1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)

The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1958 to 1966. The regiment served in the Cyprus Emergency, Brunei Revolt, Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and West Berlin. The regiment formed part of the Green Jackets Brigade and in 1963 was redesignated as a rifle regiment.

History

The regiment was formed following Duncan Sandys' 1957 Defence White Paper when the 1st Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd became the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) on 7 November 1958.[1] The regiment formed part of the Green Jackets Brigade and its depot was at Peninsula Barracks, Winchester, Hampshire.[2] Bushfield Camp, near Winchester, was used as a temporary depot from 1961 to April 1964.[3]

The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Martin, took part in operations against EOKA terrorists in Cyprus to May 1959.[4]

The regiment was originally based at Tidworth Camp but moved to Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster and then Knook Camp, near Warminster, in 1959. The regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Harbottle, was an infantry demonstration battalion from 1959 to 1962.[5][6] Units of the regiment were deployed to Malaya in the aftermath of the Malayan Emergency in 1961. In April 1962, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) sailed from Southampton to Penang on the troopship SS Nevasa.[7] The regiment was the first unit to be posted to the Far East without any National Servicemen following the end of conscription in 1961.[8] In December 1962, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) led by Lieutenant Colonel Tod Sweeney was deployed to Brunei on the island of Borneo after an Indonesian-backed uprising occurred. The regiment moved from Penang on 9 December 1962 within 6 hours notice. First driving to Kuala Lumpur and then to Singapore where they boarded the cruiser HMS Tiger (C20) and received orders for the regiment's deployment.[9] The regiment took part in an opposed landing at Miri, Sarawak, south of the border with Brunei and in the capture of Bekanu, 30 miles south of Miri.[10] The regiment returned to Minden Barracks, Penang, in April 1963.[11] The regiment was redesignated as a rifle regiment in June 1963 to conform to the rest of the Green Jackets Brigade.[12] The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) second operational tour in the Far East was from August 1963 to mid December 1963 and troops having sailed on HMS Albion were deployed via Labuan to Brunei and Sarawak.[7]

In January 1964, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) became the spearhead battalion to support the Borneo Territories and Lieutenant Colonel David House took over command of the regiment.[13] In May 1964, the regiment was deployed for its final operational tour in the Borneo territories and was based mainly in the Kuching District of Sarawak. The regiment worked closely with the RAF who used Whirlwind and Belvedere helicopters and was deployed over 40 miles along the border with Indonesia and the regiment defended against many enemy attacks.[14] The regiment returned to Penang at the end of October 1964.[15] The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was the only British Army unit to complete three operational tours in the area and was deployed throughout the North Borneo and Sarawak territories.[13] In December 1964 the regiment left Penang for the UK.[16]

The regiment deployed to West Berlin in March 1965.[17] The regiment was stationed at Montgomery barracks in the district of Kladow; the Berlin Wall bordered the perimeter of the barracks.[18] On 27 May 1965, during the first visit made by a British Monarch to Germany since 1913[19] Queen Elizabeth II inspected the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd), as part of the Berlin Infantry Brigade.[20] In West Berlin, the regiment's tasks included taking its turn in guard duties at Spandau Prison; where leading Nazi war criminals were imprisoned following the Nuremburg Trials.[20] In September 1965 Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Pratt took over command of the regiment and he was to be the last Commanding Officer of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and the first Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets.[21]

On 1 January 1966, whilst in West Berlin, the regiment amalgamated with the two other regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade to form the three battalion Royal Green Jackets, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) becoming the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets.[1] On 1 February 2007, the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets became the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles.[22]

Colonel Commandants

References

  1. 1 2 "The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Messenger, Charles. "A History of British Infantry: For Love of Regiment, Volume 2, 1915-1994". p. 156.
  3. ↑ The Gorget 1964 p. 5.
  4. ↑ Colonel Sir Andrew Martin memorial service 23 April 1994.
  5. ↑ "Michael Harbottle: Obituary". The Independent. 14 May 1997. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Tribute to Colonel John Tillett by General Sir Robert Pascoe 16 January 2015
  7. 1 2 The Gorget. Journal of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) 1964, p. 10.
  8. ↑ Allen, p. 76.
  9. ↑ Allen, p 76.
  10. ↑ Allen, p 68.
  11. ↑ Allen p 81.
  12. ↑ The Chronicle of 1st Green Jackets, 43rd and 52nd 1963 (1964)
  13. 1 2 The Gorget. 1964, p. 8.
  14. ↑ The Gorget. 1964, p. 9.
  15. ↑ The Gorget 1964, p. 9.
  16. ↑ The Gorget 1964, p 11.
  17. ↑ "1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Montgomery Barracks". BAOR Locations. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "State visit to the federal republic of Germany". Royal Collection. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  20. 1 2 "The Berlin Wall" (PDF). The Green Machine. July 2002. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  21. ↑ Royal Green Jackets In Memoriam Board.
  22. ↑ "History of the Light Infantry". Retrieved 6 April 2016.

Further reading

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