Formation Authorisation to recruit the regiment was given on 13 July 1680 to the
Earl of Plymouth, an illegitimate son of
Charles II; its nominal strength was 1,000 men, half recruited in London by Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles Trelawny and half from the West Country. Raised for service in the
Tangier Garrison, it was known as the
2nd Tangier Regiment; Plymouth died shortly after arriving in Tangier and
Edward Sackville assumed command, with Trelawney formally appointed as colonel in 1682. Tangier was abandoned in 1684 and on returning to England, the regiment was given the title '''Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York and Albany's Regiment of Foot
; after James II became monarch in 1685, this changed to The Queen's Regiment of Foot.''' From 1690 to 1691, it served in the
Williamite War in Ireland, including the
Battle of the Boyne and sieges of
Cork and
Limerick. When the war ended with the October 1691
Treaty of Limerick, it returned to England. Transferred to
Flanders in March 1692, it took part in the latter stages of the 1689 to 1697
Nine Years' War. and the
Siege of Namur in summer 1695. After the
Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, it was reduced in strength and used to garrison
Plymouth and
Penryn. and the
capture of Gibraltar in August 1704. In 1711, it was redesignated line infantry and took part in the
Quebec Expedition. In what remains one of the
worst naval disasters in British history, the fleet ran aground in thick fog and over 890 men lost, including 200 members of the regiment. '', depicting regimental grenadiers (right) at the
Battle of Culloden With the accession of
George I in 1714, it was retitled
The Kings Own and spent the next 30 years in Scotland and England. Sent to Flanders in 1744 during the
War of the Austrian Succession, it garrisoned
Ghent and when the
1745 Jacobite Rising broke out in August, it was transferred to Scotland. The regiment took part of the pursuit of the Jacobite forces on their retreat back into Scotland in December 1745, including the ensuring
Clifton Moor Skirmish. The regiment then fought at the
Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746. At the
Battle of Culloden in April, it was based in the front line and took the brunt of the Jacobite charge; it suffered the heaviest casualties on the government side, with 18 dead and 108 wounded. The regiment's commander,
Sir Robert Rich, was among the wounded, losing his left hand.
Lord Robert Kerr, captain of the regiment's grenadier company, was among the dead. The two
Regulation Colours (flags) carried by the regiment during the battle both survive and are now part of the collection of the
National Museum of Scotland. The Regiment introduced the Loyal and Friendly Society of Orange and Blew to commemorate the victories at the Battle of Culloden and Boyne in 1732 and a full list of members wearing the society medal has been compiled. Following the army reforms of 1751, the regiment was retitled '''4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot'''. At the start of the
Seven Years' War in 1756, it was part of the
Menorca garrison; forced to
surrender in June it was transported to
Gibraltar. It spent the rest of the war in the
West Indies, taking part in the capture of
Guadeloupe,
Martinique and
Saint Lucia before returning home in July 1764. When the
American Revolutionary War began in 1775, it was sent to
North America; over the next three years, it took part in numerous actions, including
Lexington and Concord,
Bunker Hill,
Long Island and the
Battle of White Marsh in December 1777. The first British soldiers to die in the American Revolution were arguably three members of the light company of the 4th Foot, who died at Concord Bridge in 1775. In early 1778, it returned to
Saint Lucia where it was part of the garrison during the December 1778 naval battle of
St. Lucia, part of the
Anglo-French War.
