The Rifles
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| The Rifles | |
|---|---|
  Cap and back badges of The Rifles |
|
| Active | 1st February 2007- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Rifles |
| Role | 1st Battalion - Light Role 2nd Battalion - Light Role 3rd Battalion - Light Role 4th Battalion - Mechanised 5th Battalion - Armoured 6th Battalion - TA Reserve 7th Battalion - TA Reserve |
| Size | Seven battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Winchester 1st Battalion/DDLI - Catterick 1st Battalion/RGBWLI - Chester 2nd Battalion - Weeton 3rd Battalion - Edinburgh 4th Battalion - Bulford 5th Battalion - Paderborn, Germany |
| Motto | Swift and Bold |
| Colors | N/A |
| March | Quick - Mechanised Infantry Double Past - Keel Row/Road to the Isles Slow - Old Salamanca |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HRH The Duke of Edinburgh |
| Colonel Commandant | Lieutenant General RV Brims CBE DSO |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  |
| Arm Badge | Croix de Guerre From Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry |
- For the band The Rifles, see The Rifles (band). For the novel by William T. Vollmann, see The Rifles (novel).
The Rifles is a regiment of the British Army. It consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, making the regiment the largest in the infantry. Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division (with the exception of the 1st Battalion, which is an amalgamation of two individual regiments).
Contents |
[edit] History
The Rifles was created as a result of the Future Army Structure. Under the original announcement, the Light Division would have remained essentially unchanged, with the exception of the Light Infantry gaining a new battalion through the amalgamation of two other regiments, and both gaining a TA battalions. However, on 24 November 2005, it was announced by the Ministry of Defence that the four regiments would amalgamate into a single five battalion regiment. The Rifles was formed on 1st February 2007 by the amalgamation of the four light infantry and rifles regiments of the Light Division:
- The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry
- The Light Infantry
- The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
- The Royal Green Jackets
The two existing battalions each of the Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets were renamed, while the single battalions of the DDLI and the RGBWLI were merged into one battalion. This brought the whole of the Light Division under a single cap badge. On formation, The Rifles became the county regiment of the following counties:
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cornwall
- Devonshire
- Dorset
- Durham
- Gloucestershire
- Oxfordshire
- Shropshire
- Somerset
- South Yorkshire
- Wiltshire
As a rifle regiment, a private soldier in The Rifles is known as a Rifleman; the regiment wears a standard rifle green beret. A number of golden threads have been brought into the new regiment from each of its founder regiments:
- Croix de Guerre - the French Croix de Guerre ribbon awarded to the Devonshire Regiment in World War I, and subsequently worn by the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, is worn on both sleeves of No. 1 and No. 2 dress.
- Back Badge - the badge worn on the back of headdress that was awarded as an honour to the 28th Foot, and subsequently worn by the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry is worn on the forage cap and side hat, and on the shako of the regimental band and bugles.
- Bugle Horn - the bugle horn badge of the Light Infantry is the regiment's cap badge.
- Maltese Cross - the Maltese Cross of the Royal Green Jackets is worn as a buckle on the cross belt, and will contain the regiment's representative battle honours. In accordance with the tradition of the Rifles, the regiment does not carry colours.
- Black Buttons - the traditional black buttons of a rifle regiment are worn on all forms of dress with the exception of combat dress.
In addition, the new regiment's "Double Past" march (the music used when marching past at the double) is an amalgam of the Light Infantry's (Keel Row) and the Royal Green Jackets' (Road to the Isles).
[edit] Organisation
The new regiment has 5 regular and 2 Territorial Army Battalions.
- 1st Battalion - amalgamation of the 1st Battalion, Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the 1st Battalion, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion - redesignation of the 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets
- 3rd Battalion - redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, The Light Infantry
- 4th Battalion - redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets
- 5th Battalion - redesignation of the 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry
- 6th (V) Battalion - redesignation of the Rifle Volunteers
- 7th (V) Battalion - redesignation of the Royal Rifle Volunteers, minus the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment company, plus the Royal Green Jacket companies of the London Regiment
Following the restructuring of the infantry and the end of the arms plot, the new regiment's five regular battalions will have fixed roles:
- 1st Battalion - Commando Support (3 Commando Brigade)
- 2nd Battalion - Light Role (19 Light Brigade)
- 3rd Battalion - Light Role (52 Infantry Brigade)
- 4th Battalion - Mechanised Infantry (1 Mechanised Brigade)
- 5th Battalion - Armoured Infantry (20 Armoured Brigade)
The 1st Battalion will initially continue to serve as two units; one will be based at Catterick as part of 19 Light Brigade, continuing the light role carried out by 1 DDLI, while the other will be stationed at Chester as part of 52 Infantry Brigade, maintaining the independent light role carried out by 1 RGBWLI. From April 2008 however, it have fully merged and will be assigned to 3 Commando Brigade, where it will serve as the brigade's fourth battalion alongside the three commandos of the Royal Marines.
