Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry, when it was initially to be known as the King's Lancashire and Border Regiment. The regiment was given its new name in November 2005. Initially formed of three regular army battalions, it was eventually reduced to two regular battalions, plus an Army Reserve battalion. The regiment was formed through the merger of three single battalion regiments:[3]

• The King's Own Royal Border Regiment
• The King's Regiment
• The Queen's Lancashire Regiment

The regiment was formed on 1 July 2006. Initially, on formation, the regiment contained three regular battalions, with each battalion simply being renamed:

• 1st Battalion, Queen's Lancashire Regiment – 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
• 1st Battalion, King's Regiment – 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
• 1st Battalion, King's Own Royal Border Regiment – 3rd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

In March 2007, the 3rd Battalion was disbanded, with its personnel dispersed to the other two, leaving the final roll of two regular battalions and one Reserve battalion.[4]

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment is the local regiment for Cumbria, Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Isle of Man, and as such, recruits mainly from these areas.[5]

The 1st Battalion is a light role infantry battalion based in Cyprus.[6]

The 2nd Battalion moved to Cyprus in August 2008 and as a resident battalion in Cyprus completed over 15 months on operations in Afghanistan as the Theatre Reserve Battalion from August 2009 to November 2010.[7] The 2nd Battalion, which deployed to Afghanistan again between April and October 2013, is now a light role infantry battalion formally forming part of 42nd Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North West and was based at Weeton Barracks.[8] The battalion will convert to a Specialised Infantry battalion, to provide an increased contribution to countering terrorism and building stability overseas.[9]

The Lancashire Infantry Museum is based at Fulwood Barracks in Preston.[10]

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment patrolling in Afghanistan in 2010

Infantry regiments are permitted to display 43 battle honours from the two world wars on the Queen's Colour and 46 honours from other conflicts on the Regimental Colour. Upon amalgamation, the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment had to choose from the total list of honours of its three antecedents which honours would be displayed on its new colours. The chosen honours were:[11]

Queen's Colour

• Mons; Retreat from Mons; Marne 1914, 18; Aisne 1914, 18; Messines 1914, 17, 18; Ypres 1914, 15, 17, 18; Neuve Chapelle; Loos; Somme 1916, 18; Arras 1917, 18; Scarpe 1917, 18; Cambrai 1917, 18; Lys; Hindenburg Line; Vittorio Veneto; Macedonia 1915–18; Sari Bair; Gallipoli 1915–16; Megiddo; Kut al Amara 1917; Baghdad; Kilimanjaro; Dunkirk; Normandy Landing; Falaise; Arnhem 1944; Lower Maas; Ourthe; Reichswald; Defence of Habbaniya; Tobruk 1941; Madagascar; Gueriat el Atach Ridge; Landing in Sicily; Anzio; Cassino II; Malta 1940–42; Singapore Island; Chindits 1943; North Arakan; Chindits 1944; Imphal; Kohima; Nyaungu Bridgehead; Burma 1943–45

Regimental Colour

• Namur 1695; Gibraltar 1704-5; Blenheim; Ramillies; Oudenarde; Malplaquet; Dettingen; Louisburg; Guadeloupe 1759; Quebec 1759; Maida; Monte Video; Vimiera; Corunna; Arroyo dos Molinos; Tarifa; Badajoz; Salamanca; Vittoria; St Sebastian; Pyrenees; Nivelle; Nive; Guadeloupe 1810; Java; Bladensburg; Niagara; Waterloo; Bhurtpore; Candahar 1842; Cabool 1842; Maharajpore; New Zealand 1845–47; Alma; Inkerman; Sevastopol; Canton; Delhi 1857; Lucknow; New Zealand 1860–68; Abyssinia; Ahmad Khel; Afghanistan 1878–80; Defence of Kimberley; Defence of Ladysmith; Relief of Ladysmith; Afghanistan 1919; Korea 1952–53; The Hook 1953

In addition to the displayed honours, the regimental colour will also display four emblems from the antecedents regiments:

• Lion of England – displayed top left; from the King's Own Royal Border Regiment
• White Horse of Hanover – displayed top right; from the King's Regiment
• Red Rose charged with the Prince of Wales's feathers – displayed bottom left; from the Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers)
• Red Rose charged with the Royal Crest – displayed bottom right; from the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

In addition, the Regimental Colour also features a Sphinx to distinguish the battle honour "Egypt" and a Dragon for the honour "China".

The regiment has brought forward a number of Golden Threads from its antecedents, as displays of its history and heritage:[11]

• Lion of England – the English Lion, facing inwards as worn by the King's Own Royal Regiment, has been adopted as the regiment's collar badge. The Lion of England is known as the regiment's "Ancient Badge" and provides inspiration for the regimental nickname – first adopted by the 2nd Battalion in August 2009 – "Lions of England". The lion is also used on the regiment's tactical recognition flash.
• Glider Flash – the glider awarded, 1949, as an honour to the Border Regiment, for glider landings in Sicily on 9 July 1943, is worn on the sleeve of No. 1 and No. 2 dress. The glider also formed the regiment's tactical recognition flash from its formation until 2014.[12]
• Fleur-de-Lys – the fleur-de-lys worn by the King's Regiment is featured on the regiment's buttons.

Regimental Colonels were as follows:

• 2006–2009: Major General Hamish Rollo, CBE [13]
• 2009–2013: Brig. Michael Griffiths, CBE QPM [13]
• 2013–2018: Brig. Peter S. Rafferty, MBE[14]

•  Canada – The Royal Regiment of Canada
•  Canada – The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC)
•  Australia – The Royal Queensland Regiment
•  Pakistan – 1st and 15th Battalions, The Frontier Force Regiment
•  Australia – The Royal South Australia Regiment
•  New Zealand – The Otago and Southland Regiment
•  India – 5th Battalion, The Sikh Regiment
•  Canada – The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment
•  Canada – The West Nova Scotia Regiment
•  Canada – The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry)
•  Australia – The Royal Tasmania Regiment
•  New Zealand – The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
•  Pakistan – 8th and 14th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment
•  Malaysia – 2nd Battalion, The Royal Malay Regiment
•  South Africa – The Kimberley Regiment
•  Royal Navy – HMS Cumberland
•  Royal Navy – HMS Liverpool
•  Royal Navy – HMS Manchester
•  Royal Navy – HMS Lancaster

The regiment have received the Freedom of several locations throughout its history; these include:

• 2006: Haslingden.[16]
• 2006: Warrington.[17]
• 2007: Chorley.[18]
• 17 April 2007: Tameside.[19]
• 14 September 2008: Liverpool.
• 12 October 2009: Knowsley.[20]
• 16 April 2010: Manchester.[21]
• 10 March 2011: Ribble Valley.[22]
• 22 October 2011: West Lancashire.[23]
• 20 May 2013: Whitehaven.[24]
• 20 May 2015: Maryport.[25]
• 20 June 2017: Sefton.[26][27]
• 18 July 2017: Appleby-in-Westmorland.[28][29]
• July 2017: Blackpool.[30]
• 2 December 2019: Wigan.[31]

• Main Website

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