Cap badge of the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) worn by Corporal Alfred Laxton during World War Two.
NAM. 2001-09-13-1Introduction
In 1881 a county regiment was set up for north central Lancashire by merging the 47th and 81st Regiments of Foot, each of which became one of the new unit’s two regular battalions.
What became 1st Battalion was in Ireland when the amalgamation occurred, but in 1882 deployed to Gibraltar then India. The new unit’s 2nd Battalion was the reverse - in India at the time of the merger, it returned to Britain for 16 years in 1883.
1st Battalion moved to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1896, then to South Africa two years later, where it fought in the Boer War (1899-1902). 2nd Battalion spent 1899 to 1902 in Malta before deploying to Gibraltar, South Africa and Mauritius.
At the outbreak of World War One 1st Battalion was in England and 2nd Battalion was in India. The regiment also raised 15 Territorial and New Army battalions during the conflict. Of the two regular battalions, 1st Battalion remained on the Western Front throughout the conflict, whereas 2nd Battalion served in German East Africa and Egypt, only arriving on the Western Front in June 1918.
2nd Battalion was in Ireland during the post-war years before being recalled to Britain in 1922. 1st Battalion was sent to face the Turkish threat to British forces at Chanak in the Dardanelles in 1922, but moved to Guernsey later that year. It then served at Tientsin for a year before arriving in India. In 1936 the 1st Battalion was deployed to Palestine, but moved back to England in 1937, the same year as 2nd Battalion deployed to protect British legations and settlements in China.
1st Battalion The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) boarding the troopship ‘Nevasa’ en route to the Malayan Emergency, c1957.
NAM. 1992-11-147-113-8When war was declared in 1939, 1st Battalion deployed to France and was evacuated from Dunkirk the following year. It then remained in England re-training and re-equipping until March 1943, when it landed in Tunisia. It moved on to Italy later that year and finally to Palestine in February 1945.
2nd Battalion was in Singapore at the outbreak of war and was captured there in 1942. A new 2nd Battalion was immediately formed by renaming the regiment’s 10th (Territorial) Battalion. This battalion stayed in England until sent to reinforce the British force in Italy in October 1944. It then briefly served as occupation troops in Austria until 1946, when it was reduced to a cadre.
In 1947 1st Battalion was sent to Cyprus, remaining there for three years with the exception of a spell in Eritrea as occupation troops. In 1948 the regiment’s two regular battalions were merged and two years later it was sent to Egypt for three years. It briefly occupied Trieste in 1953, before returning to the United Kingdom the following year.
In 1957 it began a three-year deployment to Malaya, followed by service in Germany in the early 1960s. From 1963 onwards it alternated between the United Kingdom and Malta, though it sent one of its companies to Aden in 1967. The regiment was back in England by 1970, when it merged with the Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Volunteers) to form the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment.
Key facts
Motto:
- 'Loyauté M'Oblige' (meaning 'Loyalty Binds Me' - inherited from the 81st Regiment of Foot)
Nicknames:
- Cauliflowers (inherited from the 47th Regiment of Foot)
- The Lancashire Lads (inherited from the 47th Regiment of Foot)
- Wolfe's Own (inherited from the 47th Regiment of Foot)
Titles to date:
- Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
- Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
- Queen’s Lancashire Regiment
- 3rd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)
- 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)
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