The Kensington Regiment (Princess Louise's) is a unit 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 ...

, which originated in the Volunteer Rifle Corps' movement of the 1850s. In 1908 it became a battalion of the London Regiment in 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 ...

. It was an infantry regiment from 1908 to 1940, a heavy fire support unit from 1940 to 1945, and has been a unit of the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

since 1945.

History

Origins

The origins of the Kensington Regiment dated from 1859 with the formation of the

Volunteer Force 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 ...

, part of a 'volunteer revival' as a result of a perceived French military threat, which had grown under the leadership of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. A number of Volunteer Rifle Corps were formed in West London. These included the 2nd (South) Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps (VRC) formed under the patronage of the

Viscount Ranelagh Viscount Ranelagh was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 25 August 1628 for Sir Roger Jones, son of Thomas Jones, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was made Baron Jones of Navan, in the County of Meath, ...

and the 4th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps (VRC),Bailey & Hollier formed under the patronage of the 2nd Baron Truro. By 1892 both units had been linked as Volunteer Battalions to the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, and continued this link until the formation of the

in 1908. At this time the headquarters of the 2nd (South Middlesex) was at Beaufort House,

Walham Green Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons Gr ...

and the 4th (West Middlesex) were at Iverna Gardens, High Street, Kensington.

Second Boer War

Men from both units voluntarily went out to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

with the

City Imperial Volunteers The City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was a British corps of volunteers during the Second Boer War. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, volunteer corps were established in most counties of the United Kingdom to prov ...

, thereby earning their Corps the right to the Battle Honour of 'South Africa 1900-1902'.

Territorial Force

In 1908 as part of the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...

of the Kingdom's volunteer forces, the "Kensingtons" Regiment was formed in an amalgamation of the 4th Middlesex V.R.C. and the 2nd (South) Middlesex, V.R.C., the newly minted unit being titled the ''13th London Regiment (Kensingtons), T.F.''. It based itself at the old 4th Middlesex V.R.C.'s Headquarters at Iverna Gardens in the Borough of Kensington, which adopted it as its local Regiment and consented for the new Regiment to use its name in its formation's title. The Regiment took its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

unit motto ''Quid Nobis Ardui'' (English: ''Nothing is too arduous for us'') from the Borough's Coat of Arms. Her Royal Highness the

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and highe ...

consented to the use of her name by the Regiment and it became officially designated as the ''Princess Louise's Kensingtons''.

First World War

During

World War I 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 ...

the regiment was increased to war fighting capacity, with three separate battalions being formed.

1/13th London Regiment (1st Kensingtons Battalion)

This Battalion was mobilized on the declaration of war on 4 August 1914. In November 1914 it departed England for France, and saw action on the Western Front, including the battles of

Neuve Chapelle Neuve-Chapelle ( vls, Nieuwkappel) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It was the site of a First World War battle in 1915. Geography Neuve-Chapelle is situated some northeast of Béthune and ...

(1915),

Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a ...

(the Regiment's defining action in the War) (1915), Somme (1916),

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

(1917), Passchendaele (1917),

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

(1917), Somme (1918), & the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

(1918). It returned to the Corps' Headquarters in Kensington from France for demobilization in May 1919.

2/13th London Regiment (2nd Kensingtons Battalion)

The Battalion was formed in August 1914 with the intention of acting as the Regiment's home training unit, furnishing reinforcements to the 1st Battalion in the field to replace losses sustained in action. However, by November 1914 it was decided by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

that with the war's scale of operations rapidly escalating the new 2nd battalions of the London

's infantry regiments were also to be mobilized for active service in the field. The 2nd Kensingtons did send drafts of reinforcements to join the 1st Battalion in France throughout 1915 whilst it was training in England, but this was ended by the close of that year and the responsibility for the Regiment's reinforcement supply was transferred to the 3rd Battalion, in preparation for the 2nd Battalion's departure on active service. Kensington War Memorial, Kensington Church Street, London W8 - geograph

Kensington War Memorial, Kensington Church Street, London W8 - geograph

The 2nd Kensingtons was dispatched to Ireland in April 1916 to deal with the Fenian Revolution. Afterwards it saw action on the Western Front in France (1916); Salonika (1917), taking part the Battle of Doiran; and Palestine (1917-1918), taking part in the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the B ...

