Queen's Lancashire Regiment
Encyclopedia
The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, part of the King's Division
King's Division
The King's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for infantry regiments in the North of England. The King's Division was formed in 1968 with the union of the Lancastrian Brigade, Yorkshire Brigade and North Irish Brigade...

. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks in Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 through the amalgamation of the two remaining Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 infantry regiments, the Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) and the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
The Loyal Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army from 1881 to 1970...

.

History

Since formation, the Queen's Lancashires have served on operations in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 in 1970, 1971–1972, 1975 - 1976 (resident), 1977, 1980–1981, 1987, 1990–1992, 1997 - 1999 (resident) and 2001 during the course of which eight soldiers were killed in action.

The 1st Battalion undertook two tours with BAOR
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...

 in the mechanised role. The first of which was with 12 Mechanised Brigade
British 12th Infantry Brigade
The 12th Mechanized Brigade is a regular British Army brigade which has been in existence since 1899.-History:The brigade was first formed in December 1899 as 12th Infantry Brigade, part of 6th Division...

 in Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...

 from 1970 to 1974. The second was with 33 Armoured Brigade in Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...

 from 1984 - 1990. The 1st Battalion also had the honour of being the last British battalion to serve in Berlin prior to the final withdrawal in 1994.

Overseas service saw the 1st Battalion posted to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 from 1978 - 1980 as the Western Sovereign Base Area Resident Battalion, and again in 1983, where they saw service with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

. A company was dispatched to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

 in the aftermath of the 1982 war. The 1st Battalion returned to Cyprus as the Eastern Sovereign Base Area Resident Battalion from 2004–2005, again dispatching a company to the Falkland Islands.

In 1996 the 1st Battalion served as part of IFOR
IFOR
The Implementation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour. Its task was to implement the military Annexes of The General Framework Agreement for...

 in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

 operating in the area known as "The Anvil".

The regiment's 1st Battalion saw service in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 in the months immediately following Operation Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...

, from June to November 2003. Given responsibility for Iraq's second city, Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, it gained much praise for its efforts to restore security and civil order, but also suffered casualties of one dead and 32 injured sufficiently seriously to require medical evacuation to the United Kingdom.

Overseas training deployments were frequent for the 1st Battalion including exercises in Canada, the Gambia, Belize, Kenya and the Oman.

In 1983 and again in 1995, the 1st Battalion had the honour of conducting public duties, providing the Royal Guard in London.

Territorials

As well as the regular 1st Battalion, the regiment also had a Territorial Army 4th Battalion, which was formed on 1 April 1975, with headquarters at Kimberley Barracks, Preston and companies at various times in Ashton-under-Lyne, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Burnley and Bury. The battalion had a Nato role and trained overseas in Germany, France, Gibraltar and the United States. The battalion also provided reinforcements for the 1st Battalion.

Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers

As part of the Strategic Defence Review
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...

, the 4th Battalion merged with the 4th Battalion The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed in 1959 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:*The King's Own Royal Regiment *The Border Regiment...

 to create the Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers
Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers
The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers is a Territorial Army unit of the British Army.It was formed on 1 July 1999 following the Strategic Defence Review by the amagamation of the 4th Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the 4th Battalion of the King's Own Royal Border Regiment...

. This new unit had two Queen's Lancashire rifle companies, one at Preston with a detachment at Blackpool, the other at Blackburn with a Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...

 detachment at Bury. The headquarters was still at Preston but was multi-capbadged.

Members of the LCV have seen extensive operational service. In June 2002, the LCV were tasked to provide the first all TA platoon which was to be mobilised to go to Afghanistan and provide the protection force for Headquarters British Forces in Kabul. In the following weeks, a total of 39 soldiers were selected, trained and mobilised for this task. They went into theatre on 2 September and left Kabul on 6 December 2002.

In 2003, 10 personnel were mobilised for service in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 on Operation Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...

 1. Later in the year a further 97 personnel were mobilised to serve with the 1st Battalion on Op Telic 2 from May to December. Further personnel were mobilised for subsequent operations.

