Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)


The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot. The 100th Foot was first raised in 1858 and the 109th was first raised in 1853. Between the time of its formation and Irish independence, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in Birr. It was disbanded with the Partition of Ireland following establishment of the independent Irish Free State in 1922 when the five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state were disbanded.

History

Nineteenth century

The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot. The amalgamation of the two regiments into one with the title Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment , was part of the United Kingdom government's reorganization of the British Army under the Childers Reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell Reforms implemented in 1879.
It was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, with its home depot at Crinkill Barracks in Birr. The regiment recruited mainly in the province of Leinster. Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate in Dublin, directly under the War Office in London.
The 1st Battalion, which had been in India, moved to Ireland in 1894. A detachment took part in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895, but the rest of the battalion remained in Ireland until moving to Halifax, Canada, in 1898. The 2nd Battalion moved to Ireland in 1882 and to England in 1888. It transferred to Malta in 1894, and joined the Bermuda Garrison the following year. In 1897, it moved to Halifax, and in 1898 to the West Indies.

Second Boer War

Both regular battalions were deployed to South Africa for the Second Boer War. The 1st Battalion saw action around Bethlehem on April 1902 when 14 men were wounded while the 2nd Battalion held the Heilbron branch line in February 1902 when they had 10 casualties. The 1st battalion stayed until the end of the war, following which 370 officers and men left Cape Town on the SS Englishman in late September 1902, and arrived at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Fermoy. A 3rd Militia Battalion, formed from the former King′s County Militia, was embodied in early 1900 for service in South Africa. 520 officers and men embarked from Southampton on the SS Kildonan Castle in early March 1900, returning to Ireland after more than two years in late May 1902.
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had three Reserve but no Territorial battalions.

First World War

Regular army

The 1st Battalion, which had been at Faizabad in India, landed at Le Havre as part of the 82nd Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front but moved to Salonika in December 1915 and then moved to Egypt for service in Palestine in September 1917. The 2nd Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of the 17th Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front.

New Armies

The 6th Battalion landed at Anzac Cove as part of the 29th Brigade in the 10th Division in August 1915 but moved to Salonika in September 1915 and on to Egypt for service in Palestine in September 1917 before landing at Marseille in June 1918 for service on the Western Front. The 7th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 47th Brigade in the 16th Division in December 1915 for service on the Western Front.

Disbandment

Due to substantial defence cuts and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, it was agreed that the six former Southern Ireland regiments would be disbanded, including the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment. On 12 June, five regimental colours were laid up in a ceremony at St George's Hall, Windsor Castle in the presence of HM King George V. The six regiments were then all disbanded on 31 July 1922. With the simultaneous outbreak of the Irish Civil War conflict some thousands of their ex-servicemen and officers contributed to expanding the Free State government's newly formed National Army. They brought considerable combat experience with them and by May 1923 comprised 50 per cent of its 53,000 soldiers and 20 per cent of its officers. Serving personnel of the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment were given the option of transferring to other units if they wished to continue to serve in the British Army.
In recognition of their Canadian roots, the officers of the 1st Battalion decided to give their officers' mess silver 'in trust' to the Government of Canada "as a token of the regard for the Great Dominion which gave birth to the Battalion to be held in trust until such time as the Battalion is again raised". The silver, known as "The Leinster Plate", was deposited for safe keeping at the Royal Military College of Canada in 1923 at the suggestion of then Minister of National Defence, the Hon. Edward Mortimer Macdonald, and of Major-General James MacBrien, the Canadian Chief of Staff. The silver is on display at Royal Military College of Canada in the Senior Staff Mess and Museum.
In 2013 the Regimental Association erected a memorial to commemorate the regiment's strong linkages with the Birr area, particularly to Crinkill Barracks.

Battle honours

The regiment's battle honours were as follows:
CampaignBattleDate
-Armentières 19141914
Second Battle of YpresBattle of Gravenstafel22–23 April 1915
Battle of St. Julien24 April – 4 May 1915
Battle of Frezenberg8–13 May 1915
Battle of the SommeBourlon Wood
Battle of Guillemont3–6 September 1916
Battle of Ginchy9 September 1916
Battle of ArrasBattle of Vimy Ridge9 – 14 April 1917
Third Battle of YpresBattle of Messines7 – 14 June 1917
Battle of Pilckem Ridge31 July – 3 August 1917
Battle of Langemarck 16–18 August 1917
First Battle of Passchendaele12 October 1917
Second Battle of Passchendaele26 October – 10 November 1917
The German Offensives 1918First Battles of the Somme, 1918
St. Quentin21–23 March 1918
Actions at the Somme Crossings24–25 March 1918
Battle of Rosieres26–27 March 1918
Courtrai 191828 June 1918
The Advance To Victory 1918Battle of Amiens8 – 11 August 1918
Second Battles of the Somme, 1918Delville Wood
Cambrai, 1918 8–9 October 1918
Battle of Ypres, 191828 September – 2 October 1918
Battle of Courtrai14–19 October 1918
Macedonia 1915–17Battle of Kastrino
Battle of Struma
Gallipoli 1915Suvla
Sari Bair
Palestine 1917–18First Battle of Gaza26 March 1917
Battle of Jerusalem 26–30 December 1917
Battle of Megiddo 19 and 25 September 1918
Nablus19 and 25 September 1918
Battle of Tell 'Asur8 and 12 March 1918

Victoria Cross recipients

Colonels of the regiment were: