List of fictional regiments of the British Army

The following is a list of British and Empire regiments that have appeared in various works of fiction. It also includes some which have been used as placeholders in more official works.

The list encompasses both regiments of the British Army and those of the pre-independence British Indian Army.

British Army

Cavalry regiments

  • 1st King's Lancers
Cavalry/armoured regiment featured in the British television series Redcap, episode The Orderly Officer, broadcast 1964.
  • 2nd South Wessex Dragoons
From the Dr David Audley/Colonel Jack Butler novels by Anthony Price as Audley's World War II tank regiment; also featured in Keith Laumer's "For the Honor of the Regiment" as a part of the lineage of a Mark XXX Bolo of the 3rd Battalion, Dinochrome Brigade.[1]
  • 6th Light Dragoons
In A Close Run Thing by Allan Mallinson
  • 22nd Lancers (Duke of Suffolk's Own)
Herbert Curzon's regiment in The General by C.S. Forester
  • 27th Lancers
In The Charge of the Light Brigade, a 1936 film - later a real regiment
  • 140th Hussars (Prince Arthur's Own)
From Ravenshoe by Henry Kingsley
  • The Dampshire Yeomanry
From the comic opera Cox and Box (1866)
  • Derbyshire Dragoon Guards
In Red Cap, episode True Love.
  • Life Guards Greens
From various novels by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Light Armoured Brigade
From the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde
  • The North Riding Volunteers
From Downton Abbey, Lord Grantham's Yeomanry regiment.
  • Wessex Light Tank Armoured Brigade
From The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
  • The White Hussars
From "The Rout of the White Hussars" by Rudyard Kipling

