In August it took part in an advance towards Falaise, known as Operation Totalize. The battalion then took part in the Battle of Ctesiphon (2224 November) during the pursuit of the Ottoman forces and in the effort to capture the capital Baghdad, which ended in the 6th Poona Division being defeated by the Ottomans. [69], On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched their last-gasp major offensive of the war in the Ardennes forest that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. In spite of this, the occupants of the glider captured the River Dives bridge, advanced through the German lines towards the village of Ranville where they eventually rejoined the British forces. [120], The regiment's battle honours borne on the colours were as follows:[122]. Welcome to SOFO We are currently performing some maintenance on our website. It saw extensive service in the conflict, including in the relief of the besieged British garrison at Kimberley and in the defeat of the Boers at Paardeberg in February. [116] Bandmaster, later Major Arthur Kenney was Bandmaster of the 1st Oxford and Bucks from 1949 to 1958 and the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) to 1960 and then took up the same post with the Royal Artillery at Plymouth and finally with the Welsh Guards; he retired from the Army in October 1969. Pte. In 1884 it arrived in Gibraltar and the following year the battalion took part in active service for the first time as a 2nd battalion when a detachment under the command of Lieutenant Scott was deployed as mounted infantry in the Nile Expedition. Lieutenant Dennis Fox led the first platoon to land at Horsa Bridge. The 7th (Service) Battalion was part of 78th Brigade whereas the 8th (Service) Battalion was a pioneer battalion attached to the division. It served in Ireland, Canada, America, during the War of Independence, and in India in the 3rd Mysore War. [25] The 2nd Battalion took part in the subsequent attack against the Hohenzollern Redoubt (1319 October). In October 1951, following a short period in Cyprus, the regiment deployed to the British-controlled Suez Canal Zone in Egypt. The 52nd Light Infantry was based in Oxford, England when it became the 2nd Battalion. [13][11][14], During the war, the Ox and Bucks raised 12 battalions (17 in all), six of which fought on the Western Front, two in Italy, two in Macedonia and one in Mesopotamia. The 1st Bucks became part of 101 Beach Sub Area of No 6 Beach Group, 3rd Infantry Division and took part in the defence of Ouistreham in June. [78] After heavy fighting, during which the enemy used mortar and artillery fire, by nightfall the battalion had occupied the village and had captured a number of prisoners and transport. [65] On 14 April the battalion advanced through Celle and spent the night in nearby woods[65] and on 15 April whilst moving to the village of Nettelkamp, east of Uelzen, they were bombed by Jet planes. In addition to the 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, this experimental formation consisted of a further three battalions; the 1st Border, 1st Royal Ulster Rifles, and 2nd South Staffordshires. After holding the line the 1st Battalion's first major engagement with the enemy during the battle for Caen was the successful attack to capture the village of Cahier and a nearby mill. 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division Battle order - June 1st, 1944 - Battle of Normandy 2nd Bn. The Allies reached and captured it. The battalion, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel L.W. Reprographics: documents and photographs can be scanned on request. [19] The 2nd Ox and Bucks later took part in all the subsidiary battles of the First Battle of Ypres (19 October 22 November) that saw the heart ripped out of the old Regular Army, with 54,000 casualties being sustained. 7th Ox & Bucks Light Infantry, was posted to Italy and took part in the battle for Anzio. On 19 October 1917 the battalion transferred to the 50th Indian Brigade, 15th Indian Division. Pte. The 2nd Ox and Bucks were initially based at Mughazi camp, near Gaza, then at Ras-El-Fin, near Tel Aviv and at Nathanya, near Haifa. After transferring from the Light Infantry Brigade to the Green Jackets Brigade in 1958, it merged with two other regiments to form The Royal Green Jackets in 1966. The 6th Ox and Bucks was disbanded shortly after the end of the war, on 5 December 1945, and most of the men were either demobilised (mainly those who had been with the battalion since its creation) or transferred to the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Between 26 and 27 March 1918 it took part in fighting against the Ottomans at Khan Baghdadi. The Commanding Officer, with tongue firmly in cheek, put him in for a Distinguished Flying Cross. [92] The battalion moved through Rosche then Katzien and were at Ebstorf from 23 to 29 April. The Ox and Bucks Light Infantry had a regimental history dating back to the 18th Century. There, the regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Peter Young, saw active service performing internal security duties. The 2nd Ox and Bucks arrived at Givet, in northern France close to the Belgium border, at 04.00hrs on 25 December to defend the town and bridgehead. The 2nd Ox and Bucks took off from Birch and Gosfield airfields at 06.30hrs on 24 March and the gliders moved southwards over