The 50th (Holding) Battalion was raised in June 1940. The battalion's purpose was to temporarily 'hold' men who were medically unfit or homeless, awaiting orders, on courses or returning from abroad. In October, it was redesignated as the 10th Battalion and joined the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) and then the 203rd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home). The battalion was again re-designated as the 2nd Battalion on 28 May 1942 after the original 2nd Battalion was lost at Singapore in February. The new 2nd Battalion served mainly in the United Kingdom with the 199th Brigade (later 166th Bde) in 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division. However, in October 1944, the battalion was sent to Italy to fight in the Italian Campaign with the 20th Indian Infantry Brigade, 10th Indian Infantry Division, and saw action in Operation Grapeshot, the final offensive in Italy.