, the

Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the surrender until 30 December 1917, to ...

Capture of Jericho The Capture of Jericho occurred between 19 and 21 February 1918 to the east of Jerusalem beginning the Occupation of the Jordan Valley during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Fighting took place in an area bordered by the ...

, the

First Transjordan attack on Amman The First Transjordan attack on Amman (known to the British as the First Attack on Amman)Battles Nomenclature Committee 1922 p. 33 and to their enemy as the First Battle of the JordanErickson 2001 p. 195 took place between 21 March and 2 April 1 ...

Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt The Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt, officially known by the British as the Second action of Es Salt Battles Nomenclature Committee 1922 p. 33 and by others as the Second Battle of the Jordan,Erickson 2001 p. 195 was fought ...

and the

Battle of Sharon The Battle of Sharon fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, began the set piece Battle of Megiddo half a day before the Battle of Nablus, in which large formations engaged and responded to movements by the opposition, according to pre-existi ...

. The Battalion was broken up and demobilized in camps at Sidi Bashir in Egypt, and

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

in February to March 1919.

3/13th London Regiment (3rd Kensingtons Battalion)

The 3rd Battalion was formed in November 1914 as the home training battalion of the Regiment with responsibility for supplying reinforcement drafts to the Regiment's two fighting battalions in the field, a role that it fulfilled until the end of the conflict in late 1918.

Interwar

1/13th Battalion reverted to its title of 13th Battalion post-war. The three battalions' war memorial was unveiled outside

St Mary Abbots St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8. The present church structure was built in 1872 to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who combined neo-Gothic and early- ...

Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...

on 1 July 1922 and was later adapted to also commemorate its World War Two dead. In 1937, on the break-up of the London Regiment, its 13th Battalion was re-designated the Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment,

The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

. In 1938 the Kensingtons became a two-battalion regiment.

Second World War

During 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 ...

the regiment changed its role from infantry to a heavy fire support unit armed with mortars, medium machine-guns and Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. The 1st Kensingtons served with the British Expeditionary Force in France, and later deployed to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

to be part of

British First Army The First Army was a formation of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. The First Army included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French units during the Second World War. Fi ...

to prepare for the

Sicilian campaign The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devas ...

, and later the Italian front, with the 78th ''Battleaxe'' Infantry Division. The 2nd Kensingtons served first in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and were to see action from Normandy to

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

, with the

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 B10448

Postwar

In 1947, the Regiment became part of the

with the Army Phantom Signal Regiment (Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment). The regiment was re-formed as 41 (Princess Louise's Kensington) Signal Regiment in 1961 and became a trunk communications Signal Regiment with squadrons in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The l ...

and

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. In 1967, with the reorganisation of the Territorial Army, the unit became a squadron of 31 (City of London) Signal Regiment. The Squadron was reassigned from 31 (City of London) Signal Regiment to

38 (City of Sheffield) Signal Regiment The 38 Signal Regiment (Volunteers) was a regiment of the British Army's Royal Corps of Signals, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment's task was to "provide contingency communications throughout the whole of Northern England, from the Scottish B ...

in 2010. In 2014, 41 (Princess Louise's Kensington) Signal Squadron amalgamated with 47 (

Middlesex Yeomanry The Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in World War I at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its offic ...

) Squadron to form 31 (Middlesex Yeomanry and Princess Louise's Kensington) Signal Squadron, part of

71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment 71st (City of London) Yeomanry Signal Regiment is an Army Reserve regiment in the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army. The regiment forms part of 11th Signal Brigade, providing military communications for national operations. History Th ...

References

Publications

* Bailey, Sergeant O. F. and Hollier, H. M., (1935) ''The Kensingtons 13th London Regiment'', London, Regimental Old Comrades Association * Beckett, Ian F. W., (1982) ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot, The Ogilby Trusts, . * {{LondonRegiment Battalions of the London Regiment (1908–1938) Military units and formations in Kensington Military units and formations in London Regiments of the British Army in World War II