The 110th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (Border Regiment) (110 RAC) was an

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the armoured arm of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle. It includes most of the Ar ...

raised during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Origin

110th Regiment RAC was formed on 1 November 1941 by the conversion to the armoured role of the 5th (Cumberland) Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

, a 1st Line Territorial Army infantry battalion. At the outbreak of war, 5th Border had been mobilised at

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

in 126th Infantry Brigade of 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, which were redesignated 11th Armoured Brigade (later 11th Tank Brigade) and 42nd Armoured Division respectively in November 1941.110th Regiment RAC War Diary, November 1941, TNA file WO 166/1427. In common with other infantry units transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, all personnel would have continued to wear their Border cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps. The regiment continued to add the parenthesis '(Border Regiment)' to its RAC title and celebrate the anniversary of the

Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos The Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos took place on 28 October 1811 during the Peninsular War. An allied force under General Rowland Hill trapped and defeated a French force under General Jean-Baptiste Girard, forcing the latter's dismissal by ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

(28 October 1811) as a regimental holiday.

History

On conversion on 1 November 1941, 110 RAC was stationed at Skipton-in-Craven in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. It received its first tank (a

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

) in January 1942. In May, the regiment moved to

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is sited on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The town had a population of 18,040 at the United Kingdom ...

and was ordered to convert from Covenanter

cruiser tank The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were develop ...

s to Churchill

infantry tank The infantry tank was a tank concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily arm ...

s, when 11 Armoured Brigade was detached from 42nd Armoured Division and became an independent Army Tank Brigade. Later in the year, the regiment moved to

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

and trained around

Bolton Castle Bolton Castle is a 14th-century castle located in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, England (). The nearby village of Castle Bolton takes its name from the castle. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle was d ...

Hawes Hawes is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a tourist attraction in the Yorks ...

and

Arkengarthdale Arkengarthdale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire, England. Running roughly north-west to south-east, it is the valley of the Arkle Beck, and is the northernmost of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a subsidiary ...

.110 RAC War Diaries 1942, TNA file WO 166/6930. In July and August 1942, 110 RAC sent large drafts of officers and men for overseas service, and in January 1943 it (along with the whole of 11th Tank Brigade) was attached to 77th Infantry (Reserve) Division and given the role of holding and training reinforcements. In February 1943, it moved to Catterick and then in May to

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

, training in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

. In Autumn 1943, the decision was made disband 11th Tank Brigade, without it ever having seen active service, and 110 RAC was broken up before the end of November. The 5th Battalion, Border Regiment was reconstituted in April 1944 by the redesignation of 7th Border, a reserve battalion serving in 213th Infantry Brigade It spent the rest of the war as a training battalion.5th Bn Border Regiment War Diary, June 1944–November 1945, TNA file WO 166/17146.

Notes

References

* George Forty, ''British Army Handbook 1939–1945'', Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998, . *

External sources

Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth (Regiments.org)
{{RAC armoured regiments of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1941 Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps Royal Armoured Corps 110 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943