2nd/5th Bn |
The 2/5th Bn was reformed
at the Castle Armoury Bury on the 1st September 1939.
The Commanding Officer was Lt Col G S Lockwood.The Bn spent quite a lot of time guarding the Royal Ordnance Factory at Euxton near Chorley Lancs.They moved to Barnard Castle in 1940, then to Duncombe Park in Yorkshire,then to Scarborough where they celebrated Minden day 1940. In March 1941 they were at Blyth in Northumberland and then went to Keady in Northern Ireland(I know it so well!!) and then to Newry,with a new CO Lt Col C.W.D Chads. They were in Newry until March 1943 and then moved to Folkestone,and then to Birchington in October 1943. On the 20th June 1944 they were stood by in a tented camp at Ditchling in Sussex,and they sailed from Newhaven to Normandy. They were quickly in action and on the 8th July carried out a battalion attack on the villages of Malon and La Folie. They fought all the way to and through Villers Bocage,Donnay,Bois St Clair and the infamous ridge Haut d'Oilly(known as "High Willy)then on to a heroes welcome at Mesnil Shortly after the 20th August 1944 the Bn was withdrawn and disbanded, the Companies going to other Units as follows:- A Coy to 7th RWF. B Coy to 2nd Gordons. C Coy to 2nd Glasgow Highlanders. D Coy to 1st East Lancs. |