17th century The regiment was raised in December 1673 by Sir Walter Vane, one of three 'English' units in the
Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, a mercenary formation whose origins went back to 1586. During the 1672–1678
Franco-Dutch War, it took part in the
Siege of Maastricht and the battles of
Cassel and
Saint-Denis. In June 1685, the brigade was sent to England in 1685 to help
James II suppress the
Monmouth Rebellion and returned without seeing action; while there, the unit was designated the 6th Regiment of Foot. During the November 1688
Glorious Revolution, it accompanied
William III to England in 1688; en route, a ship carrying four of its companies was captured by , but the soldiers were released after James went into exile. It was transferred onto the English establishment in May 1689, although its seniority dated from 1685. Until 1751, most regiments were considered the personal property of their
Colonel and changed names when transferred. In April 1690, 'Babington's Regiment' joined the army commanded by
Schomberg fighting the
Jacobites in the 1689–1691
Williamite War in Ireland. Three companies were detached to garrison
Charlemont Fort after its capture in May, while the rest fought at the
Battle of the Boyne in July, suffering heavy casualties. Following the battle, it was part of a detachment under Lieutenant-General
James Douglas that unsuccessfully attempted to capture the Jacobite-held town of
Athlone. After Babington died of disease,
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt became the new Colonel in January 1691; he commanded the regiment at
Aughrim, and the
Second Siege of Limerick in August 1691 that ended the war in Ireland. Sent to
Flanders in 1692, it was one of five British regiments almost wiped out at the
Battle of Steenkerque in July and was out of action for over a year. In 1694, Prince George was replaced as Colonel by the French
Huguenot exile Henri Nompar de Caumont, Marquis de Rade, who died of wounds received in a duel with
Bevil Granville in June 1695. Under its new Colonel Ventris Columbine, the regiment won its first battle honour for the 1695
Siege of Namur. The
Treaty of Ryswick ended the
Nine Years War in 1697;
Parliament was determined to reduce costs and by 1699, the English military was less than 7,000 men. Since England, Ireland and Scotland each had their own Parliaments and funding, one way around this was to transfer regiments and the regiment appears on the Irish military establishment for December 1698.
18th century When the
War of the Spanish Succession began, the regiment took part in the 1702
Cádiz Landing; in 1703, it was sent to the West Indies, a notoriously unhealthy posting in an expedition that achieved very little. Colonel Columbine died in June 1703, shortly before reaching
Jamaica and was replaced by James Rivers. The rest of the war was spent campaigning in Spain and Portugal, including
Almansa in 1707 and the
1708 capture of Minorca. In 1710, it fought at
Almenar and
Saragossa before being surrounded and captured at
Brihuega. After the 1713
Treaty of Utrecht, it was posted to Ireland and with the exception of the
1719 Vigo expedition, remained there until 1740. In 1739, commercial tensions with Spain led to the
War of Jenkins' Ear; in January 1741, the unit returned to the
West Indies and took part in the expedition to
Cartagena de Indias, modern
Colombia. The expeditionary force suffered losses of between 80 and 90% from
dysentery and
yellow fever. The survivors returned to England in December 1742; the unit was brought up to strength as a result of the 1740–1748
War of the Austrian Succession, then sent to Scotland. At the beginning of the
Jacobite Rising in July 1745, detachments from the regiment garrisoned the line of forts between
Inverness and
Fort William. Two companies were captured at the
Battle of Prestonpans; some changed sides and were executed as deserters in 1746. Several companies defended
Fort William in March 1746 and after
Culloden, took part in the pacification of the
Highlands. The regiment remained in Scotland until 1753; it was transferred to
Gibraltar, where it spent the next 19 years before moving to the West Indies in 1772. On the outbreak of the
American War of Independence, detachments from the 6th arrived in New York in 1776 and saw action, but were of insufficient strength and were sent home. To aid recruiting, each infantry unit was linked with a
county in 1782 and the 6th became the
6th (1st Warwickshire) Regiment. During the
French Revolutionary Wars in 1794 in the West Indies, the 6th took part in the invasions of
Martinique,
Guadeloupe and
Saint Lucia from the French and in
Castlebar, in August 1798, it gained a
battle honour being one of the last regiments to give ground (together with the
Fraser Fencibles) whilst its commanding officer, Major Macbean, was taken prisoner by the French and very cruelly treated.
