The depot was at Preston, and the regimental district also included the towns of Bolton, Chorley, Farnworth, Hindley, and the Isle of Man.

The incident began over McCaffery's punishment for failing to vigorously pursue an investigation into some children who had broken some windows at the barracks.

With hostilities seeming likely in the aftermath of the Jameson Raid, the De Beers company became increasingly concerned with the security of its operations in Kimberly.

Although a town guard and other volunteer formations had been raised, the De Beers company and citizens of Kimberly petitioned for additional security measures.

On 7 October 1899, an artillery battery and four companies of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment were dispatched to secure the town under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kekewich.

For the next 126 days, the North Lancs and the local militias would be cut off and subjected to regular shelling from the Boer artillery.

The siege was finally lifted when Brigadier-General Sir John French's Cavalry Division was able to break through the Boer lines on 15 February 1900.

[4] Following the relief of Kimberly in February 1900, the reunited battalion would remain a part of Methuen's command until July, when it was detached to guard Oliphant's Nek.

The Loyals would continue to serve throughout the guerrilla phase, engaging Boer commandos on a number of occasions until the end of the war with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.

[5] Following the end of hostilities, 525 officers and men of the battalion left Cape Town in the SS Carisbrook Castle in September 1902, arriving at Southampton early the following month.

[6] The 3rd Battalion was among the first militia units to be embodied for full-time duty, on 13 December 1899, and went to Kent for pre-deployment training at Shorncliffe and Lydd.

[13][14] The 2/4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 170th Brigade in the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front.

[13][14] The 2/5th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 154th Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front.

[13][14] The 4/5th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 170th Brigade in the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front.

[14] The 6th (Service) Battalion sailed as part of the 38th Brigade of the 13th (Western) Division to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and landed at Anzac Cove on 4 August 1915.

[13][14] After participating in the battles at Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay, the battalion, along with the rest of the division, was withdrawn from Gallipoli and sent to Egypt to refit in January 1916.

[13][14] In February 1916, the division was ordered to move to join the Tigris Corps in its operations to relieve the Anglo-Indian garrison besieged at Kut.

[15] The battalion managed to break into the Turkish positions at the Sanniyat, but because follow-on forces were unable to link up with them, they along with the rest of the 38th Brigade were eventually driven back.

Subjected to multiple counter-attacks through the day, the battalion held on to the beachhead despite the main force being unable to land more troops.

[13][14] Even though The Great War ended with the Armistice, battalions of the Loyal Regiment remained active in the early post-war years.

Both battalions of the Loyals served in China during the Warlord Era and the Chinese Civil War, protecting the legation in Peking and the international settlements at Tientsin, Canton, and most importantly Shanghai.

During the fighting in the Tunisian campaign, in April 1943, Lieutenant Willward Alexander Sandys-Clarke was posthumously awarded the regiment's only Victoria Cross of the war.

[18] Upon the commencement of hostilities in 1939, the 2nd Battalion, Loyal Regiment found themselves stationed in the Far East as part of Singapore Fortress's 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade.

[25][26][27] Training was hampered by the shortage of rifles and equipment, the tented camp became uninhabitable during winter gales, and the battalions went into billets.

When the 42nd Armoured was broken up in October 1943, the regiment served in Home Forces, joining 80th AA Brigade to train for an assault role on D-Day.

However, they continued to wear their Loyal Regiment cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps, as did all infantry units converted in such a way.

The regiment fought throughout the Battle for Caen until it was disbanded, due to an acute shortage of manpower, on 16 August 1944, and replaced in the brigade by the 1st East Riding Yeomanry.

The battalion's purpose was to temporarily 'hold' men who were medically unfit or homeless, awaiting orders, on courses or returning from abroad.

Men of the 1st Battalion of the Loyals, successors to the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot, were eligible to become members of the Wolfe Society.

The regiment's uniform, which was initially scarlet with white facings and the Lancashire rose on their cap badges earned them the name "Cauliflowers" because of the similar looks.