Both battalions served in South Africa during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The 1st battalion was present at the Battle of Talana Hill in October 1899 and the various engagements leading to the Relief of Ladysmith.[6] Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900.[6] The 2nd Battalion was commanded by Colonel Richard S. H. Moody from January 1901 until the campaign ended in June 1902,[7] when some of it returned to England on the SS Custodian, which landed at Southampton in August 1902.[8] About 500 officers and men of the 1st battalion returned home on the SS Pinemore in October 1902, after the war had ended three months earlier.[9] The 2nd Battalion left South Africa for British India early the following year, and was stationed at Rawalpindi.[10]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[11] the regiment now had two Reserve but no Territorial battalions.[12][13]
The 3rd (reserve) Battalion fought in operations to end the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. Two of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were killed and six more wounded.[17][18]
New Armies
Troops from the Royal Irish Fusiliers serving in Gallipoli in Autumn 1915
The 5th (Service) Battalion and 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli as part of the 31st Brigade in the 10th (Irish) Division in August 1915 but moved to Salonika in October 1915 for service on the Macedonian Front.[14] The 7th (Service) Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic Thornton Trevor Moore,[19] and 8th (Service) Battalion, commanded by Colonel John Southwell Brown,[19] landed in France as part of the 49th Brigade in the 16th (Irish) Division in February 1916 for service on the Western Front.[14] The 9th (Service) Battalion (County Armagh) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 108th Brigade in the 36th (Ulster) Division in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.[14]
Inter-War
With the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, all the Irish line infantry regiments of the British army regiments were to be disbanded. However, this decision was later amended to exclude four battalions. After a successful campaign by the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's), it was agreed that the disbandment would not be of the most junior regiment, but of the two most junior battalions. These were the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, the old 89th Foot, and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the old 108th Foot. The 2nd battalion we re-raised in 1938.[20]
The 2nd Battalion, formerly the 89th Regiment of Foot, served throughout the Siege of Malta from 1940 to 1943, with the 4th (Malta) Infantry Brigade, later renumbered the 234th Infantry Brigade. The battalion was lost in the Battle of Leros in September 1943 and the Battle of Kos in October 1943 and had to be reformed later.[25]
Post-war
The 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated as the 1st Battalion in September 1948.[26] The regiment was deployed to Jordan in June 1949 and to Gibraltar in December 1949, before arriving at Border Barracks in Göttingen in November 1950.[26] It moved to Brooke Barracks in Berlin in June 1953 and then returned to the UK in June 1964.[26] The regiment was deployed to Korea in July 1954 and to Kenya in January 1955 in response to the Mau Mau Uprising.[26] It went to Harding Barracks in Wuppertal in June 1956 and deployed to Libya in August 1958 before moving to Trenchard Barracks in Celle in October 1961.[26] It was sent on peacekeeping duties to Cyprus in June 1964 before returning home in September 1965.[26] It deployed to Swaziland in April 1966 and to Aden in December 1966.[26] In July 1968, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was amalgamated with the other regiments of the North Irish Brigade, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Ulster Rifles to become the Royal Irish Rangers.[27]
The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours. Those shown in bold from the two World Wars were those selected to be emblazoned on the Kings's Colour:[13]
From 87th Regiment of Foot: Monte Video, Talavera, Barrosa, Tarifa, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Ava
From 89th Regiment of Foot: Egypt, Java, Niagara, Ava, Sevastopol
Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882 '84, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902
The Great War (14 battalions): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Armentières 1914, Hill 60, Ypres 1915 '17 '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Guillemont, Ginchy, Le Transloy, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Messines 1917 '18, Langemarck 1917, Cambrai 1917, St. Quentin, Rosières, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Courtrai, France and Flanders 1914–18, Kosturino, Struma, Macedonia 1915-17, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Megiddo, Nablus, Palestine 1917-18
The Second World War: Withdrawal to Escaut, St Omer-La Bassée, Bou Arada, Stuka Farm, Oued Zarga, Djebel bel Mahdi, Djebel Ang, Djebel Tanngoucha, Adrano, Centuripe, Salso Crossing, Simeto Crossing, Malleto, Termoli, Trigno, Sangro, Fossacesia, Cassino II, Liri Valley, Trasimene Line, Monte Spaduro, Monte Grande, Argenta Gap, San Nicolo Canal, Leros, Malta 1940
^Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook. Irish Weekly Times. 1917. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2010.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
