Shoulder flash East Surrey Regiment

The 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment was a Regular Army unit based in England at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. The battalion was part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, which also included the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers and 1st Battalion, Ox and Bucks Light Infantry, and was attached to the 4th Infantry Division and was sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in October. After returning to the United Kingdom after the Battle of Dunkirk and evacuation from Dunkirk in May–June 1940 the 1st Battalion was reformed and spent the next two years on home defence expecting a German invasion.[20] In June 1942 the battalion was reassigned, with the rest of the 11th Brigade, part of the newly raised 78th Battleaxe Infantry Division, with which it remained for the rest of the war. It took part in Operation Torch in November 1942, landing in North Africa at Algiers with the British First Army.[20] Following this the battalion fought with the division in Tunisia until the end of the Tunisian Campaign in May 1943. During this time it took part in notable actions such as Ochsenkopf offensive, Longstop Hill and Tebourba.