Northland Regiment
15th (North Auckland) Regiment North Auckland Regiment Northland Regiment | |
---|---|
Princess Margaret (1955–1964) |
The Northland Regiment was a territorial
History
The 15th (North Auckland) Regiment was formed on 17 March 1911 as part of a reorganisation of New Zealand's military which saw the old Volunteer Force converted into a Territorial Force based on compulsory military training.[1] The regiment was completely new and had no lineage to units of the Volunteer Force.[2]
At the outbreak of the
In 1921, the New Zealand territorial regiments were reorganised into larger regiments, similar to those of the First World War, with the 15th (North Auckland) Regiment becoming the 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment.[5] The amalgamations were short lived and in 1923, the previous organisation was reverted to, although the ordinals were dropped and the 3rd Battalion was redesignated as the North Auckland Regiment.[6]
Another reorganisation occurred in 1937 when the North Auckland Regiment was reduced to a depot and supplied a single rifle company to the 1st Composite Battalion. The battalion also had rifle companies from the
During the
Men from the regiment saw active service overseas with the
[11]The North Auckland Regiment was redesignated as the Northland Regiment in 1951 to better reflect its recruiting area
A reorganisation of the Territorial Force in 1961 saw the number of infantry battalions reduced from nine to six. To avoid the disbandment of any regiments, three regiments, including the Northland Regiment, became "recessed". The recessed regiments would not raise a battalion and only consist of a regimental headquarters, a band and two rifle companies. The two companies would wear the cap badge of the recessed regiment, but be operationally part of a battalion of one of the non-recessed regiments. The Northland Regiment therefore formed C and D companies of the Auckland Regiment.[15]
In 1964 all of the territorial infantry regiments were merged into the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. The Northland Regiment was amalgamated with the Auckland Regiment (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) in 1964, becoming 3rd Battalion (Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland).[1]
Battle Honours
The North Auckland regiment was presented a stand of colours by the Governor-General, Viscount Galway, at Dargaville in 1937. The following battle honours earned during the First World War were authorised to be emblazoned on the colours:[1]
- Flers-Courcelette
- Messines 1917
- Passendale
- Bapaume 1918
- Havrincourt
- Canal du Nord
- Cambrai 1918
- Krithia
- Landing at Anzac
- Defence of Anzac
The regiment also inherited the battle honours of the 18th (until 5 October 1942), 21st, 24th and 29th Battalions.[1] The following battle honours were authorised to be emblazoned on the colours:
- Mount Olympus
- Crete
- Tobruk 1941
- El Alamein
- Tebaga Gap
- Enfidaville
- The Sangro
- Cassino I
- The Senio
- Solomons
Alliances
The Northland Regiment was allied with the following regiment:[16]
References
- ^ ISBN 0908596057.
- ^ "H19: Defence Forces of New Zealand". Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives. 1911. p. 3.
- ^ Burton, O. E. (1922). Auckland Regiment. Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs.
- ^ "Auckland Infantry Regiment". NZHistory. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ "No. 68" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. 21 July 1921. p. 1950.
- ^ "No. 53" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. 21 June 1923. p. 1743.
- ISBN 0473068338.
- ^ Cooke 2002, p. 323.
- ISBN 9781869794460.
- OCLC 11568803.
- OCLC 11136356.
- OCLC 559408067.
- OCLC 8061122.
- ^ "No. 66" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. 9 August 1951. p. 1161.
- ^ Fenton, D. (1998). A False Sense of Security: the Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946–1978. Wellington: Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington. pp. 104–105.
- ISBN 0473032902.