History Somerset Light Infantry

1 history

1.1 history

1.1.1 formation
1.1.2 jacobite wars
1.1.3 9 years war
1.1.4 war of spanish succession
1.1.5 anglo-spanish war
1.1.6 war of austrian succession
1.1.7 forty 5
1.1.8 return europe


1.2 13th regiment of foot

1.2.1 american revolutionary war


1.3 13th (1st somersetshire) regiment of foot

1.3.1 french revolutionary , napoleonic wars
1.3.2 war united states


1.4 13th (1st somersetshire) regiment (light infantry)

1.4.1 first anglo-burmese war
1.4.2 first anglo-afghan war


1.5 13th (1st somersetshire) (prince albert s light infantry) regiment of foot

1.5.1 crimean war
1.5.2 return india
1.5.3 formation of second battalion


1.6 prince albert s (somerset light infantry)

1.6.1 childers reforms
1.6.2 actions in india , burma
1.6.3 second boer war
1.6.4 haldane reforms
1.6.5 first world war
1.6.6 inter-war period


1.7 somerset light infantry (prince albert s)

1.7.1 second world war

1.7.1.1 regular army
1.7.1.2 territorial army
1.7.1.3 hostilities-only


1.7.2 post war amalgamation


1.8 amalgamation

history
early history
formation

theophilus hastings, 7th earl of huntingdon, founder of regiment



original uniform of earl of huntingdon s regiment in 1685

the regiment 1 of 9 regiments of foot raised james ii when expanded size of army in response monmouth rebellion. on 20 june 1685, theophilus hastings, 7th earl of huntingdon issued warrant authorising him raise regiment, , accordingly earl of huntingdon s regiment of foot formed, recruiting in county of buckinghamshire.

jacobite wars

the regiment remained in existence when william iii came throne in glorious revolution of 1688. fernando hastings took on colonelcy of regiment, accordingly became hastings s regiment of foot. hastings s regiment first saw action @ battle of killiecrankie, failed halt advance of jacobite rebels, although later defeated @ battle of dunkeld. regiment accompanied william ireland in following year, fighting in decisive williamite victories @ boyne , cork.

nine years war

the jacobite struggles in scotland , ireland part of wider european conflict became known 9 years war. in 1692, hastings regiment sailed flanders and, in 1694, took part in disastrous amphibious assault @ camaret on french coast. in 1695, colonel fernando hastings found guilty of extortion, , dismissed. sir john jacob became colonel, , jacob s regiment of foot returned england @ end of war in 1697.

war of spanish succession

after period of garrison duty in ireland, jacob s regiment returned flanders in 1701. in following year, colonelcy again changed, sir john jacob choosing retire. sold colonelcy brother-in-law, lieutenant-general james barry, 4th earl of barrymore, 1,400 guineas. outbreak of war of spanish succession, earl of barrymore s regiment of foot saw action @ sieges or battles of kaiserwerth, venlo, roermond, huy, limburg , liège.

in 1704, barrymore s regiment moved iberian peninsula taking part in defence of recently-captured gibraltar (1704–05) , siege of barcelona (1705). in 1706, bulk of regiment converted regiment of dragoons due shortage of cavalry. barrymore returned england small cadre; regiment re-raised , returned spain. unit fought @ battle of almanza (1707), battle of la caya (1709), battle of tortosa (1711) , battle of st mateo (1711). in 1711, regiment started long period of garrison duty @ gibraltar. in 1715, became cotton s regiment of foot when stanhope cotton succeeded barrymore.

anglo-spanish war

when war broke out spain in 1727, cotton s part of force resisted spanish siege of gibraltar. regiment returned england in following year. remained there until 1742, name changing colonelcy: kerr s regiment of foot (lord mark kerr) in 1725, middleton s regiment of foot (brigadier-general john middleton) in 1732 , pulteney s regiment of foot (general harry pulteney) in 1739.

