4 Queen’s Surreys

4^th Bn The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment (TA)

The 4^th Battalion, like the 3^rd, quickly commenced a training programme after formation, an early camp being undertaken at Plasterdown. Sporting successes were obtained and preparations were made for the eventual successful participation in the 1961 Nijmegen Marches in Holland. On Remembrance Sunday, 1962 the Battalion provided the representative detachment at the Cenotaph. 1963 saw the Battalion lose its obsolete Vickers MMGs, while 1964 saw an emphasis on Civil Defence training. Valuable aid was given to the civilian emergency services in October, 1965 when the Battalion, on exercises in Snowdonia, assisted in the successful search for a missing medical student, ironically from Surrey.

The Colours of 4^th Battalion The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment (TA)

These Colours were laid up in the Cathedral Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark on Sunday 16^th November 1980. The officers carrying the Colours were Lt D Harwood, Lt P J Chapman, 3^rd Battalion and Lt P Gibson, Lt D K Wray, 4^th Battalion.

It is of interest that the 4^th Battalion’s Regimental Colour displays the badge of The Royal Tank Regiment. This is in commemoration of its service as 42^nd RTR, and they inherited this Honorary Distinction from the 23^rd London Regiment. This badge carried four scrolls; the first bore the dates “1941-45” and the other three the battle honours “NORTH WEST EUROPE” “NORTH AFRICA” “ITALY”. This rare distinction was displayed at bottom centre of the Regimental Colour immediately below the Battle Honour Scrolls.

Although the winter of 1965 saw the TA under threat there was, paradoxically, an increase in Battalion strength and a decrease in wastage. For the remainder of the year preparations went ahead for forthcoming re-organisation.

During the war years two Battalions of The Queen’s had been converted to an artillery role which was still existing in 1964 in the form of R(Surrey) Battery of 265 Regiment RA (TA). For a time, in 1966, the connection of the Battery with the Queen’s Surreys lapsed but it was renewed in 1971 when it reformed as a Battery of 6^th (V) Queen’s.

© The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association.