| Royal Norfolk Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1881 - 1959 |
| Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Infantry |
| Nickname | "The Holy Boys" |
| Motto | "Firm"[1] |
| March | Rule Britannia |
| Anniversaries | April 25, Battle of Almansa |
| Battle honours | see text |
| Commanders | |
| Ceremonial chief | HM The King |
| Insignia | |
| Cap badge | Britannia seated with shield and trident. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists Rule Britannia! is a British Patriotic song, originating from the Poem "Rule Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. The Battle of Almansa, fought on April 25, 1707, was one of the most decisive engagements of the War of the Spanish Succession. A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand |
The Royal Norfolk Regiment, originally formed as the Norfolk Regiment, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Norfolk Regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as the county regiment of Norfolk. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Norfolk (ˈnɔrfək is a low-lying county in East Anglia, England, United Kingdom. It was formed from the 9th (the East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot (formerly the 9th Regiment of Foot) and covered the local militia and volunteer infantry. The 9th Regiment of Foot was a Regiment of the British Army from 1751 to 1881. The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary Citizens to provide defense emergency law enforcement or Paramilitary service The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists It became the Royal Norfolk Regiment on 3 June 1935. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Royal Norfolks were amalgamated with their neighbours, the Suffolk Regiment, to become part of the 1st East Anglian Regiment, which in turn became the Royal Anglian Regiment of which "A" company of the first battalion is known as the Royal Norfolk. The Suffolk Regiment was an Infantry Regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685 The 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN is an Infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.
Contents |
Service
First World War
The Norfolks entered the First World War with two regular, one reserve and three Territorial Force battalions (one of cyclists) but the regiment expanded to nineteen battalions. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
The total number of men raised during the war amounted to 32,375 of whom 5,576 were killed
In the East
The 2nd Battalion of the Norfolks fought in the Mesopotamian Campaign. The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of the Great War fought between Allied Powers represented by the British Empire The treatment of prisoners after the fall of Kut al Amara mirrors that that would later befall the Royal Norfolks in the Far East during the Second World War. The Siege of Kut was a major battle of World War I. It was part of the Mesopotamian Campaign (in what is now Iraq)
The two territorial battalions served in Gallipoli. Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu Yarımadası is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles The 1/5th included the "Sandringham Company" which recruited from the King's estate at Sandringham. Sandringham House is a Country house on of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England, which is privately owned by the British On 12th August 1915, the Sandringham company suffered heavy losses at Gallipoli when it became isolated during an attack. A myth grew up after the War that they had advanced into a mist and simply disappeared. Unexplained disappearance (or paranormal vanishing) is a term describing the disappearance of objects animals or people without apparent reason or cause [2]{See also [[1]]}. A BBC TV drama, All the King's Men (1999), starring David Jason as Captain Frank Beck, was based upon their story. For film adaptations of the American novel see All the King's Men. Sir David John White OBE, known by his Stage name David Jason (born 2 February 1940 is an English Actor, known
In the Second Battle of Gaza, the 4th and 5th Territorial battalions suffered 75% casualties, about 1,100 men [3]
France
The 8th Battalion as part of the 18th (Eastern) Division was present on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. The Second Battle of Gaza, fought in southern Palestine during World War I, was the second attempt mounted by British Empire forces to break the The British 18th (Eastern Division was a New Army division formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, fought from July to November 1916 was among the largest battles of the First World War "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year They got beyond their initial target and had by 5. 00pm reached the German trenches known as "Montauban Alley". Over one hundred men and three officers had been killed.
