HM Queen approves new regimental titles

[sjwmoore]

Published Thursday 24th November 2005


The British ArmyRoyal Assent has been given by Her Majesty The Queen for new regimental titles in the Infantry, UK Defence Secretary, John Reid announced today.

The changes are part of the Future Army Structure (FAS) which is developing a more deployable, agile and flexible Army. This new structure is now reflected in the titles of the new multi-battalion regiments.

After months of consultation with the regiments, the agreed title changes evolved from those announced on 16 December 2004 are:

The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, The King's Regiment and The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment will form a new regiment to be known as The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border). On formation in July 2006 the new regiment will have 3 regular battalions with the TA battalion known as 4 LANCS, until the 3 regular battalions merge to form 1 LANCS and 2 LANCS in March 2007 allowing 4 LANCS to assume the vacant title of 3 LANCS.

The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, The Light Infantry and The Royal Green Jackets will form a new regiment, to be known as The Rifles. The Rifles will comprise five Regular battalions and two TA battalions.

The Scottish Division consists of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland; The King's Division will now be made up of The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border) and The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th/19th and 33rd/76th Foot); The Prince of Wales’ Division will now comprise The Mercian Regiment and The Royal Welsh.

In accordance with the Territorial Army (TA) restructuring announcement made in December 2004, the King’s and Cheshire Regiment will be merged. The companies will be re-allocated to neighbouring TA battalions.
Click here for the full details of the changes.

Mr John Reid, said:

"This restructuring is part of our strategy to provide a truly robust and expeditionary Army. It is the next step in modernising the Army into a fully deployable force. It is essential to ensure that we are structured to provide the most powerful capability possible from the resources available.

"There has been a constant process of change and regeneration in the Army, in which new organisations have been created, drawing from previous military renown, while developing their own traditions and reputations.

"The planned changes to the infantry are well underway to ensure the Army is fit for the challenges of the 21st Century and remains amongst the best in the world."

General Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, said:

"The Army has consulted extensively to find the best names for the new regiments, taking into consideration history and their role in the Army.

"I am confident that these changes will contribute significantly towards our ability to deliver a truly robust and expeditionary Army. It will also provide for better career management for the infantry, and greater stability and predictability of life for their families."

The new working titles were announced by the Secretary of State on 16 December 2004, which was followed by a consultation period amongst the regiments and their wider regimental constituencies. There are no changes to the Regiments of Foot Guards, The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, The Royal Irish Regiment, The Parachute Regiment, The Royal Gurkha Rifles and The London Regiment.

Related Links:

Defence Secretary outlines the Future Structure of the Army
THE FUTURE ARMY STRUCTURE - The Chief of the General Staff
The British Army
REGULAR AND TERRITORIAL ARMY TITLES- PRE AND POST ORGANISATION




THE GUARDS DIVISION

1st Battalion Grenadier Guards
1st Battalion Grenadier Guards
1 GREN GDS

1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
1 COLDM GDS

1st Battalion Scots Guards
1st Battalion Scots Guards
1SG

1st Battalion Irish Guards
1st Battalion Irish Guards
1 IG

1st Battalion Welsh Guards
1st Battalion Welsh Guards
1 WG



THE SCOTTISH DIVISION

The Royal Regiment of Scotland

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 28 Mar 06, with The Royal Scots Battalion and The King’s Own Scottish Borderers Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland merging on 1 Aug 06.

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
From 28 Mar 06 to 1 Aug 06 becomes The Royal Scots Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland then merges to become The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
1 SCOTS

1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret’s Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment)
The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
2 SCOTS

1st Battalion The King’s Own Scottish Borderers
From 28 Mar 06 to 1 Aug 06 becomes The King’s Own Scottish Borderers Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland then merges to become The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland as above
1 SCOTS

(as above)

1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
3 SCOTS

1st Battalion The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
4 SCOTS

1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise’s)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders,

5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
5 SCOTS

Territorial Army Battalions

52nd Lowland Regiment
52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
6 SCOTS

51st Highland Regiment
51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
7 SCOTS





THE QUEEN’S DIVISION

The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
1 PWRR

2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
2 PWRR

Territorial Army Battalion

3rd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
3rd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires)
3 PWRR

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
1 RRF

2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
2 RRF

Territorial Army Battalion

The Tyne Tees Regiment[1]
5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
5 RRF



The Royal Anglian Regiment

Regular Army Battalions

1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment
1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment
1 R ANGLIAN

2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment
2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment
2 R ANGLIAN

Territorial Army Battalion

The East of England Regiment[2]
3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment
3 R ANGLIAN



THE KING’S DIVISION

The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 1 Jul 06 initially with 3 regular battalions reducing by 1 battalion by Mar 07.

