1st Bn Worcestershire Regiment

1st Battalion the Worcestershire Regiment During WW1

04.08.1914 Stationed in Cairo, Egypt at the outbreak of war.

30.09-16.10.1914 Returned to England from Alexandria and arrived at Liverpool to join the 24th Brigade of the 8th Division and moved to Hursley Park, Winchester.

06.11.1914 Mobilised for war and landed at Havre where the Division reinforced the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and was engaged in action on the Western Front. Initially at Neuve Chapelle trenches by December the Battalion lost half its strength due to frostbite as much as combat causalities.

18.10.1915 the 24th Brigade transferred to the 23rd Division.

During 1915

The Battle of Aubers ridge

During 1916

Moved to relieve the French 17th Division in the Carency sector and the attack on Contalmaison.

15.07.1916 the 24th Brigade transferred back to the 8th Division, the Battalion took over trenches at Cuinchy and then moved back to the front at Somme.

During 1917

The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, The Battle of Pilckem, The Battle of Langemarck, the Third Battle of Ypres

During 1918

Counter attack at Pargny, the Battle of Rosieres, Operations in Picardy, the action of Villers Bretonneux, the Battle of the Aisne.

11.11.1918 Ended the war in Belgium, Harchies east of Conde.

WW1 Troop Movements and ORBATS for Worcestershire Regiment, 1^st Battalion

1st Battalion the Worcestershire Regiment During WW2

In 1939 the Battalion were in Palestine, keeping the fragile peace between Arabs and Jews around Jerusalem. When war broke out, they moved across into North Africa. They were sent to Abbysinia and Eritrea (which are now Ethiopia), which were Italian colonies. They fought a harsh campaign here, fighting in the mountains and conditions of intense heat in the deserts as the Italians put up a bitter resistance.

Eventually, after the battle of Keren, the Italians surrendered. By taking these colonies, the British had secured their supply lines through the Suez Canal and won a Britain's first major land victory of the war.

In 1941 the Battalion transferred to the Western Desert in order to fight the Germans. As the Germans advanced, the Battalion became trapped in Tobruk. Just outside this port the Battalion made a gallant stand, at a place called Point 187, holding back the German tanks for 24 hours before finally pulling back.

In June 1942 the Battalion were with the garrison of Tobruk when it surrendered. Only a few men escaped back to England.

In January 1943 the Battalion was reborn as the 11th Battalion, then renumbered as the 1st.

The new Battalion landed in Normandy in June 1944 and were heavily involved in the Battle of Caen and the advance on the River Seine. On the 16th August they crossed the River under heavy fire - the first unit across.

The Battalion later fought through the liberation of Belgium and Holland, and the invasion of Germany.

In March 1945 they played a major part in the crossing of the Rhine.

1st Bn Worcestershire Regiment

Related Records