Dorset Regiment

The Territorials in Dorset trace their origins to the 1st Administrative Battalion, Dorsetshire Rifle Volunteers formed at Dorchester. Its first formation consisted of the following: The first volunteer corps in Dorset had their headquarters in Dorchester. The 1st Dorsetshire Rifle Volunteer Corps (1 Dorsetshire RVC) was at Bridport, 2 Dorsetshire RVC at Wareham, 3 Dorsetshire Rifle Volunteer Corps at Dorchester, 4th Dorsetshire RVC at Poole, 5 Dorsetshire RVC at Weymouth, 6 Dorsetshire RVC at Wimborne, 7 Dorsetshire RVC at Sherborne, 8 RVC at Blandford, 9 Dorsetshire RVC – Shaftesbury, 10 Dorsetshire RVC at Sturminster, 11 Dorsetshire Rifle Volunteer Corps at Gillingham, and 12 Dorsetshire RVC at Stalbridge. Eventually in 1880 as a result of the Childers Reforms the regiment was re-designated to the 1st Dorsetshire Rifle Volunteers. Just a year later it moved under control of the Dorsetshire Regiment as the volunteer battalion. The 1st Battalion was stationed in Malta from 1888, in Egypt from 1889, and in British India from 1893, where it took part in operations in the Tirah Campaign on the North West Frontier in 1897–98. The 2nd Battalion was stationed in Ireland from 1893 to 1897, then in Malta from 1899. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, they were sent to South Africa in November 1899, and was engaged in the hard fighting after the battle of Colenso in December 1899. The battalion was the last to leave Spion Kop following the battle there in January 1900, and covered the retreat on that occasion. It took part in the subsequent movements leading up to the Relief of Ladysmith and was engaged in the operations which resulted in clearing the Boer forces out of Natal. They subsequently took part in the battle of Alleman's Nek (Almond's Nek), west of Volksrust on 11 June 1900, when 50 men were killed. The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended in June 1902 with the Peace of Vereeniging. Four months later 300 officers and men left Cape Town on the SS German in late September 1902, and arrived at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Portland. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve battalion and one Territorial battalion. Regular Army The 1st Battalion was in Belfast when war broke out: it landed at Le Havre in August 1914 forming part of the 15th Brigade in the 5th Division. This battalion was formally titled the Composite English Battalion, but was more commonly known as The Norsets; it was broken up in July 1916, when the 2nd Dorsets was re-constituted. Territorial Force The 1/4th Battalion of the Territorial Force served in India and Mesopotamia and 2/4th Battalion in India and Egypt. In April 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, soldiers of the regiment fired at a rioting crowd on Bridge Street in Derry to disperse it, which led to attacks by Irish nationalists on British troops in the city and full-scale riots. Ulster Volunteers in Derry set up checkpoints and attacked local Catholics, which the Dorsets and Royal Irish Constabulary did nothing to prevent. In 1921, a detachment from the Dorset Regiment was based in Enniscorthy, County Wexford (which was under martial law) where it was accused of mistreating several Irish Republican Army prisoners being held in the courthouse. On 7 February 1920 4th Battalion was reformed in the TF (soon afterwards reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA)) with its headquarters in Dorchester and four companies (A–D). where he was involved in the suppression of the Moplah Rebellion at Malabar between 1921 and 1922. The riots that they quashed were inspired by 10,000 guerrillas and led to 2,300 executions. The Officers and Men from the Dorset Regiment who lost their lives while taking part in the suppression of the revolt are commemorated in a brass tablet at the St. Mark's Cathedral, Bangalore. Second World War In the Second World War, the regiment expanded to eight battalions. The 2nd Battalion was also a regular army unit and was part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, throughout the war, participating in the Battle of France and the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. In 1944, it took part in the Battle of Kohima during the Burma Campaign of 1944–1945, still with the 2nd Division. The 4th Battalion was an original 1st Line TA unit and, in 1939, raised a 2nd Line duplicate, the 5th Battalion, when the Territorial Army was doubled in size prior to the commencement of the war. , Germany, 28 March 1945. The 30th Battalion, previously the 6th (Home Defence) Battalion, was with the 43rd Infantry Brigade in North Africa and the invasion of Sicily, after which it spent the rest of the war in Gibraltar. The 7th Battalion, which was raised in 1940, was later converted to the 110th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment served with the 43rd (Wessex) Division in North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945. The 8th Battalion, which was also raised in 1940 as 50th (Holding) Battalion, was initially assigned to the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) and was on home defence. Later, the battalion converted to the 105th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment was sent to North Africa in late 1942 and fought with the British First Army, It later served in the Italian Campaign supporting US Fifth Army. ==Regimental museum==