assigned to the 208th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) until December, when it was reassigned to the 125th Infantry Brigade, part of 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, alongside the 1/5th and 1/6th Lancashire Fusiliers. Both the brigade and division had seen active service earlier in the year in Belgium, France and Dunkirk. In late 1941, the 9th Battalion was converted to armour as 143rd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps. However, the regiment was disbanded in 1943. The 10th (Service) Battalion was also raised in 1940 and served for a year in 208th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), alongside the 9th Battalion, 13th King's Regiment (Liverpool) and 22nd Royal Fusiliers. In 1942, it was shipped to India and fought in the Arakan Campaign 1942-1943 as part of 7th Indian Infantry Division, with 23rd Indian Infantry Brigade. The battalion was disbanded on 31 October 1945. The 11th (Service) Battalion was a hostilities-only battalion raised in 1940, originally as the 50th (Holding) Battalion, whose role was to temporarily 'hold' men who were medically unfit, awaiting orders, on courses or returning from abroad. In October 1940, the battalion was redesignated the 11th Battalion. The 11th Battalion served in the garrison of Malta during the Siege with the 233rd Infantry Brigade. In July 1944, it was to be disbanded but instead it was transferred to the 66th Infantry Brigade, serving alongside the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots, a Regular unit, and 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment, a Territorial. The brigade became part of 1st Infantry Division, which was serving in the Italian Campaign, where it took part in the fighting on the Gothic Line, suffering severe casualties. Early in 1945, the 11th Battalion was transferred to Palestine with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division and remained there for the rest of the war. Post-1945 Regular Battalions In 1948, all infantry regiments of the British Army were reduced to only a single regular battalion and the 2nd Battalion was disbanded and merged with the 1st Battalion. In 1968, the Regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) – to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Territorial Battalions The 5th Battalion was reformed but disbanded when the TA was reduced into the TAVR in 1967. The battalion's lineage was continued by retaining a company in the 4th Battalion Queen's Lancashire Regiment and