18th century The earliest verifiable historical evidence of local civilians enrolled to defend Gibraltar dates to 24 June 1720 and, by 1755, an armed organisation of local men were mounting guard on the picket line from
Bayside to
Devil's Tower to prevent soldiers from the garrison deserting across to the enemy. These men were known as the Genoese Guard and were disbanded at the end of the
Seven Years' War. The volunteers obtained recognition from the governor, General Sir
Herbert Miles, on 3 July 1915. Addressing the volunteers at
Wellington Front, the governor said that the Corps had "come into being not because of any official demand but as a result of their patriotic fervour and of their love and respect for the Crown". The Corps was based at
Orange Bastion, with its headquarters on the ground floor of what is now
City Hall. Later, the group moved to Wellington Front. The volunteers were divided into four rifle companies, A, B, C and D: each was commanded by a captain, with two subalterns, one sergeant major, four sergeants, eight corporals, two buglers and about 80 men. The first commanding officer was Major G B Roberts of the
Royal Engineers. During the war, the Corps provided reinforcement to assist in the defence of
the Rock. The Corps was disbanded on 1 February 1920. This organisation was to remain in force until 1971. With the departure of the last gunner unit in 1958, the regiment was issued with four
25 pounder (88 mm) guns and took over the responsibilities of firing Royal Gun
Salutes. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment signed up to the
Armed Forces Act 2011 to bring it in line with
British Armed Forces. It was signed by
Governor of Gibraltar Ed Davis (Royal Marines officer) on board in 2018 along with
Fabian Picardo and
Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster. On 31 March 2022 the Royal Gibraltar Regiment was presented with
New Colours by
HRH the Earl of Wessex at
Windsor Castle. ==Structure==