war of austrian succession

soldier of 13th regiment, 1742

in 1742, pulteney s regiment sailed flanders, , in following year part of joint british, hanoverian , austrian force secured victory on french @ battle of dettingen in june 1743. in may 1745, situation reversed when part of allied army decisively defeated @ battle of fontenoy.

the forty 5

in 1745, pulteney s regiment returned britain, moving scotland suppress jacobite rising of 1745. formed part of defeated forces @ battle of falkirk in january 1746. 3 months later, took part in final defeat of jacobites in culloden.

return europe

following ending of jacobite rising, pulteney s regiment returned flanders, fought @ battle of rocoux (october 1746) , battle of lauffeld or val (july 1747). in both cases, allied forces defeated french. regiment returned england in 1747, , war formally ended treaty of aix-la-chapelle in 1748.

13th regiment of foot

by late seventeenth century, each regiment of standing army had been allotted rank in order of precedence. these numbers came increasingly used until royal warrant of 1751 decreed regiments should in future known numbers only. accordingly, pulteney s regiment became 13th regiment of foot.

the redesignated 13th foot entered thirty-year period of garrison service in england, ireland, gibraltar , minorca.

american revolutionary war

in 1775, american revolutionary war broke out, widening war france 1778 , spain in 1779. 13th foot sailed west indies, arriving in barbados. saw little active service, returning england in 1782, moving on ireland in 1783.

13th (1st somersetshire) regiment of foot

it @ time regiment s link somerset first formed. on 21 august 1782, commander-in-chief of forces, henry seymour conway, issued regulation giving english county designation each regiment of foot other royal title or highland regiments. intention improve recruitment during unpopular war, , secretary @ war, thomas townshend issued circular letter lieutenants of each county in england in following terms:

my lord,

the great deficiency of men in regiments of infantry being detrimental public service, king has thought proper give names of different counties old corps, in hopes that, zeal , activity of principal nobility , gentry in several counties, considerable assistance may given towards recruiting these regiments .

the regiment duly became 13th (1st somersetshire) regiment of foot (the 40th foot becoming 2nd somersetshire ). attempt link regimental areas specific counties found impractical, regiments preferring recruit major centres of population. june 1783, each regiment again recruiting throughout country, although county names remain.

french revolutionary , napoleonic wars

in 1790, regiment sailed jamaica. in 1793, britain again @ war france, time revolutionary régime. 13th foot landed in french colony of saint-domingue, haitian revolution in progress.

returning ireland in 1797 , england in 1799, 13th next engaged in series of minor coastal assaults on spanish coast in 1800.

in 1801, regiment sailed egypt repel french invasion force. 13th took part in siege of alexandria. in 1802, regiment awarded badge of sphinx superscribed egypt display on regimental colours in commemoration of campaign.

a temporary end hostilities france came in march 1802, signing of treaty of amiens. 13th foot left egypt in month, sailing malta, stationed year, before moving gibraltar. in 1805, regiment returned england. after occupying various stations in south of country, 13th sailed ireland in may 1807. regiment brought full strength intake of volunteers irish militia , sailed bermuda, arriving in march 1808. regiment lost large numbers of men disease while on island. war had again broken out france, , 13th foot formed part of force invaded , occupied french colony of martinique in january , february 1809.

war united states

in 1812, war had widened include united states of america. in following year, 13th foot left martinique quebec, whence proceeded protect frontiers of upper canada. regiment crossed saint lawrence river , took part in minor actions around plattsburgh , lake champlain. war concluded in 1815, , 13th foot returned england in july of year.

the regiment spent next few years on garrison duty in jersey, guernsey, england, scotland , ireland.

