"Lineage to The Rifles" Topic

"The Rifles is an infantry regiment the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division [with the exception of the 1st Battalion, which is an amalgamation of two individual regiments]. Since formation the regiment has been involved in combat operations, first in the later stages of the Iraq War and currently in the War in Afghanistan.

History

The Rifles was created as a result of the Future Army Structure. Under the original announcement, the Light Division would have remained essentially unchanged, with the exception of the Light Infantry gaining a new battalion through the amalgamation of two other regiments, and both gaining a TA battalion. However, on the 24th November 2005, the Ministry of Defence announced that the four regiments would amalgamate into a single five-battalion regiment. The Rifles was formed on the 1st of February 2007 by the amalgamation of the four Light Infantry and Rifle Regiments of the Light Division:

The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
The Royal Green Jackets
The two existing battalions each of the Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets were renamed, while the single battalions of the DDLI and the RGBWLI were merged into one battalion. This brought the whole of the Light Division under a single cap badge…"

Full article here.
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Amicalement
Armand

Very interesting. The British army has become even more complicated to keep track of since the 2007 reorganization. Thanks.

LT

One Problem – the Devonshire and Dorsets were never, ever, Light Infantry or 'Rifles' prior to the stroke of a pen on the 22 July 2005. Same for the RBGW, barely 3 months before they were amalgamated with the 'other' Light Regiments to form The Rifles in November of that year.

So for 300 years both these magnificent Regiments served proudly as Regiments of the Line, and then they are mysteriously converted to Light Regiments 3 months before their merger into the 'Rifles' 'since they were Light Infantry too'!

Don't get me wrong, its a fine Regiment. But this cynical attempt at the last minute to make it all appear a natural merger of Light Regiments is nothing but a typical MOD administrative sham!

The Oracle says: Within the next ten years see the rest of the "smaller" regiments amalgamate into three – Queen's, King's and Prince of Wales'

The Highland Gurkha Rifle Parachute Lancer Dragoon Guards wille be next!

The Oracle says: Within the next ten years see the rest of the "smaller" regiments amalgamate into three – Queen's, King's and Prince of Wales'

Shamefully, The Queen's Regiment went long ago – merged with another fine Regiment, the Royal Hampshires, into the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

Again, please don't misunderstand me, the PWRR itself is a fine Regiment and has covered itself in glory since then…

This thread in neither appropriate for the Napoleonic nor 18th Century boards. It is a Modern subject discussion.

Editors, please move it.

These Regiments have a liniage going back way beyond the 18th C or Napoleonic Wars, but very much enhanced by those wars. How is this not appropriate for them?

You're not an MOD Civil Servant by any chance are you – might explain a lot…Lol! ;-)

Editors, by all means include the Modern and Cold War boards, but please leave on the 18thC and Napoleonic Boards.