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment
1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)

2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)
1 LANCS



2 LANCS

1st Battalion The King’s Regiment

1st Battalion The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment

Territorial Army Battalion

The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers
4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border)
4 LANCS

The Yorkshire Regiment (14th / 15th, 19th and 33rd / 76th Foot)

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 6 Jun 06.

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire
1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment

(Prince Of Wales’s Own)
1 YORKS

1st Battalion The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment)
2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment

(Green Howards)
2 YORKS

1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment

(West Riding)
3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment

(Duke of Wellington’s)
3 YORKS

Territorial Army Battalion

The East and West Riding Regiment
4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment
4 YORKS



THE PRINCE OF WALES’S DIVISION

The Mercian Regiment

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 24 Aug 07.

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment
1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire)
1 MERCIAN

1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot)
2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters)
2 MERCIAN

1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s)
3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords)
3 MERCIAN

Territorial Army Battalion

The West Midlands Regiment
4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment
4 MERCIAN

The Royal Welsh

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 1 Mar 06.

1st Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers
1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers) 1 R WELSH

1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot)
2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh (The Royal Regiment of Wales) 2 R WELSH

Territorial Army Battalion

The Royal Welsh Regiment
3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh
3 R WELSH



THE LIGHT DIVISION

The Rifles

Formation Arrangements: Regimental formation 2007.

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry

and

1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
1st Battalion The Rifles









2nd Battalion The Rifles

3rd Battalion The Rifles

4th Battalion The Rifles

5th Battalion The Rifles
1 RIFLES









2 RIFLES

3 RIFLES

4 RIFLES

5 RIFLES

1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets

2nd Battalion The Light Infantry

2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets

1st Battalion The Light Infantry

Territorial Army Battalions

The Rifle Volunteers
6th Battalion The Rifles
6 RIFLES

The Royal Rifle Volunteers
7th Battalion The Rifles
7 RIFLES



THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT (27th(Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)[3]

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment
1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment 1 R IRISH

Territorial Army Battalion

The Royal Irish Rangers
The Royal Irish Rangers
RANGERS



THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT

Regular Battalions

1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment
1 PARA

2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment
2 PARA

3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment
3 PARA

Territorial Army Battalion

4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment
4 PARA



THE BRIGADE OF GURKHAS

1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles
1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles
1 RGR

2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles
2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles
2 RGR



THE LONDON REGIMENT

Territorial Army Battalion

The London Regiment[4]
The London Regiment[5]
LONDONS





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[1] Currently within the King’s Division and not part of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.[2] Currently not part of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
[3] Not included are the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment who have not been subject to FAS.
[4] Currently within the Queen’s Division.
[5] Operational affiliation with The Foot Guards, proposal to move from The Queen’s Division to The Household Division.

[Day Release]

http://www.news.mod.uk/news_headline...wsItem_id=3788

Just as it was expected to be

I am glad that stupid names such as the Tyne Tees Regiment have been dropped by the TA.

Although the Scottish titles suck

52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland

[pirlo_21]

well she's hardly likely to say no is she

[sjwmoore]

yes, the TA names from 99 were shite...i cant say im too enamoured with "The Rifles" being the name of a 5 bn regiment, sounds ridiculous, why not "Rifle Regiment" , "Rifle Corps" (as in KRRC) or just "Light Infantry"? Cavalry regiments to be renamed "The Tanks"????

[Day Release]

The Rifles is a bit crap, not that impressed with the Mercians either, should have either kept Royal Green Jackets or Light Infantry, and as for the Mercians the Royal Midlands Regiment would have been more apprioriate.

Still pleased the shite 1999 TA names have finally gone, with the exception of the London Regiment which is to be affilated with the Guards.

Pretty much as expected for the rest, as for the Tanks there is already The Royal Tank Corp, although you can rest assured that the Household Division and Cavalry will not be changing.

[sjwmoore]

now we await the announcement on locations- the review stated that regts would be largely fixed in permanent locations and roles what with the end of the arms plot. i presume almost every regt will have a presence in germany, though there are only six bns in the country. Apparently the Cyprus slots will still be rotated, for obvious reasons!

