Royal Guernsey Light Infantry | |
---|---|
Active | 1916–1919 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | 1,300 soldiers (1918) |
Part of | 29th Division 1917–1918 |
Garrison/HQ | Fort George, Guernsey |
Motto(s) | Diex Aïx (God Help Us) |
Engagements | Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Cambrai 1917 Battle of the Lys 1918 |
Battle honours | Awarded to the 1st Battalion Royal Guernsey Militia Passchendaele Cambrai 1917 Lys Estaires Hazebrouck France and Flanders 1917-18. |
Website | https://www.rgli.org/ |
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army that was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916 to serve in World War I. They fought as part of the British 29th Division. Of the 2,280 men, most of whom came from Guernsey, who fought on the Western Front with the RGLI, 327 were killed and 667 were wounded.
Many Guernsey men had already volunteered for regiments in the British Army before the RGLI was formed. The RGLI was created because there was no Guernsey-named regiment to underline the island's devotion to the Crown.
The regimental motto, Diex Aïx, derives from the battle cry used by the Duke of Normandy 1,000 years earlier. [1]
The regiment was disbanded in 1919 but the regimental tradition lives on in the Guernsey Army Cadet Force (Det.) Light Infantry, who, although they do not wear the RGLI cap badge, still keep alive the history of the Regiment within the detachment. [2]
17 December
1 June
July
September
26 September
27 September
October
9–14 October
October–November
20 November – 3 December
18–26 January
8–29 March
3–7 April
10–14 April
27 April
27 November
5 April
21–22 May
Order of St. Michael and St. George (Companion) (3rd Class)
Royal Victorian Order (5th Class)
Mentioned in Despatches
(Despatch from Sir Douglas Haig to the Secretary of State for War)
In February 1925, in accordance with General Order No 5034 The London Gazette published a complete list of Battle Honours awarded for the Great War. [30]
In General Orders, 1928, "Honours awarded to Militia Corps for services previous to the Great War shall pass to the reconstituted Militia Regiment and shall be emblazoned on all Regimental Standards, Guidons or Colours" [31]
Following the disbandment of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry in 1919, the 1st Battalion Royal Guernsey Militia were granted the following Battle Honours:
The Colours of the RGLI are hung in the Town Church, Guernsey
|
|
|
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Charitable Trust was formed in 2016 to commemorate the regiment. [34] Its joint patrons are Lt Governor Vice Admiral Sir Ian Corder and the Bailiff of Guernsey, Richard McMahon.[ citation needed ] Memorials were placed at Les Rues Vertes, France and St Peter Port, Guernsey on the centenary of key RGLI events in 2017 & 2018. [35] [ needs update ]
The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Welsh: Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's 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.
The Battle of Cambrai was a British attack in the First World War, followed by the biggest German counter-attack against the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) since 1914. The town of Cambrai, in the département of Nord, in France, was an important supply centre for the German Siegfriedstellung and capture of the town and the nearby Bourlon Ridge would threaten the rear of the German line to the north. Major General Henry Tudor, Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA), of the 9th (Scottish) Division, advocated the use of new artillery-infantry tactics on his sector of the front. During preparations, J. F. C. Fuller, a staff officer with the Tank Corps, looked for places to use tanks for raids. General Julian Byng, commander of the Third Army, decided to combine both plans. The French and British armies had used tanks en masse earlier in 1917, although to considerably less effect.
The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot as the 1st and 2nd battalions; the 6th Royal Lancashire Militia became the 3rd (Reserve) and 4th battalions and the Volunteer battalions became the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th battalions.
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881.
Lance Sergeant Thomas Patrick Neely, was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A soldier with The King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, he was awarded the VC for his actions in late September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. He was killed in action a few days later.
The Welch Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot and 69th Regiment of Foot to form the Welsh Regiment, by which it was known until 1920 when it was renamed the Welch Regiment. In 1969 the regiment was amalgamated with the South Wales Borderers to form the Royal Regiment of Wales.
The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958.
The Green Howards , frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under various titles until it was amalgamated with the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, all Yorkshire-based regiments in the King's Division, to form the Yorkshire Regiment on 6 June 2006.
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment of Foot.
The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in the Childers Reforms of 1881, but with antecedents dating back to 1755. It served in the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II and Korean War. In 1968, the four regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade amalgamated to form The Light Infantry, with the 1st KSLI being redesignated as the 3rd Battalion of the new regiment.
The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named the 9th Regiment of Foot.
The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence.
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry, which in turn was merged with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to become The Rifles in 2007.
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments and named the 10th Regiment of Foot. After the Childers Reforms of 1881, it became the Lincolnshire Regiment after the county where it had been recruiting since 1781.
The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th Regiment of Foot with the militia and rifle volunteer units of eastern Lancashire. In 1958 the regiment was amalgamated with the South Lancashire Regiment to form the Lancashire Regiment which was, in 1970, merged with the Loyal Regiment to form the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. In 2006, the Queen's Lancashire was further amalgamated with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and the King's Regiment to form the present Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.
The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World Wars, the regiment was amalgamated with the Essex Regiment in 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment. However, this was short-lived and again was amalgamated, in 1964, with the 1st East Anglian Regiment and 2nd East Anglian Regiment, and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to form the present Royal Anglian Regiment.
The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Border Regiment to form the King's Own Royal Border Regiment.
The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, the 64th Regiment of Foot was merged with the 98th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of Foot (originally raised in 1824) to form the Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment). In 1921 the regimental title was altered to the North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's).
Lieutenant-General Sir Launcelot Edward Kiggell, was an Irish-born British Army officer who was Chief of the General Staff (CGS) for the British Armies in France under Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig from late 1915 to 1918.
The Royal Guernsey Militia has a history dating back 800 years. Always loyal to the British Crown, the men were unpaid volunteers whose wish was to defend the Island of Guernsey from foreign invaders.