13th (1st somersetshire) regiment (light infantry)

sir robert sale, commanding officer of regiment during burmese , afghanistan campaigns, , colonel 1843–1846

in september 1822, 13th foot moved chatham in kent, brought strength service in india. while there, reconstituted light infantry regiment in december , retitled 13th (1st somersetshire) regiment (light infantry).

first anglo-burmese war

the 13th light infantry arrived in kolkata in may , june 1823. after arrival, burmese forces attacked cachar, territory under british protection. war formally declared on 5 march 1824, , 13th took part in campaign lasted until february 1826, when treaty signed, king of ava agreeing cede territory , pay compensation british east india company.

the 13th light infantry returned garrison duty in india. 1826 1838, stationed in baharampur, danapur, agra , karnal.

first anglo-afghan war

in 1837, persian troops, allied russians, occupied herat region of afghanistan. british, feared russian intervention in area, decided remove emir of afghanistan, dost muhammad, , replace him pro-british monarch, shuja shah durrani. accordingly, expeditionary force, known army of indus , formed. 13th light infantry formed part of invasion force, joining other units in november 1838. army passed afghanistan in march 1839, taking kandahar in april without resistance. 13th took part in decisive victory @ ghazni in july 1839. british achieved objective of enthroning shuja in august 1839. 13th formed part of occupation force attempted enforce rule of new monarch; but, in october 1841, popular uprising against shuja broke out. 13th found engaged in operations against rebels had overthrown shuja , taken capital, kabul. in november 1841, regiment forced retreat fortified town of jalalabad.

the town encircled, leading lengthy siege. in april of following year, garrison, under command of sir robert sale of 13th, broke siege , defeated afghan forces under akbar khan. although war, ended in october 1842 return of army of indus india, reverse british forces, battle honours , campaign medals awarded.

13th (1st somersetshire) (prince albert s light infantry) regiment of foot

standard bearer , officer in uniform of 1866. dark blue facings authorised in 1842 appear on tunic , regimental colours. green feather plume on shako head dress distinguishing mark light infantry regiment.

the conduct of 13th @ jalalabad officially rewarded on 26 august 1842, when prince albert offered patronage regiment , permitted name used in title, becoming 13th (1st somersetshire) (prince albert s light infantry) regiment of foot. @ same time, regimental facings changed yellow (royal) blue, , badge of mural crown scroll inscribed jellalabad granted display on colours , uniform of regiment. unit honoured firing of twenty-one gun salute @ each army station passed on return india.

the 13th light infantry returned england in 1845 after 23 years of foreign service. presented new colours @ portsmouth in 1846, regiment moved ireland in following year, remaining there until 1850, before spending year in scotland. 1851–1854, stationed in gibraltar.

crimean war

in 1854, regiment brought full strength and, in june of following year, landed in crimea part of anglo-french forces conducting campaign against russians. took part in siege of sevastopol, , remained in area after ending of hostilities in february 1856, subsequently sailing south africa.

return india

in may 1857, indian mutiny broke out. reinforcements requested, , 13th arrived @ kolkata in october 1857. took part in minor actions.

formation of second battalion

the british army had been shown overstretched crimean war, while mutiny in india had led responsibility providing garrison in subcontinent honourable east india company crown forces. accordingly, there need expansion , reorganisation of existing regiments. rather raising new infantry regiments, senior regiments of foot each ordered raise second battalion, existing regiment being redesignated 1st battalion. 2nd battalion of 13th light infantry raised @ winchester in january 1858. 2 battalions, while sharing depot, operated separate units.

the 1st battalion saw active service in south africa, fighting in ninth xhosa war of 1878 , anglo-zulu war of 1879.

prince albert s (somerset light infantry)
childers reforms

the regiment not fundamentally affected cardwell reforms of 1870s, gave depot @ jellalabad barracks in taunton 1873, or childers reforms of 1881 – possessed 2 battalions, there no need amalgamate regiment. under reforms regiment became prince albert s light infantry (somersetshire regiment) on 1 july 1881. county regiment of somersetshire, gained county s militia , rifle volunteer battalions, integrated regiment numbered battalions. within months regiment had been retitled prince albert s (somersetshire light infantry).

on formation, regiment had following battalions:

