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King's Shropshire Light Infantry

TheKing's Shropshire Light Infantry(KSLI) was alight infantryregimentof theBritish Army,formed in theChilders Reformsof 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in theSecond Boer War,World War I,World War IIandKorean War.In 1968, the four regiments of theLight Infantry Brigade(the KSLI,Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry,King's Own Yorkshire Light InfantryandDurham Light Infantry) amalgamated to formThe Light Infantry,with the 1st KSLI being redesignated as the 3rd Battalion of the new regiment.

The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
Regimentalcap badgeof the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.
Active1881–1968
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
TypeInfantry
RoleLight infantry
Size1–2Regularbattalions
1–3VolunteerandTerritorialbattalions
Up to 6 hostilities-only battalions
Part ofLight Infantry Brigade(1948 to 1968)
Garrison/HQCopthorne Barracks,Shrewsbury
Motto(s)Aucto Splendore Resurgo( "I rise again with increased splendour" )
MarchQuick: 1st Bn:"Old Towler"- 2nd Bn:"The daughter of the regiment"
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Charles Edmond Knox
Raymond Reade

History

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Formation

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The King's Light Infantry (Shropshire Regiment)was formed on 1 July 1881 as the county regiment ofHerefordshireandShropshireas part of theChilders Reforms.[1]It was renamed asThe King's (Shropshire Light Infantry)on 10 March 1882.[2][3]

The regiment was an amalgamation of the53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Footand the85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot,which became the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions. The 1881 reforms also redesignated themilitiaandrifle volunteersunits within the regimental district as battalions of the regiment. Accordingly, theShropshire MilitiaandRoyal Herefordshire Militiabecame the 3rd and 4th (Militia) Battalions respectively, and the 1st and 2ndShropshire Rifle Volunteer Corpsbecame the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Battalions. The1st Herefordshire (Herefordshire and Radnorshire) Rifle Volunteer Corpswas also affiliated as a volunteer battalion, without change of title.[2][4]

The 1st battalion of the KSLI was stationed in Egypt from 1882, and served with distinction in theAnglo-Egyptian War.The battalion transferred toMaltawhere it was from 1883 to 1891, but was back in the Eastern Sudan serving in theSoudan Expedition1886–87. From 1891 the battalion was inHong Kong,and three years later it was moved toBritish India,serving there until early 1903.[5]The last posting in India was atPoona.[6]

The 2nd battalion was stationed in Ireland from 1886 to 1894, and in late 1899 embarked for South Africa as part of the reinforcements for theSecond Boer War.[7]Following the end of the war in South Africa in 1902, the battalion went to India on the SSSyriain January 1903,[8]where it was stationed atRanikhetinBengal.[9]

In 1908, as part of theHaldane Reforms,the two militia battalions were merged to form the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and the 1st and 2nd VBs were merged to form the 4th BattalionTerritorial ForceatLongden ColehaminShrewsbury.At the same time, the Herefordshire RVC became independent as theHerefordshire Regiment(TF).[2]

First World War

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Officers of the 2nd King's Shropshire Light Infantry with skulls excavated during the construction of trenches and dugouts at the ancient Greek site ofAmphipolis,1916.

Regular Army

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The 1st Battalion landed atSaint-Nazaireas part of the16th Brigadein6th Divisionin September 1914 for service on theWestern Front.[10]The 2nd Battalion landed atLe Havreas part of the80th Brigadein the27th Divisionin December 1914 also for service on the Western Front.[10]

Territorial Force

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The 1/4th Battalion served in India before landing at Le Havre as part of the159th Brigadein the53rd (Welsh) Divisionin July 1917 for service on the Western Front.[10]It made an important counter-attack against the Germans at Bligny in June 1918 during theSpring Offensivefor which it was awarded the FrenchCroix de Guerre.[11]The 10th (Shropshire & Cheshire Yeomanry) Battalion landed atMarseilleas part of the231st Brigadein the74th (Yeomanry) Divisionin May 1918 also for service on the Western Front.[10]

New Armies

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The 5th (Service) Battalion landed atBoulogne-sur-Meras part of the42nd Brigadein the14th (Light) Divisionin May 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[10]The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-Sur-Mer as part of the60th Brigadein the20th (Light) Divisionin July 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[10]The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the76th Brigadein the25th Divisionin September 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[10]The 8th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the66th Brigadein the22nd Divisionin September 1915 but sailed toSalonikain November 1915.[10]It was disbanded there on 1 December 1918 and its personnel transferred to the 2nd Battalion.[12]

Between the wars

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On 7 September 1919, during theIrish War of Independencefollowing the war in Europe, the KSLI suffered the British Army's first casualties at the hands of the IRA when a detachment from a unit stationed atFermoywas ambushed on a church parade by an IRA unit under the command ofLiam Lynch;one soldier was killed, four wounded and the rest disarmed by the motor-borne raiders. After the failure of a local coroner's inquest to return a murder verdict on the dead man, the next day 200 soldiers attacked businesses belonging to members of the inquest jury in an unofficial reprisal.[13]In 1921, the regiment was renamed asThe King's Shropshire Light Infantry.[2]

After its Irish posting, the Second Battalion was moved away in December 1922 toTidworth.A further journey followed to Minden Barracks in Cologne in 1924 as part of the garrison of thedemilitarised Rhineland,and across the river in January 1926 toWiesbaden,where its band played the regular round of paid civilian engagements as well as appearing at both the 1924 and 1925Empire Exhibitionsat Wembley. Bandmaster Burnell was the last to conduct the National Anthem before the withdrawal of British troops from the area in November 1927. The battalion returned toAldershot.[14]

Second World War

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Men of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry queue for their rations at a rest camp in Holland, 26 October 1944.

