London Regiment
| London Regiment | |
|---|---|
|
Regimental crest of the London Regiment | |
| Active | 20 April 1993- |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Army Reserve |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | Guards Division |
| Garrison/HQ | 27 St John’s Hill, London[1] |
| Nickname(s) | The Onions |
| Commanders | |
| Royal Honorary Colonel | HRH The Earl of Wessex[2] |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |
 |
| Tartan |
Hodden Grey (A Company) Saffron (D Company pipers kilts) |
The London Regiment is an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Army Reserve. The regiment saw distinguished service in World War I and was disbanded after the war in 1938, shortly before World War II, when most of its battalions were converted to other roles or transferred elsewhere. However, the regiment was raised again in 1993 and continues an existence in the present day.
History
It was first formed in 1908 in order to regiment the 26 Volunteer Force battalions in the newly formed County of London, each battalion having a distinctive uniform.[3]
Now part of the Territorial Force, the London Regiment expanded to 88 battalions in the First World War. Of these 49 battalions saw action in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Flanders, 6 saw action at the Gallipoli Campaign, 12 saw action at Salonika, 14 saw action against the Turks in Palestine, and one saw action in Waziristan and Afghanistan.[4]
The London Regiment was reformed in the Territorial Army in the 1920s but ceased to exist in 1938 and the battalions were all transferred to regular infantry regiments, the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers.[4] For example, the 10th London Regiment (Hackney) was transferred to the corps of the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), becoming the 5th (Hackney) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment.[5]
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. They are:[6]
- HQ (Anzio) Company
- A (London Scottish) Company
- B (Queen's Regiment) Company
- C (City of London Fusiliers) Company
- D (London Irish Rifles) Company
Two companies of the Royal Green Jackets, F Company and G Company, formed part of the regiment between 1998 and 2004.[7]
In May 2004 Messines company, which was made up from an HQ and two platoons from across the London Regiment deployed to Iraq.[8]
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.[9]
Original London Regiment battalions
The London battalions formed the London District, which consisted principally of the 1st and 2nd London Divisions.[10]
| Unit | Formerly | Headquarters | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st London Division | ||||
| 1st London Brigade | ||||
| 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 10th Middlesex RVC) | Bloomsbury | ||
| 2nd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 23rd Middlesex RVC) | Westminster | ||
| 3rd (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 11th Middlesex RVC) | St Pancras | ||
| 4th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) | 4th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (late 1st Tower Hamlets RVC) | Shoreditch | ||
| 2nd London Brigade | ||||
| 5th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) | 1st London VRC (City of London Volunteer Rifle Brigade) [9th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Finsbury | ||
| 6th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (City of London Rifles) | 2nd London VRC [10th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Finsbury | ||
| 7th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment | 3rd London VRC [11th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Finsbury | ||
| 8th (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) | 24th Middlesex VRC [7th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Finsbury | ||
| 3rd London Brigade | ||||
| 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's), Berkeley Square | 1st Middlesex (Victoria and St. George's) VRC [4th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] and 19th Middlesex (St. Giles's and St. George's, Bloomsbury) VRC [6th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Westminster | ||
| 10th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Paddington Rifles); disbanded 1912 | 18th Middlesex VRC [4th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Paddington | ||
| 10th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Hackney) | formed in 1912 to replace the Paddington Rifles | Hackney | ||
| 11th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles) | 21st Middlesex (Finsbury) VRC [7th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Pentonville | ||
| 12th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (The Rangers) | 22nd Middlesex VRC (Central London Rangers) [8th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Holborn | ||
| 2nd London Division | ||||
| 4th London Brigade | ||||
| 13th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Kensington) | 4th (Kensington) Middlesex VRC [3rd Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Kensington | ||
| 14th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Scottish) | 7th (London Scottish) Middlesex VRC [1st Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Westminster | ||
| 15th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles) | The Prince of Wales's Own 12th Middlesex (Civil Service) VRC [5th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Westminster | ||
| 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles) | 13th Middlesex (Queen's Westminster) VRC [6th Volunteer Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps] | Kensington | ||
| 5th London Brigade | ||||
| 17th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) | 2nd Tower Hamlets VRC [9th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Bow | ||
| 18th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Irish Rifles), | 16th Middlesex (London Irish) VRC [3rd Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | Chelsea | ||
| 19th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (St. Pancras) | 17th Middlesex (North Middlesex) VRC [3rd Volunteer Battalion, Middlesex Regiment] | Camden Town | ||
| 20th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) | 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) [ex 3rd Kent VRC] | Blackheath | ||
| 6th London Brigade | ||||
| 21st (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles) | 1st Surrey (South London) VRC [1st Volunteer Battalion, East Surrey Regiment] | Camberwell | ||
| 22nd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's) | 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) [ex 6th Surrey RVC] | Bermondsey | ||
| 23rd (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment | 4th Volunteer Battalion, East Surrey Regiment [ex 7th Surrey RVC] | Battersea | ||
| 24th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's) | 4th Volunteer Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regt) [ex 8th Surrey RVC] | Southwark | ||
| Others | ||||
| 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment. | 26th (Cyclist) Middlesex VRC [Rifle Brigade] | Fulham | ||
| 26th (County of London) Battalion | Title allotted to Infantry Battalion, Honourable Artillery Company but never used | |||
| 27th (County of London) Battalion | Title allotted to the Inns of Court Regiment but never used | |||
| 28th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Artists Rifles), | 20th Middlesex (Artists) VRC [6th Volunteer Battalion, Rifle Brigade] | St Pancras | ||
Battle honours
Battle honours for the First World War were awarded to the individual battalions in 1924.[11]
References
- ↑ "West of St John’s Road" (PDF). English Heritage. p. 27. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59772. p. 8211. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ↑ "1st (City of London) Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)". Battlefields. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- 1 2 "London Regiment". Queen's Royal Surreys. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "The Hackney Battalion". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ↑ "History of the Regiment". The London Scottish Regiment. Archived from the original on June 12, 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "London Regiment". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "A (London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment in Iraq". The London Scottish Regiment. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "The Rifles". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ↑ "The London Regiment". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ↑ "Battle Honours. London and Scottish Regiments". The Times. 13 March 1924. p. 11.
External links
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