19th century The 1st Battalion went from Gibraltar to the
Iberian Peninsula and was at
Roliça and
Vimeiro in 1808. The battalion took part in the
Corunna, losing 400 men during the march. The men were then shipped to UK before taking part in the
Walcheren Campaign before returning to the
Peninsula in 1812. The regiment was present at
Vitoria in 1813 and heavily engaged at the later action at
Roncesvalles. At the Heights of Echalar, in August 1813, Wellington watched the regiment's attack against 6,000 French in rugged positions in the mountains and described it as "The most gallant and the finest thing he had ever witnessed". The regiment was held in reserve at the
Nive and was again heavily engaged at
Orthez in 1814. , In 1832, the 6th became a Royal Regiment and its title was changed to the Royal (1st) Warwickshire Regiment. The 6th took part in the 7th and 8th
Xhosa Wars in
South Africa and helped suppress the
Indian Rebellion in 1857. Under the reforms, the regiment became the
Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 1 July 1881 and became the county regiment for
Warwickshire (at the time including
Birmingham) and encompassed its Militia and Volunteer Infantry. Under these reforms, the regiment now consisted of the following battalions:
Regulars • 1st Battalion in 1881 based in
London • 2nd Battalion in 1881 based in
Jubbulpore Militia • 3rd (Militia) Battalion, based in
Warwick, formerly the 1st Warwick Militia • 4th (Militia) Battalion, based in
Warwick, formerly the 2nd Warwick Militia
Volunteer Infantry • [Double-battalion] 1st & 2nd Battalions, 1st (Birmingham) Warwickshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, based in
Birmingham, renamed as 1st Volunteer Battalion in 1883 • [Double-battalion] 1st & 2nd Battalions, 2nd Warwickshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, based in
Coventry, renamed as 2nd Volunteer Battalion in 1883 In 1898, the regiment fought at Atbara and
Omdurman during
Lord Kitchener's reconquest of the
Sudan and saw service at
Diamond Hill and
Bergendal during the
Second Boer War.
20th century The 2nd battalion started the century in South Africa, where they were engaged in heavy fighting in the early phases of the
Second Boer War. After a large portion of the men were struck down with malarial fever, they were in August 1901 transferred to
Bermuda to guard Boer prisoners. The battalion returned home in November 1902, after the end of the war earlier that year, to be stationed at Raglan barracks,
Devonport, Plymouth. The 5th (
Militia) battalion, formed from the 1st Warwick Militia in 1881, was a reserve battalion. It was embodied in January 1900, disembodied in October that year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa during the Second Boer War. Almost 700 officers and men returned to Southampton on the SS
Briton in September 1902, following the end of the war. In 1908,
Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane implemented a series of reforms, which merged the
Volunteer Force and
Yeomanry into the larger
Territorial Force. After these reforms, the regiment was now organised as follows:
Regulars • 1st Battalion in 1908 based in
Peshawar • 2nd Battalion in 1908 based at
Bordon Camp Special Reserve • 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion based in
Warwick, formerly 3rd Militia Btn • 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion based in
Warwick, formerly 4th Militia Btn
Territorial Force •
5th Battalion HQ based at the
Thorp Street drill hall,
Birmingham, formerly 1st Btn, 1st Volunteer Btn •
6th Battalion HQ based at the
Thorp Street drill hall,
Birmingham, formerly 2nd Btn, 1st Volunteer Btn • 7th Battalion HQ based at Queen Victoria Road Drill Hall,
Coventry, formerly 1st & 2nd Btns, 2nd Volunteer Btn • 8th Battalion HQ based at
Aston Lower Grounds,
Aston, new formed in 1908
Cadet Affiliations • 1st Cadet Battalion based at The Barracks, Aston Manor, affiliated to 8th Btn • 2nd Cadet Battalion based at Stevens Memorial Hall,
Coventry, affiliated to 7th Btn • 3rd Cadet Battalion based at
Thorp Street drill hall,
Birmingham, affiliated to 5th Btn • 4th (Schools) Cadet Battalion based at 15 & 16 Exchange Buildings,
Birmingham, affiliated to 6th Btn 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 two Reserve and four Territorial battalions.