Members of the LCV have also served on other operations in areas such as the Balkans.

Abuses In Iraq

Some months after returning from Iraq the battalion was at the centre of the first serious accusations of abuse
Prisoner abuse
Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated.Abuse falling into this category includes:* Physical abuse: Needless beating, hitting, or other corporal punishment....

 against Iraqi prisoners levelled at British soldiers. These accusations were illustrated on the front pages of the Daily Mirror by photographs which the Regiment immediately denounced as staged fakes. The Regiment then ran a successful campaign, believed to be unique for an active unit of the British Armed Forces, to prove that the pictures were false. After two weeks, the Mirror was forced to admit that it had found "sufficient evidence to suggest that these pictures are fakes and that the Daily Mirror has been the subject of a calculated and malicious hoax." Editor Piers Morgan was forced to resign when he refused to apologise. During the controversy, one senior officer of the Regiment was quoted as saying that "it is time to measure the ego of one tabloid editor against the lives of British soldiers (still serving in Iraq)" Another was reported by the BBC as saying 'this Regiment has taken on Louis XIV
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

, Napoleon
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, the Kaiser and Hitler. I don't think Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....

 will detain us long'.

There has however been at least one case of true abuse; Corporal Donald Payne became Britain's first convicted war criminal after pleading guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees, which resulted in the death of one detainee Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa was an Iraqi man who was kicked and beaten to death while in British Army custody in Basra, Iraq in September 2003. The inquiry into his death heard that Mousa was hooded for almost 24 hours during his 36 hours of custody by the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and that...

. Six other soldiers were cleared of any wrongdoing. The presiding judge, Mr Justice McKinnon, stated that "none of those soldiers has been charged with any offence, simply because there is no evidence against them as a result of a more or less obvious closing of ranks."

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

On 16 December 2004, it was announced that the Queen's Lancashire Regiment would be merged with the King's Regiment
The King's Regiment
The King's Regiment, officially abbreviated as KINGS, was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 1 September 1958 by the amalgamation of The King's Regiment which had been raised in 1685 and The Manchester Regiment which traced its history to 1758...

 and the King's Own Royal Border Regiment into the two battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army. It recruits throughout the North West of England...

.

On 1 July 2006, the 1st Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment became the 1st Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. The 1st Battalion, QLR, was last based at Belfast Barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...

 Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...

.

Battle honours

The Queen's Lancashire Regiment carried 204 Battle Honours. Six are unique in the British Army, and two (Canton and Fiesole) are unique in the world. There are very few campaigns in the history of the British Army in which some predecessor unit of the Regiment did not take part.
  • Pre-War:
    • Gibraltar 1704-5, Louisberg, Quebec 1759, Belleisle, Martinique 1762, Havannah, St Lucia 1778, Cape of Good Hope 1806, Maida, Monte Video, Rolica. Vimiera, Corunna, Talavera, Java, Tarifa, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, St Sebastian, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Niagara, Waterloo, Ava, Bhurtpore, Candahar 1842, Ghuznee 1842, Cabool 1842, Maharajpore, Alma
      Battle of Alma
      The Battle of the Alma , which is usually considered the first battle of the Crimean War , took place just south of the River Alma in the Crimea. An Anglo-French force under General St...

      , Inkerman, Sevastopol, Lucknow, Canton, New Zealand, Ali Masjib, Ahmed Khel, Afghanistan 1878-80, Chitral, Siege of Kimberley
      Siege of Kimberley
      The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony , when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two...

      , Relief of Ladysmith
      Relief of Ladysmith
      When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking...

