Territorial Army
In common with many of the Cinque Ports, Hastings has had it's own battalion of the Territorial Army; the 5th Battalion.
WW1
In WW1, Hastings provided two territorial battalions that saw service; the 1/5th Battalion and the 2/5th. Brief details of their service are below[1]:-
1/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalion
August 1914 : at Drill Hall in Middle Street[2]. Army Troops attached to Home Counties Division - the 44th.
Moved to France in early 1915.
21 February 1915 : came under command of 2nd Brigade in 1st Division.
20 August 1915 : transferred as Pioneer Battalion to 48th (South Midland) Division.
November 1917 : moved with the Division to Italy.
2/5th (Cinque Ports) Battalions
Formed at Hastings in September 1914 as home service (“second line”) unit.
Absorbed by the 3rd-Line Battalions in September 1915, which was then renamed 2/5th Bns.
8 April 1916 : renamed 5th Reserve Bns; eventually 5th was absorbed, into 4th Reserve Bn.
Was at Tunbridge Wells in September 1916.
WW2
The battalion was mobilised on 1 September 1939, and guarded vulnerable points in Sussex prior to a move to Dorset to carry out training for overseas deployment. Later joined with the 2nd and 4th battalions to form the 133rd Infantry Brigade of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division[3]
References & Notes
- ↑ The long long trail: Royal Sussex Regiment
- ↑ Royal Sussex Regiment Archived
- ↑ HMSO:1960 "Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945 (H. F. Joslen)" ISBN: 1-84342-474-6