Second World War
Five members of the Royal Norfolks won the Victoria Cross in the Second World War:
- David Auldjo Jamieson
- John Neil Randle at the Battle of Kohima, April 1944
- George Gristock WO II Battle of France 21 May 1940
- Sidney Bates
- George Arthur Knowland
Le Paradis Incident
During the Battle of France as part of the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, members of the Royal Norfolks were victims of a German war crime at Le Paradis in the Pas-de-Calais on May 26. See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including David Auldjo Jamieson VC, CVO (1 October 1920 - 15 May 2001 was the last recipient of the Victoria Cross in Norfolk, the highest and most John Neil Randle VC ( December 22, 1917 - May 6, 1944) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry The Battle of Kohima (the " Stalingrad of the East" was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in World War II George Gristock VC ( 14 June 1905 - 16 June 1940) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Events 878 - Syracuse Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sidney Bates VC ( June 14, 1921 - August 8, 1944) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest George Arthur Knowland VC ( 16 August 1922 - 31 January 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross The Le Paradis massacre was a War crime committed by members of the 14th Company SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries The Battle of Dunkirk was the defense and evacuation of the British and Allied forces that had been separated from the main body of the French defenses by the German advance War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including but not limited to "murder the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place
The 2nd Battalion was one of the units of the 4th Infantry Brigade covering the retreat to Dunkirk. They were holding the line of the La Bassée Canal. Units became separated from each other. Their HQ company had formed a defensive position based at the Duriez farmhouse. A company is a Military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 Soldiers Most companies are formed of three to five Platoons although the exact number may vary they carried on their defence until the afternoon by which point many were injured and the enemy were shelling the farm. Making a last stand in the open they were outnumbered and surrendered to a unit of the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the SS 'Totenkopf' (Death's Head) Division. SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 The commander was SS Obersturmfuhrer Fritz Knoechlein. Fritz Knöchlein ( May 27, 1911 in Munich - January 21, 1949) was a SS Obersturmbannführer during the Second The 99 prisoners were marched to some farm buildings on another farm where they were lined up alongside a barn wall. They were then fired upon by two machine guns. 97 of them were killed and the bodies buried in shallow pit. Privates Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan had hid in a pig-sty and were discovered later by the farm's owner, Mdme Creton, and her son. The two soldiers were later captured by a Wehrmacht unit and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945
The bodies were exhumed in 1942 by the French and reburied in the local churchyard which now forms part of the Le Paradis War Cemetery. The massacre was investigated by the War Crimes Investigation Unit and Knoechlein was traced and arrested. Tried in a court in Hamburg, he was found guilty and hanged on January 28, 1949. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted A memorial plaque was placed on the barn wall in 1970.
Far East
The 4th, 5th and 6th Battalions served in the Far East, as part of the 18th Infantry Division, in the defence of Singapore and Malaya against the Japanese advance. For the First World War unit see British 18th (Eastern Division. The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold The Battle of Malaya was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from December 8 1941 to January 31 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The battalions ended up as prisoners-of war when Singapore fell in February 1942 . Singapore Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They would remain so until August 1945 during which time they were used as forced labour on projects such as the Death Railway. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The Burma Railway, also known also as the Death Railway, the Thailand-Burma Railway and similar names is a 415 km (258 mile railway between
Normandy 1944
The 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolks formed part of the initial landings on D-Day. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote They were part of the 185th Brigade in the 3rd Infantry Division alongside the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry. History The Brigade together with 8th Infantry Brigade and 9th Infantry Brigade formed the 3rd Infantry Division (United Kingdom and participated The British 3rd Infantry Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd (Iron Division or as Iron Sides, was originally formed in 1809 The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot and The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was an Infantry Regiment of The battalion landed on Red Queen Beach (on the left flank of Sword Beach) at 07:25. Sword Beach was the codename of one of the five main landing beaches in Operation Neptune, the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied On the 6 August 1944 at Sourdevalle, Sidney Bates won his Victoria Cross. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Sidney Bates VC ( June 14, 1921 - August 8, 1944) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest The 7th Battalion of the Royal Norfolks was part of the 59th (Staffordshire) Division, one of the follow-up units.
Post War
The Norfolks served in Cyprus in the fight against EOKA in the post war period. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía EOKA ( Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston ( Greek for National Organisation
Traditions
The Norfolk Regiment held an anniversary on 25 April for the Battle of Almanza which they inherited along with the regimental nickname of the "Holy Boys" from the 9th Regiment of Foot. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. The story of the nickname is that it was gained it from a misidentification of their cap badge (which was of Britannia) by a Spanish soldier for the Virgin Mary. A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on Uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation Britannia was the term originally used by the Romans to refer first to the British Isles, and later to the island of Great Britain.
The history of the Norfolk Regiment and its predecessors and successors is recorded at the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum, at the Shirehall, Norwich having moved there from the regiment's former home, Britannia Barracks, now part of Norwich prison and at the Royal Anglian Regiment Museum based at the Land Warfare Hall of the Imperial War Museum Duxford. History Roman The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is near modern-day Caistor St Edmund The Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England, commonly referred to simply as 'Duxford', houses the Imperial War Museum 's
Battle honours
The following honours were inherited from the 9th Regiment of Foot.
18th Century
- Seven Years War
- Belleisle, Havannah
19th Century
- Napoleonic Wars
- Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, Salamanca Vittoria, San Sebastián, Nive, Peninsula
- Cabool 1842, Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Sobraon, Sevastopol, Kabul 1879, Afghanistan 1879-80
On top of these, the (Royal) Norfolk regiment gained the following battle honours before amalgamation:
20th Century
- First World War:
- Mons*, Le Cateau*, Retreat from Mons, Marne* 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Ypres 1914* '15 Passchendaele|'17 '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Loos, Somme 1916* '18, Albert 1916 '18, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Arras 1917, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, Arleux, Oppy, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states This does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions In the Battle of Vimeiro ( August 21 1808) the British under General Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under Major-General The Battle of Corunna (or La Corunna, A Coruña, La Coruña, or Elviña) on January 16 1809, was an attack by 16000 The Battle of Salamanca saw an Anglo - Portuguese army under General Arthur Wellesley defeat Marshal Auguste Marmont 's French In the Battle of Vitoria ( June 21 1813) General Arthur Wellesley Marquess of Wellington, and his Portuguese and Spanish allies finally Donostia-San Sebastián ( Basque: Donostia, IPA; Spanish: San Sebastián, known officially as Donostia-San Sebastián The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence pitted an alliance of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal against France Sevastopol ( see pronunciation below) is a port city in Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea Peninsula } Kābul ( Persian and Pashto: کابل, IPA:) is the Capital and largest city of Afghanistan, with A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: The Battle of Paardeberg ("Mountain of the horses" was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All For the ancient Roman campaign see Battle of Mons Algidus. The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force The Great Retreat is the name given to the slow fighting retreat by Allied forces to the River Marne, on the Western Front early in World War Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the Marne River which flows through the department The First Battle of Ypres, also called the Battle of Flanders, was the last major battle of the first year of World War I (1914 "Passchendaele" redirects here For the 2008 film by that name see Passchendaele (film The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as The Battle of the Lys (also known as the Lys Offensive, the Battle of Estaires and the Batalha de La Lys in Portugal) was part The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in World War I and the first time The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in World War I and the first time The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, fought from July to November 1916 was among the largest battles of the First World War The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert, which was the first phase of the British 049 South Afican Memorial Delville Wood Francejpg|thumb|right|300px|The South African Memorial in Delville Wood December 2005]] Delville Wood (in French, Bois Delville The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was the first large offensive mounted by the British Reserve Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough during the Battle The Battle of the Ancre Heights was a prolonged Battle of attrition in October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. "Passchendaele" redirects here For the 2008 film by that name see Passchendaele (film The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as "Passchendaele" redirects here For the 2008 film by that name see Passchendaele (film The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as "Passchendaele" redirects here For the 2008 film by that name see Passchendaele (film The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as The Battle of Cambrai ( 20 November - 3 December 1917) was a British campaign of World War I. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Hindenburg Line*, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St. Amiens (amjɛ̃ is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km north of Paris. The Hindenburg Line (also known as the Siegfried Line) was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18
- Italy 1917-18
- 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
- Shaiba*, Kut al Amara* 1915 '17, Ctesiphon, Defence of Kut al Amara, Mesopotamia 1914-18
- Second World War
- St. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies in northern Italy between 1915 Suvla is a Bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean coast of Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey as part The Battle of Scimitar Hill ( Yusufçuk Tepe) was the last offensive mounted by the British at Suvla during the Battle of Gallipoli in This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Ottoman advance towards the Suez Canal The Ottoman Empire at the urging of their German ally chose to attack British and Egyptian forces in Egypt and shut the Suez Canal For the town in Armenia see Kut Armenia. Al-Kūt ( BGN: Al Kūt; also spelled Kut-Al-Imara or Kut El Amara The Battle of Ctesiphon was fought in November 1915 by the British Empire and British India, against the Ottoman Empire, within the The Siege of Kut was a major battle of World War I. It was part of the Mesopotamian Campaign (in what is now Iraq) The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of the Great War fought between Allied Powers represented by the British Empire World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Omer-La Bassee, North-West Europe 1940
- Normandy Landing, Brieux Bridgehead, Venray (Operation Aintree), Rhineland, North-West Europe 1944-45,
- Singapore Island, Kohima, Aradura (1944 -1945 ), Burma 1944-45
- Korean War (1950-1953)
The Regimental colours do not have the full battle honours marked, those with a * are on it, leaving a further 43 unlisted. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Venray (or Venraij ( is a Municipality and a Town in the southeastern Netherlands. The Battle of Overloon was a Second World War battle between Allied forces and the German army which took place in and around the village of Overloon in the south-east The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Kohima ( Hindi: कोहिमा is the hilly capital of India 's north eastern border state of Nagaland which shares its borders with Burma The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the
References
- ^ http://www.rnrm.org.uk/history/history_06.html Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum
- ^ The Vanished Battalion
- ^ Eastern Daily Press Sunday section, May 5, 2007
See also
- List of British Army regiments (1881)
- 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot (1782-1881)
- Norfolk Yeomanry
- West Runton War Memorial
- Sheringham War Memorial
External links
- Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum
- Norfolk Museums Service
- Royal Anglian Museum
- Norfolks in the Great War
- WW2 Re-enactment Group
- Sandringham Company history
- Diary extracts relating to Kut 1915
- Britannia and Castle - online regimental journal
| Preceded by 9th Regiment of Foot |
(Royal) Norfolk Regiment 1881–1959 |
Succeeded by 1st East Anglian Regiment |