List of battalions of the Cheshire Regiment explained

This is a list of battalions of the Cheshire Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 2007.

Original composition

When the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot became The Cheshire Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, seven pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Cheshire were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class.

BattalionFormedFormerly
Regular
1st16881st Battalion, 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot
2nd18582nd Battalion, 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot
Militia
3rd (Militia)18531st Royal Cheshire Light Infantry Militia[1]
4th (Militia)18532nd Royal Cheshire Militia
Volunteers
1st Volunteer18601st Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps[2]
2nd (Earl of Chester's) Volunteer18602nd Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps[3]
3rd Volunteer18603rd Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
4th Volunteer18604th Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps[4]
5th Volunteer18605th Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps[5]

Reorganisation

The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. Also in 1908, the 4th (Militia) Battalion was one of the 23 infantry militia battalions to disband.[6]

BattalionFormerly
4th1st Volunteer Battalion
5th (Earl of Chester's)Amalgamation of 2nd (Earl of Chester's) and 3rd Volunteer Battalions
6th4th Volunteer
7th5th Volunteer

First World War

The Cheshires fielded 38 battalions and lost 8,413 officers and other ranks during the course of the war.[7] The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Cheshires were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively, with the third line battalions, being redesignated reserve battalions in 1916. Many battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. The 13th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, New Army battalions, was referred to as a "Pals" battalion because it was predominantly composed of colleagues. The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names. Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.[8]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular[9] [10]
1st1688Western Front
2nd1858Western Front, Salonika
Special Reserve
3rd (Reserve)1853Britain
Territorial Force
1/4th1860Gallipoli, Western FrontSee Inter-War
1/5th (Earl of Chester's)1860Western FrontSee Inter-War
1/6th1860Western FrontSee Inter-War
1/7th1860Gallipoli, Western Front
2/4thBirkenhead, September 1914BritainAbsorbed by 2/7th Battalion, in December 1915
2/5th (Earl of Chester's)Chester, November 1914BritainDisbanded, in April 1918
2/6thStockport, September 1914BritainDisbanded, in September 1917
2/7thMacclesfield, October 1914BritainDisbanded, in March 1918
3/4th
4th (Reserve) Battalion, from April 1916
Birkenhead, March 1915BritainDisbanded, in 1919
3/5th (Earl of Chester's)
5th (Reserve) Battalion, from April 1916
Chester, March 1915BritainAbsorbed by the 4th (Reserve) Battalion, in September 1916
3/6th
6th (Reserve) Battalion, from April 1916
Stockport, March 1915BritainAbsorbed by the 4th (Reserve) Battalion, in September 1916
3/7th
7th (Reserve) Battalion, from April 1916
Macclesfield, March 1915BritainAbsorbed by the 4th (Reserve) Battalion, in September 1916
23rdHappisburgh, January 1917
from 46th Provisional Battalion (Territorial Force)
Western FrontDisbanded, in 1919
New Army
8th (Service)Chester, August 1914Gallipoli, MesopotamiaDisbanded, in 1919
9th (Service)Chester, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded, in 1919
10th (Service)Chester, September 1914BritainAbsorbed by 15th Battalion, South Wales Borderers, in July 1918
11th (Service)Chester, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded, in August 1918
12th (Service)Chester, September 1914Western Front, SalonikaDisbanded, in 1919
13th (Service)Port Sunlight, September 1914Western FrontDisbanded, in February 1918
14th (Reserve)Birkenhead, October 1914BritainConverted to 50th Training Reserve Battalion, in September 1916
15th (Service) (1st Birkenhead)Birkenhead, November 1914Western FrontBantam battalion
disbanded, in 1919
16th (Service) (2nd Birkenhead)Birkenhead, December 1914Western FrontBantam battalion; disbanded, in February 1918
17th (Reserve)Bebington, August 1915Western FrontBantam battalion formed from depot companies of 16th and 17th (S) Bns; converted to 74th Reserve Bn, in September 1916
Others
18th (Labour)Oldham, March 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 56 and 57 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
19th (Labour)Oldham, April 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 58 and 59 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
20th (Labour)Chester, June 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 60 and 61 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
21st (Labour)Chester, August 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 62 and 63 Companies, Labour Corps, in May 1917
22nd (Labour)Chester, December 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 64 and 65 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
24th (Home Service)Mundesley, April 1918BritainDisbanded, in 1919
1st GarrisonChester, August 1915GibraltarDisbanded, in 1919
2nd GarrisonBebington, October 1915Egypt & PalestineDisbanded, in 1919
3rd (Home Service) GarrisonRamsey, November 1915BritainConverted to 11th Battalion, Royal Defence Corps, in August 1917
51st (Graduated)October 1917
from 213th Graduated Battalion
IrelandDisbanded, in 1919
52nd (Graduated)October 1917
from 221st Graduated Battalion
IrelandDisbanded, in 1919
53rd (Young Soldier)October 1917
from 62nd Training Reserve Battalion
Britain & GermanyConverted to service battalion, then absorbed into 9th Bn, in 1919
Volunteer Training Corps[11]
1st Battalion (Altrincham) Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
HaleDisbanded post war
2nd Battalion Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
BirkenheadDisbanded post war
3rd Battalion (Chester and Eddisbury) Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
ChesterDisbanded post war
4th Battalion Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
CreweDisbanded post war
5th Battalion (East Cheshire) Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 5th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
StalybridgeDisbanded post war
6th Battalion (Knutsford) Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 6th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
WilmslowDisbanded post war
7th Battalion Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 7th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
MacclesfieldDisbanded post war
8th Battalion Cheshire Volunteer RegimentNorthwichDisbanded 1918
9th Battalion Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 8th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
StockportDisbanded post war
10th Battalion (Wirral) Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 9th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
HeswallDisbanded post war
11th Battalion Cheshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 10th Volunteer Battalion, Cheshire Regiment
WallaseyDisbanded post war

