Royal Green Jackets

Last updated

Royal Green Jackets
Rgjcapbadge.jpg
Royal Green Jackets cap badge
Active1 January 1966 – 1 February 2007
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
TypeRifles
Role Light Infantry
Size5 battalions
Part of Light Division
Garrison/HQ1st Battalion – Weeton
2nd Battalion – Bulford
Nickname(s)"The Black Mafia"
Motto(s)Celer et Audax (Latin: Swift and Bold)
MarchQuick – Huntsman's Chorus/Italian Song
Double Pass – The Road to the Isles
Anniversaries Waterloo (18 June)
Commanders
Last Colonel-in-Chief Queen Elizabeth II
Last Colonel CommandantLieutenant General Nick Parker

The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry).

Contents

History

The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgamation of the three separate regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade: [1]

There were also two Territorial Army battalions made up as follows: [2]

During the 1970s, 1980s and onwards up until the end of “The Troubles”, the battalions were deployed to various parts of Northern Ireland (Operation Banner). The 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions were also based in West Germany, Osnabrück (1 RGJ), Minden (2 RGJ) and Celle (3 RGJ). [1]

The regiment's greatest loss of life came on 20 July 1982 when seven RGJ bandsmen were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb which exploded during a public concert featuring the music from Oliver! to 120 people at the bandstand in Regents Park. [3]

In 1992, 1 RGJ was disbanded and 2 RGJ and 3 RGJ renumbered 1 RGJ and 2 RGJ respectively. [1] [4]

After the 1992 reorganisation, the unit was mostly based overseas in Dhekelia (Cyprus) and Paderborn (Germany), as well as in Northern Ireland. It also saw action in Bosnia and Kosovo during the Yugoslav Wars. Both battalions returned to the United Kingdom by 2002 and in 2003 the 1st Battalion served on Operation Telic 2 in Iraq. [1]

On 24 November 2005, the Ministry of Defence announced that the regiment would be amalgamated with The Light Infantry, the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry to form a single large regiment to be called The Rifles. The reorganisation into The Rifles took effect on 1 February 2007 with the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets becoming the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles and the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets becoming 4th Battalion, The Rifles. [1] The 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets' final operational tour was in Basra, in Iraq, on Operation Telic in 2006-07. [5]

Regimental museum

The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is based at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester. [6]

Traditions

Their motto was Celer et Audax (Latin: "Swift and Bold"). As they were used as shock troops and marksmen, they had to get to the front line of battle as fast as was possible; as a result the RGJ marched at 140 paces per minute (at a 30" pace) whereas other regiments march at just 120. [7]

The regiment was classed as a 'rifle' regiment, having its lineage in the regiments of foot that were equipped with the first Baker rifles. Traditionally, rifle regiments wore rifle green tunics, an early form of camouflage, instead of the red jackets worn by line infantry, hence the regimental name. [7]

The cap badge was a Maltese Cross, which was drawn from the badges of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and The Rifle Brigade, with a combination of some of their battle honours on its arms. [7]

Battle honours

A memorial sign of the 1982 Regent's Park bombing Regent's Park memorial sign.JPG
A memorial sign of the 1982 Regent's Park bombing

The battle honours are: [8]

Alliances

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Royal Rifle Corps</span> Infantry rifle regiment of the British Army

The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United States as 'The French and Indian War.' Subsequently numbered the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire. In 1958, the regiment joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Rifle Brigade in the Green Jackets Brigade and in 1966 the three regiments were formally amalgamated to become the Royal Green Jackets. The KRRC became the 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets. On the disbandment of the 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in 1992, the RGJ's KRRC battalion was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets, eventually becoming 2nd Battalion, The Rifles in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Welch Fusiliers</span> Line infantry regiment of the British Army

The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and became the Welch Regiment of Fusiliers; the prefix "Royal" was added in 1713, then confirmed in 1714 when George I named it the Prince of Wales's Own Royal Regiment of Welsh Fusiliers. In 1751, after reforms that standardised the naming and numbering of regiments, it became the 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welsh Fuzileers). In 1881, the final title of the regiment was adopted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Own Rifles of Canada</span> Military unit

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve battalion, the Regimental Association, and the Regimental Band and Bugles. The official abbreviation is The QOR of C, but the name is often abbreviated to QOR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Brigade. Originally consisting of four battalions, it was later reduced to three battalions, and finally amalgamated into The Rifles with just two battalions which became the 5th and 3rd Battalions respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own)</span> Infantry rifle regiment of the British Army

The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle Corps". In January 1803, they became an established regular regiment and were titled the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles). In 1816, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, they were again renamed, this time as the "Rifle Brigade".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset Regiment</span> British infantry regiment

The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1958, after service in the Second Boer War along with World War I and World War II, the Dorset Regiment was amalgamated with the Devonshire Regiment to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. In 2007, it was amalgamated with the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, The Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets to form a new large regiment, The Rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum</span> Regimental museum in Peninsula Barracks, Winchester

The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry</span> Former regiment of the British Army

The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.

The 1st Green Jackets 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.

The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion of The Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division. Since formation the regiment has been involved in combat operations, first in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Ulster Rifles</span> British Army infantry regiment

The Royal Irish Rifles was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd Regiment of Foot and the 86th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durban Light Infantry</span> Military unit

The Durban Light Infantry is a Motorised Infantry regiment of the South African Army. It lost its status as a Mechanised infantry regiment in 2010 in line with the rationalisation of resources. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rifleman</span> Infantry soldier armed with a rifle

A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction of the rifled musket. By the mid-19th century, entire regiments of riflemen were formed and became the mainstay of all standard infantry, and rifleman became a generic term for any common infantryman.

The Green Jackets Brigade was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1966 , that administered the English rifle regiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry</span> Light infantry regiment of the British Army

The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Rifles of Canada</span> Military unit

The Victoria Rifles of Canada was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia and later the Canadian Army. First formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1862, the regiment would see a history of service stretching from the Fenian Raids of the 1860s-70s right into the middle of the 20th Century. In 1965, the regiment was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Column</span> Military unit

The Desert Column was a First World War British Empire army corps which operated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 22 December 1916. The Column was commanded by Lieutenant General Philip W. Chetwode and formed part of Eastern Force. When Chetwode took command of Eastern Force after the Second Battle of Gaza, Harry Chauvel took command and oversaw the expansion of the column to three divisions.

The Band and Bugles of the Rifles is a military band serving as the regimental band for The Rifles, the sole rifle regiment and the largest in the British Army. It is the senior most of three bands in the regiment and is the only one that is part of the regular army. Uniquely, it employs bugles at its front, a tradition that goes back to the conflicts of the 18th century. Major Séan O’Neill is currently serving as the Director of Music (DOM) of the band and bugles. It is part of the Royal Corps of Army Music.

10th Battalion, London Regiment (Hackney) was a battalion of the London Regiment, the only all-Territorial Force regiment in the British Army. The battalion existed between 1912 and 1955 and was later re-attached to the Rifle Brigade, Royal Berkshire Regiment and Royal Artillery.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Royal Green Jackets". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. "Royal Green Jackets (TA)". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  3. "1982: IRA bombs cause carnage in London". BBC News. 20 July 1982. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. "Hansard: Restructuring of the Army - Statement by Secretary of State for Defence on 23 July 1991" . Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. Draper, p. 17
  6. "Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum". Visit Winchester. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Royal Green Jackets Legacy" . Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  8. "Battle honours". Royal Green Jackets Association. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014.

Sources

Further reading