More than 600 officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS Gaika in July 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at Kingston barracks after having received their service medals.

Eight hundred and fifty officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS Tagus in October 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at the Kingston barracks.

Eleven days later, mobilization completed and at full war establishment, the 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre in France, and before the end of the month was in action against the Germans.

After a four-month tour on the Italian Front, the battalion was back in France in March 1918, and was engaged in the Battles of Albert and Bapaume, and the subsequent advance to victory.

[26] At a vital stage in this battle, Lieutenant Arthur Fleming-Sandes, though wounded, displayed exceptional courage and leadership, for which he was later awarded the Victoria Cross.

[30] The following month the battalion was transferred to the Salonika Expeditionary Force, and spent the remainder of the War on the Struma Valley Front and east of Lake Doiran.

[2][24][25] Between August and October 1919 the First Battalion were in the Murmansk area of North Russia to help cover the evacuation of the expedition sent to support the White Russian forces against the Bolsheviks.

[39][40] The 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was a Regular Army unit based in England at the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.

The battalion then fought in Sicily during the invasion before moving to Italy for the Italian campaign where it had notable involvement in the Battle of Termoli and the fighting on the Barbara Line and River Sangro during the autumn of 1943.

[43] The 1st East Surreys returned with 78th Division to Italy in September 1944 in time to take part in Operation Olive and the fighting in the Apennine Mountains during the winter of 1944 and occupying positions on Monte Spaduro when the front became static.

The battalion fought in the intense action at the Argenta Gap before advancing with the rest of the division to the north of the Gulf of Venice and crossing the Italian border to finish the war in Austria.

Both were embodied on 24 August 1939 whilst at camp in Lympne and were fully mobilised and guarding vulnerable points at the outbreak of war on 3 September.

An army camp was established in Richmond Park to add capacity to the Regimental Depot at Kingston in its role as an Infantry Training Centre.

After a period of intense training at Lyme Regis the battalion of 28 officers and 643 other ranks embarked for France from Southampton on 5 April 1940 arriving at Cherbourg.

By 19 May they were in position at Avelghem on the River Escaut defending and eventually overseeing the destruction of the bridge at Rugge and subsequently conducting patrols in the area until withdrawn, on 19 May, just north of the town.

[56] He was succeeded by Lt Col R O V Thompson, who had served with the 1st and 2nd Battalions before the war, appointed from a posting in the RAF to command the 1/6th for the final phase of the Tunisian Campaign.

All soldiers under 20 years of age in 37 Brigade were assigned to a composite company based at 'Courtlands', West Worthing where they were engaged in coastal defence.

The rest of the battalion were deployed as part of the BEF and a force of 23 officers and 603 other ranks sailed from Southampton, arriving in and stationed at Le Havre from 22 April 1940.

Initially intended as a line of communications unit and expected to undertake further training they almost immediately became involved in the Battle of France and the defence of the Channel ports.

With their route blocked by the Battle of Abbeville, they were ordered to take up a defensive position west of the River Béthune between Saint-Aubin-le-Cauf and Arques-la-Bataille and undertake patrols as part of the support group for the 1st Armoured Division.

They then proceeded via the Eawy Forest, skirting Bellencombre which had fallen, reaching Beaunay on 10 June, Cailleville on 11th and into Saint-Valery-en-Caux joining with the 51st Highland Division defences and anticipated Operation Cycle evacuation.

[37][68] The captured troops were force-marched through France and Belgium to the Rhine in Holland, then taken by barge and rail to imprisonment in Poland at Stalag XX-A, XX-B and XX1-D.[69][70] After St. Valery, the remainder of the battalion reassembled at Haltwhistle, Northumberland, where they were re-joined by the young contingent from 'Courtlands'.

They moved to Durham in August, remaining there for seven months during which time Brading accepted a posting to be replaced briefly by W. M. Knatchbull until succeeded by D.C. Campbell-Miles MBE in September.

In January 1944 they moved back to Durham for three weeks and then to Felton, Northumberland where it became clear that the battalion would not see action in the Invasion of France as 270 men were transferred out to units of 21 Army Group in April.

The 8th Battalion was raised at Rochester, Kent in March 1940 and, after moving to nearby Aylesford in August, transferred its young soldiers out to form the 70th in October 1940.

On 27 August the following year the 8th merged with and was absorbed by the similarly affected 8th Royal West Kent Regiment and ceased to exist as a separate entity.

[76] The 70th, comprising six companies, spent the winter of 1940–41 on airfield guard duties based at Gravesend, at Capel Beare Green the following summer and Byfleet from October 1941 to July 1942.

They moved to Dovercourt, Essex in January 1943 joining 45th Division for three weeks before being deployed to Cookstown and Portglenone in Northern Ireland until returning to England at the end of the year at Hassocks, West Sussex.

The 10th's final task was to prepare and run a camp marshalling sub-area in Hambledon, Hampshire, for Operation Overlord until disbanded in August 1944.

After a tour of Duty in the BAOR in Germany between 1955 and 1958, and a three-month posting to Nicosia on internal security operations during the Cyprus Emergency, the 1st Battalion returned to England in December 1958.