Large regiment


A large regiment is a multi-battalion infantry formation of the British Army. First formed in the 1960s, large regiments are the result of the amalgamation of a number of existing single-battalion regiments, and perpetuate the traditions of each of the predecessor units.

Origins

Up to 1948, line infantry regiments in the British Army had two battalions, in the form that had been implemented under the 1881 Childers Reforms, which was intended to allow each regiment to have one battalion stationed in the UK, and the other stationed overseas. However, Indian independence in 1947 saw plans put in place to reduce all of the British Army's line infantry and rifles regiments to a single battalion. Although some regiments temporarily raised new battalions during the early 1950s, following the Defence Review announced in 1957, the majority of regular infantry of the British Army consisted of single-battalion regiments grouped in administrative "brigades", consisting of anywhere from two to eight battalions.
Although the battalions in a brigade shared a common depot, they maintained a separate regimental identity. Reductions in troop numbers following the 1957 review had necessitated the amalgamation of pairs of regiments within the brigades from 1958 to 1961, a process that sometimes proved controversial.
Royal Scots FusiliersRoyal Highland Fusiliers
Highland Light Infantry Royal Highland Fusiliers
Seaforth Highlanders Queen's Own Highlanders
Queen's Own Cameron HighlandersQueen's Own Highlanders
Queen's Royal Regiment Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
East Surrey RegimentQueen's Royal Surrey Regiment
The Buffs Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
Queen's Own Royal West Kent RegimentQueen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
Royal Norfolk Regiment1st East Anglian Regiment
Suffolk Regiment1st East Anglian Regiment
Royal Lincolnshire Regiment2nd East Anglian Regiment
Northamptonshire Regiment2nd East Anglian Regiment
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment3rd East Anglian Regiment
Essex Regiment3rd East Anglian Regiment
South Staffordshire RegimentStaffordshire Regiment
North Staffordshire Regiment Staffordshire Regiment
Devonshire RegimentDevonshire and Dorset Regiment
Dorset RegimentDevonshire and Dorset Regiment
Royal Berkshire Regiment Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment
Wiltshire Regiment Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment
East Lancashire RegimentLancashire Regiment
South Lancashire Regiment Lancashire Regiment
King's Regiment King's Regiment
Manchester RegimentKing's Regiment
King's Own Royal Regiment King's Own Royal Border Regiment
Border RegimentKing's Own Royal Border Regiment
West Yorkshire Regiment Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire
East Yorkshire Regiment Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire
Somerset Light Infantry Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry
Duke of Cornwall's Light InfantrySomerset and Cornwall Light Infantry

Genesis of the large regiment

The idea of the "large regiment" originated in 1962. Speaking in the House of Commons on 8 March, the Minister of War, John Profumo, stated that there was not going to be a further extensive reorganisation of army units. However, talking of the need to increase flexibility in the services, he noted that the regimental system of the infantry could be said to "stand in the way of change". He stated that the transition from the regimental to the brigade system "had on the whole been going well" and it was now time to see if there were "tangible advantages from the point of view of recruiting and flexibility" to be gained from a "large regiment system".
On 16 March The Times reported that the War Office were in the early stages of planning for the creation of large regiments. The plan involved the conversion of the existing brigades into regiments, with each of the regiments forming a numbered battalion of the large regiment. The creation of the multi-battalion regiments would allow the infantry to be expanded or reduced as needed. This could be done by the increase or decrease in the number of battalions of each regiment, rather than by the emotive process of merging or disbanding historic single-battalion regiments. The report noted that this process had effectively already begun in the East Anglian and Green Jackets Brigades, where regiments had been redesignated or amalgamated as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd East Anglian Regiments and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Green Jackets.

