During the landing which took only 10 minutes to complete there was thick smoke and dust from the area of Wesel and many of the battalion's 30 gliders were on fire and there were many casualties. 6th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in the The regiment, following disembarkation, was based for several days at a Transit Camp at Port Said and then moved to Gordon Camp at El Ballah. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Ward commanded the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd) to May 1947 and he was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel CH Styles, who had enlisted in the regiment shortly after the ending of the 1st World War, and was to be the last Commanding Officer of the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd). [55], The regiment was based at Belfast Barracks, Osnabrck, West Germany, from July 1953, as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Many gallantry honours were awarded to the Ox and Bucks, including two Victoria Crosses the most prestigious honour for bravery in the face of the enemy that were awarded to Company Sergeant Major Edward Brooks[15] and Lance-Corporal Alfred Wilcox, both of the 2/4th Battalion. The battalion crossed the River Rhine in late March and, attached to 7th Armoured Division, continued its eastwards advance, seeing action at among other places, Ibbenburen in April where it saw heavy fighting against determined German Marines; although the British succeeded in capturing the town. [65] On 14 April the battalion advanced through Celle and spent the night in nearby woods[65] and on 15 April whilst moving to the village of Nettelkamp, east of Uelzen, they were bombed by Jet planes. The Ox and Bucks platoons holding the bridges were relieved by the 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment at 03:00hours. [92] A few miles north of Ebstorf D Company 2nd Ox and Bucks discovered a satellite of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. They moved to Havrincourt Wood later that month, and then on 9 February to Metz-en-Couture. [19] The 2nd Ox and Bucks later took part in all the subsidiary battles of the First Battle of Ypres (19 October 22 November) that saw the heart ripped out of the old Regular Army, with 54,000 casualties being sustained. The war raged on for a further two years; the regiment saw extensive service for the duration of the conflict. Just before the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, a small force led by Major John Howard landed in six Horsa gliders and captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges. [18], The battalion took part in the march towards Kut-al-Amara with the intention of capturing it from the Ottomans. [104], Reinforced by large numbers of anti-aircraft gunners of the Royal Artillery who now found their original roles redundant, the battalion returned to Italy in July and fought in the severe battles around the Gothic Line near Gemmano, again sustaining heavy losses. [53], 2nd Battalion In 1882 the unit moved to Bangalore, India. The regiment won 59 battle honours and four theatre honours. The 2nd Bucks battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Richards, was stationed in Northern Ireland from June 1940 where the battalion's preparations for war included training exercises at Castledawson, County Londonderry. Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry - Wikipedia Pte. By the time the battalion arrived in the Ardennes, in freezing weather conditions, the German offensive had largely lost its momentum. On 30 December the battalion moved to Drehance and took part in holding the bridgehead at Dinant. In mid-1943 it was transferred, along with the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles, to become part of the 6th Airlanding Brigade in 6th Airborne Division. The history of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry begins in 1755 when it was raised as the 54th (or Lambton's) Regiment of Foot; two years later it was re-numbered as the 52nd. Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry - The Long, Long Trail (d.16th May 1940) Hope John Anthony. In the Italian Campaign, 7th Ox and Bucks took part in the landings at Salerno in September 1943 and then the Anzio landings in February 1944 and sustained heavy casualties in both landings and came under command of the US Fifth Army, led by Lieutenant General Mark Wayne Clark, in both landings. For those wanting to find out more about their relatives' wartime service, our Research Enquiry Service aims to provide a summary report on the details of a soldier's service with the county regiments that we hold archival collections for: The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars . [91] At Bad Kleinen the battalion was involved in organising the reception of the many German soldiers, including complete divisions, who had surrendered to the British army there and about 12,000 refugees who had fled to the village from the east. [77], The battalion took part in the British breakout and advance to the Seine which began later in August, known as Operation Paddle. The battalion was assigned to the 14th Infantry Group, later the 214th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), serving alongside the 19th, 20th and 21st battalions of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). It moved to Kinsale, Ireland in 1893 and, having been based in other parts of Ireland, returned to England in 1898.

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