List of battalions of the Connaught Rangers

This is a list of battalions of the Connaught Rangers, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922.

Original composition

When the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers), and 94th Regiment of Foot amalgamated to form The Connaught Rangers in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, four pre-existent militia regiments of Connaught were integrated into the structure of the regiment. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 1881-1908 occurred in 1889, when the 6th (Militia) Battalion was absorbed by the 3rd (Militia) Battalions.

Battalion Formed Formerly
Regular
1st 1793 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers)
2nd 1823 94th Regiment of Foot
Militia
3rd (Militia) 1793 South Mayo Rifles Regiment of Militia[1]
4th (Militia) 1793[2] Galway Regiment of Militia[1]
5th (Militia) Roscommon Regiment of Militia[1]
6th (Militia) North Mayo Fusiliers Regiment of Militia[1]

Reorganisation

In 1908, the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve", alongside this, the 3rd (Militia) Battalion disbanded, and the 2 Battalions were renumbered sequentially.

Battalion Formerly
3rd (Reserve) 4th (Militia) Battalion
4th (Extra Reserve) 5th (Militia) Battalion

First World War

The Connaughts fielded 6 battalions and lost approximately 2,500 officers and other ranks during the course of the war.[3] Two battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914.

Battalion Formed Served Fate
Regular[4][5]
1st 1793 Western Front, Mesopotamia, Palestine
2nd 1823 Western Front Amalgamated with 1st Battalion, in November 1914.
Special Reserve[4][5]
3rd (Reserve) 1793 Ireland, Britain
4th (Extra Reserve) Ireland, Britain Absorbed by 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, in May 1918
Territorial Force[4][5]
5th (Service) Dublin, August 1914 Gallipoli, Salonika, Palestine, Western Front See Disbandment
6th (Service) Kilworth, September 1914 Western Front Disbanded, in August 1918

Disbandment

In 1919, the 2nd Battalion was reformed, by redesignation of the 5th (Service) Battalion.[6] And in 1921, the Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation.

Following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the regiment disbanded, along with the other five regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in the counties of the new state.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Irish County Regiments". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  2. ^ Wilkins p.37
  3. ^ "Connaught Rangers Association – WW1". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Connaught Rangers". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Unit History: Connaught Rangers". Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  6. ^ "1st Battalion, Scotch Brigade / 94th Regiment of Foot / 2nd Battalion, The Connaught Rangers". Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. ^ Murphy, p. 30 quote: "Following the treaty that established the independent Irish Free State in 1922, it was decided to disband the regiments that had their traditional recruiting grounds in southern Ireland: The Royal Irish Regiment; The Connaught Rangers; The Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment; The Royal Munster Fusiliers; The Royal Dublin Fusiliers; The South Irish Horse"

Bibliography

  • David C. A. Wilkins, Defence Prepared: The Galway Militia from 1793, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, Vol. 50 (1998), pp. 37–48
  • Murphy, David (2007). Irish Regiments in the World Wars. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1846030154.