Napoleonic Wars The regiment was sent to
Nova Scotia in May 1787 and took part in the capture of
Saint Pierre and Miquelon in May 1793. After returning to England, it embarked for the
Netherlands in September 1799 and fought at the
Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 during the
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The regiment was sent to
Portugal in August 1808 for service in the
Napoleonic Wars and fought under General
Sir John Moore at the
Battle of Corunna in January 1809, before being evacuated to England later that month. It returned to the Peninsula in October 1810 where it fought at the
Siege of Badajoz in March 1812, the
Battle of Salamanca in July 1812 and the
Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 as well as the
Siege of San Sebastián in September 1813. It then pursued the French Army into France and saw action at the
Battle of the Nivelle in November 1813 and at the
Battle of the Nive in December 1813. It embarked for
North America in June 1814 for service in the
War of 1812 and saw action at the
Battle of Bladensburg in August 1814, the
Burning of Washington later in August 1814 the
Battle of Baltimore in September 1814, and the
Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, as well as the capture of
Fort Bowyer in February 1815. It briefly returned to England in May 1815, before embarking for
Flanders a few weeks later to fight at the
Battle of Waterloo in June.
The Victorian era Detachments of the regiment were used as guards upon convict ships travelling to Australia, with the detachments arriving from 1832. Detachments were stationed in Sydney, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Swan River. The regiment was relieved in 1837 and headed to India. Under the reforms the regiment became the '''King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)''' on 1 July 1881. After the Childers reforms took effect, the regiment contained the following battalions: • 1st Battalion (Regular) • 2nd Battalion (Regular) •
3rd (1st Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion based in
Lancaster, from the 1st Bn of the former
1st Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own) based in
Lancaster •
4th (1st Royal Lancashire Militia) Battalion, from the 2nd Bn of the former Militia • 1st Volunteer Battalion based in
Ulverston, former 10th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps The 2nd Battalion embarked for
South Africa in December 1899, to serve in the
Second Boer War, and saw action at the
Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900. The 3rd and 4th Militia battalions were embodied and embarked for South Africa in February and January 1900 respectively. , 1912. 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 and two Territorial battalions.
First World War who died during the First World War. The regiment raised 14 Territorial and New Army battalions during the
First World War.
Regular Army battalions The 1st Battalion landed at
Boulogne in August 1914 as part of the
12th Brigade in the
4th Division of the
British Expeditionary Force. It was nearly destroyed as a fighting unit at the
Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August 1914, when it suffered some 400 casualties in a single two minute burst of machine gun fire. It served on the
Western Front for the rest of the war. before moving to Egypt in October 1915 and then to
Salonika.
Second World War The following battalions served during the
Second World War:
Regular Army battalions The 1st Battalion, King's Own was stationed in
Malta on the outbreak of war, moving to
Karachi in
British India at the end of 1939. It later served with the
17th Indian Infantry Brigade. It subsequently served in
Iraq and
Syria with
25th Indian Infantry Brigade, with which it served until October 1943, of
10th Indian Infantry Division. In August 1942, the battalion embarked from
Egypt for
Cyprus, but the transport was torpedoed and the troops had to return and re-embark later. In May 1943, the battalion returned to Syria, and then it joined
234th Infantry Brigade in the Aegean Islands in October 1943. Here, the bulk of the battalion was captured by the Germans on 16 November, after the
Battle of Leros, with only 57 officers and men managing to escape the island. The 1st Battalion was reformed in 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, on 30 January 1944, by amalgamating with the 8th Battalion, King's Own. The reformed battalion, under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Neville Anderson, later served in the
Italian Campaign with 25th Indian Brigade for the rest of the war. The 2nd Battalion formed part of the British garrison of
Jerusalem when war broke out. It joined
14th Infantry Brigade in
Palestine in March 1940 and moved with it to Egypt in July. The battalion served with
16th Infantry Brigade of
6th Infantry Division (later redesignated
70th Infantry Division) in the
defence of Tobruk and later formed part of the garrison of
Ceylon. In September 1943, the battalion was stationed with 70th Division at
Bangalore in India when it was selected for attachment to the second Long Range Penetration or
Chindits brigade (
111th Indian Infantry Brigade) for the
Burma Campaign. It formed 41 and 46 Columns in the
Second Chindit Campaign, crossing into Burma in March 1944 and being flown out to India in July 1944. From November 1944 to February 1945, the battalion was assigned to
14th Airlanding Brigade in
44th Indian Airborne Division.
