The 5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool) (5th King's) was a volunteer unit of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, part of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(TF) (the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921). The battalion traced its heritage to the raising in 1859 of

rifle volunteer corps The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

which were soon consolidated into the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC). Under the

Childers Reforms The Childers Reforms of 1881 reorganised the infantry regiments of the British Army. The reforms were done by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers during 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell Reforms. The reorganisation was ...

, the 1st Lancashire RVC was affiliated with the King's Regiment (Liverpool), and became the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the regiment. The battalion was transferred to the new Territorial Force when the latter was established in 1908 as the 5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool). During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, those who volunteered for overseas service in 1914 were sent to France as the 1/5th King's. The second-line battalion, the 2/5th King's, were also sent to France and were broken up in 1918. A third-line reserve battalion, the 3/5th King's, was formed in 1915 and later became the 5th (Reserve) Battalion. Both remaining battalions were disbanded in 1919 and the 5th Battalion was reconstituted in 1920. It briefly became the 5th (Rifle) Battalion during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

but dropped the title and was mobilised for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939. After demobilisation in 1945 it was amalgamated with the 9th King's and reconstituted as the 5th Battalion in 1947. When the TA was reduced in 1967, the 5th King's became a company of the

Lancastrian Volunteers The Lancastrian Volunteers was a short lived Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, composed of companies from the North West affiliated regiments. History The regiment was formed in 1967, by the amalgamation of the 8 Territori ...

Origins

The 1st Lancashire RVC of three companies was raised in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, by Nathaniel Bousfield, one of the originators of the

Volunteer movement The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

; his commission as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

-Commandant dated 11 June 1859 was the first to be issued in the new Volunteer Force. A Liverpool cotton broker, he had made several attempts since 1852 to raise a volunteer unit in the city, and in 1855 had founded the Liverpool Drill Club from young men in the cotton trade who drilled twice weekly in his warehouse. Other corps quickly followed and in May 1860 a number of these units in the Liverpool area were grouped together as the 1st Administrative Battalion, Lancashire RVCs:Beckett, Appendix VII. * 1st (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, three companies, formed 28 June 1859 * 22nd (Liverpool Exchange) Lancashire RVC, two companies, formed 30 January 1860; left 1st Admin Battalion December 1861 and disbanded 1863 * 38th (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, formed in the Fairfield area on 20 January 1860 and known as the 1st Sub-division until March * 45th Lancashire RVC, formed in Liverpool on 27 February 1860 * 66th (Liverpool Borough Guard) Lancashire RVC, formed on 25 April 1860 * 69th (Liverpool) Lancashire RVC, formed on 31 May 1860 These units (except the 22nd) were consolidated on 27 December 1861 to form the eight-company 1st Lancashire RVC. The 14th (Edge Hill) Lancashire RVC of two companies was formed in the Edge Hill area on 10 November 1859 and known as the 2nd Sub-Division until December. It initially joined the 2nd Admin Battalion, but transferred to the new 1st RVC in December 1861. The 74th (St Anne's) Lancashire RVC formed in the St Anne's area on 2 July 1860 was also absorbed into the 1st Lancashire RVC in 1862. A cadet corps of the RVC was formed in April 1865, but disbanded in 1884. The 1st Lancashire RVC became a volunteer battalion of The King's (Liverpool Regiment) under the

on 1 July 1881 with ten companies, and was redesignated as the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the regiment on 1 March 1888. Two more companies were sanctioned in 1883, followed by a thirteenth in 1900. When the

was established, the battalion became part of it and was reorganised as the 5th Battalion, King's Regiment (Liverpool), on 1 April 1908, assigned to the Liverpool Brigade of the West Lancashire Division. It was headquartered at 65 St. Anne Street in Liverpool, which served as the drill hall for the eight-company battalion.

First World War

1/5th King's

The 5th Battalion was mobilised on 4 August 1914 with the outbreak of the

, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. M. McMaster. It was renumbered as the 1/5th Battalion in March 1915 to distinguish it from the second-line battalion. The battalion entered

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, Irc ...

on 11 November, when the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

took effect. It was demobilised on 13 June 1919.

2/5th King's

The 2/5th Battalion was formed in 1914. It was broken up between the 2/6th (Rifle), 2/7th, 11th (Service) (Pioneers), and 12th (Service) Battalions of the King's on 1 February 1918.

3/5th King's

The 3/5th Battalion was formed in May 1918 at Liverpool. It was redesignated the 5th (Reserve) Battalion on 8 April 1916. It absorbed the 6th (Reserve) (Rifle) Battalion on 1 September of that year. The battalion was disbanded on 12 June 1919 in the United Kingdom.

Interwar period and Second World War

The 5th King's were reconstituted on 7 February 1920 as part of the TA. They were planned to have been amalgamated with the 6th King's by 1922 but the order was rescinded. The battalion was briefly redesignated the 5th (Rifle) Battalion but the subtitle was removed on 10 August 1937. For the Second World War, the 5th King's were mobilized on 1 September 1939. The battalion served with the 165th Infantry Brigade of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division from 3 September 1939 to 16 April 1943, remaining in the United Kingdom. Between 18 July and 1 November 1943, it was part of the 163rd Infantry Brigade of the

54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division fo ...

in the United Kingdom. For the Sword Beach landings, the battalion was assigned to No. 5 Beach Group as its infantry. The 5th King's continued to serve as army and corps troops within the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

for the rest of the war. After the end of the war, upon demobilization, the battalion was placed in a state of suspended animation.

Postwar

The 5th and 9th King's were amalgamated on 1 January 1947 to reconstitute the 5th King's. Its successor in the

Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Ter ...

from 1967 was B (King's) Company, Lancastrian Volunteers.

Honorary Colonels

The Earl of Derby served as honorary colonel of the battalion during its existence.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . * * * * Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, . * * – published in three volumes