Portal:British Army/Selected unit
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The grouping of buttons on the tunic is a common way to distinguish between the regiments of Foot Guards. Grenadier Guards' buttons are equally spaced and embossed with the Royal Cypher. Modern Grenadier Guardsmen wear a cap badge of a "grenade fired proper".
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It is the oldest regiment in the Regular Army in continuous active service, originating in Coldstream on the Scottish border in 1650 when General George Monck founded the regiment. It is one of two regiments of the Household Division that can trace its lineage to the New Model Army, the other being the Blues and Royals.
The regiment is ranked second in the order of precedence, behind the Grenadier Guards. This is because the Grenadier Guards have served the Crown for a longer period of time. However, the Coldstream Guards is an older regiment, and because of this, has the motto Nulli Secundus (Second to None). The regiment has never been termed the "Second Regiment of Foot Guards" and, when parading with the other four regiments, is always on the extreme left of the line, with the Grenadier Guards on the extreme right. This ensures that the regiment is indeed "Second to None".
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The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. It was formed in 1992 from the amalgamation of two regiments, becoming the first dragoon regiment in the British Army for over twenty years:
The Light Dragoons are a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment with a history in the reconnaissance role which dates back to the early 18th Century. Currently based in Swanton Morley, Norfolk, they are commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Angus Watson MBE.
They are highly experienced operationally with 14 tours of the Balkans during the 1990’s. They have deployed twice to Iraq on Operation TELIC in 2003 and 2005.
C Squadron Deployed on a 6 month operational tour of duty in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Operation HERRICK 5 with 3 Commando Brigade , Royal Marines.
In April 2007 the majority of the Regiment including elements of HQ Squadron, B Squadron complete and specialists from D Squadron were deployed for a six month tour in Afghanistan with 12 Mechanised Brigade on Operation HERRICK 6.
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Irish Guards officers tend to be drawn from the ranks of graduates of elite British public schools, particularly those with a Roman Catholic affiliation, such as Ampleforth College and Stonyhurst College. Catholic foreign royals or aristocrats, even those with no Irish connection, have often found a home in the Irish Guards. (Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, for example.)
One way to distinguish between the regiments of Foot Guards is the spacing of buttons on the tunic. The Irish Guards have buttons arranged in groups of four. They also have a prominent blue plume on the right side of their bear skins.
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The Welsh Guards came into existence on February 26, 1915 by order of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards. They were the last of the Guards to be created, with the Irish Guards coming into being in 1900. Just two days later, the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards mounted its first King's Guard at Buckingham Palace on 1 March 1915 - St David's Day.
One way to distinguish between the regiments of Foot Guards is the spacing of buttons on the tunic. The Welsh Guards have buttons arranged in groups of five.
On March 17, 1915 the 1st Welsh Guards sailed for France to join the Guards Division to commence its participation in the First World War. Its first battle was some months after its initial arrival, at Loos on September 27, 1915. The regiment's first Victoria Cross came two years later in July 1917 awarded to Sergeant Robert Bye at Pilckem.
The Colonel-In-Chief of the Regiment is Queen Elizabeth II.
The Colonel of the Regiment is Charles, Prince of Wales.
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The SAS forms a significant part of United Kingdom Special Forces, alongside the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), and the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG). The SAS, ranked by many as one of the best special forces units in the world, today serves as a model for similar units fielded by other countries.
The Special Air Service Regiment is a Corps of the British Army under the United Kingdom legal system which authorises the raising of military forces and comprises three battalion-sized units, one Regular and two reserve units in the Territorial Army (TA), each styled as 'regiments' in accordance with British Army practice; 22 SAS Regiment being the Regular unit, with 21 SAS Regiment (Artists Rifles) and 23 SAS Regiment as the TA reserve units, known together as the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS(R)). The Artists Rifles appellation comes from the amalgamation in 1947 with an unusual pre-existing TA Regiment originally raised from the artistic community at a time when the Rifle Volunteer movement was at its height. The Artists Rifles (Originally Artists' Rifles until the apostrophe was officially dropped from the full title as it was so often misused) were of such quality they were used as an officer-producing unit in both World Wars, although the 1st Battalion fought as part of the Royal Naval Division in the latter years of World War I.
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The Army first took to the sky when the requirement for observation aircraft was realised during the First World War, with the creation of the Royal Flying Corps.
Between the wars, the Army used RAF co-operation squadrons, though a true army presence did not occur until WWII.
At the beginning of WWII, Royal Artillery officers, with the assistance of RAF technicians, flew Auster observation aircraft under RAF-owned Air Observation Post Squadrons. Twelve such squadrons were raised—three of which belonged to the RCAF—and each performed vital duties in a wide array of missions in many theatres.
In early WWII, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced the establishment of a new branch of army aviation, the Army Air Corps, formed in 1942. The corps initially comprised the Glider Pilot Regiment and the Parachute Battalions (subsequently the Parachute Regiment), and the Air Observation Post Squadrons. In 1944, the re-formed SAS Regiment was added to the Corps.
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Although the first proposals to create one came in 1905, the first Intelligence Corps was formed in 1914 and originally included only officers and their servants. The unit was rapidly run down after the First World War and was finally disbanded in 1929. On 19 July 1940 a new Intelligence Corps was created by Army Order 112 and has existed since that time. On 1 February 1985 the corps was officially declared an 'Arm' (combat support) instead of a 'Service' (rear support).
Intelligence Corps personnel wear a distinctive cypress green beret with a cap badge consisting of a union rose (a red rose with a white centre) between two laurel branches and surmounted by a crown. Their motto is Manui Dat Cognitio Vires (Knowledge gives strength to the arm). The Corps' quick march is The Rose & Laurel while its slow march is Purcell's Trumpet Tune & Ayre.
Their headquarters, formerly at Maresfield, East Sussex and then Templer Barracks at Ashford, Kent, moved in 1997 to the former Royal Air Force station at Chicksands in Bedfordshire along with the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre and the Intelligence Corps Museum. The Director Intelligence Corps is a Brigadier.
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- 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)
- 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
- 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles
- 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles
The Royal Gurkha Rifles are considered to be some of the finest soldiers in the world, as is evidenced by the high regard they are held in for both their fighting skill, and their smartness of turnout on parade. Their standard of drill is considered to be on a par with that of the Foot Guards, so much so that on many occasions the regiment has mounted the guard at Buckingham Palace.
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From its formation, the regiment served in the armoured role with first Challenger 1, then Challenger 2. However, in 2005, as part of the re-organisation of the army, the regiment started converting to the formation reconnaissance role, re-equipping with the FV107 Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle.
The regiment is organised into a total of four squadrons, each of which perpetuates one of the antecedent regiments:
- 5th Lancer Squadron
- 16th Lancer Squadron
- 17th Lancer Squadron
- 21st Lancer Squadron
