# List of battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment

This is a list of battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958.

## Original composition

When the 16th (Bedfordshire) Regiment of Foot became The Bedfordshire Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, five pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 1881–1908, was the addition of a 4th volunteer battalion in 1900, being the 4th Volunteer Battalion, later renamed to 4th (Huntingdonshire) Volunteer Battalion.
| Battalion | Formed | Formerly |
| Regular |||
| 1st | 1688 | |
| 2nd | 1859 | |
| Militia |||
| 3rd (Militia) | 1760 | Bedfordshire Light Infantry Militia |
| 4th (Militia) | 1758 | Hertfordshire Militia |
| Volunteers |||
| 1st (Hertfordshire) Volunteer | 1861 | 1st Hertfordshire Rifle Volunteers |
| 2nd (Hertfordshire) Volunteer | 1860 | 2nd Hertfordshire Rifle Volunteers |
| 3rd (Bedfordshire) Volunteer | 1860 | 1st Bedfordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps |

## Reorganisation

The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. The Hertfordshire Battalion created during the reforms, left the Bedfordshire Regiment completely in 1909 to create the Hertfordshire Regiment.
| Battalion | Formerly |
| 5th | Amalgamation of 3rd (Bedfordshire) and 4th (Huntingdonshire) Volunteer Battalions |
| The Hertfordshire Battalion | Amalgamation of 1st and 2nd (Hertfordshire) Volunteer Battalions |

## First World War

The Bedfordshire Regiment fielded 26 battalions and lost around 7,200 officers and other ranks during the course of the war. The regiment's territorial component formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 5th Beds were numbered as the 1/5th, 2/5th, and 3/5th respectively. Many battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names. Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.
| Battalion | Formed | Served | Fate |
| Regular ||||
| 1st | 1688 | Western Front, Italy | |
| 2nd | 1859 | Western Front | |
| Special Reserve ||||
| 3rd (Reserve) | 1760 | Britain | |
| 4th (Extra Reserve) | 1758 | Western Front | |
| Territorial Force ||||
| 1/5th | 1908 | Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine campaign | |
| 2/5th | Bedford, September 1914 | Britain | Disbanded on 18 March 1918 |
| 3/5th, 5th (Reserve) from 8 April 1916 | Bedford, June 1915 | Britain | Disbanded in March 1919 |
| 11th | Lowestoft, 1 January 1917, from 68th Provisional Battalion (Territorial Force) | Britain | Disbanded in 1919 |
| New Army ||||
| 6th (Service) | Bedford, August 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded on 4 August 1918 |
| 7th (Service) | Bedford, September 1914 | Western Front | Absorbed into the 2nd Battalion |
| 8th (Service) | Bedford, September 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded on 16 February 1918 |
| 9th (Reserve) | Felixstowe, October 1914 | Britain | Absorbed into the Training Reserve Battalions of the 6th Reserve Brigade |
| 10th (Reserve) | Dovercourt, November 1914 | Britain | Became the 27th Training Reserve Battalion of the 6th Reserve Brigade |
| Others ||||
| 12th (Transport Workers) | December 1916 | Britain | Disbanded 1919 |
| 13th (Transport Workers) | December 1916 | Britain | Disbanded 1919 |
| 1st Garrison | Bedford, December 1915 | India | Disbanded 1920 |
| 2nd Garrison | Bedford, December 1916 | India | Disbanded 1920 |
| 3rd Garrison | Bedford, January 1917 | India, Burma | Disbanded 1920 |
| 51st (Graduated) | Colchester, 27 October 1917, from the 249th Graduated Battalion | Britain | Disbanded 1919 |
| 52nd (Graduated) | Colchester, 27 October 1917, from the 252nd Graduated Battalion | Britain | Became a service battalion 1919; disbanded 1920 |
| 53rd (Young Soldier) | Clipstone, 27 October 1917, from the 27th Training Reserve Battalion | Britain | Disbanded 1920 |
| Volunteer Training Corps ||||
| 1st Battalion Bedfordshire Volunteer Regiment later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment | | Bedford | Disbanded post war |
| 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Volunteer Regiment later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment | | Luton | Disbanded post war |
| 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment | | Hereford | Disbanded post war |
| 2nd Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment | | Watford | Disbanded post war |
| 3rd Battalion Hertfordshire Volunteer Regiment later the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment | | St Albans | Disbanded post war |

## Inter-War

By 1921, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft. The regiment was renamed the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, in 1919, in recognition of the large amounts of soldiers from Hertfordshire that fought in the Great War.

