1st Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)

Could someone please give me the North African movements of the 1st Royal East Kents 1940 - 1942 please.

 

David W
I might be right in thinking that that 1st Buffs served for a time with 4th Indian Div in that period - they didn't stay
long and I don't know who they were with after that but they did show up in Sicily and Italy…

Cheers

 

t was under 5 Indian Brigade during CRUSADER. On 15 December 1941 it was taken to the cleaners by KG Menny and Ariete at Alam Hamza, and the remains of the battalion were withdrawn.

All the best

Andreas

 

The 1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) were real journeymen, changing commands frequently. They were never referred to as the 1st Royal East Kent Regiment but as the 1st Buffs. Here are their moves:

1st Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)

The Cairo Brigade – 3 September 1939 to 20 September 1939
The battalion was located at Mersa Matruh, Egypt at the outbreak of war. The brigade was renamed as the 29th Infantry Brigade on September 20th, 1939.

29th Infantry Brigade – 20 September 1939 to 3 October 1939
The battalion remained at Mersa Matruh under the brigade.

22nd Infantry Brigade – 3 October 1939 to 25 November 1939
The 1st Buffs left Mersa Matruh and the brigade on November 25th, 1939.

18th Infantry Brigade and Cairo Sub-Area – 26 November 1939 to 27 December 1939
The battalion then served during this period at Kasr El Nil Barracks in Cairo.

16th Infantry Brigade – 28 December 1939 to 15 January 1940
The battalion moved to Palestine on December 29th, 1939. It was located at Haifa and split up in billets in the Tiberias and Nazareth area.

HQ British Forces Palestine and Trans-Jordan – 15 January 1940 to 6 January 1941
The battalion moved to Safad on January 15th, 1940, when 6th Cavalry Brigade took over Haifa. It replaced the 2nd Rifle Brigade there. On April 14th, 1940 the battalion received small drafts from the Rhodesia Regiment. It returned to Haifa on June 8th, 1940 and took over from the 2nd Sherwood Foresters when that battalion moved to Cyprus. It left Peninsula Barracks, Haifa in Palestine on January 6th, 1941 and moved to Egypt.

HQ British Troops in Egypt (BTE) – 6 January 1941 to 16 May 1941
The battalion moved to Port Said on arrival in Egypt with a detachment at Moascar. During February 1941 the battalion provided mine-watching details on the Suez Canal. On April 8th, 1941 it left Kabrit for Mersa Matruh and for the next two months it was attached to the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade at the Baggush Box.

23rd Infantry Brigade – 16 May 1941 to 4 June 1941
It served at Mersa Matruh.

22nd Guards Infantry Brigade – 7 June to 21 September 1941
The battalion came under the 22nd Guards Infantry Brigade on June 7th. It fought under the brigade during the June Battle-Axe offensive.

5th Indian Infantry Brigade – 21 September 1941 to 12 December 1941
The battalion was replaced in 22nd Guards Infantry Brigade with 1st Tower Hamlet Rifles and came under command of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade in Libya on September 21st, 1941.

HQ 4th Indian Infantry Division – 12 December 1941 to 28 December 1941
It was reduced to 69 men after the Crusader battles and moved to Sofafi on December 16th, 1941 under HQ 4th Indian Infantry Division for protection duties. On December 28th, 1941 it moved to Mena in Egypt base to reform as a motor battalion.

HQ British Troops in Egypt – 28 December 1941 to 2 January 1942
The battalion only remained at Mena for a short time. Advanced parties of the battalion arrived at Tobruk on January 1st, 1942 and reported to the 38th Indian Infantry Brigade HQ. The rest of the battalion, about 150 men, arrived at Tobruk and came under command of the 38th Indian Brigade the next day.

38th Indian Infantry Brigade – 2 January 1942 to 20 January 1942
On arrival in Tobruk, it took over part of the Tobruk perimeter. It was ordered to leave the brigade for Mena on January 17th and left on the 20th.

HQ British Troops in Egypt – 20 January 1942 to
It then moved to Mena on January 20th, 1942 and began to reform as a motor battalion.

8th Armoured Brigade – 14 March 1942 to 17 June 1943
It moved to Khataba and came under the command of the 8th Armoured Brigade on March 14th, 1942. It served with the brigade in the North African campaign in the pursuit of the Afrika Korps. It left Egypt on November 25th, 1942 and advanced through Libya until February 15th, 1943, when it arrived in North Africa. After the campaign it left the 8th Armoured Brigade and was located west of Tripoli on June 17th, 1943.

HQ X Corps – 17 June 1943 to 6 July 1943
The battalion remained in Libya when the 8th Armoured Brigade moved to North Africa. It joined the 18th Infantry Brigade on July 6th, 1943.

 

Thanks everyone, that's filled gaps a plenty!