East Lancashire Regiment

The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of two 30th and 59th Regiments of Foot with the militia and rifle volunteer units of eastern Lancashire. Following a series of mergers since 1958, its lineage is today continued by the Duke of Lancaster's 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).

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.

Militia and volunteer/territorial battalions
The 1881 reforms also linked the militia and rifle volunteer units of the area into the regimental structure:
 * The 5th Royal Lancashire Militia was redesignated as the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment.
 * The 2nd Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps, based at Blackburn: renamed to 1st Volunteer Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment in 1889
 * The 3rd Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps, based at Burnley: renamed to 2nd Volunteer Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment in 1889

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:


 * 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion
 * 4th Battalion (TF) (formerly 1st Volunteer Battalion)
 * 5th Battalion (TF) (formerly 2nd Volunteer Battalion)

The Territorial Force was restructured into 14 infantry divisions, and the 4th and 5th Battalions formed part of the East Lancashire Division. It was as part of that division that were to be mobilised in 1914.

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

Battle honours
The regiment was awarded the following battle honours for the war:


 * Le Cateau
 * Retreat from Mons
 * Marne 1914
 * Aisne 1914, '18
 * Armentières 1914
 * Neuve Chapelle
 * Ypres 1915, '17, '18
 * St Julien
 * Frezenberg
 * Bellewaarde
 * Aubers
 * Somme 1916, '18
 * Albert 1916, '18
 * Bazentin
 * Pozières
 * Le Transloy
 * Ancre 1916, '18
 * Arras 1917, '18
 * Scarpe 1917, '18
 * Arleux


 * Oppy
 * Messines 1917
 * Pilckem
 * Langemarck 1917
 * Polygon Wood
 * Broodseinde
 * Poelcapelle
 * Passchendaele
 * St Quentin
 * Bapaume 1918
 * Rosières
 * Villers Bretonneux
 * Lys
 * Estaires
 * Hazebrouck
 * Bailleul
 * Kemmel
 * Hindenburg Line
 * Canal du Nord
 * Cambrai 1918


 * Selle
 * Valenciennes
 * Sambre
 * France and Flanders 1914–18
 * Kosturino
 * Doiran 1917, '18
 * Macedonia 1915–18
 * Helles
 * Krithia
 * Suvla
 * Sari Bair
 * Gallipoli 1915
 * Rumani
 * Egypt 1915–17
 * Tigris 1916
 * Kut al Amara 1917
 * Baghdad
 * Mesopotamia 1916–17

Each regiment was permitted to select ten battle honours to be borne on the King's Colours. These are shown in bold type.

The Accrington Pals
The Accrington Pals was a Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Accrington in Lancashire. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 11th Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment.

Recruiting was initiated by the mayor of Accrington following Lord Kitchener's call for volunteers and it took only ten days to raise a complete battalion. The battalion's nickname is a little misleading since of the four 250-strong companies that made up the original battalion, only one was actually composed of men from Accrington. The rest volunteered from other East Lancashire towns nearby such as Burnley, Blackburn, and Chorley. The men from Chorley who formed Y Company were known as the Chorley Pals. The men from Burnley who formed Z Company were known as the Burnley Pals.

The Accrington Pals joined the 94th Brigade of the British 31st Division, a "Pals" division par excellence containing many famous North Country Pals battalions. With the 31st Division, the Accrington Pals were initially deployed to Egypt in early 1916 to defend the Suez Canal from the threat of the Ottoman Empire. The troopship carrying the Accrington Pals was narrowly missed by a torpedo; a fortunate miss because the ship also carried sixty tons of lyddite explosive.

The Accrington Pals next moved to France where they first saw action in the Battle of the Somme. On the first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, the 31st Division was to attack the village of Serre and form a defensive flank for the rest of the British advance. The 31st Division's attack on Serre was a complete failure though some of the Accrington Pals did make it as far as the village before being killed or captured. One of the battalion's signallers, observing from the rear, reported:


 * "We were able to see our comrades move forward in an attempt to cross No Man's Land, only to be mown down like meadow grass. I felt sick at the sight of the carnage and remember weeping."

Approximately 700 men from the Accrington Pals went into action on 1 July; 585 men became casualties, 235 killed and 350 wounded in about half an hour. The battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel A.W. Rickman was among the wounded. A rumour that spread around Accrington was that only seven men had survived from the battalion and an angry crowd surrounded the mayor's house, demanding information. The Accrington Pals were effectively wiped out in a matter of minutes on the first day on the Somme. The battalion was brought back up to strength and served for the remainder of the war, moving to the 92nd Brigade of the 31st Division in February 1918.

A song telling their story was written and recorded by English folk singer and comedian Mike Harding. A play based on the unit, The Accrington Pals (play), was also later written.

Victoria Crosses
Four members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry:
 * Drummer Spencer John Bent, 1st Battalion (Le Gheer, Belgium, 1 –2 November 1914)
 * Private William Young, 8th Battalion (Fonquevillers, France, 22 December 1915)
 * Second Lieutenant Alfred Victor Smith, 1/5th Battalion (Helles, Galliopoli, Turkey, 23 December 1915)
 * Second Lieutenant Basil Arthur Horsfall, attached to 11th Battalion (Between Moyenneville and Ablainzevelle, France, 21 March 1918)

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 regiment was again increased in size for the duration of the 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.

Battle honours
A total of eighteen battle honours were awarded. As with honours for the First World War, ten were selected for display on the colours, indicated in bold:


 * Defence of Escaut
 * Dunkirk 1940
 * Caen
 * Falaise
 * Nederrijn
 * Lower Maas
 * Ourthe
 * Rhineland
 * Reichswald
 * Weeze


 * Rhine
 * Ibbenburen
 * Aller
 * North-West Europe 1940 '44-45
 * Madagascar
 * North Arakan
 * Pinwe
 * Burma 1944-45

Victoria Cross
Acting 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.

Badges
When the two regiments of foot merged in 1881, new badges were designed. 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. This design of cap badge was maintained for the rest of the regiment's existence, subject to changes in the style of crown, and was worn on the later service dress and battle dress uniforms.

Amalgamation
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 North Lancashire Regiment 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 The King's Regiment to form a new large regiment, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border).