Inter-War

By 1920, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft.

BattalionFate
4thAmalgamated with the 5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion, to create the 4th/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion, in 1921[12]
5th (Earl of Chester's)Amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, to create the 4th/5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion, in 1921
6thAmalgamated with the Cheshire Brigade, RFA and Shropshire Battery, RHA, to form 6th Cheshire & Shropshire Medium Brigade, RGA, in February 1920.

Second World War

The regiment's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion, In addition to this, 26 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge,[13] and also by 1944 one Heavy Anti Aircraft (HAA) battery, and three rocket batteries (Z Battery) forming the whole of the 22nd Anti Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard).[14] Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of these men, the batteries required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular battery.[15] A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories.[16]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular
1st1688North Africa, Malta, North West Europe[17] See Post-World War II
2nd1858France, North Africa, Sicily, North West Europe[18] See Post-World War II
Supplementary Reserve
3rd1853See Post-World War II
Territorial Army
4th
as a duplicate of 5th (Earl of Chester's) Battalion
1939France, Britain[19]
5th (Earl of Chester's)
redesignation of 4th/5th (Earl of Chester's)
1921BritainSee Post-World War II
6th
as a duplicate of 7th Battalion
1939North Africa, Italy, North West EuropeSee Post-World War II
7th1860France, Sicily, Italy
30th (Home Defence)
8th, from 1941
1939ItalyDisbanded, in 1946
Home Guard[20]
BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)
1st AltrinchamCH 12nd AltrinchamCH 2
3rd KnutsfordCH 34th BirkenheadCH 4
5th BroxtonCH 56th ChesterCH 6
7th CreweCH 78th CongletonCH 8
9th MacclesfieldCH 910th WilmslowCH 10
11th MiddlewichCH 1112thNorthwichCH 12
13th SandiwayCH 1314th TarporleyCH 14
15th RuncornCH 1516th WallaseyCH 16
17th HaswellCH 1718th Ellesmere PortCH 18
19th ShottonCH 1920th Great SuttonCH 20
21st BebingtonCH 2122nd (28 G.P.O.)ChesterCH 22
23rd SaleCH 2324th NantwichCH 24
35th Staley BridgeCH 3536th HydeCH 36
37th RomileyCH 3738th StockportCH 38
39th CheadleCH 39
Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units
Formation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)
Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and DesignationFormation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)
Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and Designation
CH 71 Birkenhead71st Battery, 22nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (HAA)CH 101 South Birkenhead132nd Battery, 22nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (Z battery)
CH 102 Birkenhead214th Battery, 22nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (Z battery)CH 103 Wallasey104th Battery, 22nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (Z battery)
CH 1 Ringway,
(Fairy Aviation Co. Ltd)
A Troop LAACH 2 Altrinchan,
(Churchill Machine Tool Co. Ltd)
A Troop LAA
CH 7Crewe,
(Rolls-Royce Ltd)
A Troop LAACH 10Woodford
(A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd)
A, B Troops LAA
CH 10Ringway
(A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd)
C Troop LAACH 11Radway Green,
(Royal Ordnance Factory)
A, B Troops LAA
CH 12Plumley, Northwich,
(British Ethyl Corporation Ltd)
A Troop LAACH 12Wade, Northwich,
(Ministry of Supply Factory)
B Troop LAA
CH 18Ellesmere PortA Troop LAACH 38Stockport,
(Fairy Aviation Co. Ltd)
A Troop LAA

