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At the start of the First World War, the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was based at Trimulgherrey in India. However, by the end of 1914 almost all regular army units across the British Empire were recalled to England, and the 1st Inniskillings disembarked at Avonmouth on 10 January 1915. The Battalion became part of 87 Infantry Brigade in the 29th Division* and was reviewed near Rugby by HM King George V, on 12 March 1915, prior to embarking for Egypt on 17 March, where the Inniskillings would prepare and train for the assault landings on the Gallipoli peninsula.
After their initial landing at X Beach, the Inniskillings took part in successive attempts to capture the village of Krithia and the heights of Achi Baba, which had been the 29th Division’s objective on the first day. These main offensives, launched on 28 April, 6 May, 4 June and 28 June, all failed with limited gains and heavy losses on both sides. There were also strong and costly Turkish counter-attacks in between, as well as smaller scale patrolling and raiding operations. Krithia remained over 1000m away.
1 R IRISH moved from Little Rissington to Berlin during May 1979 for a 3-year tour. Most tactical training and field firing was carried out in the British Zone. This usually meant a road move through the Russian Zone but on one occasion 1 R IRISH was deployed back from Sennelager to Berlin in case of a repeat of the Berlin Airlift when the road corridor was closed. Other training was carried out in Berlin.
1 R IRISH moved from Chester to Belfast Barracks, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony in the Federal Republic of Germany, during January 1985.
1 R IRISH moved from Berlin to Weeton Barracks, Chester, Cheshire during April 1981.
1 R IRISH moved from BAOR to Battlesbury Barracks, Warminster during September 1974 to relieve 2 R IRISH as Demonstration Battalion at The School of Infantry.
1 R IRISH moved from Warminster to RAF Little Rissington (the former RAF Central Flying School) during September 1976. The camp was renamed Imjin Barracks. The handover was preceded by a fly past of Jet Provost aircraft from RAF Kemble following which the RAF Ensign was lowered. Lt Col W J Hiles then exchanged a regimental flag for a symbolic key to the Cotswolds presented by the outgoing RAF Wing Commander. The regimental flag was raised, the band played 'The Royal Air Force March Past' as the final RAF guard marched out; the Rangers then marched in as the band played 'Killaloe'.
In 1964, the colony of British Honduras was granted full internal self-government and the official name of the territory was changed to Belize in June 1973. However, Guatemala claimed that Belize was a legacy of the Spanish Empire’s Guatemalan territories and alleged that as a result of the failure by the British to fulfil previous (1859) treaty obligations, including the building of a road to the coast, Belize must ‘revert’ to Guatemalan sovereignty. In 1972 Guatemala broke off negotiations and mobilized its troops along the border.
After two weeks preparatory training at Soltau, West Germany, 1 R IRISH headed for Camp Crowfoot at Suffield Training Area in the province of Alberta, Canada. MEDICINE MAN (MM) 7 is always the last exercise of the training year in Canada and is usually the coldest as temperatures fall below zero and snow sweeps across the western prairies.
1 R IRISH operational deployment to Falkland Islands Garrison.
