Lachlan Posted 2 January , 2012 Share Posted 2 January , 2012 First off - Happy New Year to all forum members ! Now - to business ! In WW1, would all British infantry battalions have been presented with Regimental Colours and King's Colours ? Of course,the Regulars had theirs, the pre-war TF battalions had theirs and presumably the wartime 1/- battalions inherited their pre-war TF battalion colours. But for instance, did the 3rd and 4th battalions (Reserve / Extra Reserve) have colours ? Did the 2/- and 3/- TF battalions have colours ? Did the Kitchener battalions all have colours ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 3 January , 2012 Share Posted 3 January , 2012 Lachlan - check out this thread and and all of the posts regarding Colours;- http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=149310. In to your last question - the answer is 'yes' Service Battalions did receive a Kings Colour only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 3 January , 2012 Share Posted 3 January , 2012 First off - Happy New Year to all forum members ! Now - to business ! In WW1, would all British infantry battalions have been presented with Regimental Colours and King's Colours ? Of course,the Regulars had theirs, the pre-war TF battalions had theirs and presumably the wartime 1/- battalions inherited their pre-war TF battalion colours. But for instance, did the 3rd and 4th battalions (Reserve / Extra Reserve) have colours ? Did the 2/- and 3/- TF battalions have colours ? Did the Kitchener battalions all have colours ? The Regular and TF Battalions all had 2 Colours and the old (pre 1908) Militia Battalions had them too. Most of these latter served for use by the Special and Extra Reserve Battalions that replaced them, providing they were still in a usable state. If any were worn out, I am not sure if they were replaced and new colours issued to the SR and ER, as they were not long in existence. No colours were issued to Service Battalions upon their raising, but at the end of the war each battalion was given a single, Union Colour, in 1918. These were famously all paraded through London and then laid up. No battle honours were added until the Battles Nomenclature Committee had adjudicated several years later and even then not all colours were adorned with them. I understand that other category units, including Commonwealth, also received the same honour of a Union Colour provided that they had served overseas and did not already have a colour from elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachlan Posted 4 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 4 January , 2012 Thanks for the info. I suspect that some Pals' battalions may have received an unofficial colour from their patrons at some time ? It's a pity that when the Kitchener battalions received a King's Colour at the end of the war, some battalions weren't around to receive one. The photo showing the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish receiving theirs made me think of the 16th Royal Scots (2nd Edinburgh City) aka McCrae's Battalion, who were broken up in early 1918 as part of the manpower "re-shuffle". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 4 January , 2012 Share Posted 4 January , 2012 Thanks for the info. I suspect that some Pals' battalions may have received an unofficial colour from their patrons at some time ? It's a pity that when the Kitchener battalions received a King's Colour at the end of the war, some battalions weren't around to receive one. The photo showing the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish receiving theirs made me think of the 16th Royal Scots (2nd Edinburgh City) aka McCrae's Battalion, who were broken up in early 1918 as part of the manpower "re-shuffle". Yes, I think that some of the Service Battalions may have received unofficial colours, certainly many of the Commonwealth units did, often from local towns people. I am not sure about what arrangements, if any, there were for 2nd and 3rd Line TF. I agree that it was sad that so many hard fighting units lost out because they had been disbanded, or merged with others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 4 January , 2012 Share Posted 4 January , 2012 I've decided to add ACI 444 of 21st July 1919 in order to clear up to which units received the Kings Colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 4 January , 2012 Share Posted 4 January , 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 4 January , 2012 Share Posted 4 January , 2012 Thank you Graham, that certainly is chapter and verse on the matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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