Post-World War II

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.

BattalionFate
1stPlaced in suspended animation, in July 1948[21]
2ndRenumbered as the 1st Battalion, in July 1948[22]
5th (Earl of Chester's)Placed in suspended animation, in 1947
6thDisbanded, in 1947

When the TAVR was established in 1967, the size of the territorial was greatly reduced, with most infantry battalions being reduced to a company. However, the Cheshire regiment did not receive the same fate; instead both the 4th and 7th battalions disbanded and were concurrently reconstituted as two units:

However, only four years later in 1971, the 4th/7th Battalion was reduced to E Company (Cheshire), Mercian Volunteers. In 1988, a Territorial battalion dedicated to the regiment, was once again raised, namely 3rd (V) Battalion.

Last years

Under Delivering Security in a Changing World, the Cheshire Regiment was due to amalgamate with the Staffordshire Regiment and Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, to form a new large regiment- The Mercian Regiment.

BattalionFate
1stBecame 1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment in August 2007
3rd (V)Became B and D (Cheshire) Companies, King's and Cheshire Regiment, in July 1999. And then B Coy, 4th Battalion Mercian Regiment in 2007.

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Parkyn p.220
  2. Westlake p.39
  3. Westlake p.40
  4. Westlake p.41
  5. Westlake p.42
  6. Web site: The Cheshire Regiment - 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion. 7 July 2010 . 21 August 2020.
  7. Web site: LLOYD Edward. 21 August 2020.
  8. Book: Westlake, Ray. 2020. Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps 1914-1918. Naval and Military Press. Uckfield. 4-7 . 9781783315390 .
  9. Web site: Cheshire Regiment. 21 August 2020.
  10. Web site: Unit History: Cheshire Regiment. 21 August 2020.
  11. Westlake pp. 110-111
  12. Web site: The Cheshire Regiment. https://web.archive.org/web/20070418085418/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/022Ches.htm. 18 April 2007. 22 August 2020.
  13. Whittaker p. 141
  14. Whittaker p. 108
  15. Whittaker p. 23
  16. Whittaker pps. 116-117
  17. Web site: 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment during the Second World War. 22 August 2020.
  18. Web site: 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment during the Second World War. 22 August 2020.
  19. Web site: The Second World War and Post War Years. https://web.archive.org/web/20050901041439/https://web.ukonline.co.uk/ewh.bryan/Cheshire-4.htm. 1 September 2005. 22 August 2020.
  20. Web site: History of the Home Guard. 29 June 2022.
  21. Web site: 1st Battalion, 22nd Regiment of Foot / 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment / 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment. https://web.archive.org/web/20071023105745/http://www.regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/022-1.htm. 23 October 2007. 22 August 2020.
  22. Web site: 2nd Battalion, 22nd Regiment of Foot / 2nd Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment. https://web.archive.org/web/20070615011927/http://regiments.org/deploy/uk/reg-inf/022-2.htm. 15 June 2007. 22 August 2020.