Origins For the
British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units' battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as a
standing army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, it was not until 1784 that infantry units were authorised to bear battle honours on their
colours. Before then, a regiment's colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the unit's past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the
15th Hussars for the
Battle of Emsdorf in 1760. Thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The earliest battle honour in the British Army is Tangier 1662–80, granted to the Tangier Horse (later known as the 1st Royal Dragoons), the oldest line cavalry regiment of the British army, who in 1969 amalgamated with the Royal Horse Guards to become The Blues and Royals. Also awarded the honour was the 2nd Regiment of Foot, or the Tangier Regiment now The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, the senior English regiment in the Union (after the
Royal Scots, the senior Scottish and British Regiment), for their protracted 23-year defence of the
Colony of Tangier. The battle honour is still held by the successor regiment, the
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour. However, older battle honours are carried on the standards of the
Yeomen of the Guard and the
Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, neither of which are part of the army, but are instead the
Sovereign's Bodyguard, in the personal service of the sovereign. The need to develop a centralised system to oversee the selection and granting of battle honours arose in the 19th century following the increase of British military engagements during the expansion of the
Empire. Thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today.
Entitlement A battle honour may be granted to
infantry/
cavalry regiments or
battalions, as well as ships (see
Naval battle honours below) and
squadrons; they are rarely granted to sub-units such as
companies,
platoons and
sections in the army. Battle honours are usually presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the unit's distinguished act took place, usually together with the year when it occurred. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour. Conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. For example, the 2nd Battalion of the
Scots Guards were awarded two battle honours for their role in the
Falklands War; "Tumbledown Mountain" specifically for the
Battle of Mount Tumbledown, and "Falkland Islands 1982" for the overall conflict. Similarly, while in Korea,
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry earned both "Kapyong" (for the
Battle of Kapyong) and "Korea 1951–1953" (for the overall war). Victory is not required to earn a battle honour: the
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps received the battle honour "Hong Kong" despite the defeat and capture of most of the force during the
Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, while the cruiser was awarded the
naval engagement honour "
Kormoran 1941" after being
sunk with all aboard by the German raider
Kormoran. Supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However, and uniquely the
Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, such as
the Royal Waggon Train. Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the
Royal Artillery and
Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by
King William IV the right to use the Latin "
Ubique", meaning
everywhere, as a battle honour. This is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery (but not the
Royal Horse Artillery). Likewise the
Royal Marines, although a colours-carrying service, was granted, along with the conventional battle honour of
"Gibraltar", the "Great Globe itself" by
King George IV for its very numerous battle honours around the world. The practice was later extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces.
Battle honours for the Second World War The Battles Nomenclature Committee advised operational Army Headquarters on the granting of battle honours. At the end of the war, the army received a report from the committee containing: • The definitions of
war theatre, battle,
action and
engagement • A detailed list of all theatres, battles, actions and engagements throughout the entire war for which regiments could be granted battle honours The army ordered regiments to form honours committees comprising at least five regimental officers, including past and present commanding officers, and the honorary colonel and
lieutenant colonel. The regimental committee reviewed the report to determine which battle honours were claimable based on the unit's wartime service. The regiment submitted an application of claims to the army with evidence showing that the unit was worthy of the battle honours. Claims could also be made for actions not listed in the report. In Britain, public announcements followed the final approval of claims. The ceremonial granting of new battle honours would be made in the form of the presentation of new Regimental and Sovereign's Colours to the regiment by the British monarch or an agent of the Crown, such as the
Governor General of a commonwealth dominion.