## Second World War

The Bedfordshire's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion. In addition to this, 23 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, eight battalions in Bedfordshire wearing the cap badge of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the 15 battalions in Hertfordshire wearing the cap badge of the Hertfordshire Regiment. A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories. Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of these men, the batteries required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular battery.
| Battalion | Formed | Served | Fate |
| Regular ||||
| 1st | 1688 | Crete, North Africa, India, Burma | See Post-World War II |
| 2nd | 1859 | Dunkirk, Britain, North Africa, Tunisia, Italy, Greece | See Post-World War II |
| Territorial Army ||||
| 5th | 1908 | Britain, Malaya, Singapore | See Post-World War II |
| 6th | 1939 | Britain | Disbanded in 1947 |
| 7th (Home Defence) | 1939 | Britain | Disbanded? in 1941 |
| 2/7th (Home Defence) | 1940 | Britain | Disbanded? in 1940 |
| 8th | 1940 | Britain | Disbanded? in 1942 |
| 9th | 1940 | Britain | Disbanded in 1946 |
| 10th (Home Defence) | 1940 | Britain | Redesignated as 30th Battalion in 1941 |
| 30th | Redesignation of 10th (Home Defence) Battalion, 1941 | Britain | Disbanded 1946 |
| Others ||||
| 50th (Holding) | 1940 | Britain | Redesignated as the ? Battalion, 1940 |
| 70th (Young Soldier) | 1940 | Britain | Disbanded 1943 |
| 71st (Young Soldier) | 1940 | Britain | Disbanded 1943 |
Home Guard :
| Battalion | Headquarters | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) | Battalion | Headquarters | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) |
| Bedfordshire |
| 1st | Bedford | BDF 1 | 2nd | Biggleswade | BDF 2 |
| 3rd | Ampthill | BDF 3 | 4th | Luton | BDF 4 |
| 5th | Bedford | BDF 5 | 6th | Dunstable | BDF 6 |
| 7th | Luton | BDF 7 | 8th | Bedford | BDF 8 |
| Hertfordshire |
| 1st | Much Hadham | HTS 1 | 2nd | Hitchin | HTS 2 |
| 3rd | Hertford | HTS 3 | 4th | Welwyn | HTS 4 |
| 5th | Harpenden | HTS 5 | 6th | Oxhay | HTS 6 |
| 7th | Chipperfield | HTS 7 | 8th | Croxley Green | HTS 8 |
| 9th | Bricket Wood | HTS 9 | 10th | Watford | HTS 10 |
| 11th | Bishop's Stortford | HTS 11 | 12th | Letchworth | HTS 12 |
| 13th (de Havilland) | Hatfield | HTS 13 | 14th | Hatfield | HTS 14 |
| 15th | St. Albans | HTS 15 |
| Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units ||||||
| Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) | Headquarters or Location | AA Formation and Designation | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) | Headquarters or Location | AA Formation and Designation |
| BDF 4 | Luton, Skefco Ball Bearing Co. Ltd | A Troop LAA | BDF 7 | Luton, Vauxhall Motors Ltd | C Troop (LAA) |
| BDF 7 | Luton, Percival Aircraft Ltd | B Troop LAA | HTS 13 | Harfield, de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd | A, C Troops LAA |
| HTS 13 | Watford, de Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd | B Troop LAA | HTS 15 | Radlett, Handley Page Ltd | A Troop LAA |

## Post-World War II

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.
| Battalion | Fate |
| 1st | Amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion on 18 October 1948, without a change in title |
| 2nd | Amalgamated with the 1st Battalion on 18 October 1948 |

## Amalgamation

The size of the British Army was reduced following the publication of the 1957 Defence White Paper. A policy of grouping regiments in administrative brigades, and amalgamating pairs of regular battalions was inaugurated. Accordingly, the 1st Battalions of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and the Essex Regiment were merged to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) on 2 June 1958, which itself became part of a new "large regiment": the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964. The regiment's modern lineage is continued directly by D Company, 2nd Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment
| Battalion | Fate |
| 1st | Amalgamated with the 1st Battalion, The Essex Regiment to form 1st Battalion, 3rd East Anglian Regiment |
| 5th | Redesignated as The Bedfordshire Regiment (TA), before merging with the 1st Battalion, The Hertfordshire Regiment in 1961, to form The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA) |