Bernard Montgomery served with the battalion seeing action at the
Battle of Le Cateau and during the retreat from
Mons in August 1914 and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order at that time. The 2nd Battalion landed at
Zeebrugge as part of the
22nd Brigade in the
7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to
Italy in November 1917.
Territorial Force The
1/5th,
1/6th, 1/7th and 1/8th battalions landed at
Le Havre as part of
Warwickshire Brigade in the
South Midland Division in March 1915 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.
William Slim served with the battalion and was awarded the
Military Cross in February 1918 for actions in Mesopotamia. The 10th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the
57th Brigade in the
19th (Western) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. Throughout the war, the 1st Battalion remained mainly on garrison duties and internal security operations, despite many times being promised a chance to fight in the war. In late 1944, it began training for
jungle warfare. The battalion only very briefly fought in the final stages of the
Burma Campaign under
Lieutenant-General Bill Slim, an officer who served with the regiment during the
Great War and who led the
British Fourteenth Army and took part in
Operation Dracula, the capture of
Rangoon, with the
4th Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the
26th Indian Infantry Division, in April 1945 but saw little contact with the enemy and, on 20 May, the battalion received orders to prepare to, again, return to India. On the 23rd,
Major J.A. Collins,
Officer Commanding 'A' Company, led his
company against a group of between to 50 and 100 of the enemy, in Tinzeik, and inflicted heavy casualties on them before withdrawing into the jungle. For this action, Major Collins was awarded the
Military Cross for his leadership, along with
Lance Corporal Brooks the
Military Medal, and
Private McCullum a
mention in despatches and the 1st Battalion
"earned the commendation of the Division Commander, Major-General Chambers." 'A' Company then rejoined the rest of the battalion in Rangoon, which departed on the 20th, and then moved to
Bangalore. along a hedge near
Venray, the
Netherlands, 17 October 1944. The 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, a
Regular Army unit, had been serving in England since 1931 and, upon the outbreak of the
Second World War, was serving alongside the 2nd Battalion,
Dorset Regiment and the 1st Battalion,
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in the
5th Infantry Brigade, part of the
2nd Infantry Division. In late September 1939, the battalion was sent overseas to France to join the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Franco-Belgian border, where it remained for many months, not involved in any major engagements. On 5 February 1940, due to official BEF policy, the battalion was exchanged in the brigade for the 7th Battalion,
Worcestershire Regiment and transferred to the
144th Infantry Brigade, which was attached to the
48th (South Midland) Infantry Division, a
Territorial division. Serving in the brigade alongside the 2nd Battalion were the 8th Battalion, Worcestershires and the 5th Battalion,
Gloucestershire Regiment. The battalion, now under command of
Lieutenant Colonel Philip Hicks (an officer of the regiment who would serve with distinction in the war), fought in the
Battle of France in May 1940, fighting at the defence of the Escaut and Wormhoudt, where they became embroiled in the
Wormhoudt massacre and
fought on the Ypres-Comines Canal during the
retreat to Dunkirk, from where they were
evacuated to England, most of the remaining men arriving on 1 June 1940. After Dunkirk, the battalion moved, with the rest of the brigade and division, to
Somerset to counter a
German invasion. In early December, however, the battalion was transferred to the
24th Independent Guards Brigade Group, alongside two battalions of
Foot Guards, the 1st
Scots Guards and the 1st
Welsh Guards, and was not, unlike most of the rest of the Army, committed to beach defence duties. At the time, the brigade was stationed in
London under command of
London District. In September 1942, the battalion was transferred to the
185th Infantry Brigade, which was originally assigned as the
motorised infantry brigade of the
79th Armoured Division. However, the brigade was then transferred to the
3rd Infantry Division, and landed on
D-Day on 6 June 1944 with the first assault on the Normandy beaches and fought from the
Battle for Caen and the break out from Normandy to the
Rhine crossing. The brigade also took part in the capture of
Bremen, the last major action of the
North West Europe Campaign. From D-Day until the end of the war, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment lost 286 officers and men killed in action, with nearly another 1,000 all ranks wounded, missing or suffering from exhaustion.
