In June 1940, shortly after the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) began forming a new 6th Battalion at its regimental depot at Shrewsbury. A previous 6th (Service) Battalion had been raised as part of Kitchener's Army during the Great War of 1914–18, and the men of the new unit were conscious of its heritage. The bulk of the men (95 per cent) were recent conscripts, mostly from Shropshire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, and other parts of the Welsh Borders and the English Midlands. The battalion's four rifle companies were designated W, X, Y and Z and the Commanding Officer of the battalion was Lt-Col Robert Munn, who had served with the KSLI in the First World War and was awarded a Military Cross.