Northamptonshire Regiment

The Northamptonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1960. Its lineage is now continued by The Royal Anglian Regiment.

Formation
The regiment was formed as part of the reorganisation of the infantry by the Childers reforms. The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1741) and the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1755) were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Northamptonshire Regiment, with the regimental depot at Northampton.

As well as the two regular battalions, the Northamptonshire and Rutland Militia became the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, and the 1st Northamptonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps became the First Volunteer Battalion. With the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907, they became the 3rd (Special Reserve) and 4th (Territorial Force) Battalions respectively.

Service
In the years 1881-1914 the two regular battalions saw overseas service in Hong Kong, India, Singapore and South Africa, with the regiment receiving battle honours for actions in the North West Frontier Province and the Second Boer War.

During the First World War the regiment was expanded to comprise 13 battalions which served on the Western Front in France and Flanders, the Gallipoli campaign, Egypt and Palestine.

Between the two world wars the regular battalions were in a number of overseas locations including Burma, China, Egypt, Iraq, Ireland, Palestine and Sudan. On August 16, 1920, members of the Northamptonshire Regiment damaged, looted and burned buildings in the town of Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland in reprisal for Irish Republican Army guerrilla activity during the Irish War of Independence.

On 17 October 1935 a Royal Scot Class locomotive of the London Midland and Scottish Railway was named The Northamptonshire Regiment at a ceremony at Northampton (Castle) Station.

In the Second World War battalions of the regiment fought in North West Europe, North Africa, Burma, Italy and Madagascar.

Amalgamation
In 1948 the regiment was reduced to a single regular battalion. Following the recommendations of the 1957 Defence White Paper, the 1st Battalions of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and the Northamptonshire Regiment were merged on 1 June 1960 to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire). This regiment was short-lived, becoming part of the Royal Anglian Regiment on 1 September 1964.

The Museum of the Northamptonshire Regiment is housed at Abington Park, Northampton. The regiment were stationed at the former Quebec Barracks, later renamed Simpson Barracks on a large site at Wootton, south of the town adjacent to the Newport Pagnell road which include the old Hardingstone Workhouse building. They also had an ammunition dump at Yardley Chase.

Badges and dress distinctions
The badges of the regiment included references to the units combined in 1881. The cap badge featured a representation of a castle and key and the battle honour "Gibraltar", earned by the 58th Foot in 1779-1783. Below the castle was a scroll bearing the honour "Talavera", and the badge was encircled by a laurel wreath earned by the 48th Foot in 1809 during the Peninsular War.

The collar badge (which was also used as the design for the regimental "crest"), was based on that of the Northamptonshire and Rutland Militia. This featured the cross of St George within a crowned circle. Around the circle was a laurel wreath, on the base of which was a horseshoe, representing Rutland.

The regimental buttons of other ranks bore the castle and key surmounted by a crown, while those worn on officers' mess dress displayed a scroll inscribed "Talavera" below a crown.

The facing colours of the 48th and 58th Foot were buff and black respectively, and although white facings were imposed in 1881 by the Childers reforms, the old colours were still used in the regiment. The regimental stable belt consisted of equal stripes of black, buff and sky blue. In 1927 the regiment's facings were changed to buff. The scarlet and blue officers' mess dress worn in the 1930s included collar and cuffs in the buff of the 48th and waistcoats in the black of the 58th. A black lanyard was worn on the battle-dress blouse introduced in 1937, and this was later adopted by the 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment.

Battle honours
The regiment was awarded the following battle honours: Awarded for the actions of the 48th and 58th Regiments of Foot:
 * Louisburg
 * Quebec 1759
 * Martinique 1762
 * Havannah
 * Gibraltar 1779-'83 (Awarded as a badge consisting of a castle and key with the mooto Montis Insignia Calpe.)
 * Martinique 1794 (awarded 1909)
 * Maida
 * Egypt (Awarded as a badge of the sphinx superscribed "Egypt".)
 * Douro
 * Talavera
 * Albuera
 * Badajoz
 * Salamanca
 * Vittoria
 * Pyrenees
 * Nivelle
 * Orthes
 * Toulouse
 * Peninsula
 * New Zealand
 * Sevastopol
 * South Africa 1879

Awarded for the actions of the Northamptonshire Regiment prior to 1914:
 * Tirah
 * Modder River
 * South Africa 1899-1902

''Awarded for the actions in the First World War. Ten selected honours, shown in bold type, were displayed on the colours:''
 * Mons
 * Retreat from Mons
 * Marne 1914
 * Aisne 1914, '18
 * Ypres 1914, '17
 * Langemarck 1914, '17
 * Gheluvelt
 * Nonne Boschen
 * Givenchy 1914
 * Neuve Chapelle
 * Aubers
 * Loos
 * Somme 1916, '18
 * Albert 1916, '18
 * Bazentin
 * Delville Wood
 * Pozieres
 * Flers-Coucelette
 * Morval
 * Thiepval
 * Le Transloy
 * Ancre Heights
 * Ancre 1916, '18
 * Bapaume 1917, '18
 * Arras 1917, '18
 * Vimy 1917
 * Scarpe 1917, '18
 * Arleux
 * Messines 1917
 * Pilckem
 * Passchendaele
 * Cambrai 1917, '18
 * St Quentin
 * Rosieres
 * Avre
 * Villers Bretonneux
 * Amiens
 * Drocourt-Queant
 * Hindenburg Line
 * Epehy
 * St Quentin Canal
 * Selle
 * Sambre
 * France and Flanders 1914-'18
 * Suvla
 * Landing at Suvla
 * Scimitar Hill
 * Gallipoli 1915
 * Egypt 1915-'17
 * Gaza
 * El Mughar
 * Nebi Samwil
 * Jerusalem
 * Jaffa
 * Tell' Asur
 * Megiddo
 * Sharon
 * Palestine 1917-'18

''Awarded for the actions in the Second World War. Ten selected honours, shown in bold type, were displayed on the colours:''
 * Defence of Escaut
 * Defence of Arras
 * Ypres-Comines Canal
 * North-West Europe 1940, '45
 * Djediada
 * Djebel Djaffa
 * Oued Zarga
 * Djebel Tanngoucha
 * Sidi Ahmed
 * North Africa 1942-'43
 * Landing in Sicily
 * Adrano
 * Sicily 1943
 * Sangro
 * Garigliano Crossing
 * Anzio
 * Cassino II
 * Monte Gabbione
 * Trasimene Line
 * Monte La Pieve
 * Argenta Gap
 * Italy 1943-'45
 * Madagascar
 * Yu
 * Imphal
 * Tamu Road
 * Bishenpur
 * Monywa 1945
 * Myinmu Bridgehead
 * Irrawaddy
 * Burma 1943-'45