Regular Army

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The 1st Battalion would serve with the3rd Infantry Brigade,part of the1st Infantry Divisionfor the entire war.[2]Corporal Thomas Priday was killed by a land mine nearMetzon 9 December 1939 when the 1st Battalion was based near theMaginot Lineas part of the originalBritish Expeditionary Forcethat was sent to France at the outbreak of war.[15]The battalion fought in theBattle of Dunkirk,theTunisia Campaignand theItalian Campaignincluding theBattle of Anzio.[16]

The 2nd Battalion began the war in Jamaica, with a company detached to theBermuda Garrison.The battalion would eventually join the185th Infantry Brigade,which included the 2nd Battalion,Royal Warwickshire Regimentand the 1st Battalion,Royal Norfolk Regiment.The brigade was originally assigned to the79th Armoured Division,but was then transferred to the3rd British Infantry Divisionin April 1943,[2]when the division was preparing toinvade Sicily,until it was replaced by the1st Canadian Infantry Division.The battalion took part in theD-Daylandings ofOperation Overlord,where they failed to capture the D-Day objective ofCaendue to the presence of the21st Panzer Division.The 2nd Battalion fought in theNormandy Campaign,Operation Market Gardenand the rest of theNorth West Europe Campaignwith theBritish Second Army.In March 1945,SergeantJames Stokes,a Scotsman, of the 2nd Battalion was posthumously awarded theVictoria Cross.[17]

Territorial Army

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Men of the 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry march back from the front line for a four-day rest, 26 October 1944.

The 4th Battalion was a 1st LineTerritorial Army(TA) unit assigned to the159th Infantry Brigade,part of the53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division.[2]However, on 17 May 1942, the 4th KSLI, along with the brigade, were transferred to become themotorised infantryelement of the11th "Black Bull" Armoured Division.[2]They spent many months training in preparation for Operation Overlord and the 4th KSLI, like the 2nd Battalion, also served with distinction in the North West Europe Campaign. In October 1944, SergeantGeorge Harold Eardleyof the 4th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in knocking out multiple enemy machine guns.[18]

The 5th Battalion was a 2nd Line TA duplicate of the 4th Battalion formed in 1939 on the doubling of the Territorial Army as, by this time, another European conflict seemed inevitable. The battalion was assigned to the114th Infantry Brigadeof the38th (Welsh) Infantry Division,a 2nd Line duplicate of the 53rd (Welsh) Division which the 4th Battalion was originally assigned.[2]The battalion remained within the United Kingdom on home defence duties. In 1944, the battalion was transferred to the80th Infantry (Reserve) Divisionand later the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division. With these two formations, the battalion served as a training unit for both the KSLI and theNorth Staffordshire Regiment,eventually sending over 100 officers and 4,000 other ranks to the front-line as trained replacements.[16]

Hostilities-only

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A hostilities-only unit, the 6th Battalion was raised in June 1940 and assigned to the204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home),later part ofLincolnshire County Division.The 6th Battalion was converted into181st Field Regiment, Royal Artilleryin March 1942.[19]At the time, there was a shortage of insignia, so the troops were ordered to cut off the 'KING'S' and 'L.I.' from the ends of their cloth shoulder titles, leaving 'SHROPSHIRE', which led to the regiment's nickname 'the Shropshire Gunners'. This regiment served with15th (Scottish) Infantry Division,wearing ScottishTam o' Shantercaps andRoyal Artillerybadges, but still with a regimental badge of a gold light infantry bugle horn embroidered on a green background.[19][20]The Shropshire Gunners supported 15th (Scottish) throughout theNorth West Europe Campaignfrom Normandy to Germany, being the first field artillery regiment across both theRhineand theElbe.[21]

The 7th and 8th Battalions were, like the 6th Battalion, raised in 1940. The 7th Battalion was converted to the99th Anti-Tank Regimentin November 1942, but was disbanded in December 1943.[22][12]The 8th (Home Defence) Battalion was raised specifically for home defence duties until it became a training unit until 1943 when it was disbanded.[2]

Postwar

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In 1948, the KSLI was reduced to one regular battalion and became part of theLight Infantry Brigade.[23]

The KSLI was to participate inKorean Warand was the longest-serving British regiment, alongside theKing's Own Scottish Borderers.[24]

In 1968, the Brigade's four regiments (the KSLI,Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry,King's Own Yorkshire Light InfantryandDurham Light Infantry) were amalgamated to formThe Light Infantry,with the 1st KSLI being redesignated as the 3rd Battalion of the new regiment.[2]

