Hertfordshire Regiment
Hertfordshire Regiment | |
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Palestine Mandate | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft, |
The Hertfordshire Regiment was a
Pre 1908
The origins of the regiment lay in the
Although the volunteer battalions saw no active service as units, during the Second Boer War the two battalions raised three volunteer Active Service Companies to serve in South Africa, all of which were attached to 2nd battalion the Bedfordshire Regiment. In total 279 men volunteered to serve in the campaign.[7]
1908–1919
In 1908 the British Army's reserve forces were reorganised as part of the Haldane Reforms. The Volunteer Force was merged with the Yeomanry to create a new Territorial Force (TF), organised into 14 infantry divisions for mobilisation in the event of war. The two Hertfordshire Volunteer Battalions were amalgamated to become the Hertfordshire Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment (T.F.) with its headquarters at Port Hill in Hertford (since demolished).[8][9] The following year the battalion was constituted separately and titled 1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment, though it remained associated with the regular Bedfordshire Regiment, existing in lieu of a second Bedfordshire territorial battalion.[10]
First World War
During the First World War, the Territorial Force was expanded and the Hertfordshire Regiment gained an additional three battalions. The original battalion was renumbered 1/1st, while three second line duplicates were formed, numbered 2/1st, 3/1st and 4/1st respectively. The 1/1st Hertfordshires was the only battalion to serve abroad, the remainder fulfilling recruit training and home-defence functions.[11]
1/1st Battalion
On the outbreak of war, the battalion was embodied at Hertford under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Brand. It joined the British Expeditionary Force in France on 6 November 1914, serving in the trenches during the closing stages of the First Ypres. Later that month the battalion joined the 4th (Guards) Brigade of the 2nd Division. Due to this attachment, it acquired the nickname the Hertfordshire Guards, and adopted many Guards’ peculiarities, including the numbering of its companies.[12] In January 1915 Lieutenant Colonel Croft took command and the following month the battalion supported the 1st Irish Guards and 3rd Coldstream Guards in their seizure of the Brickstacks position at Cuinchy. In May it was again in action during the Battle of Festubert, consolidating the advance of the Irish Guards under heavy shellfire. On 19 August 1915 it was moved to the 6th Brigade within the same division, in time for the Battle of Loos. On 27 September the battalion, alongside 1st King's (Liverpool Regiment), was due to assault the enemy lines beside Cuinchy. The attack however, was cancelled due to the failure of the gas released as its preliminary to impact the enemy.[12]
Much of the following winter was spent in the
The battalion spent the first half of 1917 holding the line near Ypres. In July it began training for its next major action, the Third Battle of Ypres. On the opening day, 31 July 1917, 39th Division mounted an advance towards Pilckem Ridge. The 1/1st Hertfordshires were employed in the third phase of the operation. Advancing over the Steenbeek towards the Langemarck Line, the battalion suffered increasingly heavy casualties from enemy machine-gun fire. On reaching the enemy wire it was found to have been undamaged by the artillery bombardment and the battalion was forced to fall back under heavy fire and strong German counterattacks. Every officer was a casualty, eleven of whom including the commanding officer were killed, while the other ranks suffered 459 casualties. Subsequently, Lieutenant Colonel Phillips took command and drafts of men were received to rebuild the battalion. During the remaining months of the year it continued to play a peripheral role in the fighting at Ypres.[15]
In early 1918 the battalion was transferred to
On the date of the Armistice the battalion was in reserve, and it remained in France prior to completing demobilization in April 1919.[17] A memorial to the regiment, overlooking the site of 1/1st Battalion's attack on 31 July 1917, was unveiled near St Julien on the hundredth anniversary of the action in 2017.[18]
2/1st Battalion
The battalion formed at Hertford in September 1914 with the purpose of raising and training recruits for the 1/1st battalion fighting overseas. Additionally, it was tasked with home defence duties. In January 1915 it joined the 207th (2nd East Midland) Brigade in 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division at Newmarket, moving to Harrogate in June 1916. On 20 September 1917 the battalion disbanded at Carburton.[19]
3/1st Battalion
The battalion formed at Hertford in December 1914, moving to Halton Park by October 1915. Re-titled ‘1st Reserve battalion’. On 11 July 1917 it amalgamated with 5th Reserve battalion, the
4/1st Battalion
The battalion formed at Thetford in November 1915 from half of 2/1st Battalion, made up to strength with drafts from 3/1st Battalion. It joined the 206th (2nd Essex) Brigade in 69th Division. In July 1916 it moved to Harrogate and thence to Welbeck in April 1917, where it was disbanded that August.[1][20]
1920–1939
The Territorial Force was reformed as the
1939–1945
1st Battalion
The 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment mobilised on the outbreak of war, as part of
In the subsequent fortnight, the advance continued and the battalion was involved in operations to clear the enemy from a series of positions in mountainous terrain, notably playing a part in the capture of Monte Gamberaldi. The battalion was temporarily withdrawn to recuperate and returned to the frontline in mid-October being employed in the capture of Monte Ceco.
