The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

of the English and later the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

in the British Army line infantry

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the East Surrey Regiment, to form a single county regiment called the

Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army which existed from 1959 to 1966. In 1966, it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment, the Royal Sussex Regiment and the Middlesex Regi ...

which was, on 31 December 1966, amalgamated with the

Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1961 to 1966. Its lineage is continued by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). History The regiment was formed ...

, the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

. Following a further amalgamation in 1992 with the Royal Hampshire Regiment, the lineage of the regiment is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

Titles

The regiment was raised in 1661 by

Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough (15 November 1621 – 19 June 1697) was an English soldier, peer and courtier. Early life Styled Lord Mordaunt from 1628, he was the eldest son of John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough. He was educa ...

as The Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Foot on

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

Heath (then in Surrey) specifically to garrison the new English acquisition of

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

, part of

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

's dowry when she married King Charles II. From this service, it was also known as the Tangier Regiment. As was usual at the time, it was also named after its current

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, from one of whom,

Percy Kirke Lieutenant General Percy Kirke (c. 1646 – 31 October 1691), English soldier, was the son of George Kirke, a court official to Charles I and Charles II. Career In 1666 Kirke obtained his first Army commission in Lord Admiral's regiment, and ...

, it acquired its nickname ''Kirke's Lambs''. It was withdrawn along with the rest of the

Tangier Garrison The Tangier Garrison was the land force which oversaw the defence of English Tangier between 1661 and 1684 when it was evacuated. It was part of the English Army, the de facto standing army that Charles II established following the Restoration ...

when Charles II abandoned the colony. In 1685, it was given the Royal title the Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot (after Queen Catherine, widow of Charles II) and in 1703 became The Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1715, it was renamed The Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Foot after Caroline of Ansbach, then Princess of Wales, and was re-designated The Queen's Own Regiment of Foot in 1727 when the Princess became Queen. It was ranked as 2nd Foot in the clothing regulations of 1747, and was renamed 2nd (The Queen's Royal) Regiment of Foot by Royal warrant in 1751. In the Childers reforms of 1881 it became the county regiment of West Surrey, named The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment. In 1921, its title was slightly altered to The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey). By 1950 it was known as The Queen's Royal Regiment. In 1959, it was amalgamated with the East Surrey Regiment, to form the

History

Early years

The regiment shipped to

where it remained until the port was evacuated in 1684, when it returned to England. It took part in the suppression of the Monmouth Rebellion, fighting at the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...

, where it earned a widespread (but probably exaggerated) reputation for brutality. After the Glorious Revolution, it fought in Ireland for the new King, William III, defending the besieged Derry in 1689 and at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

in 1690. From 1692 to 1696 it fought in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

in the Nine Years' War, at the

Battle of Landen The Battle of Landen, also known as Neerwinden, took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen in modern Belgium. A French army under Marshal Luxembourg defeated an Allied force led by William III. By 1693, all combata ...

and the recapture of Namur in 1695. During the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

it served in the Iberian campaign, at Cadiz,

Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the ...

, the sieges of Valencia de Alcantara, Alburquerque, Badajoz, Alcantara and

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right ban ...

, and was virtually destroyed in the disastrous

Battle of Almansa The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his Habsburg rival, Archduke Charl ...

. In the campaign in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in 1703, it defended Tongres against overwhelming odds, giving Lord Overkirk time to re-group his forces, until it was eventually captured. It was for this action that it was awarded its Royal title and its mottoes. It spent most of the remainder of the 18th Century on garrison duty, being one of the regiments involved in putting down the Gordon Riots.

French and Napoleonic Wars

On the outbreak of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

, detachments were in the West Indies and acting as marines in the Channel Fleet, notably at the battle of the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

in 1794, where they served on Howe's flagship, ''Queen Charlotte'' and also on board ''Russell'', ''Defence'', ''Royal George'' and ''Majestic''. In recognition of the regiment's service, it was granted the distinction of wearing a Naval Crown superscribed ''1 June 1794'' on its colours. The regiment was then reunited and sent to the West Indies where it took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1794, although the occupation was short-lived owing to outbreaks of disease, particularly

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

, among the troops, and the capture of Trinidad in 1797. A second battalion was formed in 1795 and stationed in Guernsey before being shipped to

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

, where it was disbanded in 1797, its personnel being absorbed by 1st Battalion. The regiment was transferred to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1798 where it helped put down the Irish rebellion and then took part in the unsuccessful 1799 Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. In 1800, it was part of the abortive expedition to Belle Isle, from which it sailed to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

where it fought at the Battle of Alexandria, the Siege of Fort Julien and the Siege of Alexandria. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the regiment first fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

at the battles of Vimeiro and Corunna. It then took part in the disastrous

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chath ...

before returning to the Peninsula to fight at the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalema ...

, the second Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, ...

and the unsuccessful

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General of ...

. By the winter of 1812, the regiment was so depleted by casualties and disease that four companies were amalgamated with the equally weakened 2nd Battalion, 53rd Foot, to form the 2nd Provisional Battalion. Six cadre companies returned home to re-form. As part of the 4th Division, the Provisional Battalion took part in the Wellington's triumph at the

Battle of Vittoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leading ...

on 21 June 1813, followed by the

Siege of San Sebastián In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...

and, 1814, the battles of Orthes and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

The Victorian era

1864-1866 2nd Bn 2nd Queen's Regiment memorials in Bermuda

The regiment was on garrison duty in Baluchistan when the

First Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

broke out in 1839. It formed part of the force that attacked the previously-impregnable city of

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

, taking the city by storm because the army lacked siege equipment, and opening the way to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. It returned to India in November 1839, storming the city of Khelat ''en route'', and avoiding destruction along with the rest of Elphinstone's army. The regiment was shipped to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

during the Eighth Xhosa War in 1851. On 25 February 1852 a detachment of 51 men under the command of Ensign Boyland were aboard HMS ''Birkenhead'' travelling from

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern ...

to Port Elizabeth when the ship struck rocks. The troops were assembled on deck and remained at attention to afford the embarked women and children time to take their place in the lifeboats. Shortly after this the ship broke up and the vast majority of the troops on board were either drowned or fell victim to sharks. The bravery of the troops, made up of cadres from ten different regiments, led to the naming of the Birkenhead Drill. It once again became the 1st Battalion when the 2nd Battalion was reformed in 1857, and went to China in 1860 at the time of the Second Opium War, fighting at the Third Battle of Taku Forts and the capture of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. It was stationed in the

Imperial fortress Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet. His ...

colony of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

from 1864 to 1866. Although too far North for

to establish itself in perpetuity, the disease was introduced to Bermuda several times during the 19th Century by mail boats from the West Indies, causing endemics that resulted in many deaths, most particularly among members of the armed forces. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel F. L. O. Attye, the battalion arrived at the

Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda HMD Bermuda ( Her/His Majesty's Dockyard, Bermuda) was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. The Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride ...

(aboard HMS ''Orontes'' from Gibraltar, via Madeira) on the 15 July 1864, in the midst of one of these epidemics and its losses in Bermuda included Assistant Surgeon James Murray Chalk at St. George's Garrison on 8 February 1865 and Douglas James Mounteny Rose, the five year old son of Lieutenant-Colonel Rose, who died the following day. The battalion lost fifty-two officers and men in the epidemic. The battalion departed Bermuda for Cork, Ireland, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Werge, aboard HMS ''Orontes'' on the 3 November 1866. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Stoughton Barracks in Guildford from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. Under the reforms it became The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment on 1 July 1881. In 1897–98, a battalion took part in the Tirah Expedition on the North-West Frontier. The 1st battalion was stationed at Malta from 1891, then in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where it was posted at Rawalpindi until late 1902 when it moved to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

near the historic Khyber Pass on the border to Afghanistan. The 2nd Battalion fought in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

from 1886 to 1888 and in South Africa from 1899 to 1904 including during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(1899–1902). From 1912 through 1914 it was stationed in the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

, as the regular infantry battalion of the

Bermuda Garrison The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved f ...

. While in Bermuda, the Edison Studios filmed The Relief of Lucknow and For Valour there, and was provided extensive support from the garrison, with parts of Prospect Camp providing sets, and personnel from the 2nd Battalion appearing as extras. A 3rd (

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) Battalion was formed from the former 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, with headquarters at Guildford. The Battalion was embodied in December 1899 to provide troops for the

, 550 men embarked for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in February 1900; and returned to the United Kingdom in May 1902, when it received a public welcome and reception at Guildford. Under the Childers Reforms, two battalions of the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

were attached to the regiment in 1883. These had originally been raised in 1859–60 in response to an invasion scare. The 1st Volunteer Battalion (VB) was formed from the 2nd Surrey Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC), at the Old Barracks, Mitcham Road,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, while the 2nd VB was formed from the 4th Surrey RVC at

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

Volunteers at Queens Royal Surreys
/ref>Haswell, pp. 122–4. Both Volunteer Battalions contributed to service companies of volunteers who served alongside the regulars during the

, and received the battle honour for the campaign. Under the Haldane Reforms of 1908 the Militia became the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

and the Volunteers became part of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

(TF). The regiment now had the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve), with the 4th Battalion (TF) at the Old Barracks in

and the 5th Battalion (TF) at Sandfield Terrace in Guildford (since demolished).

The First World War

Regular Army

The 1st Battalion landed at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

as part of the 3rd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914, and spent the entire war on the Western Front. The battalion saw action at the Battle of Mons, the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of Ypres, the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

, the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, The

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 1916 ...

, the Battle of Bellecourt, the

Battle of Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...

, the Battle of Passchendaele and the Battle of Arras. The 2nd Battalion was in

when war broke out and landed at

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...

as part of the 22nd Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front. It fought at the Battle of Ypres, Battle of Aubers Ridge, Battle of Festubert, Battle of Loos and the Battle of the Somme until November 1917, when it was sent to the Italian Front, taking part in the battles of the Piave and

Vittorio Veneto Vittorio Veneto is a city and ''comune'' situated in the Province of Treviso, in the region of Veneto, Italy, in the northeast of Italy, between the Piave and the Livenza rivers, borders with the following municipalities: Alpago ( BL), Bellun ...

Territorial Force

The 1/4th Battalion moved to

as part of the Surrey Brigade in the Home Counties Division in October 1914 and remained there throughout the war, serving on the North West Frontier, and was afterwards involved in the

Third Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

in 1919.The Queen's Shrine, Croydon Parish Church, at Queen's Royal Surreys
/ref> The 1/5th Battalion also went to India with the Home Counties Division, but then transferred to

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

in December 1915. As soon as the 1st-Line Territorials had gone overseas, the Territorial Associations started raising 2nd- and 3rd-Line battalions, designated the 2/4th, 2/5th ''etc''. The 4th Queen's was unusual in sending its 3rd-Line battalion overseas, so a 4/4th Bn was raised to train recruits; eventually it absorbed the 3/5th Bn as the 4th Reserve Battalion. The 2/4th Battalion saw more varied service than any of the other Queen's TF battalions, in the Gallipoli Campaign, in

, and Palestine, all as part of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, before being sent back as reinforcements to the Western Front where it served in 34th Division under French command before taking part in the final advance to victory in November 1918. The 3/4th Bn was sent to the Western Front as reinforcements in August 1917, where it joined 21st Division and fought at Broodseinde and Cambrai. It was broken up to provide drafts in February 1918. There were also 19th and 20th TF Battalions formed from the Home Service men of the regiment.

New Army

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 Q6595

The Queen's also formed a number of battalions of the New Army, or ' Kitchener's Army' * 6th (Service) Bn – served in

12th (Eastern) Division The 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the ...

on the Western Front * 7th (Service) Bn – served in

18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England ...

on the Western Front * 8th (Service) Bn – served in 24th Division on the Western Front * 9th (Reserve) Bn – served in the UK training recruits * 10th (Service) Bn (Battersea) – formed by the

Metropolitan Borough of Battersea Battersea was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in the County of London, England. In 1965, the borough was abolished and its area combined with parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the London Borough of Wandsworth. The b ...

and served in 41st Division on the Western FrontBecke, Pt 3b, pp.109–15. * 11th (Service) Bn (Lambeth) – formed by the

Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth Lambeth was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of t ...

and also served in 41st DivisionBecke, Pt 3b, pp.109–15. * 12th (Reserve) Bn – served in the UK training recruits

Other battalions

* 13th (Labour) Bn – served on the Western Front * 14th (Labour) Bn – served in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

* 15th (Labour) Bn – served on the Western Front * 16th (Home Service) Bn – served in the UK * 17th (Labour) Bn – served in the UK * 18th (Labour) Bn – served in the UK Returning prisoners of war were awarded a "Welcome Home Medal" at a reception in Guildford in January 1919. The medal has the regimental badge on one side and the inscription, "Prisoners of War The Queens Regiment Welcome Home" on the reverse and is dated MCMXVIII.

