Formation (first from left), the co-founder of the regiment In 1800, an "Experimental Corps of Riflemen", was raised by Colonel
Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon.
William Stewart, drawn from officers and other ranks from drafts of a variety of British regiments. The Corps differed in several regards from the line infantry of the British Army and most significantly were armed with the formidable
Baker rifle. The rifle was remarkably accurate in an era when it was generally considered impractical for individual soldiers to aim at specific targets. Riflemen wore dark green jackets rather than the bright red coats of the British line infantry regiments of that time, close-fitting pantaloons rather than breeches, black
facings and black belts rather than white and a green plume on their "stovepipe
shakoes".
As the Rifle Corps Four months after its formation, the Rifle Corps was judged ready for its first operation. On 25 August 1800, three companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Stewart, spearheaded a British amphibious landing at
Ferrol, Spain, where the Rifles helped to dislodge the Spanish defenders on the heights. Despite this, the expedition was defeated and withdrew on 26 August 1800.
As the 95th Regiment In 1802, the Rifle Corps was brought into the line of the British Army as the 95th Regiment of Foot. In 1803, the 95th moved to
Shorncliffe Army Camp,
Kent, where it underwent light infantry training, along with the
43rd and
52nd Regiments of Foot, under the tutelage of Manningham and
Sir John Moore; the latter, like the 95th, would gain fame during the
Peninsular War. In 1805, a 2nd Battalion was raised at
Canterbury, Kent, and later in the year the 1st/95th deployed to Germany as part of a British expedition, under the command of
Lord Cathcart, designed to liberate
Hanover from occupation by
France. The 95th subsequently formed the advance guard on the way to
Bremen. In February 1806, the 95th formed the rearguard for the withdrawal to
Cuxhaven and subsequently returned home to the UK. The 95th subsequently saw action at
Colonia against a Spanish force that had crossed from Buenos Aires; the Rifles held off the force until it could be repulsed, with the 95th gaining much praise from Auchmuty for their part in the defeat of the Spanish force. The 95th subsequently saw action in June at
San Pedro where they, the
40th and light companies, fought against the Spanish force that had crossed from Buenos Aires and defeated them.
Peninsular War In August 1808 the 2nd/95th was part of the immediate forces sent in the Portuguese expedition initially commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley and covered the landings at Mondego Bay (Figueira da Foz). The 95th, as part of
6th Brigade which included the rifle armed
5th/60th Foot, took part in the
Battle of Roliça, the first pitched battle of the war, on 17 August 1808. The 1st battalion was part of John Moore's campaign which ended with evacuation after the
Battle of Corunna on 16 January 1809. The 1st returned to the peninsula a few months later in May 1809 and in July was force marched in an attempt to arrive with the main force for the
Battle of Talavera but despite covering a notable distance they arrived on 29 July 1809, just after the battle. After the depletion suffered at Corunna, the two battalions of the 95th based at
Hythe in Kent were made up to a strength of 1,000 men each. However, so many volunteers came forward to join the regiment that permission was granted to raise a third battalion in 1809. The third battalion joined the Peninsular Army in 1810. Thereafter the three battalions of the 95th fought in numerous major battles and skirmishes during the
Peninsular War as part of the elite Light Division, including the
Battle of Bussaco in September 1810 and the
sieges of
Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812 and
Badajoz and March 1812 as well as the
Battle of Vitoria in June 1813. The regiment also took part in the
Battle of Nivelle in November 1813. The
Duke of Wellington became
Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment in 1820 and served until his death. The regiment was deployed again as part of the
Indian Rebellion and saw action at the
Siege of Lucknow in autumn 1857. It was granted the title "The Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade" in honour of its colonel-in-chief on 17 January 1862. In 1866, Private
Timothy O'Hea of the 1st Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for an act of bravery in peacetime, while his unit was stationed in the
Province of Canada. On 9 June 1866, at
Danville, Canada East, on the main railway between Montreal and Quebec City, a fire broke out in a car containing of ammunition. Despite the extreme danger, O'Hea took charge of extinguishing the fire and saved many lives. The regiment also took part in the
Battle of Ali Masjid in November 1878 during the
Second Anglo-Afghan War, the
Mahsud Waziri expedition in 1881, the
Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, the
Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895 and the
Mahdist War in 1898. The 1st and 2nd Battalions were both deployed to South Africa in 1899, at the outbreak of the
Second Boer War (1899–1902). The 1st Battalion saw action at the
Battle of Colenso in December 1899 and
Battle of Vaal Krantz in February 1900. The 2nd Battalion took part in the
Siege of Ladysmith in late 1899 and early 1900. Both battalions stayed in South Africa until the end of the war. 367 officers and men of the 1st battalion left
Cape Town on the SS
Orissa, which arrived at
Southampton in late October 1902, when the battalion was stationed at
Portsmouth. 990 officers and men of the 2nd battalion left
Port Natal on the SS
Malta in September 1902 for a new posting in Egypt. The 4th Battalion was also stationed in South Africa at some point during the war, and 900 men returned home on the SS
Ortona in January 1903. The 5th,
