The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army unit, originally assigned to the 126th Infantry Brigade, 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division. However, the battalion left the brigade in November 1939, and was assigned to the newly raised 25th Infantry Brigade and served from 1939–40 in France on lines of communication duties before becoming part of the ill-fated "2nd BEF" that tried to maintain a presence in France after Dunkirk, finally leaving from the Cherbourg peninsular. After returning to the United Kingdom, it spent time in South Wales on Guard duties before being posted to North Africa in 1941. The battalion was then assigned to the 23rd Infantry Brigade, part of the 70th Infantry Division. Whilst in Africa, it spent some time fighting the Africa Korps, including taking part in the relief of Tobruk before being posted to British India in 1942–1943. In 1944, the entire division was broken up to become part of Brigadier Orde Wingate's 'Special Force' (the Chindits) and took part in the 2nd Chindit expedition in Burma, before finally returning to the United Kingdom in 1945.