2nd Batt. Loyal Regt.

Hello all,
I was hoping that some one on here could help me with a question about the Regt in the title.

They were part of 20th Indian Inf. Bgde, 10th Indian Div. in Italy.
What i would like to know is what AOS number did the unit display on their vehicles and what was the background colour, red or green?

Many thanks.

Malcolm

 

Hi Malcolm

This wouldn't be for my jeep would it? ;^)

 

Busted.
Trying to be helpful.
Hopefully not stepping on toes

 

Of course not! No response though...

 

Yes. May be a gift to her if I can get the markings right. (Jeez, sounds like a stalker, with wierd hobbies.)

 

Get her to pay for a copy of his units war diaries through the war

 

Hi

According to Malcolm Bellis, 2 Loyals were captured in Malaya in February 1942, where they formed part of 1 Malay Infantry Brigade. The battalion was reformed in UK in April 1942 and formed part of 203 Infantry Brigade and then 199 Infantry Brigade until October 1944 when they, presumably, were deployed to Italy where they joined 20 Indian Infantry Brigade, part indeed of 10 Indian Infantry Division, in May 1945.

It would appear that 10 Indian Div at that time had four brigades (10, 18, 20 and 25 Indian Inf Bdes). The British battalion in each brigade would presumably be the senior battalion, so it could be that 2 Loyals would have carried the number 67 on a brown background indicating the senior battalion of the third senior brigade. If I was asked to mark a vehicle for 2 Loyals, this is what I would have to guess was their marking, but the fact that it was an Indian Division and had four brigades means that this suggestion is very little more than guesswork!

Hope this helps a little.

Chris

 

Their WD shows that they joined the Indian Div earlier but their service was complicated in that they were left in an adhoc 'MacForce' while the rest of the (over strength) Div moved around to the Po Valley. The Loyals rejoined the Div in late April, but were only in reserve so saw no further fighting.

Chris, what other options would be likely? IE, what colour would fourth senior Bde have?

 

That's what I do not know! There were a few 'spare' AOS numbers in a division, but whether a fourth brigade got a different colour, or possibly even used the AOS numbers of an independent brigade does not warrant a mention in any of my references. None of them even considers the possibility of a division having four brigades.

Chris