2nd Battalion, Princess Louise's Kensington Regiment War Diary - January to April 1942

As it is the intention to include, on the Website, the War Diaries of those Units which were either part of the 70th Infantry Brigade Group, or which supported the Brigade, it was decided not to include those time periods when those Units, of whatever type, were not in a supporting role.

As can be seen from the Brigade, and the three Infantry Battalion, War Diaries, they departed Iceland a short time before Christmas 1941, returning to the UK to take the principal role in developing the techniques, and training methods, of Mountain Warfare. This unique responsibility lasted until such time as the 49th Division, which formed the core of Iceland Force (previously Alabaster Force), left Iceland, together with the 146th and 147th Brigades, and itself returned to the UK.

The War Diary of the 2nd Kensingtons is therefore not included on the Website for these few months as they had remained in Iceland in support of Iceland Force, but the Diary is resumed on the Website in May 1942.

Readers will have realised that this particular Battalion went through various re-organisations as a Support Battalion and a Machine-Gun Battalion, and as the history proceeds it will be seen that its composition was complex and its sub-units largely operated separately, hence the separate War Diaries produced – not all of which link directly to 70th Brigade. However, it was thought important to “paint the whole picture” so that readers could appreciate the complexities of the role of 2nd Kensingtons, and indeed, other Machine-Gun Battalions, during the Second World War.

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