The 1st Administrative Battalion, Herefordshire and Radnorshire Rifle Volunteers was formed in 1861. It comprised the 1st to 8th Herefordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps and the 1st to 3rd Radnorshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, units of the Volunteer Force formed in the wake of the Crimean War. (In this instance Corps refers to a Company-sized unit of around 100 men, not the more modern use of the word.)[1]
In 1880, it was re-designated 1st Herefordshire (Hereford and Radnor) Rifle Volunteers, the Corps were renamed Companies, and in 1881 it became the volunteer battalion of The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry). In 1908, it was transferred to the Territorial Force as the Herefordshire Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) (without the Radnorshire companies) with its headquarters at Harold StreetinHereford and in 1909 was renamed as the 1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Regiment.[1]
In the First World War the regiment was expanded to three battalions. The 1st Battalion landed at Suvla BayinGallipoli in August 1915, and then having been evacuated in December 1915, transferred to Egypt.The battalion was redeployed to the Western Front in June 1918.[2]
In 1947, it was re-designated 1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Light Infantry. In 1967, as part of the re-organization of the Territorial Army, it was disbanded as a regiment.[1]
The Herefordshire Regimental Museum focuses on the history of the regiment and is located in Suvla Barracks, Harold Street, Hereford. Collections include uniforms, photographs, medals and other memorabilia. Visitation is by appointment only.[7]
The Great War (3 battalions): Marne 1918, Soissonais-Ourcq, Ypres 1918, Courtrai, France and Flanders 1918, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1916-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Palestine 1917-18
The Second World War (2 battalions): Odon, Defence of Rauray, Bourguébus Ridge, Cagny, Mont Pincon, Souleuvre, Falaise, Antwerp, Hechtal, Venraij, Venlo Pocket, Rhineland, Hochwald, Ibbenburen, Aller, North-West Europe 1944-45