Published by the Kings Own Museum, 28 pages. A5 size booklet (N4600P1)
From the rear side cover: The 8th Battalion, raised in February 1940, saw service in Belgium and France as part of the British Expeditionary Force before its withdrawal through Dunkirk. After a period of home defence the Battalion embarked for Malta where it served during the siege. Towards the end of 1943 the battalion moved to Palestine while the 1st Battalion was involved in fierce fighting on the Greek Island of Leros. Around 50 survivors of the 1st Battalion escaped to Palestine and joined the 8th Battalion, but in order to maintain regimental seniority the amalgamated battalion took the title of the senior battalion (the 1st). The 1st battalion then served in Italy as part of the 10th Indian Division, and this booklet tells the story of their service between 1943 and the end of the war...
The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was an infantry regiment in the British Army which served under various names for almost three centuries. The regiment was established in 1680 as the Earl of Plymouth's Regiment of Foot, and several years later was reorganised as the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot. The regiment retained this name until the 1880's when it became The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), and in the period following the First World War it was renamed The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). In 1959 the Regiment was merged with several others to form the newly created Kings Own Royal Border Regiment.
During it's long and illustrious service the regiment fought in many wars, battles and campaigns, and it's history illustrates the wider history of the British Empire, as Britain and it's army spread around the globe. The regiment fought in the War of the Augsburg League at the end of the 17th century, and saw action at Gibraltar in 1704. At the battle of Culloden the regiment sustained heavy losses, and it also saw action in the Caribbean in the second half of the century. During the Napoleonic Wars the regiment fought in many battles, including Corunna, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Bladensburg, and Waterloo. The regiment was active throughout the 19th century, seeing service in the Crimean War (at Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol), and during the Boer War. During the First World War the regiment served on the western front, as well as in Greece, Turkey, and Mesopotamia, and during the Second World War, they saw action in several campaigns, including France, the Middle East, North Africa, Italy (which is the subject of much of this booklet), and the Far-East.
Condition of the booklet is excellent. The cover is clean and tidy, the staple spine is intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Their is a small price sticker on the rear side cover