Regimental museum

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The KSLI was based atCopthorne Barracksin Shrewsbury. Its regimental museum has been located inShrewsbury Castlesince 1985 and combines the collections of the 53rd, the 85th, the KSLI to 1968, the local Militia, Rifle Volunteers and Territorials, as well as those of other county regiments - theShropshire Yeomanryand the Shropshire Artillery.[25]The museum was attacked by theIRAin 1992 and extensive damage to the collection and to some of the Castle resulted: it re-opened in 1995.[26]

Battle honours

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As well as inheriting thebattle honoursof the 53rd and 85th Foot, the KSLI bore the following honours on theircolours:[2]

  • Early wars
    • Egypt 1882, Suakin 1885, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899-1902
  • Ten selected honours for the First World War:
    • Armentieres, 1914, Ypres 1915, '17, Frezenberg, Somme 1916, '18, Arras, 1917, '18, Cambrai, 1917, '18, Bligny, Epehy, Doiran, 1917, '18, Jerusalem
  • Ten selected honours for the Second World War:
    • Dunkirk, 1940, Normandy Landing, Antwerp, Venraij, Hochwald, Bremen, North-West Europe 1940, '44-'45, Tunis, Anzio, Italy, 1943-5
  • Later wars
    • Korea, 1951-2

Colonels

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The following served as Colonel of the regiment:[27]

Notable soldiers

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  • Private Arthur "Nick" Carter served with the regiment from 1901 to 1951. He actively served in theSecond Boer War(1899–1902) andWorld War I(1914–1918). When he retired, he was the oldest serving member of the British Army. He earned ten Good Conduct stripes and theLong Service and Good Conduct Medalwith two clasps for 48 years of good service, the only soldier in British Army history to do so.[28]

Recipients of the Victoria Cross

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Notes

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  1. ^"No. 24992".The London Gazette.1 July 1881. pp.3300–3301.
  2. ^abcdefghijkl"King's Shropshire Light Infantry".Regiments.org. Archived fromthe originalon 24 December 2005.Retrieved20 September2014.
  3. ^Frederick 1984,p. 141.
  4. ^Westlake, pp. 209–12.
  5. ^Hart′s Army list, 1903
  6. ^"Locations: 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry".Regiments.org. Archived fromthe originalon 17 January 2006.Retrieved10 December2018.
  7. ^"King's Shropshire Light Infantry".Anglo-Boer War.Retrieved14 February2016.
  8. ^"Naval & Military intelligence - Troops returning Home".The Times.No. 36977. London. 14 January 1903. p. 8.
  9. ^"Naval & Military intelligence - The Army in India".The Times.No. 36896. London. 11 October 1902. p. 12.
  10. ^abcdefghChris Baker."The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry)".Retrieved14 February2016.
  11. ^"4th (Territorial) Battalion KSLI: Bligny and the Croix de Guerre".Shropshire Regimental Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  12. ^abFrederick 1984,p. 143.
  13. ^Bennett, Richard (1959).The Black and Tans.Four Square. p. 16.
  14. ^The King's Shropshire Light Infantry: 1881-1968,Duckers, Peter, Tempus Publications, 2004
  15. ^Charman, Terry (2010).Outbreak: 1939: The World Goes to War.Random House. p. 284.ISBN978-0753536681.
  16. ^ab"The King's Shropshire Light Infantry 1939 - 1945".Shropshire Regimental Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2015.Retrieved10 December2021.
  17. ^The Black Bull: From Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division, Patrick Delaforce
  18. ^"No. 36870".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 139.
  19. ^ab"RA 1939-45 181 Fld Rgt".Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  20. ^Neal, pp 30–31.
  21. ^Neal, pp. 29–30
  22. ^"RA 1939-45 99 A/Tk Rgt".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  23. ^Whitaker's Almanack 1956, p. 471
  24. ^"The King's Shropshire Light Infantry".National Army Museum.Retrieved4 February2024.
  25. ^"Regimental History".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved14 February2016.
  26. ^"Shropshire Regimental Museum".Archived fromthe originalon 31 July 2018.Retrieved14 February2016.
  27. ^ "Succession of Colonels 1755 - 1963".British Armed Forces. Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2012.Retrieved14 February2016.
  28. ^"The King's Shropshire Light Infantry".British Light Infantry Regiments. 10 August 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 12 February 2015.Retrieved27 July2015.
  29. ^"No. 36870".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 139.

References

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  • Frederick, J. B. M. (1984).Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978.Vol. 1 (Revised ed.). East Ardsley, Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers.ISBN1-85117-007-3.
  • Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960].Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945.Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press.ISBN978-1-84342-474-1.
  • N.B. Leslie,The Succession of Colonels of the British Army from 1660 to the Present Day,Society for Army Historical Research Special Publication No 11, 1974.
  • Don Neal,Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946,Studley: Brewin, 2001,ISBN1-85858-192-3.
  • Arthur Swinson,A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army,London, 1972.
  • Ray Westlake,Tracing the Rifle Volunteers,Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010,ISBN978-1-84884-211-3.
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