Territorial Army battalions The 4th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment was transferred to the
Royal Artillery and converted to artillery in November 1938, forming the
56th (King's Own) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. On the outbreak of war, the 56th Anti-Tank Regiment mobilised in the
42nd (East Lancashire) Division, with which it served in the
Battle of France in May 1940 and was
evacuated at Dunkirk. In 1942, it was sent to join 70th Infantry Division in India, where it was converted into a Light Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank Regiment in 1943. In this guise, it served in the Burma Campaign, mainly with
5th Indian Infantry Division. It reconverted to the anti-tank role in late 1944 and in June 1945 it returned to India as a Royal Artillery training unit. In June 1939, the 56th Anti-Tank Regiment spun off a duplicate unit, the
66th Anti-Tank Regiment, which served in Home Forces throughout the war, mainly with the
55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division. In September 1941, the 56th and 66th Anti-Tank Regiments each provided a battery to help form a new regiment for overseas service,
83rd Anti-Tank Regiment. This regiment served in Iraq,
Palestine and Egypt. Before the war, the 5th Battalion, King's Own transferred from
164th (North Lancashire) Infantry Brigade,
55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division to
126th (East Lancashire) Infantry Brigade,
42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division. The battalion, under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Hayman Hayman-Joyce, mobilised with the rest of the 42nd Division and served with the
British Expeditionary Force in the battles of France and
Belgium in 1940. When the division was converted to armour, becoming the
42nd Armoured Division, in October 1941, 5th Battalion was transferred to the
Royal Armoured Corps and became the
107th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps. The regiment continued to wear the King's Own cap badge on the black beret of the
Royal Armoured Corps, as did all infantry units converted in this way. However, the regiment was disbanded in December 1943 and a few of its officers and men were sent to
151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, which had been converted from the 10th Battalion, King's Own. After being
evacuated at Dunkirk, the 6th Battalion later served in a succession of Home Forces formations:
218th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home),
48th Division,
54th Division,
76th Division. The battalion never again served overseas and was disbanded in July 1944. In March 1943, the battalion was sent to
India where it joined
150th Indian Training Brigade but it did not see action against the
Japanese. It was assigned to the
232nd Infantry Brigade and briefly joined the
233rd Infantry Brigade. In November 1943, the battalion was moved to
Palestine and then Italy with the 25th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 10th Indian Infantry Division. In Italy, on 30 January 1944, the 8th Battalion was disbanded and its personnel merged with the few surviving remnants of the 1st Battalion, King's Own, which had been virtually lost during the
fighting at Leros. The 9th Battalion served in the
47th (Reserve) Infantry Division in the United Kingdom until December 1941. The battalion was transferred to the Royal Artillery and was converted into the 90th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, serving with the
45th Division from February 1942 until November 1943 when it was disbanded. The 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in the United Kingdom on 28 May 1940. On 9 October 1940, it was renumbered as the 10th Battalion. 10th Battalion was assigned to
225th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), formed for service in the United Kingdom. When the brigade was converted into a tank brigade in December 1941, the battalion became the
151st Regiment Royal Armoured Corps. When
107th RAC was disbanded in December 1943, a cadre transferred to 151st RAC, which adopted the number of 107th to perpetuate the 5th Battalion, King's Own, a 1st Line
Territorial Army battalion. The new 107th Regiment went on to serve in the
North-west Europe from 1944-1945.
Post-war After the war, all the units created during the war were disbanded; also, following
Indian independence, there was no longer a need to maintain such a large overseas garrison and thus the 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948. The regiment received the freedom of
Lancaster in 1953, before being amalgamated with the
Border Regiment into the
King's Own Royal Border Regiment on 31 October 1959. In 1953 and 1954, the 1st Battalion of the regiment was stationed in
South Korea following the
Korean War. ==Battle honours==