Display In British and Commonwealth armies a unit's battle honours can normally be found engraved, painted or embroidered on: • The
Queen's Colour/
King's Colour and
Regimental Colour (in regiments of
Foot Guards and line infantry) • The Regimental
guidon (for cavalry regiments) • The
Queen's Truncheon of the
Royal Gurkha Rifles • Drums of the regimental band and the
corps of drums/
pipes and drums • The
baldric worn by the
Drum Major of the regimental band/pipes and drums • The Drum Major's
mace • A regimental pipes and drums'
pipe banners As there is no
order of precedence for battle honours, they are listed in chronological order, Other uniform distinctions include: • Oakleaf Shoulder Badge (
The Calgary Highlanders (10th Canadians),
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) and
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles), awarded for "Kitcheners' Wood" in April 1915. No battle honour had been granted and the units petitioned for a special badge. • Sphinx: Several British regiments have a
sphinx on their regimental colour as well as cap badges and belt buckles to commemorate service in Egypt, specifically the
Battle of Alexandria in 1801. • Eagle: The
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have an eagle on their cap badge to commemorate the capture of a
French Imperial Eagle at Waterloo by the
Royal Scots Greys. The
Blues and Royals similarly wear an eagle as a shoulder badge commemorating the Eagle captured at Waterloo by the
Royal Dragoons.
Overseas awards to British military units Subject to approval by the sovereign, awards made by other allied nations may be permitted to be worn or carried. For example, several units have been awarded the French
Croix de guerre 1914–1918 and
Croix de guerre 1939–1945, the ribbon of which can be worn on the uniform. The United States
Presidential Unit Citation, as with other similar citations, is similarly worn on the uniform (usually on the arm), but is also carried on the colour or guidon of the unit it has been awarded to. In the Commonwealth, three units are permitted to carry this award on their Regimental Colour: • 2nd Battalion,
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry •
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment • D Company,
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Awarded to D Company but carried by the battalion as a whole) The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment received their awards for their actions at the
Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War. Although their regiments carry the honour "Kapyong" as a whole, only these specific battalions are permitted to carry the PUC streamer that denotes the award by the United States and wear the ribbon on the uniform. D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment were awarded their Presidential Unit Citation for their actions during the
Battle of Long Tan in the Vietnam War. Although awarded to D Company, it is carried on the 6th Battalion's Colours and worn on the uniform of all members of the battalion. The PUC was awarded to the 1st Battalion,
Gloucestershire Regiment for its actions at the
Battle of Imjin River in 1951, with the tradition continued by its successor, the
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, until its amalgamation into
The Rifles.
Naval battle honours )• SAVO ISLAND 1942 (
Battle of Savo Island)• PACIFIC 1945 (
Pacific War)• GUADALCANAL 1942-3 (
Guadalcanal Campaign)• CORAL SEA 1942 (
Battle of the Coral Sea)
Naval battle honours are battle honours awarded to warships. There are two types of naval battle honours: those awarded to ships that participate in a battle or campaign, or those for
single-ship actions. Honours for battles take their name from the location of the battle, while honours for actions are named for the opposing ship. Battle honours for Commonwealth warships were initially awarded and controlled by the
British Admiralty, under the "Commonwealth Battle Honours List". Warships of Commonwealth navies would also inherit the honours of any preceding British warship of the name. Other designs are also in use: these include plaques for the ship and honours mounted on a backing board, or the details painted onto a flat board. The
British Admiralty set honour board sizes for various types of ship: for capital ships and shore bases, for cruisers and large auxiliary ships, for all other surface ships, and for submarines (the size restriction is so the board can be moved through the submarine's hatches, as it is only displayed when the submarine is on the surface).
McGill University in Canada received the award for their contingent's bravery at
Arras in 1917 during the
First World War. The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, although a civilian police force, was awarded the status of a
dragoon regiment by
King George V following the service of many of its members during the
First World War. As a consequence, it then became entitled to display the many honours it had won dating back to 1885: In addition, the RCMP received the honorary distinction of the badge of the
Canadian Provost Corps, in recognition of the fact that the first Canadian military police unit was formed from volunteers from the RCMP. The Army Post Office Corps (APOC) was the first British Volunteer unit to be awarded a battle honour for their participation in the
1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. The honour (Egypt 1882) was displayed on the regimental flag of 24 Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (
Post Office Rifles). The only cadet unit to receive a battle honour is 1st Cadet Battalion,
King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC). Around 100 older cadets, principally non-commissioned officers, served in the
South African War with the KRRC, the City Imperial Volunteers and the
Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). Four cadets were killed in action. In recognition of this service, King Edward VII granted the battalion the Battle Honour "South Africa 1900-1902". They are permitted to wear a miniature KRRC cap badge with this single battle honour, and call their members "
riflemen" rather than cadets. ==France==