North Africa and Middle East, 1939 -1943
1st Battalion
In 1939, the 1st Battalion moved to Palestine, being stationed at Haifa and Jericho before being sent to Egypt in September 1940, to man the defences east of Mersa Matruh. The Battalion was then in action against the Italians at Sidi Barrani on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast before returning to the Western Desert in April 1941.
In May 1941, the Battalion landed in Crete and took part in the fighting against the invading German airborne forces, defending the Plain of Messara. The British were eventually forced to withdraw from the island with heavy losses. The Germans, however, never again used parachute forces during the remainder of the war.
The 1st Battalion returned to Alexandria, Egypt, until July 1941. From then until May 1942 the Battalion was in action against the Italians in Abyssinia, followed by Garrison duties in the Sudan. It subsequently took part in the battle of El Alamein on the 23rd / 24th October 1942, as part of the 8th Army.
6th Battalion
The former 6th Battalion landed at Algiers in December 1942 and as the 93rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery (A&SH) (TA), fought throughout the Tunisian Campaign. Its many battles are commemorated by the Royal Artillery Battle Honour ‘Ubique’, Everywhere.
7th Battalion
The 7th Battalion arrived in Egypt in 1942 as part of the reconstituted 51st Highland Division in time to take part in the battle of El Alamein on the 23rd / 24th of October 1942. Thereafter it fought across the desert until General Montgomery’s 8th Army linked up with the British 1st Army and United States forces in Tunisia in May 1943. At the attack on Wadi Akarit, on the 6th April 1943, the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lorne Campbell won the Victoria Cross.
8th Battalion
The 8th Battalion landed at Algiers in November 1942 as part of 78th Division, in the 1st Army. It took part in much hard fighting across Tunisia until the Axis surrender in May 1943. At the battle of Longstop Hill on the 23rd April, 1943, the final battle of the campaign, Major Jack Anderson won the Victoria Cross for bravery and leadership.
