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To trace the movements and actions of any battalion, click on the Divisions with which it served
Battalions of the regular army
1st Battalion:
August 1914 : in Maymyo,
Burma. Returned to England, landing at Avonmouth 10 January 1915. Moved
to Rugby.
January 1915 : attached to 87th Brigade, 29th
Division. Sailed from Avonmouth on 17 March 1915 for Gallipoli,
going via Egypt and Mudros.
2nd Battalion:
August 1914 : in Pembroke
Dock.
5 September 1914: moved to Lyndhurst and attached to 20th Brigade, 7th
Division. Landed at Zeebrugge 6 October 1914.
3rd (Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Carlisle. A depot/training unit, it remained in UK throughout
the war. Moved on mobilisation to Shoeburyness and on in January 1916
to Conway, November 1916 to Barrow and finally in March 1917 to Great
Crosby for duty with Mersey Garrison.
Battalions of the Territorial Force
1/4th (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Carlisle.
Army Troops attached to East Lancashire Division. Moved to Barrow.
September 1914 : moved to Sittingbourne and transferred to Middlesex Brigade, Home
Counties Division.
29 September 1914 : sailed from Southampton for India. The Division was broken
up on arrival and remained in India throughout the war. On arrival was
attached to Burma Division and arrived at Rangoon in early December 1914.
February 1918: transferred to Jubbulpore Brigade in 5th (Mhow) Division.
2/4th (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Battalion:
Formed at Kendal
in September 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit.
Moved to billets in Blackpool.
4 March 1915 : sailed from Avonmouth
for India. Remained in India throughout the war. Attached
on arrival to Poona Brigade in 6th (Poona) Divisional Area. November
1915 :
transferred to Jubbulpore Brigade in 5th (Mhow) Division. March
1916: transferred to Peshawar Brigade in 1st (Peshawar) Division. March
1917: moved to 4th (Rawalpindi) Brigade in 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division.
December 1917: transferred to Nowshera Brigade in 1st (Peshawar) Division.October
1918: returned to 4th (Rawalpindi) Brigade in 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division.
1/5th (Cumberland) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Carlisle.
Army Troops attached to East Lancashire Division. Moved to Barrow.
26 October 1914 : landed at Le Havre and attached to Lines of Communication.
[Official History of the war mentions attachment to Jullundur Brigade, Lahore
Division].
5 May 1915 : attached to 149th Brigade, 50th
Division.
20 December 1915 : transferred to 151st Brigade, 50th
Division.
12 February 1918 : transferred to as Pioneer Bn to 66th Division.
7 May 1918 : transferred to 97th Brigade, 32nd
Division and absorbed the cadre of the regiment's 11th Battalion (Lonsdale).
2/5th (Cumberland) Battalion:
Formed at Kendal
in October 1914 as a home service ("second line") unit. Moved
to billets in Blackpool.
In November 1915 was at Falkirk and merged with 2/4th and 2/5th
Bns, the Royal
Scots Fusiliers, to form the 13th Battalion. Absorbed by
the 2/4th Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers in
January 1916.
3/4th and 3/5th Battalions:
Formed at Kendal
about March 1915 as depot/training ("third line") units. 3/4th
moved to Ramsey on Isle of Man in December 1915.
8 April 1916 : became Reserve Bns.
1 September 1916: at Witley, where 4th absorbed 5th. Moved to Ripon in January 1917, Hunmanby (Scarborough) in May 1917 and Filey in November 1917.
Battalions of the New Armies
6th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at
Carlisle in August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 33rd Brigade, 11th
(Northern) Division. Moved to Belton Park (Grantham). Moved
to Frensham in April 1915. Sailed from Liverpool on 1 July 1915 for Gallipoli,
landing at Helles 20 July. Moved to France in July 1916.
9 February 1918 : disbanded at Mazingarbe.
7th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at
Carlisle on 7 September 1914 as part of K2 and attached to 51st Brigade, 17th
(Northern) Division. Moved to Andover and on to Bovington
in January 1915. Moved to Winchester in June 1915. Landed at Boulogne
15 July 1915.
22 September 1917 : absorbed the Westmoreland
and Cumberland Yeomanry and renamed 7th (Westmoreland and Cumberland
Yeomanry) Bn.
8th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Carlisle
in September 1914 as part of K3 and attached
to 75th Brigade, 25th Division. Moved
to Codford and into billets in Boscombe in November 1914. Moved to Romsey
in May 1915 and on to Aldershot following month. Landed at Boulogne 27
September 1915.
22 June 1918 : transferred to Composite Brigade in 50th
Division.
7 July 1918 : disbanded in France.
9th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers):
Formed at Carlisle
in September 1914 as part of K3 and attached
to 66th Brigade, 22nd Division. Moved
to Lewswe and Seaford. Moved to billets in Eastbourne in November 1914.
February 1915 : became Divisional Pioneers in 22nd
Division. Moved to Seaford March 1915 and on to Aldershot May 1915. Landed
at Le Havre 4 September 1915 but soon to Salonika, arriving 7 November 1915.
10th (Reserve) Battalion:
Formed in Southend in October
1914 as Service Battalion of K4.
10 April 1915 : became Reserve battalion. Moved to Billericay.
1 September 1916 : at Seaford, absorbed into Battalions of 4th Reserve
Brigade of Training Reserve.
11th (Service) Battalion (Lonsdale):
Formed in Penrith
(HQ), Carlisle, Kendal and Workington on 17 September 1914 by the Earl
of Lonsdale and an Executive Committee. Moved to Carlisle Racecourse.
May 1915 : moved to Prees Heath and attached to 97th Brigade, 32nd
Division. Moved in June 1915 to Wensley and on to Fivant in August. Adopted
by War Office 27 August 1915. Landed at Boulogne 23 November 1915.
10 May 1918 : reduced to cadre strength, with surplus persoinnel being transferred
to 1/5th Bn.
13 May 1918 : transferred to 66th Division.
31 July 1918 : cadre absorbed by 1/5th Bn.
12th (Reserve) Battalion:
Formed in Prees Heath as
a Reserve Bn.
1 September 1916 : absorbed into 75th Battalion of 17th Reserve
Brigade of Training Reserve.
Other battalions raised by the regiment
13th Battalion:
Formed in Lowestoft on 1 June 1918 but absorbed by 11th Hampshires on 18 June 1918.
| Did you know? The Border Regiment has had a busy and costly time as any of the British Army since 1918. It fought, for example, at Arnhem, Burma, Ulster and Iraq. It disappeared from the army's order of battle in 2005, when merged with other regiments into the new Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. |
This page is dedicated to the memory of Harry Curtis, a Suffolk lad who volunteered to join this very Northern regiment and served with 6th (Service) Battalion; Serjeant Laurie Mealing of 1st Battalion, killed at the age of 25 on 1 July 1916; Ernest Sullivan, a time-expired pre-war regular who was recalled as a reservist with 2nd Battalion (he was wounded twice during the war); Reginald Rigby, who joined the 2nd Battalion when he was 18 years old in 1911 (he served throughout the 1914-1918 war and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal) and finally Albert Thornley, a war time volunteer who trained with 10th (Reserve) before being posted to 1st Battalion , in whose service he was killed the age of 21 on 13 August 1915.