Between the wars

The 1st Battalion spent the inter-war years on garrison duty, both in Britain and overseas. The 2nd Battalion took part in the Waziristan campaign of 1919-1920, attempting to pacify the tribal areas during the unrest following the

. It was in Palestine during the Insurgency of 1936-1939. The 4th and 5th Battalions were both reformed in the Territorial Army, assigned to the 131st (Surrey) Infantry Brigade, alongside the 5th and 6th battalions of the East Surrey Regiment. However, in the reorganisation of the Territorial Army's infantry in the late 1930s, the 4th Queen's was transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and converted into the 63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment. The regiment was also reassigned 22nd (County of London) and 24th battalions of the London Regiment, which disbanded in 1938. These battalions became the 6th (Bermondsey) and 7th (Southwark) battalions of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and joined the 5th Battalion in 131st Brigade.

Second World War

The 1st Battalion was serving in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

on the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

but did not see action until 1942 against the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. The 1st Queens fought in the Burma Campaign throughout the war as part of the 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade, 7th Indian Infantry Division, of the British Fourteenth Army under

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

William "Bill" Slim. The British Army in Burma 1945 SE4340

The 2nd Battalion, initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ross until April 1940, spent the early years of the war in the Middle East and Syria before also going out to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. They were part of the 16th Brigade, 6th Infantry Division which was later redesignated as the 70th Infantry Division and were involved in

Operation Thursday The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

, the second

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

campaign. The Chindits were the creation of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Orde Wingate. After suffering heavy casualties in the Chindits campaign, 2nd Queen's reverted to being an ordinary infantry battalion, nicknamed PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry), and served with 29th Infantry Brigade, part of 36th Infantry Division from May 1945 onwards. The British Army in Italy 1943 NA7706

The 1/5th, 1/6th, and 1/7th were all 1st Line Territorial Army battalions that were serving in the 131st Infantry Brigade, which was a part of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division, a 1st Line Territorial Army division. The brigade was sent, along with the rest of the division, to France in 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and were quickly involved in the Battle of France and subsequent Dunkirk evacuation. They arrived in England and the division was led for a while by Major-General

Brian Horrocks Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...

. The division was later sent to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in mid-1942 to join the British Eighth Army and fought in the

Battle of Alam el Halfa The Battle of Alam el Halfa took place between 30 August and 5 September 1942 south of El Alamein during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. '' Panzerarmee Afrika'' (''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel), attempted an envelopme ...

and later in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

where the 131st Brigade was assigned to the 7th Armoured Division and would remain with them for the rest of the war. The brigade participated in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns and the

North West Europe Campaign The North West Europe campaign was a campaign by the Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth armed forces in North West Europe, including its skies and adjoining waters during World War II. The term Western Front (WWII), Western Front has als ...

. In December 1944, due to heavy casualties and a shortage of infantrymen in the British Army, the 1/6th and 1/7th Battalions were replaced by 2nd Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

and 9th Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

, both from the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. The 1/6th and 1/7th would spend the rest of the war as training units with the 50th Infantry Division. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H14688

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H14688

The regiment also raised the 2/5th, 2/6th, and 2/7th which were all 2nd Line Territorial Army battalions serving in the 35th Infantry Brigade of the

12th (Eastern) Infantry Division The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its oc ...

, a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division. They were also sent to France in 1940 and were involved in the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...

where they suffered heavy casualties due to the men having very little training. The division was disbanded shortly after returning to England and the 35th Brigade was later redesignated the 169th Infantry Brigade. The 169th Brigade was to serve with the 56th Division for the rest of the war in the Italian Campaign in battles at Salerno,

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

and in the final Allied offensive in Italy,

Operation Grapeshot The spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack into the Lombard Plain by the 15th Allied Army Group started on ...

. In January 1944

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Alec George Horwood of the 1/6th Battalion was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

whilst fighting in the Burma Campaign whilst attached to the 1st Battalion,

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment served in

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

and

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, then converted into 127th (Queen's) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery and manned

Bofors gun AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located i ...

s to protect the Mulberry harbour after D-Day, and then defended Antwerp late in the war. The regiment raised many other battalions during the war, mainly for home defence or as training units. None of these units saw active service, they remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of war. They fulfilled a role of supplying the battalions overseas with trained infantrymen or were converted into other roles. For example, the 13th Battalion, raised in 1940, was assigned–in an infantry capacity–to the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division. The 14th Battalion was raised in Dorchester in early July 1940 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Wilkinson. and in October the battalion was assigned to the 201st Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) and commenced anti-invasion duties. On 1 December 1941 the battalion was converted into the 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, and it subsequently served in Italy.

