REGIMENTAL HISTORY
Introduction
The Manchester Regiment (63rd and 96th
Regiments of Foot) amalgamated in 1958 with the King’s Liverpool Regiment (8th
of Foot) to form the King’s Regiment. This year, 2003, the Regiment is 318
years old. The soldiers come mainly from those two great industrial Lancashire
ports, just 30 miles apart at each end of the great River Mersey. The recent
history of the King’s, Difficulties be Damned! By Patrick Mileham (ISBN 0
1873907 10-9) describes the men of the regiments as ‘the true repositories of
Englishness with those virtues of English character – tolerance, individuality
and humour.’ Today, the 1st Battalion King’s Regiment is an armoured
infantry battalion equipped with Warrior infantry combat vehicles and based in
Catterick Garrison.
The 1914-18 Great
War
During the Great War, the two regiments raised a phenomenal
87 battalions and suffered over 100,000 casualties in hundreds of battles and
engagements. The Manchester Regiment raised 45 battalions of which 29 served
overseas. They won nearly 80 battle honours on the Western Front, Gallipoli,
Italy, Palestine, Mesopotamia and in other theatres and earned 11 Victoria
Crosses (see Victoria Crosses page). The Regiment lost nearly 14,000 men killed
as follows:
|
1st (Regular) Battalion
|
868
|
|
12th (Service) Battalion (K2)
|
1,002
|
|
2nd (Regular) Battalion
|
1,095
|
|
13th (Service) Battalion (K3)
|
117
|
|
3rd (Regular) Battalion
|
82
|
|
14th (Service) Battalion (K3)
|
6
|
|
4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion
|
21
|
|
15th Battalion (no record that it was raised)
|
|
|
1/5th (TF) Battalion
|
475
|
|
16th (Service) (1st City Pals)
Battalion
|
627
|
|
2/5th (TF) Battalion
|
248
|
|
17th (Service) (2nd City Pals)
Battalion
|
676
|
|
3/5th (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
13
|
|
18th (Service) (3rd City Pals)
Battalion
|
654
|
|
1/6th (TF) Battalion
|
617
|
|
19th (Service) (4th City Pals)
Battalion
|
557
|
|
2/6th (TF) Battalion
|
259
|
|
20th (Service) (5th City Pals)
Battalion
|
644
|
|
3/6th (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
7
|
|
21st (Service) (6th City Pals)
Battalion
|
691
|
|
1/7th (TF) Battalion
|
548
|
|
22nd (Service) (7th City Pals)
Battalion
|
623
|
|
2/7th (TF) Battalion
|
323
|
|
23rd (Service) (8th City Pals)
(Bantams) Battalion
|
281
|
|
3/7th (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
3
|
|
24th (Service) (Oldham Pals) Battalion
|
161
|
|
1/8th (Ardwick) (TF) Battalion
|
544
|
|
25th (Reserve) Battalion
|
9
|
|
2/8th (Ardwick) (TF) Battalion
|
125
|
|
26th (Reserve) Battalion
|
7
|
|
3/8th (Ardwick) (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
32
|
|
27th (Reserve) Battalion
|
7
|
|
1/9th (TF) Battalion
|
439
|
|
28th (TF) Battalion
|
|
|
2/9th (TF) Battalion
|
231
|
|
29th Battalion
|
|
|
3/9th (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
10
|
|
1st Garrison Battalion
|
22
|
|
1/10th (TF) Battalion
|
447
|
|
2nd (Home Service) (Garrison) Battalion
|
3
|
|
2/10th (TF) Battalion
|
120
|
|
51st (Graduated) Battalion
|
|
|
3/10th (Reserve TF) Battalion
|
10
|
|
52nd (Graduated) Battalion
|
|
|
11th (Service) Battalion (K1)
|
681
|
|
53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion
|
|
|