Below is some genealogy information on the 50th & 97th Regiment, Royal West Kent and the Queen's Own Royal West Kent regiment of the British army that may help searches for military ancestors.

Theatres of War, Army Regiments, Naval Detachments, RAF

Description: The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) were formed in 1881 by an amalgamation of the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot and the 97th (Earl of Ulster's) Regiment of Foot. They saw action in the Boer Wars, fighting at Paardenburg. During the First World War they fought at battles such as Mons, Le Cateau, the 1st battle of Ypres, the 2nd battle of Ypres, the Somme (1916), the Hindenburg Line, Arras, the 1st battle of the Somme (1918) and Passchendaele. In 1920 they were renamed The Royal West Kent Regiment (The Queen's). In 1921 they were renamed The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. During the Second World War they fought across the Western, African, Italian and Far-Eastern fronts at battle such as Dunkirk, the Normandy landings and the invasion of Italy. In 1961 they were amalgamated with The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), forming The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment. In 1966 they were amalgamated with the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, Middlesex regiment and the Royal Sussex Regiment, forming The Queen's Regiment. In 1992 they were amalgamated, forming the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. Their nickname is The Blind Half Hundred, The Dirty Half Hundred or The Devils Royals.

Military actions:

• Boer war: Paardenburg
• WWI: Mons
• WWI: Le Cateau
• WWI: 1st battle of Ypres
• WWI: 2nd battle of Ypres
• WWI: Somme (1916)
• WWI: Hindenburg Line
• WWI: Arras
• WWI: 1st battle of the Somme (1918)
• WWI: 3rd battle of Ypres
• WWII: Dunkirk
• WWII: Normandy landings
• WWII: Invasion of Italy

Websites:

• Wikipedia: Queen's Own Royal West Kent
• Queen's Own Royal West Kent regimental museum

Reading materials:

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