| Queen's Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1968–present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Administrative Command |
The Queen's Division is a British Army training and administrative apparatus for infantry regiments from the East & South of England, and Gibraltar.
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| Arms of the British Army |
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| Combat Arms |
| Combat Support Arms |
| Combat Services |
The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counties Brigade, Fusilier Brigade and East Anglian Brigade, followed by the union of the new regiments. The depot was established at Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire. [1]
During the Cold War, the Queen's Division saw a massive expansion. Below the list of units belonging to the division with disbandment dates or transfer dates where needed: [2]
| List of battalions of the Queen's Division during the Cold War [2] | |
|---|---|
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Following the reorganisation of the TA in 1999, the Queen's Division was reduced to just six regular battalions (two in each regiment) and just three TA battalions (one in each). [2]
Because the Queen's Division already contained large regiments from the previous round of amalgamations in the 1960s, it was the only one of the five line infantry divisions to be unaffected by the restructuring announced in 2004. [7]
However, in 2022 the infantry was reorganised, which saw two regiments from the north of England attached. [8] The Queen's Division therefore now comprises the following infantry battalions: [9]
The current Colonel Commandant is Lieutenant General Douglas Chalmers. [10] [ needs update ]
Before the formation of the Corps of Army Music in 1994, each battalion of the Queen's Division, except for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers maintained a band. These included the following: [11]
Regular Army
Territorial Army
Following the reductions, all above bands were reduced to the Normandy Band of the Queen's Division (Bands of the RRF) and the Minden Band of the Queen's Division (Bands of the PWRR and R ANGLIANs [15] ). [14] [2] [11]
Following reductions to the Corps of Army Music, the Band of the Queen's Division was formed through amalgamation of the two former bands in 2007, but later disbanded in 2018. [14] CAMUS was reorganised in 2019 with the band reforming, itself now part of British Army Band Catterick. [18]
In addition, since 1992 the Royal Gibraltar Regiment maintains a Band and Corps of Drums.
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The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured, mechanised, air assault and light.
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an armoured infantry battalion based in Tidworth, Wiltshire, and the 5th Battalion, part of the Army Reserve, recruits in the traditional fusilier recruiting areas across England. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was largely unaffected by the infantry reforms that were announced in December 2004, but under the Army 2020 reduction in the size of the Army, the 2nd Battalion was merged into the first in 2014.
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War.
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed Network Enabled Capability. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen's Division.
The Royal Corps of Army Music is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.
The Royal Welsh is an armoured infantry regiment of the British Army. It was established in 2006 from the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Wales.
The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the army, with 10 battalions, however these were reduced to just six, and later five battalions. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Options for Change reform was published and the regiment amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
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The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only current Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, three regular battalions maintain their former regimental pipes and drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.
The 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade is a brigade of the British Army which is intended to train and assist foreign forces. In 2021, under the Future Army changes, the brigade was redesignated, formerly being the 11th Infantry Brigade & HQ South East. Prior to the Army 2020 changes in 2013, the brigade was temporarily activated for deployment to Afghanistan. Originally formed in the Second Boer War, the brigade was engaged during both World Wars.
The 49th Infantry Brigade, later known as 49th (Eastern) Infantry Brigade during the Cold War, was a brigade of the British Army.
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The Union Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of regiments of line infantry.