The final operational duty of the 2nd Battalion KOSB was in India during the occupation of Peshawar, supporting the civil power at the moment India and Pakistan were forming separate nations. The battalion patrolled continuously for ten days and nights to restore order. The last occasion on which the 2nd Battalion Colours were Trooped was 25 April 1947. After returning to Britain, the regiment received the Freedom of Berwick‑upon‑Tweed on 7 August 1947.
At the ceremony that day, HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Colonel‑in‑Chief of the KOSB, presided over the laying up of the 2nd Battalion Colours. The photograph shows the two ensigns of the battalion saluting after handing over the King’s and Regimental Colours to the care of the Depot Regimental Headquarters. The Colours of the 3rd and 4th Battalions were laid up at the same time, and their ensigns are seen lowering their Colours in salute. Their Colour belts were white buff leather.
The Colour belts of the three battalions were worn on the right shoulder, in contrast to the 1st Battalion which wore them on the left. The officers are in khaki service dress tunics with rounded Scottish‑style skirts. The other ranks wear khaki battledress blouses buttoned to the neck, with white‑blancoed belts.