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Colonel-in-Chief, RGBWLI) is the new regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, but each battalion has its own Royal Colonel:
| 1st Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Duke of Kent (Colonel-in-Chief, DDLI) |
| 2nd Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Earl of Wessex |
| 3rd Battalion, The Rifles | HRH Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy (Colonel-in-Chief, LI) |
| 4th Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Duchess of Cornwall |
| 5th Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Countess of Wessex |
| 6th (V) Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Duke of Gloucester |
| 7th (V) Battalion, The Rifles | HRH The Duchess of Gloucester |
[edit] Alliances
Although no list of regimental alliances has been announced as yet, using the large regiments that have formed already as examples, it can be assumed that all of the current alliances of the four individual regiments will be carried into the Rifles.
Australia - Monash University Regiment- Australia - Melbourne University Regiment
Canada - The Royal Canadian Regiment- Canada - Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
New Zealand - The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment- Canada - Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke
- Australia - The Royal New South Wales Regiment
Malaysia - 6th Battalion, The Royal Malay Regiment
South Africa - 5 South African Infantry Battalion (Bond of Friendship)- Canada - The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
- Canada - Le Régiment de Maisonneuve
- Canada - The North Saskatchewan Regiment
- New Zealand - The Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment
Pakistan - 11th Battalion, The Baloch Regiment- Pakistan - 1st Battalion, The Sind Regiment
Kenya - 1st and 3rd Battalions, The Kenya Rifles
Mauritius - Mauritius Special Mobile Force- South Africa - The Rand Light Infantry
- Canada - The Lincoln and Welland Regiment
- Canada - The Algonquin Regiment
- Australia - 11th/28th Battalion, The Royal Western Australia Regiment
- Pakistan - 2nd and 13th Battalions, The Frontier Force Regiment
- South Africa - The Cape Town Rifles
- Canada - The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) (RCAC)
- Canada - The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
- Canada - The Brockville Rifles
- Canada - The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
- Canada - The Royal Regina Rifles
- New Zealand - The Hauraki Regiment
- South Africa - The Durban Light Infantry
- South Africa - The Kaffrarian Rifles
Ghana - 1st Battalion, The Ghana Regiment
Royal Navy - HMS Exeter- Royal Navy - HMS Cornwall
- Royal Navy - HMS Gloucester
- Royal Navy - HMS Somerset
France - 2e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie (Bond of Friendship)
[edit] Battle Honours
The following battle honours are a representation of the total honours awarded to the regiments which formed The Rifles. These are inscribed on the regiment's belt badge:
- Gibraltar, Dettingen, Plassey, Minden, Quebec, Martinique, Marabout, Waterloo, Peninsula, Afghanistan, Jellalabad, Ferozeshah, Delhi, Lucknow, New Zealand, Pekin, South Africa, Inkerman
- Great War: Nonne Boschen, Ypres, Somme, Vittoria Veneto, Megiddo
- Second World War: Calais, El Alamein, Kohima, Pegasus Bridge, Normandy, Italy 1943-45, Anzio
- Imjin, Korea, Iraq 2003
[edit] Order of Precedence
| Preceded by: Royal Gurkha Rifles |
Infantry Order of Precedence | Succeeded by: Special Air Service |
[edit] See also
| British Infantry Depots |
| Current Infantry Depots
Guards Division | Scottish Division | King's Division | Queen's Division | Prince of Wales' Division |
| Former Infantry Depots
Light Division |
[edit] References
- Regimental Website (official)
- The Rifles on Regiments.org
- MOD Press Release Nov 2005
- Statement by CO Devon and Dorset Regiment
- Statement by CO Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (Now Offline)
- The Light Infantry Homepage
- BBC Gloucestershire News
- 1 RIFLES to join the Commandos