2nd Battalion
The 2nd Battalion was formed around the core of 1 and 2 companies of the 1st Battalion. It joined 162nd Infantry Brigade of the 54th (East Anglian) Division alongside the 1st Battalion and was employed in anti-invasion duties until the end of 1942. In July 1943 it re-rolled to become the infantry element of a ‘Beach Group’. The task of these new units was to provide local defence and communications on the landing beaches during the invasion of Europe. Alongside the infantry, they comprised a number of specialist sections drawn from the technical branches, as well as balloon and anti-aircraft artillery detachments, the total force amounting to around 5,000 men. The 2nd Hertfordshires joined 9 Beach Group, and the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Harper, was appointed overall commander.[27]
On
1945–Present
On 31 January 1945 the 1st battalion landed at
The Territorial Army was reformed in 1947 and the regiment reconstituted as a single battalion, the 2nd battalion being absorbed into the 1st.[34] In November 1960 a government White Paper outlined a general reduction in the size of the Territorial Army and the following year 1st Battalion the Hertfordshire Regiment (TA) was amalgamated with 5th Battalion the Bedfordshire Regiment (TA) to form the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA).[35] Following a further amalgamation in 1967, the lineage of the Hertfordshire Regiment is now maintained within the Royal Anglian Regiment, specifically by the 3rd Battalion.[36]
The Colours of the Hertfordshire Regiment are laid up in
Battle honours
The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours, those shown in bold being borne on the Colours:[39]
- South Africa 1900–02
The First World War:
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The Second World War:
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Victoria Cross
Two members of the Hertfordshire Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross, both of whom were serving in 1/1st Battalion during the First World War.
- Corporal Alfred Burt for actions on 27 September 1915 at Cuinchy[40]
- Second Lieutenant Frank Young posthumously for actions on 18 September 1918 south east of Havrincourt.[41]
Notes
- ^ a b c "1914-1918.net – Hertfordshire Regiment.".
- ^ I.F.W. Beckett (2003), p.51.
- ^ Mills, T F. "The Hertfordshire Regiment". Regiments.Org. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ "The Hertfordshire Regiment, An Illustrated History". Hertfordshire Genealogy. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.22-4.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), p.24.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), p.45.
- ^ "Hertford". The Drill Hall Project. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Port Hill, Hertford, Hertfordshire". HPS. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), p.47.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.65-6.
- ^ a b "Hertfordshire Regiment War Diary: 1914-15".
- ^ "Hertfordshire Regiment War Diary: 1916".
- ^ G.W.H. Peters (1970), p.72.
- ^ "Hertfordshire Regiment War Diary: 1917".
- ^ "Hertfordshire Regiment War Diary: 1918".
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.64-5.
- ^ "Memorial Hertfordshire Regiment".
- ^ "Hertfordshire Regiment 1914-19.".
- ^ Becke, pp. 91–8.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.71-2.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.74-6.
- ^ R.H. Medley (1995), pp.229-35.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.84-5.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.86-8.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.89-90.
- ^ R.H. Medley (1995), pp.269-71.
- ^ R.H. Medley (1995), p.271-73
- ^ "Monuments: Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy 1944". 1944 The Battle of Normandy. The Memory. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.90-1.
- ^ R.H. Medley (1995), p.264.
- ^ D. Wilson (2008), pp.71, 73-4.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), p.91.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), p.97.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.105.
- ^ "Family Tree of the Royal Anglian Regiment". The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum. The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "All Saints Hertford.". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.68-9.
- ^ J.D. Sainsbury (1988), pp.46, 68, 96.
- ^ "Medal listing of Burt, Alfred Alexander". Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ "Medal listing of Young, Frank Edward". Retrieved 11 August 2012.
References
- Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
- I.F.W. Beckett, Discovering English County Regiments (Princes Risborough, 2003).
- R.H. Medley, Cap Badge: The Story of Four Battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the Hertfordshire Regiment (TA) 1939-1947 (London, 1995).
- G.W.H. Peters, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (London, 1970).
- J.D. Sainsbury, The Hertfordshire Regiment: An Illustrated History (Ware, 1988).
- D. Wilson, With the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine 1945-1948 (Barnsley, 2008).
External links
- Media related to Hertfordshire Regiment at Wikimedia Commons