South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment ( The Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers ) was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958 . It was formed as part of the Childers reforms as the Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers Regiment ( South Lancashire Regiment ) by the amalgamation of the 40th ( 2nd Somersetshire ) Regiment of Foot and the 82nd ( Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers ) Regiment of Foot . In 1938 , it was renamed the South Lancashire Regiment ( The Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers ) and in 1958 was amalgamated with The East Lancashire Regiment to form The Lancashire Regiment ( Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers ) . History . Formation to the First World War . The 1st Battalion was in Ranikhet , India , when the regiment was formed . It shipped to Aden in 1884 and to Britain in 1886 where it remained until the outbreak of the Second Boer War . After service in South Africa , it returned to India and garrison duty up to the outbreak of the First World War . The 2nd Battalion spent the years between 1881 and 1914 on garrison duty throughout the Empire , returning to England in 1903 . The 3rd Battalion ( previously the 4th Royal Lancashire Militia ) was raised in 1899 for service in South Africa from 1900 to 1901 , when it was disbanded . The First World War , 1914 – 1918 . The 1st Battalion spent the war on garrison duty in Quetta , Baluchistan , on the North - West Frontier . The 2nd Battalion spent the entire war on the Western Front . The 3rd ( Reserve ) Battalion was a depot and training battalion stationed in Lancashire thoroughout the war . The Territorial and war - service battalions fought on the Western Front , in Mesopotamia , Gallipoli and Macedonia . Between the Wars . The 1st Battalion took part in Third Afghan War of 1919 before returning to Britain , where it remained ( except for a brief period as part of the Army of Occupation of Germany in 1928 ) until the outbreak of the Second World War . The 2nd Battalion spent these years on garrison duty , from 1920 ro 1922 in the new British Mandate of Palestine , and thereafter in India and the North West Frontier . Second World War . The 1st Battalion was shipped to France on the outbreak of war as part of the 4th Infantry Division , British Expeditionary Force , returning to England via Dunkirk in 1940 , when it became part of the 3rd Infantry Division . With this Division , it landed at Sword Beach on D - Day and fought its way through the Normandy , the Netherlands and later the invasion of Germany . The 2nd Battalion was in Bombay in 1939 , being transported back to England in July 1940 to defend Britain against the expected German invasion . In 1942 , it was part of Force 121 , which invaded Madagascar in order to prevent use of the island by the Japanese . From April 1944 until the end of the war , it fought in the recapture of Burma . Peace and amalgamation . Immediately after the war , the 1st Battalion served in Egypt and Palestine before being reduced to a cadre and alamgamated with the 2nd Battalion at Trieste in 1948 . The surviving 1st Battalion saw further service in the Sudan , England , Berlin and Hong Kong where , in 1958 , it was amalgamated with 1st Battalion , The East Lancashire Regiment , to form 1st Battalion , The Lancashire Regiment ( Prince of Wales ' s Volunteers ) . Battle honours . The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours : 1 . Awarded in error , and withdrawn in 1925 Victoria Crosses . The following members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross : Museum . The regimental museum is at Fulwood Barracks , Preston , Lancashire .