1 RUR departs India

Presentation of the Military Medal at Razani, North West Frontier. L/Cpl Cooley was awarded the MM when, after coming under fire from sniping tribesmen in Waziristan, he was wounded in the neck and continued to command and direct his section until he collapsed.

At the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles was engaged in operational duties at Razani on the North West Frontier of India. During October, the Battalion spent its time carrying out such duties as keeping roads open to convoys, guarding convoys, and occasionally participating in punitive raids against the hostile tribesmen. In October, the Battalion returned to Rawalpindi.

The early period of 1940 was taken up with preparation and rehearsals for mobilisation, which was expected at any time. After the news of Dunkirk, the Battalion received 72 hours’ notice to move to an unknown destination - all equipment and personal belongings to be taken, families to be left behind. After an uneventful train journey to Bombay, the Battalion discovered that it was about to leave India. The Rifles, still unaware of their destination (it was to be Liverpool, England), embarked on the S.S. Karanja and sailed on 4 June 1940.

You can read more about 1 RUR at Razani by clicking on Skirmishes on The North West Frontier.