Sherwood Foresters

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The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)
Badge of the Sherwood Foresters
Active1881–1970
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
RoleLine Infantry
SizeTwo battalions
AnniversariesBadajoz (6th April)
Alma (20th September)

The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was formed during the 1881 Childers Reforms of the British Army. The 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1741) and the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot (raised in 1823) were redesignated as the 1st and 2nd battalions of The Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment), while the Derbyshire and Royal Sherwood Foresters Militias ( militia and rifle volunteer) became the 3rd and 4th Battalions respectively. These were joined by the 1st and 2nd (Derbyshire) and the 3rd and 4th (Nottinghamshire) Volunteer Battalions. The Robin Hood Rifles joined the regiment at the same time. The Headquarters of the Regimental District was established at Derby.

In 1902, the Nottinghamshire association was made explicit, the name changing to The Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham and Derbyshire) Regiment. Following a series of mergers since 1970, its lineage is now continued by the 2nd battalion, the Mercian Regiment.

Service history

Following amalgamation, the Sherwood Foresters saw action in Egypt in 1882 and in South Africa during the Boer War.

During the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, the Sherwood Foresters took part in the Battle of Mount Street Bridge in Dublin, where they suffered heavy losses against a small handful of Irish volunteers.

During the First World War, the Sherwood Foresters had 33 battalions in service, of which 20 served overseas: mainly on the Western Front, but also in Gallipoli, Italy and the Middle East. Over 140,000 men served in the regiment, which lost 11,400 killed. The regiment won 57 battle honours and 2,000 decorations, including 9 VCs.

After garrison service in the interwar years, the Sherwood Foresters next saw action in the Second World War. The regiment served in the Norwegian Campaign, the Battle of France, the North African and the Italian campaigns. They also saw action in the Far East. Nearly 27,000 men served in the regiment's 17 battalions, suffering 1,500 killed. The regiment won 10 battle honours and 400 decorations, including a VC.

In 1940, the 70th (Young Soldier) Battalion was stationed at Holme Pierrepont Hall, near Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham. Like all other Young Soldiers Battalions, this was formed to take volunteers who had not reached the compulsory age of conscription.[1]

In 1941, the 9th Battalion Sherwood Foresters were converted to armour as the 112th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (RAC); in the following year, the 13th Battalion became the 163rd Regiment RAC. These regiments continued to wear their Foresters cap badge on the black beret of the RAC.[2][3] The 1/5th Battalion was posted in Malaya to defend the peninsula and the island of Singapore against the Japanese. After Singapore fell to the Japanese, the battalion were amongst the thousands of POWs sent to work on the infamous Burma Railway. Other battalions saw service in Italy and North Africa.[4]

In the postwar period, the Sherwood Foresters served in Germany, initially as part of the occupation forces and later in the BAOR. In 1958, the regiment saw action in Malaya and, in 1963, in Cyprus.

Alliances

In 1931, the Sherwood Foresters were officially allied with the Simcoe Foresters (35th Regiment of Infantry), Canadian Militia. This alliance has continued to the present day through The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) and the Mercian Regiment with The Grey and Simcoe Foresters.

Amalgamation

In 1970, the Sherwood Foresters were amalgamated with The Worcestershire Regiment to form The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot).

Battle honours

  • World War I:
    • Aisne 1914 & 18, Armentieres 1914, Neuve Chappelle, Aubers, Hooge 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 & 18, Albert 1916 & 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozieres, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 & 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 & 18, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917 & 18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 & 18, St Quentin, Baupaume 1917, Rosieres, Villers Brettaneux, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Drocourt-Queant, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, Canal du Nord, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France & Flanders 1914 - 18,
    • Piavé, Italy 1917 - 18,
    • Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Schimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915,
    • Egypt 1916

Victoria Crosses

The following members of the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross:

See also

References

  1. ^ 70th (YS) Battalion
  2. ^ George Forty (1998), "British Army Handbook 1939–1945", Stoud: Sutton Publishing, pp. 50–1.
  3. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20060103220415/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/cav/RAC.htm
  4. ^ WFR history

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sherwood Foresters.
  • British Army Regiment site[dead link]
  • Regiment Crich Memorial site
  • History of the Sherwood Foresters
  • Regiment Museum
  • Captain W. C. C. Weetman M.C., Croix de Guerre. The Sherwood Foresters in the Great War 1914 - 1919, History of 1/8th Battalion at Project Gutenberg. ISBN 1-4365-8981-9
  • "BBC - WW2 People's War - History of the Sherwood Foresters".
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