1st battalion (formerly 1st battalion, 13th foot)
2nd battalion (formerly 2nd battalion, 13th foot)
3rd battalion (formerly 1st somersetshire light infantry militia)
4th battalion (formerly 2nd somersetshire light infantry militia)
1st volunteer battalion (formerly 1st somersetshire rifle volunteer corps)
2nd volunteer battalion (formerly 2nd somersetshire rifle volunteer corps)
3rd volunteer battalion (formerly 3rd somersetshire rifle volunteer corps)

the 2 regular battalions continued system of alternating between home , foreign stations:

actions in india , burma

the 2nd battalion took part in third anglo-burmese war of 1885 1887. following initial invasion, battalion spent 2 years broken small groups pacifying inhabitants of country. while unit lost 17 men in combat, 150 die disease. during period in india, 1st battalion stationed in north west frontier province, , took part in first mohmand campaign of 1897.

second boer war

in october 1899, war broke out between british empire , boer republics of south africa. 2nd battalion landed in cape in december 1899, , part of british forces defeated @ battle of spion kop in january 1900. in february of same year, battalion helped relieve siege of ladysmith. spent remainder of conflict taking part in number of minor actions.

the 4th (militia) battalion embodied in december 1899, , embarked in march 1900 service in south africa. large contingent of officers , men returned home in may 1902 on ss sicilia.

haldane reforms

the boer war had severely stretched resources of british army , had exposed weakness of militia , volunteers effective reserve force. in 1907–1908, richard haldane, secretary of state war reorganised these second-line units of army part of larger series of reforms. existing militia reduced in size , redesignated special reserve , while volunteer force merged yeomanry new territorial force, organised 14 infantry divisions, liable service in wartime.

in 1908, volunteers , militia reorganised nationally, former becoming territorial force , latter special reserve; regiment had 1 reserve , 2 territorial battalions.

first world war

the regiment s name again changed prince albert s (somerset light infantry) in 1912.

the regiment saw active service in first world war, battalions involved on western front, mesopotamia (now iraq) , palestine. altogether, 18 battalions existed during war. 1 of new battalions formed conversion of west somerset yeomanry, territorial force cavalry regiment; rest formed duplication of existing territorial force units or formation of new service battalions.

inter-war period

following armistice ending first world war, war-raised battalions rapidly disbanded. regular battalions returned pre-war system of alternating home , foreign stations. 1st battalion stationed in northern ireland , england, before being stationed in egypt (1926–1928), hong kong (1928–1930) , india 1930.

the 2nd battalion, had spent entire war in india, fought in brief third anglo-afghan war in 1919, seeing active service in afghanistan , on north-west frontier. returning india in 1920, battalion moved sudan in 1926 , england in 1927.

the territorial force reorganised become territorial army in 1920, , 4th , 5th battalions reconstituted. @ same time, 3rd (special reserve) battalion placed in suspended animation , , never again embodied.

on 1 january 1921, regimental title changed final time, becoming somerset light infantry (prince albert s).

somerset light infantry (prince albert s)
second world war

altogether, somerset light infantry raised 11 battalions service during second world war, 6 of saw service overseas. in addition regular army 1st , 2nd battalions, existing 4th , 5th territorial army battalions both formed 2nd line duplicate units in 1939 prior war being declared: 6th , 7th battalions, both part of 45th (wessex) division on outbreak of war. 8th (home defence) battalion, formed in 1939, renumbered 30th battalion in 1941. 9th, 10th, 11th (holding) , 50th (holding) battalions formed in 1940, although latter 2 had ceased exist end of year.

regular army

the 1st battalion, somerset light infantry, commanded lieutenant colonel john harding, stationed in british india @ outbreak of war , remain in far east throughout conflict. battalion fought in burma campaign 114th indian infantry brigade part of 7th indian infantry division, part of british fourteenth army, led bill slim. john waddy served battalion in stages of war.