The first large regiments

In 1963, the first preparations for the introduction of large regiments began with the disbanding of the Forester Brigade. The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment had transferred to the East Anglian Brigade and amalgamated with the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1958. Five years later, the three remaining battalions were also moved, with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment moving to the Fusilier Brigade ; the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to the East Anglian Brigade; and the Sherwood Foresters to the Mercian Brigade.
In February 1964, approval for the creation of the first large regiment was given, with the Royal Anglian Regiment to be formed from the four regular battalions of the East Anglian Brigade. The new regiment was formed on 1 September. In May 1965 it was announced that the regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade were to become the three-battalion Royal Green Jackets from 1 January 1966.
In September 1965, figures showed that the new large regiments were recruiting more successfully than the remaining single-battalion regiments, some of which were only at rifle company strength. In particular the Welsh, North Irish and Lancastrian Brigades were under strength. It was thought that the Yorkshire Brigade and Home Counties Brigade were likely to form large regiments in the near future, while plans to merge the battalions of the Highland Brigade were only being delayed by failure to agree on a common tartan to be worn. While the Army Board could not compel regiments to amalgamate, it was their stated "wish and intention" that they should. The survival of the weaker brigades was under doubt, while a feasibility study into the formation of a single "Corps of Infantry" was initiated.
In June 1966, it was announced that the regiments of the Home Counties Brigade had agreed to form the third large regiment. Accordingly, on 31 December, the four regiments became the Queen's Regiment. By July 1967, three more Brigades had opted to become large regiments. All three mergers occurred in 1968: the Fusilier Brigade became the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on 23 April, the North Irish Brigade became the Royal Irish Rangers on 1 July and the Light Infantry Brigade became The Light Infantry on 10 July.
The Defence White Paper of 1967 reduced the number of infantry battalions, with the large regiments all losing one battalion in 1968. The six brigades that had chosen not to form large regiments were also to lose a battalion: the decision to amalgamate a pair of regiments or to disband the junior regiment being left to the council of colonels of the brigade.
  • The Royal Anglian Regiment – formed 1 September 1964 from:
  • *1st East Anglian Regiment – 1st Battalion
  • *2nd East Anglian Regiment – 2nd Battalion
  • *3rd East Anglian Regiment – 3rd Battalion
  • *The Royal Leicestershire Regiment – 4th Battalion
  • The Royal Green Jackets – formed 1 January 1966 from:
  • *1st Green Jackets – 1st Battalion
  • *2nd Green Jackets, The King's Royal Rifle Corps – 2nd Battalion
  • *3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade – 3rd Battalion
  • The Queen's Regiment – formed 31 December 1966 from:
  • *The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment – 1st Battalion
  • *The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment – 2nd Battalion
  • *The Royal Sussex Regiment – 3rd Battalion
  • *The Middlesex Regiment – 4th Battalion
  • The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – formed 23 April 1968 from:
  • *The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers – 1st Battalion
  • *The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers – 2nd Battalion
  • *The Royal Fusiliers – 3rd Battalion
  • *The Lancashire Fusiliers – 4th Battalion
  • The Royal Irish Rangers – formed 1 July 1968 from:
  • *The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers – 1st Battalion
  • *The Royal Ulster Rifles – 2nd Battalion
  • *The Royal Irish Fusiliers – 3rd Battalion
  • The Light Infantry – formed 10 July 1968 from:
  • *The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry – 1st Battalion
  • *The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry – 2nd Battalion
  • *The King's Shropshire Light Infantry – 3rd Battalion
  • *The Durham Light Infantry – 4th Battalion
On 1 July 1968, the brigade system was abandoned, with the infantry being grouped in six administrative "divisions" instead. Individual regimental cap badges were reintroduced and the creation of large regiments effectively ceased. Following a change of government in 1970, a policy of retaining single-battalion regiments was implemented.
The majority of the new large regiments formed between 1964 and 1968 were grouped together into two of the new administrative divisions – the Queen's Regiment, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and Royal Anglian Regiment together formed the Queen's Division, while the Light Infantry and Royal Green Jackets made up the new Light Division. The Royal Irish Rangers was allocated, along with the single battalion regiments from the North of England, to the King's Division. The remaining three were the Guards Division, the Scottish Division, and the Prince of Wales' Division.