Territorial Army battalions Before the war, in 1936, the
5th Battalion had been converted into the
45th (The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers and had become part of
32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group,
2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. It transferred to the
Royal Artillery in 1940 and later became a Light Anti-Aircraft unit and then an Anti-Tank regiment that saw action in the
Burma Campaign, as part of
36th Indian Infantry Division. Like the 5th Battalion, the
6th Battalion was also converted before the war, becoming the
69th (The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery, transferring to the 32nd (South Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group, 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division, alongside the former 5th Battalion. The 1/7th Battalion was serving with the 8th Battalion in the
143rd Infantry Brigade, both as part of the
48th (South Midland) Infantry Division. The battalion departed for France in early 1940 to join the rest of the BEF. The 1/7th took part in heavy fighting along the Ypres–Comines Canal holding the sector south of Houthem Belgium between 26 May 1940 and 28 May 1940: the heavy fighting between these dates allowed British forces to retreat towards Dunkirk. Like the 2nd Battalion, the 1/7th was also driven back to Dunkirk, with the 1/7th having been reduced to 15
officers and 200
other ranks. In October 1942, the battalion was transferred from the 48th Division to the
197th Infantry Brigade, serving now alongside the 2/5th
Lancashire Fusiliers and 5th
East Lancashire Regiment, part of the
59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, at the time serving in
Northern Ireland. The battalion served with the 59th in France during
Operation Overlord, the Battle of Normandy, arriving in late June 1944 as part of the
British Second Army. The 59th Division was considered by
General Bernard Montgomery, an officer who served in the regiment throughout the
Great War and after, to be one of the best and most reliable divisions in his
21st Army Group. However, the division was disbanded in late August 1944 due to an acute shortage of infantrymen in the British Army during that period and the units were broken up and used as replacements for other British divisions in 21st Army Group, as many had suffered heavy casualties. The reason Montgomery chose the 59th for disbandment was merely because it was the most junior division of the British Army in France, being a 2nd Line duplicate of the
55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division formed just before the war began. Despite being overseas for only around five weeks, the battalion had suffered losses of 38 officers and 538 other ranks. The 8th Battalion was also a 1st Line Territorial battalion and served with both the 2nd and 1/7th battalions in France in 1940. After being
evacuated at Dunkirk, during which it was reduced to 8 officers and 134 other ranks, In 1944, the battalion became a training formation and a draft finding unit for forces deployed overseas. In this capacity, it served initially with the
80th Infantry (Reserve) Division and later the
38th Infantry (Reserve) Division. , 11 September 1942. The leading man is carrying a
Boys anti-tank rifle. The 2/7th and 9th Battalions, both formed in mid-1939 during the doubling of the Territorial Army, were raised as duplicates of the 1/7th and 8th battalions, respectively. Both battalions were assigned to the
182nd Infantry Brigade,
61st Infantry Division. However, both remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war, both briefly serving in Northern Ireland until being reduced to reserve training battalions, with the 9th being disbanded in late 1944. In March 1940, the battalion was sent to France, fulfilling its job of guarding the rear echelons, until ordered to evacuate, with the rest of the
BEF, and was evacuated from Brest and St. Malo on 16/17 June 1940, without a single casualty. When the battalion returned to the United Kingdom, it followed the usual pattern that consumed the British Army after Dunkirk, mainly guarding against an invasion, which it continued to do so until 19 February 1942, when its other ranks personnel formed
182nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery; the 12th Battalion was formally disbanded on 19 March 1942. 1n 1943 182nd Field Rgt was assigned to
38th (Welsh) Infantry Division; it was disbanded in December 1944. The 13th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment was formed in July 1940. Later in the year, the battalion became part of the
213th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), later becoming part of the
Norfolk County Division. The battalion was converted in late 1942 to become a battalion of the newly formed
Parachute Regiment, namely the
8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion, and also included numerous volunteers from other battalions of the regiment, such as the 70th. It was assigned to the
3rd Parachute Brigade, serving alongside the
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and the
9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion, originally as part of the
1st Airborne Division, but were later assigned to the newly raised
6th Airborne Division. As well as being assigned to a new division, the battalion also received a new
commanding officer –
Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Pearson – who would eventually rise to become one of the most highly respected and decorated soldiers in the history of the Parachute Regiment. The 8th Parachute Battalion would participate in
Operation Tonga, the British airborne drop on the night before
D-Day, and throughout the Normandy Campaign, the Ardennes offensive (otherwise known as the
Battle of the Bulge), and
Operation Varsity, the largest airborne drop of the Second World War where the division, alongside the
U.S. 17th Airborne Division, suffered heavy casualties. The battalion ended the war in Germany. The 50th (Holding) Battalion was formed in May 1940, during the time of the
Dunkirk evacuation, and had the job of holding and training new recruits as well as to defend the coastline against invasion. At the end of the year, it was converted into a standard infantry battalion and was redesignated as the 14th Battalion, and became part of the
226th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), later becoming part of the
Dorset County Division. Throughout 1941 and 1942, the battalion was stationed in
Dorset, later
Devonshire and eventually became part of the
211th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), at the time part of the
77th Infantry Division. The 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion was raised in late December 1940/early 1941 from volunteers who were mainly around the ages of 18 and 19 and, therefore, too young to be
conscripted, the age of conscription being 20 at the time. Sometime after its birth, the battalion joined the
47th (London) Infantry Division, where it ''"soon won an excellent reputation (it was said to be the best Young Soldiers' battalion in the country)"''.
Post war years The 1st Battalion was deployed to India between 1945 and 1947, and then to
Korea between 1953 and 1954 during the
Korean War. It served in
Cyprus between 1955 and 1959, and then was based in
Aden from 1959 to 1960. In 1961 it was deployed in Hong Kong, and it was then in Germany from 1962 to 1965. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion was in
Palestine from 1945 to 1948. In 1958, the depot in Warwick was closed and the regiment was reduced to a single regular battalion, sharing a depot in
Strensall with the three other regiments of the
Midland Brigade (renamed the Forester Brigade in 1958). In November 1962, it was announced that the Forester Brigade was to be broken up and the Royal Warwickshire Regiment was promptly transferred to the
Fusilier Brigade. In February 1963, it was announced that the Queen had approved of the regiment becoming fusiliers and adopting the title of Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers from 1 May 1963. As a fusilier regiment, the Royal Warwicks were entitled to wear a coloured feather hackle in the headdress. The colours chosen by the regiment were
royal blue over orange (described as "old gold with a touch of Dutch pink"). The colours were those of the Royal
House of Nassau, recalling the regiment's Dutch origins. On 23 April 1968, the four regiments of the Fusilier Brigade were amalgamated to become a
large regiment as the
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. ==Memorial at Lébisey==