- Coldstream Guards during the Second World War -, In 1939, the 1st and 2nd Battalions went to France with the British Expeditionary Force. Records of Coldstream Guards from other sources. Pelagri islands (Lampedusa): 9 June 1943 – 23 June 1943. (d.11th Sept 1943). The function of the battalion was to hold guardsmen prior to their transfer to one of the service battalions. In December 1942 it moved to the Royal Wanstead Schools, and then to Sanderstead in 1943, before being disbanded on 3 October 1943. During the following six years the Coldstream fought throughout Europe and North Africa: France 1939 - 40, Egypt 1939 -42, North Africa 1942, Italy 1943 - … Divisional Headquarters (Battalion) Guards Armoured Division Signals, Royal Corps of Signals (Battalion), 18/6/41–11/6/45. It was followed to the island by the majority of the battalion save a small rear party and it’s Mechanised Transport. The Guards Armoured Division was formed in May 1941 as a result of the shortage of armoured troops in England to face a German invasion. Italy: February 5 1944 to end of war (May 1945).‡. These Mixed Divisions were soon considered a failure by the British Army and in the autumn of 1943 the 6 Brigade was re-established as an independent Tank (Guards) Brigade. It is notable that in July 1943, a company left to form a composite battalion of the 4th Battalion, scots guards, eventually finding its way to the 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards. 2nd Battalion Scots Guards War Diary September 1943 in Italy, including the Salerno landings. 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards (Armoured Reconnaissance), 13/4/43–11/6/45. The casualties were: 6 killed, 3 wounded and 288 were taken prisoner. WO 166/909 BRIGADES: 7TH. When the Second World War began, the 1st and 2nd battalions of The Coldstream Guards were part of the British Expeditionary Force in France; whilst the 3rd … Want to find out more about your relative's service? 1st … The King to the 2nd Bn, at Bachy train station (5.12.1939). When war was declared on 3 September 1939 the 1st Coldstream was training at Pirbright, while the 2nd Battalion was at Albuhera Barracks, Aldershot. The origin of The Coldstream Guards lies in the English Civil War when Oliver Cromwell gave Colonel George Monck permission to form his own regiment as part of the New Model Army. A detachment of the regiment also served in the American War of Independence (1775-83) in a composite Guards unit under Coldstream commander Colonel Edward Mathew. If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page. When someone makes an application for a record of service from the MoD, trying to decipher the documents can seem a formidable task. For more information please see our page on. 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. ‡On March 1 the 2nd and 3rd battalions were amalgamated to form the new 2nd battalion. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small Algeria: 1 January 1944 – 3 January 1944. THRUSTER, the proposed establishment of British Forces by force on the then neutral, Spanish Island of São Miguel in June 1941. LANCING, the proposed operation in May 1942 on the French coast between the ports of Boulogne and Le Touquet intended to seize valuable German Radio Direction Finder equipment. Less than two weeks later, this force took part in the Battle of Dunbar, at which the Roundheads defeated the forces of Charles Stuart. This account appeared in the February 2004 issue of the Wartime News. The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers and this website is funded by donations from our visitors. Algeria: 11 November 1942 – 7 December 1942. Grdsmn. - Impressive military ceremonial and enthusiastic civilian demonstrations marked departure of 2nd Batt. Egypt, Libya and Tunisia: February 1943 – 9 June 1943. France, Lowlands and Germany: 20 July 1944 to end of war (May 1945). BRIGADE Headquarters 1939 Sept. - 1940 June. 3rd (Tank) Battalion The Scots Guards 4th (Tank) Battalion The Coldstream Guards 4th (Tank) Battalion The Grenadier Guards 229th Company (Tank Brigade), RASC . We are now on Facebook. In 1939, the 1st and 2nd Battalions went to France with the British Expeditionary Force. Egypt and Libya: 4 September 1939 – 15 September 1942. No casualties were sustained, and the battalion’s greatest challenge during this time, besides administering the garrison, was getting the ice cream factory working – in this respect it was highly successful. The 4th (Guards) Brigade was one of three rifle brigades in the division and comprised around 4,000 men and 8 machine guns. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Coldstream Guards are the oldest Regiment in the British Army, being formed in 1650. This included operations: **This was operation CORKSCREW, the invasion of the Pelagri islands. Shanghai, China. Formed in a preparatory school at Harrow on the Hill on 24 October 1941, all ranks coming from the training and holding battalions. Husband of Annie M. Kinson (formerly Woyen) of Mill Street, Colton-in-the-Elms, Burton-on-Trent, UK. 1st Battalion, COLDSTREAM GUARDS ” WO 167/359 BRIGADES: 7TH. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. Sadly he has passed away and I thought it would be nice to represent the Battalion on my gaming table in his memory. Read more. He served with the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards during WW2 in North Africa and Italy. Syria: 15 September 1942 – February 1943.8. The Coldstream Guards 1920 - 1946; Michael Howard & John Sparrow [1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, Holding Battalions & Coats Mission Coldstream Guards] The Record of the Coldstream Guards 1650 - 1950. During the following period the survivors were used as a composite force and then sent to Libya to rest, reinforce, and reform, prior to being sent back into the line in February 1943. to help with the costs of keeping the site running. At the time the Battalions involved were not happy at this sudden surge, of untrained men who had never seen Pirbright of Caterham, and complained bitterly about the quality of these recruits. During the war there were no less than eight Coldstream battalions, six service battalions and two administrative/training battalions: the Holding and the Training Battalions. Moved to France 15 August 1915 and then joined Guards Division. It fought through France, Belgium and participated in operation market garden in Holland in September, entering Germany in November 1944. Coldstream Guards at War 1939-1945. Pelagri islands (Pantellaria): 23 June 1943 – 21 July 1943. Skip to content Menu Close. When the Second World War began, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Coldstream Guards were part of the British Expeditionary Force in France; whilst the 3rd Battalion was on overseas service in the Middle East. That conflict also saw 2nd Battalion serve in Germany, where it fought at the Battle of Wilhelmstal (1762). The division originally consisted of two armoured brigades, the 5th and the 6th. Anstruther-Gray William John St Clair. Battalions (Bn) are the most common, as are brigade (Bde) and divisional (Div) headquarters, however a Guardsman could realistically see service at Corps, Army, GHQ level or as L. of C.  troops. 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment (Armoured Reconnaissance), 15/9/41–27/2/43. Additional 4th and 5th battalions were also formed for the duration of the war. To this end, in august 1939, just one week before the declaration of war, a preparatory camp was formed for new Coldstream and Scots Guards training battalions was formed in the guard’s depot at Pirbright: the Scots Guards occupying the new hutments in the west-end built for the militia in 1939 and the Coldstream the Guards occupying the Brigade ‘Summer Camp’, consisting of aging huts (built between 1880 and 1914) on the banks of the Basingstoke canal – an area nicknamed ‘Colony Bog’ due its propensity to flood and presumably also due to the drudgery of daily life. **The division returned to France in June 1944, two weeks after D-Day. *On 16 June the 3rd Battalion arrived in Tobruk, Lybia, 580 strong, to conduct a defense of the port in the Knightsbridge ‘Box’. makes an application for a record of service, The visit of H.M. Two additional battalions, the 4th and 5th, were also raised during the war. Christmas wishes from Winston Churchill to the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards. Like this page to receive our updates. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, 1st Battalion, GRENADIER GUARDS. Each battalion in the 4th Guards Brigade fielded just over 1,000 officers and men. It has been a poignant day as my sister found a recording on the Imperial War Museum site by a certain Robert Dare. During the American Revolutionary War a Composite Footguards Battalion, with Coldstream Companies, was dispatched across the Atlantic where they (again) captured New York and fought at Harlem in 1776. Composition. Add a Name to this List If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 254107 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit without contacting us first. These consisted of three tank regiments of Covenanter V tanksand a motor infantr… It was later converted into a Guards Armoured Battalion. Stone Inscription :- "He Gave His Life That England's Soul Should Live". 26/03/2019 27/03/2019 AdamB 0 Comments British Pathe, Coldstream Guards, Grenadier Guards… On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the 1st and 2nd Battalions, despite being woefully under-equipped (in common with the rest of the Army), took to the field with the British Expeditionary Force in France. Of these, only the 1st, 2nd and 3rd were regular service battalions prior to the outbreak of war, taking it in turns to serve abroad. The 2nd Bn was based at Aldershot, in Albuhera Barracks at the start of hostilties. You can usually tell immediately if this is the case if the Regimental number (described as Army number for non-guards regiments) is not between 2646001 and 2688000 – the block allocated to the Coldstream Guards, as a soldier kept his initial Army number throughout the war. The Guards!" Two additional battalions, the 4th and 5th, were also raised during the war. BLAZING, the proposed operation in April 1942 to recapture of the Channel Island of Alderney which had been abandoned to the Germans earlier in 1940. If you have any unwanted Formed at Windsor on 17 July 1915, initially as Guards Pioneer Battalion, but soon redesignated. please Unless it has been lost or damaged, most Guardsman’s records contain a Statement of the services – although note that for Guardsmen who served in the regular army before 1939 this page may be called, and look different. 200 escaped the following disaster and were able to return to British lines. 1st Battalion 04.08.1914 Stationed at Aldershot as part of the 1st (Guards) Brigade of the 1st Division.