Infantry regiments

  • 3rd Foot and Mouth Regiment ("The Devils in Skirts")
A Highland Regiment mentioned in the 1968 film Carry On up the Khyber
  • 3rd Regular Army Deserters, 3rd Disgusting Fusiliers, 3rd Armoured Thunderboxes, 6th Heavy Underwater Artillery, and 3rd Mounted NAAFI
Various regiments with which Major Bloodnok (played by Peter Sellers of The Goon Show) claimed to have served.
  • 4th Musketeers
From the 1967 comedy film "How I Won the War"
  • 4/29 London Regiment, Duke of Connaught's Own
Mentioned in The General by C.S. Forester.
Harry East's regiment in Tom Brown at Oxford by Thomas Hughes
  • 114th Queen's Own Royal Strathspeys
From the James Ogilvie books by Philip McCutchan aka Duncan MacNeil
An Irish regiment mentioned in The Adventure of the Crooked Man and The Green Flag by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
  • The Bedford Light Infantry
From the BBC television series Red Cap (2001-04)
An Irish regiment mentioned in "The Mutiny of the Mavericks" by Rudyard Kipling.
An Irish regiment serving in India mentioned in "The Ballad of Boh da Thone" by Rudyard Kipling.
  • Blankshire Highlanders
A sample Scottish regiment used in Court of the Lord Lyon Information Leaflet No. 4: PETITIONS FOR ARMS .
  • Bombardier Guards
In both The Book of Snobs by William Makepeace Thackeray, and Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
  • Caledonian Highlanders
From the 1935 Laurel and Hardy film Bonnie Scotland
  • Cumberland Light Infantry
Mentioned in The General by C. S. Forester
  • The Cumbrians (Duke of Rutland's Own)
From the television series Soldier Soldier
  • The Derbyshire Regiment
From the BBC television series Red Cap (2001-04)
  • The Dragons
From the 1958 film Carry On Sergeant
From Gideon's Sword Bearers by John Mackenzie
  • Duke of Cambridge's Light Infantry
From The East Wind of Love and The South Wind of Love by Compton Mackenzie
  • Duke of Clarence's Own Clanranald Highlanders ("The Inverness-shire Greens")
From The Monarch of the Glen and other novels by Compton Mackenzie
  • Duke of Edinburgh's Own Strathspey Highlanders ("Banffshire Buffs")
From Rich Relatives by Compton Mackenzie
  • The Duke of Glendon's Light Infantry (The 'Dogs')
From the 1944 film The Way Ahead
  • The Duke of Manchester's Own
From Downton Abbey Season 2 (1916), Matthew Crawley's First World War I regiment.
  • The Fore and Fit Princess Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen-Anspach’s Merther-Tydfilshire Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry ("The Fore-and-Aft")
From Drums of the Fore and Aft by Rudyard Kipling.
  • Fusilier Guards
From The Breaking of Bumbo (film version)
  • Glamorganshire Regiment
From No More Parades and A Man Could Stand Up — by Ford Madox Ford
  • Jackboot Guards
From The Book of Snobs by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • King's Own Fusiliers
From the television series Soldier Soldier (1991-1997)
  • Kintail Highlanders (Duke of Clarence's Own Inverness-shire Buffs)
In Sinister Street by Compton Mackenzie. The Kintails are also mentioned in The Stolen Soprano but this seems to be a reference to the same regiment as the similarly-named Clanranalds (see above) in Ben Nevis Goes East.
  • Lennox Highlanders
Richard Hannay's regiment in the works of John Buchan; also in André Maurois' book The Silence of Colonel Bramble (Les silences du Colonel Bramble)
The "Loamshire Regiment" is a fictitious county regiment often used in Army documents as an example or placeholder. It, or the "Royal Loamshire Regiment", has been used in a number of works including the Bulldog Drummond novels, the 1943 film The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Four Winds of Love by Compton Mackenzie and Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms
  • Loyal Highlanders (the Black Scots)
The "Loyal Highlanders" is a fictitious regiment commanded by Colonel the Hon. George Hysteron-Proteron C.B. J.P. in The Twelfth and After by J. K. Stanford. The regiment served in India, the Boer War and in France during the First World War.
  • Loyal South Riding Regiment (the Yorkshire Buffs)
Mentioned in The South Wind of Love by Compton Mackenzie
  • Maclaren Highlanders
Scottish regiment in the Regiment trilogy of books by C.L. Skelton.: The Maclarens, The Regiment, and Beloved Soldiers
  • The Malvern Regiment
From the television series Soldier Soldier (1991-1997)
  • Northdale Rifles
From The Mark of Cain, a 2007 TV film
  • Oxford Rifles
From Lewis, The Dead of Winter
  • The Prince Regent's Own South Down Fusiliers
From "The Hour of the Donkey" by Anthony Price, Territorial Regiment in which David Audley's father, Major Nigel Audley, is serving in 1940 in France.
  • The Punjab Guards
From Jackboots on Whitehall, a 2010 TV film.
  • Queens Own Royal Loyal Light Infantry
Former regiment of Peachey Carnehan and Daniel Dravot in the 1975 movie version of Kiplings's The Man Who Would Be King.
  • Queen's Own Scottish
Infantry regiment featured in the British television series Redcap
  • Queen's Own West Mercian Lowlanders
From the television series Fairly Secret Army
  • Redston Guards
From The Breaking of Bumbo, novel by Andrew Sinclair
  • Royal Cambrian Fusiliers
From the BBC television series Red Cap (2001-04)
From the Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh
  • Royal Cumbrian Regiment
From the 2002 film The Four Feathers
An Irish regiment mentioned in "Kim" and "The Mutiny of the Mavericks" by Rudyard Kipling
  • Royal North Surrey Regiment
In the 1939 film The Four Feathers
  • Royal Wessex Rangers
In the British television series Spearhead
  • Royal Westmoreland Fusiliers
Hudson's regiment in What's Become of Waring by Anthony Powell
Richard Sharpe's regiment in the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell
  • South Glamorgan Regiment
From "Tank Commander" by Ronald Welch; John Carey's regiment while serving as an infantryman.
  • Viscount of Coleraine Rifles
From the novels Trinity and Redemption by Leon Uris.
  • Weald Light Infantry
Now God be Thanked trilogy by John Masters.
  • Welsh Light Infantry
In the 1986 film Milwr Bychan
  • Welsh Rifles
The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett.
  • Wessex Guards
Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
  • Wessex Fusiliers
Alms for Oblivion - a series of novels by Simon Raven
  • Wessex Regiment
From the BBC television series Red Cap (2001-04)
  • West Yorkshire Fusiliers (The Wyffies)
Various of Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe crime novels.

Other units and formations

From the Doctor Who UNIT audio dramas by Big Finish.
A fictional British or international military unit in the Doctor Who universe
  • Red Troop, 22nd Special Air Service Regiment
From the Ultimate Force TV series (2002-2006)

Regiments of the Indian Army

A number of works of fiction feature regiments of the pre-Independence Indian Army.

  • 1st Bangalore Pioneers
Colonel Sebastian Moran's old Indian Army regiment in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Empty House
  • 12th Gurkha Rifles
Colonel Arbuthnot's regiment in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
  • 12th Indian Lancers
Major Duncan Bleek's regiment in the 1946 Sherlock Holmes film Terror by Night.
  • 34th Bombay Infantry
Major John Sholto's regiment in the Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of Four
  • 77th Bengal Lancers
From Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers, a 1956-57 American television show
  • Royal Vindhya Horse
Rodney Bateman's fathers regiment -and several others - in The Himalaya Concerto by John Masters
  • Ravi Lancers
Indian Army cavalry unit whose service with the British Army in France during the First World War serves as the central subject of the novel The Ravi Lancers by John Masters

Other colonial regiments

Captain Blackadder's old colonial regiment before the war in Blackadder Goes Forth

References

  1. ↑ "Bolos: Honor of the Regiment". Bean eBooks. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
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