The Lancastrian Volunteers was a short lived Territorial Army infantry regiment 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 ...

, composed of companies from the North West affiliated regiments.

History

The regiment was formed in 1967, by the amalgamation of the 8 Territorial Battalions within the Lancastrian Brigade, with its headquarters at Peninsula Barracls,

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. It was initially composed of 5 companies, that continued to wear the badges of the regiments that they were affiliated to. *HQ Company (Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers)), at Warrington – from 4th Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59t ...

, and 4th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment *A Company (King's Own Border), at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

– from 4th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), and 4th 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 ...

*B Company (King's), at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

– from 5th Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

*C Company (Manchester), at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

– from 8th and 9th Battalions, Manchester Regiment *D Company (Loyals), at Preston – from 5th Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) In 1969 a new Company was raised, namely E Company (King's Own), at Lancaster and

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

; formed from cadres of 4th/5th (T) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment, and 4th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. In 1971 the regiment formed a second battalion, and consequently the existing battalion was redesignated as the 1st Battalion. D Company also transferred to the new battalion, retaining its title.

1st Battalion

*HQ Company (Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers)), at Warrington *A Company (King's Own Border), at Carlisle *B Company (King's), at Liverpool *C Company (Manchester), at Manchester *E Company (King's Own), at Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness

2nd Battalion

The 2nd Battalion, formed with its headquarters at Preston from both cadres of former units, and newly raised companies. *A (East Lancashire) Company, at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

and Haslingden – from cadre of 4th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment *B Company, at Liverpool – ''newly raised'' *C (Manchester) Company, at Ashton under Lyne – from cadre of 8th/9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment *D Company, at Preston – redesignation of D Company, 1st Battalion

Disbandment

In 1973, the company subtitles were omitted, due to the fact that the regimental affiliations and traditions had begun to fade and blur. Then, in 1975, the decision was made to break up the regiment and place the TA units back directly under their affiliated regiments. Therefore, the 1st Battalion was broken up, with HQ, B, and C Companies joining 5th/8th Battalion, King's Regiment, retaining their lettering; and A and E Companies were transferred to 4th (Volunteer) Battalion,

King's Own Royal Border Regiment The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1959 until 2006, and was part of the King's Division. It was formed at Barnard Castle on 1 October 1959 through the amalgamation of the King's ...

, also keeping their company designations. The 2nd Battalion, was redesignated entirely, less B Company, as 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment; with B Company becoming D Company, 5th/8th Battalion, King's Regiment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancastrian Volunteers Military units and formations established in 1967 Military units and formations disestablished in 1975 The King's Regiment Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) King's Own Royal Border Regiment Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) Queen's Lancashire Regiment Infantry regiments of the British Army 1967 establishments in England