.11.1918 Ended the war in France, Fresnoy-le-Grand.

After the war, 1st Battalion spent three years serving during the Irish War of Independence (1919-21). It then joined the Army of Occupation in Germany before moving to Egypt, Singapore, India and Burma.

World War Two Involvement

1942 - 1943: The Battalion in Burma and was attached to the 17th Indian Division

Sources

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/gloucestershire-regiment