Like all other line regiments the King's Own raised several new battalions during the war in addition to expanding the number of Territorial battalions. The following list gives brief details of the various battalions of the regiment and is mainly drawn from the standard text on such matters, 'The British Army 1914-18', by Brigadier E. A. James.
At first sight the various designations, rearrangements and amalgamations of the regiment's Territorial battlions can be rather confusing and were, in the main, a consequence of the need by the Army to rationalise the rather ad hoc recruiting system run by the Territorial Force. Further explanation of the system will appear in a future blog.
Regular Battalions
1st Battalion.
August 1914 : at Dover (Connaught Barracks). Part of 12th Brigade, 4th Division. Landed at Boulogne 23rd August 1914. Served on the Western Front for the whole of the war.
2nd Battalion.
August 1914 : in Lebong in India. Returned to England on 22nd December 1914. Moved to Hursley Park and joined 83rd Brigade in 28th Division. Landed at Le Havre on 16th January 1915. Moved to Egypt in October 1915 and thence to Salonika, where it remained until the end of the war.
3rd (Reserve) Battalion.
August 1914 : in Lancaster (at Bowerham Barracks). As a training unit it remained in the UK for the duration of the war. Moved to Saltash and Sunderland in August 1914, then to Plymouth in 1915 and finally Harwich in November 1917.
Territorial Army Battalions
1/4th Battalion.
August 1914 : in Ulverston. Part of North Lancashire Brigade, West Lancashire Division. April 1915, Brigade attached to 51st (Highland) Division and became 154th (3rd Highland) Brigade. Landed at Boulogne in May 1915. 6th January 1916 : transferred to 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division. Remained on the Western Front until the end of the war.
2/4th Battalion.
Formed in February 1915 at Blackpool as a second line battalion. 18th January 1916 amalgamated with 3/4th Battalion. 8th April 1916 : became 4th (Reserve) Battalion at Oswestry and on 1st September 1916 absorbed the 5th (Reserve) Battalion. Moved to Dublin in June 1918.
1/5th Battalion.
August 1914 : in Lancaster. art of North Lancashire Brigade, West Lancashire Division. Landed at Le Havre on 15th February 1915. 3rd March 1915 : attached to 83rd Brigade, 28th Division. 21st October 1915 : transferred to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. 7th January 1916 : transferred to 166th (South Lancashire) Brigade, 55th (West Lancashire) Division. Remained on the Western Front until the end of the war.
2/5th Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in September 1914 as a Second Line battalion. February 1915 : attached to North Lancashire Brigade, West Lancashire Division. April 1915 : attached to 170th (2nd West Lancashire) Brigade, 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division. Landed in France in February 1917 and remained on the Western Front for the rest of the war.
3/4th Battalion.
Formed in June 1915. Absorbed by the 2/4th Battalion on 18th January 1916.
3/5th Battalion.
Formed in January 1915. 8th April 1916 : became 5th (Reserve) Battalion. 1st September 1916 : absorbed by 4th (Reserve) Battalion.
12th Battalion.
Formed at Westgate-on-Sea on 1st January 1917 from what had been the 41st Provisional Battalion of the Territorial Force, and placed under command of the 218th Brigade in the 73rd Division. Disbanded in England on 29th March 1918.
41st (Provisional) Battalion.
Formed in the summer of 1915 from what were Home Service-only personnel from the second-line and third-line battalions, either because they had not signed the Imperial Service Obligation to serve overseas or were of low medical categories. 1st January 1917 : became the 12th Battalion Territorial Force.
4th (Reserve) Battalion.
Formed on 8th April 1916 from the 2/4th Battalion as part of the West Lancashire Reserve Group at Oswestry. 1st September 1916 : absorbed the 5th (Reserve) Battalion.
5th (Reserve) Battalion.
Formed on 8th April 1916 from the 3/5th Battalion as part of the West Lancashire Reserve Group. 1st September 1916 : absorbed by the 4th (Reserve) Battalion.
New Army Battalions
6th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 38th Brigade, 13th (Western) Division. Moved to Gallipoli in July 1915. Went to Egypt in January 1916 and thence to Mesopotamia where it remained until the end of the war.
7th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in September 1914 as part of K2 and attached to 56th Brigade, 19th (Western) Division. Landed in France in July 1915. Disbanded in France on 2nd February 1918.
8th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in October 1914 as part of K3 and attached to 76th Brigade, 25th Division. Landed in France on 27th September 1915. 15th October 1915 : Brigade moved to 3rd Division and remained on the Western Front until the end of the war.
9th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in October 1914 as part of K3 and attached to 65th Brigade, 22nd Division. Landed in France September 1915. October 1915 : moved to Salonika where it remained until the end of the war.
10th (Reserve) Battalion.
Formed in Saltash in October 1914 as a Service battalion, part of K4. November 1914 : attached to 9th Brigade, original 33rd Division. April 1915 : became a Reserve battalion and supplied drafts to the Service battalions overseas. Sptember 1916 : converted into 43rd Training Reserve Battalion in 10th Reserve Brigade.
11th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Lancaster in August 1915 as a Bantam Battalion. Attached to 120th Brigade, 40th Division. 2nd March 1916 : absorbed the 12th (Service) Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment. 7th February 1918 : disbanded in France.
12th (Reserve) Battalion.
Formed in Lancaster in January 1916 as a Reserve battalion. September 1916 : converted into 76th Training Reserve Battalion in 17th Reserve Brigade. Remained in the UK for the duration of the war.
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