      , South Africa 1899-1902.
  • The Great War 1914-1918:
    • Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, 18, Aisne 1914, 18, La Basse 1914, Messines 1914, 17, 18, Armentieres 1914, Ypres 1914, 15, 17, 18, Langemarck 1914, 17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Boschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916, 18, Albert 1916, 18, Bazentin, Pozieres, Guillemont, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, 18, Arras 1917, 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, 18, Arleux. Oppy, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917, 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosieres, Villers-Bretonneux, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Bethune, Scherpenberg, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Drocourt-Queant, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, Canal du Nord, St Quentin Canal, Courtrai, 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, Battles of Gaza
      Battle of Gaza
      Battle of Gaza may refer to:* Battle of Gaza , fought between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon* Battle of Raphia, also known as Battle of Gaza, fought between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom in 217 BC* Three World War I battles between British...

      , Nebi Samwil, Battle of Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tell'Asur. Palestine 1917-18
      Sinai and Palestine Campaign
      The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...

      , Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916-18, Kilimanjaro, East Africa 1914-16.
  • Inter-War:
    • Baluchistan 1918. Afghanistan 1919.
  • The Second World War 1939-45:
    • Defence of Escaut, Dunkirk 1940, Normandy Landing, Odon
      Odon
      Odon may refer to:People* Odon of Greater Poland, duke of Greater Poland* Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights HospitallerPlaces*Odon , a river in France*Odon, Indiana, United StatesOther...

      , Caen, Bourgebus Ridge, Troarn, Falaise, Nederrijn, Lower Maas, Venraij, Ourthe, Rhineland, Reichswald, Weeze, Hochwald, Rhine, Ibbenburen, Aller, Bremen, North West Europe 1940, 44-45, Banana Ridge, Djebel Kess Kiss, Medjez Plain, Gueriat El Atach Ridge, Gab Gab Gap, Djebel Bou Aoukaz 1943, North Africa 1943, Anzio, Rome, Fiesole, Gothic Line, Monte Gameraldi, Monte Ceco, Monte Grand, Italy 1944-45, Madagascar, Middle East 1942, Johore, Batu Pahat, Singapore Island, Malaya 1941-42, North Arakan, Mayu Tunnels, Pinwe, Meiktila, Nyaungu Bridgehead, Letse, Irrawaddy, Burma 1943-45.

Alliances

- The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment
The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment
The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.The regiment was created on 16 January 1863 as the 14th Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada from the amalgamation of Kingston, Ontario’s seven independent rifle companies...

 - The West Nova Scotia Regiment
The West Nova Scotia Regiment
The West Nova Scotia Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, twenty fourth in the order of precedence. It has seen active service in both the Great War and World War II...

 - The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment , or LER, is a Primary Reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Forces based in Edmonton, Alberta. The LER is part of Land Force Western Area's 41 Canadian Brigade Group...

 - The Royal Tasmania Regiment
Royal Tasmania Regiment
The Royal Tasmania Regiment is a Reserve infantry regiment within the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion. Formed in 1960 following a review of military formations in Australia, the Regiment can trace its lineage back the late 19th Century and as served Australia in a number of...

 - The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
The Wellington and Hawke's Bay Regiment is a Territorial Force unit of the New Zealand Army. It was formed in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army by the amalgamation of two separate regiments:*5th Wellington Regiment...

 - 8th and 14th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment
Punjab Regiment (Pakistan)
The Punjab Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in 1956 from an amalgamation of the 1st Punjab Regiment, 14th Punjab Regiment, 15th Punjab Regiment and 16th Punjab Regiment...

 - 2nd Battalion, The Royal Malay Regiment
Royal Malay Regiment
The Royal Malay Regiment is the premier unit of the Malaysian Army's two infantry regiments. At its largest, the Malay Regiment comprised 27 battalions. At present, two battalions are parachute trained and form part of the Malaysian Army Rapid Deployment Force...

 - The Kimberley Regiment
Kimberley Regiment
The Kimberley Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit.-History:...

 -

Freedom Towns

- Spandau
Spandau
Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...

 - Blackburn - Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....

 - Fylde - Hyndburn
Hyndburn
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington. The district is named after the River Hyndburn....

 - Pendle
Pendle
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...

 - Preston - Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...

 (Haslingden
Haslingden
Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough, but following local government...

) - Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

 - Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...

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