Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers | |
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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(s) |
The Shiners The Old and the Bold Lord Wellington's Bodyguards |
Motto | "Honni soit qui mal y pense" (French) "Evil be to him who evil thinks" |
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 | Major General PAE Nanson CBE |
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 British Army that saw the creation of the fourth 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier regiments:[1]
- Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
- Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers
- Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
- Lancashire Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 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 3rd Battalion of the Regiment, equipped with 45 Armoured Personnel Carriers, saw active service in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991.[2] All battalions have been deployed to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner multiple times.
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]
The whole of 1st Battalion deployed to Nahri Saraj District, Afghanistan in 2013, where they took part in mounted and dismounted infantry operations.[6]
The 2nd Battalion amalgamated with the first battalion forming just one regular battalion, an armoured infantry battalion under 1st Armoured Brigade[7] in September 2014 as part of the Army 2020 plans.
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 Lance Corporal. Bobby attends all major parades held by the regiment.[8]
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 distinction, their plume was differentiated by being made "half red and half white, the red uppermost, instead of the plain white feather worn by the rest of the army per the 1829 order, as a peculiar mark of honour."[9]
Battle honours
- Combined battle honours of The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) and The Lancashire Fusiliers, plus:
- Wadi al Batin, Gulf 1991, Al Basrah, Iraq 2003
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
- Canada - The Royal Canadian Regiment
- Canada - The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)
- Canada - 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins)
- Canada - The Royal Westminster Regiment
- Canada - Les Fusiliers du St-Laurent
- Australia - The Royal Victoria Regiment
- New Zealand - The Hauraki Regiment
- Royal Navy - HMS Northumberland
See also
Media related to Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at Wikimedia Commons
References
- ↑ Swinson, Arthur (1972). A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. London: The Archive Press. ISBN 0-85591-000-3.
- ↑ "Units in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm". Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ "Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Basra, 22-23 April 2003". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ "Army engineers big change for Terriers". Evening Chronicle. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ "Operation Veritas: British units deployed". Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ "Herrick 18 Units Deployed". Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Army 2020 Update, page 7" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Royal Regiment of Fusiliers: Regimental history". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
External links
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