the North Sea, then east over Brussels and landed in Hamminkeln area at about 10.00hrs. [91], The 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was selected to represent the British Army in providing the Guard of Honour which was commanded by Major Sandy Smith, of D Company, for the meeting between British commander Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and his Soviet counterpart, Rokossovsky, at Wismar, on 7 May 1945. [86], The 2nd Ox and Bucks were once again involved in a gliderborne air assault landing, known as Operation Varsity: the largest airborne operation in the history of warfare and the airborne support for Operation Plunder: the Rhine Crossing in late March 1945. The operation was immortalised in the film The Longest Day. The 2nd Ox and Bucks moved to Athlit, near Haifa, in November 1946, then to Zerca in Transjordan before returning to Jerusalem in January 1947. Shortly after arriving in Palestine Lieutenant Colonel Mark Darell-Brown was injured in a road traffic accident and Lieutenant Colonel Henry van Straubenzee replaced him as commanding officer of the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd). At the time of the outbreak of WW2 the regular full time battalions were augmented by four territorial units: the 4th and 5th Battalions that recruited from Oxfordshire and the 1st and 2nd Buckinghamshire Battalions recruiting from Buckinghamshire. [94] Many German soldiers and refugees were unable to move to the British army controlled area and were forced into Soviet captivity. CSM John Stevenson was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for defeating several enemy attacks with a platoon he led on the east bank of the River Issel. The history of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry begins in 1755 when it was raised as the 54th (or Lambton's) Regiment of Foot; two years later it was re-numbered as the 52nd. Approximately 1,408 officers and other ranks of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry lost their lives during the Second World War. The ground operation was intended to cross three bridges that had been taken by airborne troops and on into Germany. 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 4th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 5th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 6th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The 52nd Light Infantry was based in Oxford, England, when it became the 2nd Battalion. We would . The 2nd Ox and Bucks fought on the Somme battlefield at Delville Wood, Guillemont and on 13 November in the battle of Beaumont Hamel: a large attack on the Redan Ridge in the battle of the Ancre. The regiment left Suez in April 1953. An anti-tank platoon of 1st Bucks landed on the first tide of the invasion on D-Day, 6 June 1944. By then, the British had taken Baghdad and were gradually pushing the Ottomans further back. The battalion served from January 1940 to June 1940 as part of the Portsmouth Garrison Reserve. They were at Vallulart Camp, Ytres, when on 21 March 1918 the Germans launched the last-gasp Spring Offensive (Operation Michael), also known as the Ludendorf offensive, which led to the furthest advance by either side since 1914. It is estimated that just under 2,000 Britons and up to 3,000 Indians perished in captivity. The battalion sustained many casualties and had to surrender; becoming prisoners of war for the next five years. Open: Tuesday-Friday 10-4. [54], General Sir Bernard Paget initiated the founding of a regimental chapel in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford in 1930. The 1st Ox and Bucks led the advance of 71st Infantry Brigade to the Wilhelmina canal where it encountered strong enemy resistance. [50] The regiment's time in the Balkans was mostly quiet, experiencing sporadic fighting, but it included the repulsing of a Bulgarian invasion of Greece at Lake Doiran in AprilMay 1917. (d.13th August 1944) A further two officers and 14 soldiers were wounded during the battle for the bridges. In August the 2nd Ox and Bucks took part in the Battle of Albert (1918) (2123 August) and the Second Battle of Bapaume (31 August 3 September) while the 2/4th Ox and Bucks and the 2/1st Buckinghamshires (both part of 184th Brigade of 61st Division) took part in the advance into Flanders, with both offensives seeing the Allies advance to the Hindenburg Line by early September. Having experienced intense fighting with German troops supported by armour and unable to successfully dig-in and hold the village, the battalion withdrew, moving back to Herouvillette where it took part in its defence. 4th Ox and Bucks were eventually encircled by German forces near Watou and forced to surrender. 6th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry during the Great War 1914-1918. It crossed the River Touques and the advance continued through St Philibert, La Correspondance, Pretreville and Malbortie. The regiment saw very heavy fighting against the Bulgarians around Doiran the following September, after the Allies had launched an offensive in July 1918 with the intention of ending the war in the Balkans. In mid-1943 it was transferred, along with the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles, to become part of the 6th Airlanding Brigade in 6th Airborne Division. