| The Rifle Volunteers 6th Battalion, The Rifles | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1999 – present |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Light Role Infantry — Army Reserve |
| Size | 1 Battalion |
The Rifle Volunteers was a regiment of the British Territorial Army. In 2007, it was re-designated as 6th Battalion, The Rifles.
The Rifle Volunteers were formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of the 6th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Light Infantry, 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and elements of the 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment in consequence of the reforms implemented due to the Strategic Defence Review. The HQ was in Exeter, and the battalion comprised five rifle companies and a headquarters company, as follows: [1] [2]
The Volunteer Band of the 4th Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment formed the band of the Rifle Volunteers. [3] The battalion regularly entered the Nordic & Biathlon Championships known as "Exercise Spartan Hike", [4] held in Serre Chevalier, France each year. They were Territorial Army and 5th Division Champions for three years running between 2003 and 2005. [5]
In 1999 a number of individuals were mobilised from The Rifle Volunteers to join 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets on their Kosovo tour returning in early 2000. [6]
The first major deployment from The Rifle Volunteers was in November 2003 when 55 soldiers were deployed to the Kabul, Afghanistan. [7] Attached to C 'Tavolato' Company of 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles. On 28 January 2004 Private Jonathan Kitulagoda was killed by a suicide bomber whilst on a routine patrol. [8]
In April 2004 a composite company of the regiment (Salamanca Company) was dispatched to Basra, Iraq. The company was attached to the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment, as part of 1 Mechanised Brigade, within the Multi-National Division (South East). Salamanca Company distinguished itself; Sergeant Peter 'Stooley' Poole-Reeves was awarded a Mention in Dispatches for his actions during a contact in which he was shot in the chest plate of his body armour. Additionally Sergeant Kevin Pinnell and Private Matthew Gavin were awarded Joint Commander's Commendations. [9] The company returned home at the end of October. The battalion was part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade. [10]
Shortly before re-designation as a battalion of the Rifles, the regiment's structure underwent a reform in order to reflect its post amalgamation structure, and ease the process: [2]
On 24 November 2005, it was announced by the Ministry of Defence that the battalion would be re-designated as a territorial battalion of a new large regiment to be called The Rifles. To that effect on 1 February 2007, the regiment became 6th Battalion, The Rifles. The battalion now serves as the reserve infantry battalion for Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Hereford, with sub-units spread right across its recruiting area. [11]
The battalion's current structure is as follows: [12]
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The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment was a short-lived infantry regiment of the British Army.
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.
The East and West Riding Regiment was a regiment of the British Territorial Army from 1999 to 2006. In 2006, it was re-designated as the 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment.
The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments, the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset Regiment. In 2007 it was itself merged into The Rifles, a "large 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.
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each 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.
The 43rd Infantry Brigade was a brigade of the British Army during the First and Second World Wars, and later, as 43 (Wessex) Brigade, a regional headquarters from 1985 to 2014.
The Wessex Regiment was a Territorial Army infantry regiment of the British Army, in existence from 1967 to 1995. Initially consisting of a singular battalion, the regiment was later expanded to also have a second.
The Royal Wessex Regiment was the name suggested for a regiment proposed by the initial discussions into the Future Army Structure brought up as part of Delivering Security in a Changing World. It was planned to be formed by the amalgamation of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.
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The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959.
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The regimental depot of a regiment is its home base for recruiting and training. It is also where soldiers and officers awaiting discharge or postings are based and where injured soldiers return to full fitness after discharge from hospital before returning to full duty. Normally, a variety of regimental stores will also be kept at the depot. The regimental depot is not the same as the regimental headquarters, though in practice the two will often be co-located in the same place.
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Wyvern Barracks is a military installation on Topsham Road in Exeter.
The Exeter & South Devon Volunteers was the premier unit of Britain's Volunteer Force. Formed in 1852 it went on to become a battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Both its active service battalions went to garrison India on the outbreak of the First World War, and then saw action in Mesopotamia and Palestine. In the Second World War, the battalion served in the garrison of Gibraltar. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army until it was merged with other West Country units. Its successors today serve in a reserve battalion of The Rifles.
The 7th Battalion, The Rifles is an Army Reserve battalion of the British Army originally formed in 1999 as an independent regiment, however later became part of The Rifles following the Future Army Structure programme, and remains an integral part of the regiment.
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