Formation The
1st Administrative Battalion, Herefordshire and Radnorshire Rifle Volunteers was formed in 1861. It comprised the 1st to 8th Herefordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and the 1st to 3rd Radnorshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, units of the
Volunteer Force formed in the wake of the
Crimean War. (In this instance
Corps refers to a
Company-sized unit of around 100 men, not the more modern use of
the word.) In 1880, it was re-designated
1st Herefordshire (Hereford and Radnor) Rifle Volunteers, the Corps were renamed Companies, and in 1881 it became the volunteer battalion of
The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry). In 1908, it was transferred to the
Territorial Force as the '''Herefordshire Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry)
(without the Radnorshire companies) with its headquarters at Harold Street in Hereford and in 1909 was renamed as the 1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Regiment'''.
Second World War of the
3rd Royal Tank Regiment carrying infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment, Germany, 2 May 1945. In the
Second World War, the 1st Battalion was divided to form the 1st and 2nd battalions. The 2nd Battalion was involved in home defence and training throughout the war, serving mainly with the
114th Infantry Brigade of the
38th (Welsh) Infantry Division. The 1st Battalion formed part of
159th Brigade in the
53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division until 159th Brigade joined
11th Armoured Division in May 1942 and participated in the
invasion of Normandy and
Northwestern Europe. Some 223 men from the 1st Battalion were killed during operations in North-West Europe.
Post-War In 1947, it was re-designated
1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Light Infantry. In 1967, as part of the re-organization of the
Territorial Army, it was disbanded as a regiment. ==Regimental museum==