Hello everyone. It's a question I've had on my mind for a while and that is that i know that the Kings Liverpool regiment 5th battalion served in NW Europe after 1944 and escaped disbandement unlike the regiments 8th battalion but why do the regiments battle honors only list NW Europe 1944 and Normandy as it's honors in that theater?
From what I can gather from reading the King's History in Burke-Gaffney's the Story of the King's Regiment 1914-1948, the 5th and 8th battalions became Beach Groups (Nos. 5 & 7 respectively) and served as such during the Normandy landings. The 8th Battalion was broken up in July 1944, with the majority of its men posted to other Lancashire Regiments. The 5th Battalion were carrying out anti-looting duties at Caen in July 1944, but after moving back to Lion-Sur-Mer, drafts of men began leaving the unit and by 28th August the battalion ceased to exist.
Oh , thanks for the info. Every source i could find stated that it survived disbandement and served till the end of the end . But was this battalion reformed or something along those lines for the T Force later in the war? And again thanks for answering sir.
I'm glad you came back and mentioned T Force. You are quite correct, the history gave the view on page 143 that the 5th was disbanded in August 1944, but later it does give details of T Force. In the end, the 5th Battalion was the only King's unit to actually enter Germany. I've attached the relevant pages, including page 143 which suggests the demise of the battalion in August 1944. Apologies for the incorrect info earlier:
Thanks a lot for sharing those pages sir. Do you happen to know that despite the battalion serving in Europe till the end of the war, the king's regiments battle honors only extend to NW Europe 1944?
I don't really. Perhaps it was because the various companies of the 5th Battalion were spread out from each other during that time (as described in the above pages) and it was not felt that they had warranted recognition as fighting in one particular place and as one complete unit?
