Brief History

"The Regiment first saw service in Ireland, seeing action for the first time at the siege of Carrickfurgus in 1689. After the Battle of Boyne 1690 the Regiment was reviewed and mustered 526 rank and file, exclusive of officers and NCOs. There they followed the sieges of Cork (1690), Kinsale (1690) and Limerick (1690). In 1692 the Regiment returned to England, where it was stationed in a succession of locations until being sent to the Spanish Netherlands in 1695. This was followed by stays in England and Ireland and then Holland, where on the accession of Princess Anne to the British throne in 1702, the Regiment's title was changed to The Queen's Regiment. (The 4th Foot, having been designated "The Queen's Regiment" by James II continued to hold that title and during the reign of Queen Anne, both units were styled "The Queen's Regiments".) Under the new name the Regiment fought under the Duke of Marlborough in Flanders and Germany, gaining its first battle honour at Blenheim 1704. The Regiment's grenadiers greatly distinguished themselves at the Siege of Liege in 1702, but the Regiment also served at Ramillies 1706, Oudenarde 1708 and Malplaquet 1709, in addition to the Sieges of Lillie 1708, Tourney 1709 and Douai 1710.

During the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion, the Regiment suffered heavy casualties at Dunblane(Nov. 13th) when its rearguard action saved the Royal Army. It was a desperate fight which resulted in the virtual destruction of the Regiment and in 1716, King George I recognised the Regiment's loyalty and bravery by granting it the title The King's Regiment and the White Horse of Hanover as a badge. The Regiment's title was, effectively, a battle honour.

After many years of home service, the Regiment went to the Low Countries and fought at Dettingen (1743) and Fontenoy (1745), and was then rushed back to England to meet the threat posed by the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, fighting at Falkirk (1746) and Culloden (1746). The Regiment was first ranked as the 8th Foot in 1742, the seniority being confirmed in 1751. After service at Roucoux (1746) and Val (1747) in Holland, the Seven Years War (1756-1763) saw The King's Regiment serving at Warburg (1760) and numerous other actions.

After five years of home service, the King's Regiment went to Canada in 1768 and later saw much hard service in difficult terrain as a result of the American War for Independence (1775-1783). The Regiment served in Flanders 1794-1795 after a period in Ireland, and in 1799 garrisoned Minorca.

Uniforms :

On its formation, the uniform of the Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot reflected the Stuart colours, with a scarlet coat lined and turned up with Yellow, Yellow waistcoats and breeches, White stockings and cravat, broad brimmed hats having the brim turned up on one side and ornamented with Yellow ribbons. The captains were armed with pikes, the lieutenants with partisans, the ensigns with half-pikes, sergeants with halberds, 30 rank and file of each company were pikemen and 73 musketeers, the whole carried swords.

In 1716, when King George I changed the Regiment's title to The King's Regiment, the facings were changed from Yellow to Blue and the Hanover horse within the Garter was directed to be borne as the regimental badge. After the accession of the House of Hanover to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, the White Horse was introduced as a royal badge in the standards and colours of some regiments. The White horse on a Red Field was the armorial bearing of ancient Saxony or Westphalia and has for many centuries being borne by the House of Brunswick.

In 1742, The King's Regiment status as a Royal Regiment was confirmed when it was authorised to wear Blue facings. In a series of contemporary coloured prints representing the costume of the British Army, the uniform of The King's Regiment is a three cornered cocked hat bound with White lace and ornamented with a Black cockade, scarlet coats, the cuffs, facing and turn backs of the royal blue and ornamented with white lace. Scarlet waistcoats reach below the hips, the breeches are blue and white linen gaiters reach above the knee.

By the Royal Warrant of December 19th, 1768, it was directed that "the VIII or King's Regiment should bear in the centre of their colours the White Horse on a Red ground, within the garter and crown over it. In the three corners of the second colour, the King's cypher and crown. On the grenadier caps, the King's crest, also the White Horse, as in the colours. The same device of the White horse within the garter, on the drums and bell of arms. Rank of the regiment underneath."

The Regiment expanded in 1756 to two battalions. In 1758, one formed the King's Regiment of Foot and the other became the 63rd which was later still to become the Manchester Regiment. In 1958, these two Regiments rejoined as today's King's Regiment. The Regiment has battle honours from service all over the world, from Marlborough's battles in the 18th century to Korea in 1953. In World War I the Regiment raised the second largest number of battalions of any regiment in the Army - 87.

In World War II, the Regiment served world-wide. Battalions fought in France in 1940, took part in the heroic defence of Malta, landed in the first few minutes of the D-Day operation and fought in the jungles of Burma. A battalion of the Regiment fought with great distinction in the first Chindit expedition and another battalion fought with equal bravery, providing the glider-borne spearhead of the second Chindit expedition. Battalions fought in Italy and across North West Europe until the end of the war. In the last 50 years, regular battalions, often reinforced from territorial battalions, have served on operations in Korea, Malaya, Kenya, Kuwait, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and Belize. Garrisons have been provided for Guyana, the Falklands and of course for extended periods all over Germany.
Most recently, the 1st Battalion, reinforced from the Territorial Army battalion, has seen operational service in Iraq and Kosovo.

The Regiment's Territorial Army tradition stems both from its 5th (Rifle) Battalion The King's (Liverpool) - which was originally the third to be raised in the country and the first in the North West of England - and the 8th (Ardwick) Battalion the Manchester Regiment.

This tradition was maintained in the 5th/8th Battalion which included a Scottish Company, tracing its origins to the Liverpool Scottish Battalion whose doctor gained one of only three bars ever awarded to the Victoria Cross.
In total, 23 Victoria Crosses and one George Cross have been awarded to men of the Regiment, including one of the very few VCs to have been awarded between World War I and World War II.
In 2000 this battalion was reduced to two companies, one in Liverpool and one in Manchester, and part of Battalion Headquarters as part of the new King's and Cheshire Regiment.

The Victoria Cross
23 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to members of the King's Regiment.