Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

For other uses, see Blackbuck (disambiguation).
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Cap Badge of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Active 23 April 1968-Present
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Branch  British Army
Type Line Infantry
Role 1st Battalion - Armoured Infantry
5th Battalion - Army Reserve
Size Two Battalions
Part of Queen's Division
Garrison/HQ RHQ - London
1st Battalion - Tidworth
5th Battalion - Durham
Nickname The Shiners
The Old and the Bold
Lord Wellington's Bodyguards
Motto "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (French) "Shame on him who thinks ill of it"
Colors Gosling green flag with Ancient badges St George Killing the Dragon centered, motto in scroll Quo Fata Vocant, united rose surmounted by crown in three corners, V with Union in canton
March Quick - The British Grenadiers
Slow - Rule Britannia
Mascot Indian Blackbuck (Bobby)
Anniversaries St. George's Day (23 April), Minden (1 August)
Commanders
Colonel in Chief HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO
Colonel of
the Regiment		 Brigadier Trevor J Minter, OBE DL
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Hackle Red over White
From Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
Abbreviation RRF

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (RRF) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. As one of the existing large infantry regiments, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was largely unaffected by the reforms of the infantry that were announced in December 2004.

History

The regiment was formed on 23 April 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the fourth 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier regiments:[1]

The RRF was formed to serve as the county regiment of the following counties:
"The British Grenadiers"
"The British Grenadiers", the official Regimental Quick March of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, performed by the United States Army Band Strings ensemble
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The RRF march in Rochdale

The 3rd Battalion of the Regiment, equipped with 45 Armoured Personnel Carriers, saw active service in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991.[2]

In 2003 elements of the 1st Battalion of the Regiment were deployed to Basra in Iraq where they carried out patrols and distributed water to the local population.[3]

The regiment received a reserve battalion, the 5th Battalion RRF, through the redesignation of Tyne-Tees Regiment, on 1 April 2006.[4]

In 2006 elements of the former 2nd Battalion of the Regiment were deployed to Afghanistan to support the International Security Assistance Force fighting off 150 Taliban attacks.[5]

Under Army 2020, there will only be the 1st Battalion in the regular army and it will re-roled as an armoured infantry battalion under 1st Armoured Brigade.[6] Due to a series of Government Defence Reviews, 'Options for Change' and the recent 'Strategic Defence Review' the regiment now comprises two regular battalions and a number of Army Reserve companies located in the four regimental areas. The 2nd Battalion amalgamated with the first battalion forming just one regular battalion, in September 2014, in the army 2020 plan.

Mascot

The regiment's mascot is an Indian Blackbuck Antelope. It is a tradition inherited from the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers. The current mascot's name is Bobby and he holds the rank of Corporal. Bobby attends all major parades held by the regiment.[7]

Hackle

As a fusilier regiment, the RRF wears a hackle, which in this case is the hackle of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, red over white. This distinction was originally a white plume which His Majesty's Fifth Regiment of Foot had taken from the head dress of fallen French troops at St. Lucia in December 1778. The Fifth Regiment of Foot became His Majesty's Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot with the county affiliations of 1782. In 1829 King George IV ordered the white plume to be worn by all infantry regiments, and in order not to take away from the Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot's battle honour, their plume was distinguished by being made red over white.[8]

Battle honours

Order of precedence

Preceded by
Duke of Lancaster's Regiment		 Infantry Order of Precedence Succeeded by
Royal Anglian Regiment

Lineage

Lineage
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
The Lancashire Fusiliers

Alliances

See also

Media related to Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. ↑ Swinson, Arthur (1972). A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London: The Archive Press. ISBN 0-85591-000-3.
  2. ↑ "Units in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm". Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Basra, 22-23 April 2003". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Army engineers big change for Terriers". Evening Chronicle. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Operation Veritas: British units deployed". Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Army 2020 Update, page 7" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Ollington, Robin (2004). Bobby of the Fusiliers: The Story of Our Famous Regimental Mascot and Its Service and Adventures with Us for Over Two Hundred Years. Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. ISBN 9780954862909.
  8. ↑ "Royal Regiment of Fusiliers: Regimental history". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 April 2014.

External links