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. An advance party of the 2nd Ox and Bucks, led by Lieutenant Peter Gerahty, was in India in August 1945 preparing for an airborne assault on Malaya[63] when the Japanese surrendered. They carried out investigations in Hanover, Bremen and Hamburg. In March 1922 the battalion arrived in Rawalpindi, India, later moving to Razmak in Waziristan on the North-West Frontier. (d.31st Aug 1916) Betts DCM.. Richard Member. [5] It moved to India the following year where it was based until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. [9], On 16 October 1908,[10] as part of the Haldane Reforms, the regiment's title was altered to become the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commonly shortened to the Ox and Bucks. (d.17th Aug 1944) Kippax Bernard Charles. The battalion's objective was to capture the line of the River Issel northwest of Hamminkeln. [65] The battalion linked up with the Soviet Red Army near the Baltic port of Wismar on 3 May 1945. [6], 2nd Battalion Companies then spent an anxious night holding an extended line through the forest to cover the withdrawal of the second Division, expecting an attack that never came. In December 1899 the Second Boer War began and the 1st Battalion arrived in Southern Africa to take part in it. (d.20th February 1917) Edwards Alfred. Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams was appointed Colonel Commandant of the regiment in 1918. The battalion left Tilbury on 23 December and travelled by rail to Dover[84] and was on the first ship to enter Calais following its liberation. Records Search now. [110] At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry guard of honour was commanded by Captain Tod Sweeney. [55] A service of dedication was held in 1931. In March 1946 the battalion moved to Alamein camp in Jerusalem. The battalion was stationed in Jerusalem when the King David Hotel bombing took place on 22 July 1946. German gunners fired at the 1st Bucks from Lebisey wood and from the high ground at Houlgate; there was also much sniping from houses along the beachfront. The battalion left in May 1947. Seeing both the pilot and co-pilot of the glider slump over their joysticks as casualties, he took control of the aircraft and brought it safely down. [31] The 2nd Ox and Bucks took part in the battle of Arras from 11 April and had a leading role in the battle of Arleux on 2829 April: during the battle the battalion protected the right flank of the Canadian 1st Division which was critical to the capture of the village of Arleux and sustained more than 200 casualties. He was appointed OBE in 1938. [40] The 2nd Ox and Bucks' last action of the war was the battle for Escarmain on 23 October 1918 during the Battle of the Selle (1725 October)[41] The Germans continued to be driven back. 8th August 1917. Later in the day, at about 13:00hrs, Lord Lovat and elements of the Commandos of his 1st Special Service Brigade arrived to relieve the exhausted defenders, followed by the 3rd British Infantry Division. The battalion met fierce enemy resistance at Gross Hauslingen before continuing the advance through Dauelsen, Gyhum and Wehldorf and the 1st Ox and Bucks eventually reached the city of Hamburg captured on 3 May by British forces where they remained until the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945, Victory in Europe Day. [82], The 2nd Ox and Bucks, along with the rest of the 6th Airborne Division, was withdrawn to the United Kingdom on 2/3 September to recuperate and reorganise. [102], In late March 167 Brigade, together with the rest of 56 Division, was transferred to Egypt to rest and be brought back up to strength. The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). [62] The old 52nd Colours were marched for the last time; as they were taken off the parade ground, Reveille was sounded in recognition of the continued existence of the 52nd. The Ox and Bucks 5th (Service) Battalion went into the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915 at a strength of 17 officers and 767 men and only two officers and 180 men survived the battle. The battalion, like many others during the assault, suffered heavily as the Germans met the landing gliders with ferocious fire in the air and on the ground; the 2nd Ox and Bucks lost 400 killed or injured out of a total battalion strength of 800 men. In August 1946 the 1st Battalion deployed to Triestethe following year the Free Territory of Triesteas part of the British-American force there. The 1st Oxford and Bucks were called back from leave and on 10 August 1956 sailed from Southampton on HMT Dilwara and arrived at Limassol on 20 August 1956. They were joined in January 1940 by the 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion and the 4th Ox and Bucks, both of which were Territorial units serving alongside the 4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, as part of the 145th Infantry Brigade, part of 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division. It was unveiled in 1923 and is now a grade II listed building. The battalions of the Ox and Bucks on the Western Front saw extensive service during the Battle of the Somme (1 July 18 November), suffering heavily, including at Mametz Wood, Pozires and at Ancre, the last major subsidiary battle. He did not get it. [34], One soldier who arrived on Sunday 7 April as one of the reinforcements to replace the 2/4th Battalion (184th Brigade, 1st Division) recorded that they had been reduced to 22 survivors with one rifle and three sets of webbing between them, commenting, 'I doubt if in the whole war any battalion was wiped out so completely'. In 1929 the battalion moved to Maymo in Upper Burma and then to Rangoon. The regiment saw service in France, North Africa, Burma, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The 1st Ox and Bucks subsequently took part in operations around the Lower Maas that took place during October and November, including forcing the enemy from its position holding a bridgehead over the River Maas, west of Roermond. On 3 April 2 Ox and Bucks was the first Allied unit to cross the Weser during which the unit was bombarded by enemy flak artillery. The 5th Ox and Bucks was raised as a 2nd Line duplicate of the 4th Battalion. This included the Hamminkeln-Ringenburg road bridge, the railway bridge, Hamminkeln railway station and the road junction to the west. [26], In January 1916, the 2nd Ox and Bucks were at Cottes St. Hilaire; the 2nd Division was at that time taking its turn in the corps reserve. The Allies launched a counter-attack in early January and the German offensive was defeated later that month, by which time the 53rd (Welsh) Division had been relieved and returned to the Netherlands soon afterwards in preparation for the invasion of Germany. [65] At Hamminkeln the gliders flew into a barrage of anti-aircraft fire; there were 4 enemy anti-aircraft guns gun-pits positioned near Hamminkeln station. In 1886 it was based in India, where it would remain into the 20th century. Lieutenant Freddie Scott was awarded a Military Cross for an action which drove the enemy from a position from where his platoon had come under heavy attack by machine-gun fire and grenades. On 24 July 1944 it was transferred to the 213th Brigade, which was later redesignated the 140th Brigade, part of the 47th Infantry (Reserve) Division, after the original 140th Brigade was disbanded. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (43/52nd Regiments) This page summarises records created by this Organisation The summary includes a brief description of the collection (s). [90], The 2nd Ox and Bucks took a leading part in the division's 300-mile advance across Northern Germany, mostly on foot. [79] The Battle for Manneville La Raoult was to be the last battle the battalion would fight in France. The 1st Ox and Bucks took part in the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal (2628 May) and were eventually evacuated from Dunkirk, having suffered more than 300 casualties. Pte. During World War 2 I was sent out to Italy. [109], In October 1945, the 2nd Battalion, as part of 6th Airborne Division, arrived in Palestine as Britain's Imperial Strategic Reserve in the Middle East. The 43rd Foot was based in Burma when it became the 1st Battalion. In 1887 the battalion returned home, being based in Parkhurst, England. 26 November 1942 GPEU, RAF Netheravon Hotspur II HH284 The glider was being used to give air experience flying to Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire LI glider troops and it was released from the tow over the airfield at 500 feet. 1/4th Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 1915 to 1919. In May 1919, the 2nd Ox and Bucks left Germany where they had been part of the army of occupation and returned to Cowley Barracks, Oxford, the following month. However, it did divert significant numbers of Germans away from the American troops. [17], In August 1914, the 2nd Ox and Bucks, commanded by Henry Rodolph Davies, arrived on the Western Front, as part of the 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division, I Corps[18] the 2nd Division was one of the first divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to arrive in France. Capt. In March 1917, the Germans began the withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (14 March 5 April) and at the end of March the 2nd Ox and Bucks moved from the Somme to the back areas of Arras. The regiment was deployed for most of its time in Cyprus in the Limassol area where it had replaced the Norfolk Regiment and the Ox and Bucks utilised their experience gained in Palestine following the Second World War. The Ottomans launched numerous attempts to take Kut, all of which were repulsed by the defenders, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. One of the Horsa gliders used in the capture of Pegasus Bridge on D-Day, 1944 Origins The victory at Falaise signified the end of the Battle for Normandy. PRIVATE Served from 1939 - 1946 Served in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry David Sutherland SERGEANT Served from 1946 - 1948 Served in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Robert Mitchell RIFLEMAN Served from 1953 - 1962 Served in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Robert Sumner [43] The battalion was later stationed in Zons, near Cologne, as part of the army of occupation. The battalion crossed the River Rhine in late March and, attached to 7th Armoured Division, continued its eastwards advance, seeing action at among other places, Ibbenburen in April where it saw heavy fighting against determined German Marines; although the British succeeded in capturing the town. [88], The 2nd Ox and Bucks casualties included 103 killed during the battle of the landing area.
