History of the 4th Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment
The 4th Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment has a rich and distinguished history, serving in key conflicts from World War I to World War II. Originally part of the Territorial Army, the battalion played a crucial role in defending Britain and fighting in major campaigns across Europe, including the Battle for Normandy.
The Wiltshire Regiment Colours - Their Battle Honours
The Colours of every British Army Regiment are awarded to the Regiment by the reigning Sovereign and are a sacred record of the Regiments fighting history. The colours list those actions and campaigns for which the Regiment has been specially recognised. Traditionally, when flags and standards were used by formations, the Colours were used as a rallying point during battle and imbued Soldiers with a sense of tradition and pride in their Regiment. To this day, the tradition of Regimental colours is still an integral part of the British Army‘s Ceremonial make up, probably best demonstrated by the Guards Division’s trooping of their Colours at the annual parade in London.
The Wiltshires Colours now proudly hang in Salisbury Cathedral.
The 4th Battalion in 43rd Wessex Infantry Division.
129 Brigade Order of Battle
As part of 43rd Wessex Infantry Division, the 4th Wiltshires were one of the three Battalions which formed 129 Infantry Brigade, alongside the 5th Wiltshires and 4th Somerset Light Infantry. (Shown on the far left hand side of the Divisional Organisation chart on the right and the summary below)
Each of these Battalions numbered roughly 850 Officers and Men, divided into HQ group, 4 Rifle Companies A - D, plus a support Company containing the Battalion‘s Anti Tank platoon, Mortar Platoon and Assault Pioneers.
The Officers - 4th Battalion the Wiltshire Regiment - 1944
This photograph taken in April 1944 shows the Battalion Officers including the CO - Lt Col Luce - just prior to the Battalion‘s deployment in Normandy. It is a sobering thought and a mark of the ferocious nature of the campaign in NW Europe that of the 37 Officers shown here, 14 were killed in action before the Wars end.
The Infantry Section
At full strength the Infantry Rifle Company of 1944 fielded an HQ platoon and 4 Rifle platoons, each approximately 30 men strong. Each platoon was lead by a Junior Officer, normally a Lieutenant or 2nd Lieutenant, supported by the platoon Sergeant.
In turn, each platoon was broken down into 10 men sections, this being the smallest fighting unit in the British Army and commanded by the section leader - a Corporal.
The section comprised a 3 man Bren gun group and a 7 man Rifle group which included the Corporal, normally armed with a Sten sub machine gun.
Additional Recommended Reading and Research
Whilst we hope you find the content on this website and the Social Media links interesting, there is no substitute for good quality research. If you are genuinely interested in learning more about the 4th Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment and specifically it’s role in the NW Europe campaign during 1944/45, then we recommend the books shown here - all of which are still available through good Military booksellers.
There are also a number of really good sources of information specific to the 4th Battalion via the Regimental Museum in Salisbury. The Maroon Square in particular, is an excellent reference source for everything related to the Wartime Battalion and arguably the most important source material available to the avid Historian.
