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The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, commanded by Lt Col F G Jones, left Secunderabad and arrived at Avonmouth, England on 10 January 1915. The Battalion then moved to Rugby where it joined 87 Brigade of the 29th Division, composed wholly of British battalions from the Indian Army establishment. The four-battalion Brigade was known as the 'Union Brigade' as it was composed of one battalion each from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
One week before Independence Day, on 7 August 1947, the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers boarded HMT Devonshire in Madras and sailed for Hong Kong, calling at Rangoon and Singapore, before arriving on 21 August 1947. Three companies were deployed to Kowloon while Battalion Headquarters and the remainder of the Battalion was based in Murray Barracks on Hong Kong Island.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers embarked in HMT Dilwara departing Jamaica for Southampton, England on 1 April 1951.
On 30 September 1909, the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers left Malta for North China where the disturbed state of the country compelled various European powers to maintain garrisons in protection of their political and commercial interests.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers moved at war's end from the Orange Free State towards Cape Town and embarked on the SS Aurania on 17 January 1903. The Battalion landed at Queenstown, Ireland on 8 February, arriving in Enniskillen the following day. South African War medals were presented by the Duke of Abercorn and HM King Edward VII. The King presented the medals in Belfast during his visit to Ireland in July 1903.
In May 1961, the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, as part of 24 Infantry Brigade, deployed to Kuwait from Kenya to oppose a possible invasion by Iraqi dictator General Kassim. On arrival in Kuwait, the Battalion concentrated at the Kuwait Technical College before deploying to the Mutla Ridge to relieve a Royal Marine Commando. The Inniskillings’ deployment was as the right forward battalion with 1 Kings on their left.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers had departed England in March 1915 for Egypt where the Battalion re-embarked at Alexandria, Egypt for Lemnos. The Inniskillings remained on the island until 25 April 1915 when the 29th Division landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
To read more on the background to the Gallipoli campaign and articles about various actions please click on The Gallipoli Campaign an Introduction.
On 12 February 1907, the 2nd Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers departed Belfast, Ireland, for Crete, landing at Candida on 24 February. The Battalion HQ was stationed there with a detachment deployed to Canea. The garrison was for twelve months and the Battalion then moved to Malta where it arrived on 5 February 1908.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers arrived at Marseilles on 18 March 1916 and disembarked. The Battalion was part of 87 Brigade in the 29th Division. The Battalion strength was 29 officers and 745 other ranks. It moved immediately to the front and relieved the South Wales Borderers on 6 April until relieved in turn the following week. From the trenches, where the Battalion was brought up to full strength by a draft from Ireland, it moved to billets at Acheux.
The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers embarked at Chin Wang Tao, the port of Tientsin, on 4 November 1912 and sailed from China to India, landing at Bombay on 3 December. The Battalion entrained for Secunderabad, Trimulgherry, where it was stationed when war was declared on Germany in 1914.
Left, cap badge* as worn by soldiers of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1914. (Image © IWM INS 5696)
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