the 2nd battalion serving 2nd gibraltar brigade part of garrison there, upon outbreak of war in 1939. on 1 december 1943 brigade redesignated 28th infantry brigade, included 2nd king s regiment (liverpool) , 1st argyll , sutherland highlanders (later 2/4th royal hampshire regiment). on 24 december brigade became attached british 4th infantry division. 2nd somersets, rest of division, arrived in italy in march 1944 , served in italian campaign part of british eighth army in many battles such of monte cassino, 1 of worst battles of italian campaign, in 1944, played important role alongside 2nd king s , fought in operation diadem , on gothic line august–september 1944. in november 4th division, rest of iii corps, sent greece calm greek civil war, caused after german army withdrew country.

territorial army

the regiment had 4 territorial battalions, although 2 serve overseas. throughout war 4th battalion, somerset light infantry serving 129th brigade, alongside 4th , 5th wiltshire regiment, part of 43rd (wessex) infantry division, , spent of existence in united kingdom in kent under xii corps of southern command.

the 7th battalion, had been created on 24 august 1939 2nd line duplicate of 5th, serving alongside both 5th , 6th battalions in 135th brigade, of 45th division. on 11 september 1942 battalion transferred 214th infantry brigade, included 5th duke of cornwall s light infantry , 9th somersets (later replaced 1st worcestershire regiment).

both 4th , 7th battalions served in north west europe campaign after normandy landings on 6 june 1944, d-day. division fought in battle of normandy, particularly during battle caen in operation epsom in late june, @ battle hill 112 (operation jupiter). during battle 4th somersets, out of strength of 845, suffered 556 casualties, , between 26 june , 14 july 4th sli received 19 reinforcement officers , 479 ors replacements. battalion became involved in trench warfare similar of great war. later played large part in disastrous operation market garden. later played small role in battle of bulge , took part in operation plunder, crossing of river rhine allies.

hostilities-only

the other battalion see active service 10th battalion, raised in 1940, converted in 1942 7th parachute battalion, , part of parachute regiment, part of british army s airborne forces. assigned 3rd parachute brigade, part of 1st airborne division, later assigned newly-raised 5th parachute brigade, part of 6th airborne division had been raised. 7th parachute battalion see first combat during operation tonga, british airborne landings in normandy, night before june 6, 1944, d-day. go on serve throughout battle of normandy normal infantrymen, battalion played part in battle of bulge in december 1944 , again in operation varsity in march 1945, largest airborne drop of war, including both 6th airborne , 17th airborne division, on 16,000 airborne troops being involved.

the sli had responsibility defending local airfields, including rnas charlton horethorne, prepared trenches, hardpoints , machine gun positions.

the 30th battalion, of 43rd infantry brigade, formed part of british first army, , served in tunisia , italy.

post war amalgamation

allan francis john harding, 1st baron harding of petherton. colonel of somerset light infantry 1953–1959.



lieutenant david mcmurtrie s jungle service dress of 1st battalion somerset light infantry used in malayan emergency.

the 1st battalion last british infantry battalion leave india after independence, departing on 28 february 1948. during final ceremony, battalion marched through bombay (now mumbai) , received guard of honour newly formed indian army @ gateway of india. 2nd battalion ended war in greece, subsequently forming part of allied occupation force of austria. 2 regular battalions returned united kingdom amalgamated single 1st battalion on 28 june 1948 - part of general reduction in size of infantry following indian independence.

the reconstituted 1st battalion stationed in germany part of british army of rhine 1951–1953. 1952–1955, formed part of british forces fighting in malayan emergency, took part in jungle warfare. in final years, battalion involved in number of conflicts: anti-tank platoon formed part of anglo-french force intervened in suez crisis of 1956. majority of battalion in cyprus, nationalist uprising against british rule had broken out. in 1957, returned germany.

in 1947, territorial army reconstituted , 4th , 6th battalion reformed infantry battalions; 5th battalion reformed unit of royal artillery. 3 years later, 4th battalion absorbed 2 other units.

amalgamation

the regiment amalgamated duke of cornwall s light infantry in 1959 form somerset , cornwall light infantry. this, in turn, amalgamated 3 other regiments of light infantry brigade form light infantry in 1968.

the regiment s history exhibited @ somerset military museum, part of museum of somerset @ taunton castle.