East Lancashire Regiment

Regular battalions

The 1st Battalion was formed from the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1702) and the 2nd Battalion from the 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot (raised 1755) and the regiment was renamed the East Lancashire Regiment in July 1881.

Under the system introduced in 1881, one battalion of each infantry regiment was to serve at a home station while the other was in a foreign garrison or on active service. Due to the emergency caused by the outbreak of war in South Africa in 1899 most home service battalions were dispatched to the conflict. The 1st East Lancashire Regiment arrived at Cape Town in early February 1900.

Militia and volunteer/territorial battalions

The 1881 reforms also linked the militia and rifle volunteer units of the area into the regimental structure:

The militia was a reserve force that was only liable to service in the United Kingdom and in peace time assembled for period of annual training. In time of war it could be "embodied" or mobilised. When the war that broke out in South Africa in 1899 began to absorb a large amount of the regular army's resources, the terms of service of the militia were altered to allow them to serve in the war. The 3rd Battalion was embodied in January 1900 and served in South Africa until 1902. It was disembodied in March 1902. The battalion was awarded the battle honour "South Africa 1900–1902".

The volunteer battalions were organised for home defence purposes, and their members were subject to regular drills and training. Like the militia battalion, elements of the volunteers fought in South Africa. While members of the Volunteer Force could not be required to serve overseas, members from the battalions were voluntarily formed into Active Service Companies, providing reinforcements for the regular battalion. Both volunteer battalions were awarded battle honours for the war.

1908 reorganisation

In 1908, under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 the militia and volunteer force were reconstituted as the "Special Reserve" and "Territorial Force" (TF). Territorial battalions were renumbered in series after the special reserve battalions. The resulting titles were:

The Territorial Force was restructured into 14 infantry divisions, and the 4th and 5th battalions formed part of the East Lancashire Brigade of the East Lancashire Division. It was as part of that division that were to be mobilised in August 1914 after the outbreak of World War I.

First World War

The size of the regiment was increased during the conflict, reaching a total of 17 battalions.

Victoria Crosses

Four members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry:

Inter war

Between the Wars the East Lancs served in many conflicts including Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Ireland, Turkey, Palestine and the North West Frontier of India.

Second World War

The East Lancashire Regiment was again increased in size for the duration of the Second World War, although not to such an extent as in 1914–1918. Firstly, prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, the entire Territorial Army was doubled in size, with each unit forming a duplicate. Secondly, a number of wartime battalions were formed.

Victoria Cross

Captain Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews of the 1st Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry at Dunkirk on 31 May – 1 June 1940.

Post war

In 1948 the regiment was reduced to a single regular battalion. They served in the Middle East, Malaya, the Suez Canal Zone, and Aden.

In 1957 defence cuts were announced that significantly reduced the size of the army. As a result, the East Lancashire Regiment was amalgamated with The South Lancashire Regiment on 1 July 1958 to form The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers). In 1970 the Lancashire Regiment was in turn amalgamated with the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) to form the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. In 2006 the Queen's Lancashire Regiment was merged with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and King's Regiment (Liverpool and Manchester) to form a new large regiment, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border).

Badges

When the two regiments of foot merged in 1881, new badges were designed that would endure for the rest of the regiment's existence, subject to changes in the style of crown, and which would be worn on the later service dress and battle dress uniforms. The headdress badge selected for the centre of the full dress helmet was a sphinx upon a plinth inscribed "EGYPT". The sphinx had been awarded to the 30th Foot in 1802 to mark its participation in repelling the French invasion of Egypt The collar badge selected was the Red Rose of Lancaster to mark the regiment's county affiliation. In 1897 a khaki uniform featuring a slouch hat was introduced, and a metal cap badge was devised for each regiment or corps. The badge of the East Lancs was the sphinx and "Egypt" above the rose, the whole enclosed within a laurel wreath topped by a crown. The laurel wreath had formed part of the insignia of the 59th Foot. A scroll inscribed "EAST LANCASHIRE" at the base of the badge completed the design.

Battle honours

The regiment was awarded the following battle honours (those selected for display on the colour are indicated in bold):

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the regiment were: