South Lancashire Regiment
The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958.
Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment)
South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers)
1881–1958
1–2 Regular battalions
1 Militia and Special Reserve battalion
2 Territorial and Volunteer battalions
Up to 15 Hostilities-only battalions
The Excellers[1]
Ich dien (I serve)
The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 as the Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) by the amalgamation of the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers).[2] In 1938, it was renamed the South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers)[3] and on 1 July 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the East Lancashire Regiment to form the Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers).[3]
History[edit]
Formation to the First World War[edit]
The 1st Battalion was in Ranikhet, India, when the regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 as the Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) by the amalgamation of the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot and the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers).[2] It was deployed to Aden in 1884 and returned to the United Kingdom in 1886, where it remained until 1899. The 1st Battalion lost 41 men during the Battle of Spion Kop in February 1900, but then captured Green Hill at the Battle of the Tugela Heights later that month during the Second Boer War.[4]
At the same time as the 40th and 82nd regiments amalgamated to form the South Lancashire Regiment, the 4th Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own Light Infantry) became the new regiment's 3rd Battalion.[5][3][6]
In 1881, the local units of the Volunteer Force were affiliated to the regiment. In 1886, the 9th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps at Warrington and Newton, and the 21st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps at St Helens and Widnes became the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions of the regiment.[7]
The 2nd Battalion spent most of the first 30 years of its existence overseas, while the 3rd Battalion was embodied specifically for service in the Second Boer War.[8] In addition, the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions raised a service company to reinforce the 1st Battalion in the field.[9]
Following the end of the war in South Africa in 1902, the 1st battalion was sent to British India, where they replaced the 2nd battalion in Jubbulpore in Bengal. The 2nd battalion returned home, for the first times since 1884.[10]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[11] the regiment now had one Reserve battalion and two Territorial battalions.[12][3][7][13]
Regimental museum[edit]
The Lancashire Infantry Museum is based at Fulwood Barracks in Preston.[32]
The regiment was awarded the following battle honours:[3]
1. Awarded in error, and withdrawn in 1925
The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:
Colonels of the regiment were:[3]