Post-war service and amalgamation

The 2nd Battalion was disbanded in 1948 and its personnel transferred to 1st Battalion (which had previously been reduced to nil strength in 1947). The 1st Battalion served in Berlin during the blockade to 1949 then Iserlohn in BAOR (

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

) part of 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Crossed Keys) until 1953. The 1st Battalion fought the Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency from 1954-1957. In 1957, it returned to Germany, where, in 1959, it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, to form the 1st Battalion,

(less Territorials). When the QRSs merged into the new larger

, the battalion became the 1st (Queen's Royal Surreys) Battalion, but this subtitle was omitted on 1 July 1968. Today the regiment's successors can be traced to the 1st Battalion,

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Q ...

Regimental museum

The Surrey Infantry Museum was based at

Clandon Park House Clandon Park House is an early 18th-century grade I listed Palladian mansion in West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey. It stands in the south east corner of Clandon Park, a agricultural parkland estate which has been the seat of the Earls of ...

, near Guildford until it was destroyed in a fire in April 2015.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows: *Tangier 1662-80, Namur 1695, Ushant, Egypt, Vimiera, Corunna, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Toulouse, Peninsula, Ghuznee 1839, Khelat, 1839, South Africa 1851-2-3, Taku Forts, Pekin 1860, Burma 1885-87, Tirah, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902 *''The Great War (25 battalions)'': Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 '18, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 '17 '18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917, Bullecourt, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Soissonais Ourcq, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1915-16, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tell 'Asur, Palestine 1917-18, Khan Baghdadi, Mesopotamia 1915-18, N W Frontier India 1916-17 *Afghanistan 1919 *''The Second World War'': Defence of Escaut, Villers Bocage, Mont Pincon, Lower Maas, Roer, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Syria 1941, Sidi Barrani, Tobruk 1941, Tobruk Sortie, Deir el Munassib, El Alamein, Advance on Tripoli, Medenine, Tunis, North Africa 1940-43, Salerno, Monte Stella, Scafati Bridge, Volturno Crossing, Monte Camino, Garigliano Crossing, Damiano, Anzio, Gothic Line, Gemmano Ridge, Senio Pocket, Senio Floodbank, Casa Fabri Bridge, Menate, Filo, Argenta Gap, Italy 1943-45, North Arakan, Kohima, Yenangyaung 1945, Sittang 1945, Chindits 1944, Burma 1943-45 *''4th, 5th Battalions'': South Africa 1900-02

Victoria Cross

The following members of the Regiment were awarded the

: *

(later Brigadier-General) Wallace Duffield Wright, Kano-Sokoto Expedition * Captain (temporary Lieutenant Colonel, later Lieutenant-General) Bernard Cyril Freyberg,

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

(acting Captain) Clement Robertson, Great War *

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

John William Sayer, Great War * Captain (temporary Lieutenant Colonel) Christopher Bushell, Great War * Lieutenant Alec George Horwood, Second World War

Regimental Colonels

References

Sources

* J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660-1978'', Volume I, 1984: Microform Academic Publishers,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. . *Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3a: New Army Divisions (9–26)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1938/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . * * Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938. * Gen Sir Martin Farndale, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * Jock Haswell, ''Famous Regiments Series: The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (The 2nd Regiment of Foot)'', London: Hamish Hamilton, 1967. * * N.B. Leslie, ''Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914'', London: Leo Cooper, 1970, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, . * Ray Westlake, ''British Regiments at Gallipoli'', Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 1996, . * Ray Westlake, ''Tracing the Rifle Volunteers'', Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, .

External links

The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
(official site)
The Queen's Royal Regiment Living History GroupQueen's Royal West Surrey Regiment Re-enactment Society
*
The World War One Letters of Major Hugh J.C. Peirs, 8th Battalion, The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment

Stepping Forward: A Tribute to the Volunteer Military Reservists and Supporting Auxiliaries of Greater London
{{British Infantry Regiments World War I Military units and formations established in 1661 Infantry regiments of the British Army Regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II History of Tangier Military units and formations in Surrey Military units and formations in Guildford 1661 establishments in England R Military units and formations disestablished in 1959 Caroline of Ansbach