[Day Release]

Locations shouldn't really be a problem, they will just be based at the usual places Catterick, Aldershot, Colchester, Edinburgh, around Salisbury Plain and other garrison towns. There is only a relatively small garrison in Germany now and it's mainly armoured.

There is no radical base closures, just a move to bigger garrison towns, it's the same with the Royal Navy there bases will continue to be located around Portsmouth, Devonport and Clydeside. Although the future of Britannia Naval College at Dartmouth has been the subject of rumours, with many claiming that initial officer training could be moved to Shrivenham, and there have also been similar rumour regarding RAF Cranwell.

The RAF is the only one of the three services that is having a radical base review, with Coltishall, St Mawgan, Boulmer, Neatishead and Lyneham having already been cut, and with possible further base closures.

[Day Release]

Dismay as regiments lose their historic badges
By Auslan Cramb and Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 26/11/2005)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...26/ixhome.html

One of the Army's most senior officers expressed "great dismay" yesterday after learning that restrictions are to be imposed on wearing historic caps and badges after the merger of Scotland's regiments.

Lt Gen Sir Alistair Irwin, Colonel of the Black Watch, who is regarded by many critics as the architect of the Scottish "super-regiment" merger, said the decision would undermine the "painful process of amalgamation".


The new cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

He also said it would make the task of building a new single regiment, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, from Scotland's six regiments much harder.

"It overturns the agreement that we thought we had, which would have allowed the regiments to retain their traditional head-dress," said Sir Alistair.

"That in our case means the red hackle, which is a cherished icon, a visible symbol recognised throughout the world and respected, not just by the regiment, but by the whole Army."

He has written to Gen Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, to ask for the decision to be overturned.

But the Scottish regiments have been told to "fall in line" with infantry reforms and that they should be grateful that they are still over-represented in the British Army, senior defence sources said yesterday.

As the Army starts to absorb the biggest changes to the infantry structure in the past century, it now appears that the names of more than half the infantry will disappear.

Such renowned units as the Cheshires will become known as the Mercian Regiment, the Green Howards will be renamed The Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets will become The Rifles.

The name changes have been agonised over by regimental associations for the past year but have now been finally agreed.

The Army will be streamlined by having 23 regiments absorbed into six super-regiments of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Rifles, The Duke of Lancaster Regiment, The Mercian Regiment, The Royal Welsh and The Yorkshire Regiment.

Other regiments, such as the Guards, Parachute Regiment and Gurkhas will remain unchanged with the exception of the Paras who will have the 1 Bn used to support the SAS.

The reforms have been implemented to allow soldiers' greater career choice and family stability by giving them a permanent fixed base.

It will also allegedly provide the Army, at a time when it is increasingly becoming an expeditionary force, with a greater number of battalions ready for operations despite axing the numbers from 40 to 36.

The massive opposition in Scotland to the changes has meant that the Royal Regiment of Scotland will have the old regiment's names preserved. For example the Black Watch will become, 3 Bn The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch) or 3 Scots.

The Scots will be able to keep their distinctive headdress in some orders of dress but will have to wear the new regiment's cap badge in ceremonial dress.

Whitehall sources said that Scotland, with its large representation of politicians in the Government, had done "extremely well out of the changes" to lose just one regiment - an amalgamation of The Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers - rather than two.

The battalions have suffered serious recruiting problems with many being bolstered by troops from Commonwealth countries such as Fiji.

The Light Division has taken a "bolder step" and opted just to be known as The Rifles with its resonance to the Wellington era Rifle Brigade.

The regiment will retain many of the traditions of its predecessors including the Gloucestershire Regiment's back badge of the Sphinx, which was won after back-to-back fighting in the Battle of Alexandria in 1801.

The Rifles will also retain on their insignia the Croix de Guerre, the silver bugle, black buttons and cross belts.

The changes, known as Future Army Structure, are designed to end the "arms plot" - the Cold War system in which infantry regiments moved base every three years, changing roles from highly mobile infantry to mechanised and armoured.

Moving from one role to another, with transfers to new bases, takes up to six months of training. This means that of the 40 infantry battalions, only 33 are available for operations.

In future battalions will stay in one role, making all 36 available at all times when the changes comes into effect next year and in 2007. Critics of the reforms say that they will disengage units from their traditional recruiting grounds.

The new system, which aims for flexibility and efficiency, will see at least one battalion of each regiment based in its home area, with others in Germany or on operations abroad.

?????