London Regiment

The London Regiment
Regimental crest of the London Regiment
Active	20 April 1993-
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Army Reserve
Type	Infantry
Role	Reserve
Size	One battalion
Part of	Guards Division
Garrison/HQ	London
Commanders
Royal Honorary Colonel	HRH The Earl of Wessex[1]
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Tartan	Hodden Grey (A Company) Saffron (D Company pipers kilts)

The London Regiment is an Army Reserve regiment in the British Army. It was first formed in 1908 in order to regiment the various Volunteer Force battalions in the newly formed County of London, each battalion having a distinctive uniform. The Volunteer Force was merged with the Yeomanry in 1908 to form the Territorial Force. This resulted from the impending insolvency of the Volunteer Force's voluntary civilian administration. The administration was taken over by the War Office, and most volunteer units lost their unique identities, becoming territorial battalions of their regular army county regiment. The London corps were a notable exception, being grouped to form their own regiment, each retaining a measure of its original identity, and independent of any regular army regiment. Following the First World War, the Territorial Force was reorganised and renamed the Territorial Army. The London Regiment ceased to exist in 1938 and the battalions transferred to regular infantry regiments, the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers.

The London Regiment was reformed in 1992 through the regimentation of most of the remaining successors of the original regiment (except the Rifles and the Artists' Rifles). It is the only permanent infantry battalion in London District and consists of an HQ and four rifle companies. In 2013 the name of the Territorial Army was changed to the Army Reserve.

Battalions of the London Regiment early 1900s by Richard Caton Woodville (1856–1927)

They are:

• HQ Company
• A (London Scottish) Company
• B (Queen's Regiment) Company
• C (City of London Fusiliers) Company
• D (London Irish Rifles) Company

Two companies of Royal Green Jackets, F Company and G Company, formed part of the regiment between 1998 and 2004; thus the Artists' Rifles became the only former unit of the old London Regiment not represented in the regiment during that period (the heritage of the Artists' Rifles is maintained by 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve). The Honourable Artillery Company is also still separate but, although ordered to do so, never actually became part of the original London Regiment.

In October 2003, 120 members of regiment were called up for active service in Operation Telic. They were deployed in areas around Basra in southern Iraq in January 2004. This group made up a company known as Cambrai company as part of the Multi-National Division (South East), a UK commanded division. In May 2004, they were replaced by Messines company, this was made up from an HQ and two platoons from across the London Regiment, along with a platoon from the Royal Irish Rangers.

Following the restructuring of the British Army in 2004, it was announced that the Guards Division would gain a TA battalion. This saw the London Regiment retaining its name and multi-badge structure, while transferring from the Queen's Division to the Guards Division. The two RGJ companies were transferred to the Royal Rifle Volunteers in preparation for the formation of The Rifles in 2007, leaving the remaining companies in their present multi-badge formation.

Original London Regiment battalions

The London battalions formed the London District, which consisted principally of the 1st and 2nd London Divisions.

Battle honours

Battle honours were awarded to the individual battalions.^[2]

References

External links

• London Regiment

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