Militia Battalion, was embodied in 1900, and served in South Africa until 700 men of the battalion returned home on the SS
Avondale Castle in September 1902. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the
Territorial Force and the latter the
Special Reserve; the regiment now had three Reserve but no Territorial battalions. The battalion saw action at the
First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, the
First Battle of the Aisne in September 1914 and the
Battle of Messines in October 1914 as well as the
Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, the
Battle of the Somme in Autumn 1916 and the
Battle of Arras in April 1917 before taking part in the
Battle of Passchendaele in Autumn 1917, the
Battle of the Lys in April 1918, the Advance in Flanders, the
Second Battle of the Somme in August 1918, the battles of the
Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in
Picardy. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the
25th Brigade in the
8th Division in November 1914 for service on the Western Front. The 3rd Battalion landed at
Saint-Nazaire as part of the
17th Brigade in the
6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front. The 4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the
80th Brigade in the
27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front but moved to
Salonika in November 1915. Second Lieutenant
Sidney Woodroffe, of the 8th Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in this battle. The battalions also saw action in the
Second Battle of Ypres which had begun in April 1915 and an action near La Brique in
Belgium where Corporal
Alfred George Drake, also of the 8th Battalion, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 23 November 1915. The battalions then took part in the
Battle of Delville Wood in September 1916, the
Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 and the advance to the
Hindenburg Line as well as the
Battle of Arras in April 1917, the
Battle of Langemark in August 1917 and the
Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917 before taking part in the
Battle of St Quentin in March 1918 and the
Battle of the Avre in April 1918. The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the
42nd Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front The 10th (Service) Battalion and 11th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the
59th Brigade in the
20th (Light) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 12th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the
60th Brigade in the 20th (Light) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front The
13th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the
111th Brigade in the
37th Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. The
16th (Service) Battalion (St Pancras) landed at Le Havre as part of the
117th Brigade in the
39th Division in March 1916 for service on the Western Front.
Inter-war deployment In October 1922 the 2nd Battalion was deployed to
Turkey as part of the response to the
Chanak Crisis, which had followed Turkish efforts to push the Greek armies out of Turkey and restore Turkish rule in the Allied occupied territories of Turkey, primarily in
Constantinople.
Second World War bomb explodes in a stream in the village of
Nieuwstadt, north of
Sittard, the Netherlands, 3 January 1945. The 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade was in England on the outbreak of the
Second World War, originally part of the
1st Support Group, part of the
1st Armoured Division. In late April 1940, however, the battalion transferred to the newly created
30th Infantry Brigade and landed in France the following month within the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) but was lost at the
defence of Calais, where the brigade slowed the German advance and enabled the
Dunkirk evacuation to proceed. The 1st Battalion subsequently took part in the
Second Battle of El Alamein and the
Tunisian Campaign until May 1943 when the war in North Africa ended with the surrender of almost 250,000 German and Italian soldiers. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Thomas Pearson, the battalion, alongside the 1st Battalion, continued to play a prominent role in the final stages of the Tunisian Campaign. In September 1943 the battalion transferred to the
7th Armoured Brigade in the
10th Armoured Division, remaining with that formation in North Africa until May 1944, when it transferred to the
61st Lorried Infantry Brigade in the
6th Armoured Division for service in the Italian Campaign, seeing action in the
Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino, the
Gothic Line and the
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, which brought an end to the war in Italy in early May 1945. The battalion became part of the
23rd Armoured Brigade, then serving under the
8th Armoured Division, and was sent with the division to Egypt in July 1942 where it played a role in the
First Battle of El Alamein before, the following month, becoming a part of the
7th Motor Brigade, part of the 1st Armoured Division. It later transferred to the independent
9th Armoured Brigade and finally to the 61st Lorried Infantry Brigade and was engaged throughout the Italian Campaign from May 1944 onwards, commanded throughout by Lieutenant Colonel
Douglas Darling. crew of the 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade hands out chocolate to Dutch civilians during the advance of 11th Armoured Division in the
Netherlands, 22 September 1944. The 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade was formed in early January 1941 by the redesignation of the 2nd Battalion, London Rifle Brigade, spent most of its existence in the United Kingdom and took part in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, as part of the
29th Armoured Brigade in the
11th Armoured Division, and saw action in the
North West Europe Campaign. The 9th Battalion was created in late May 1941 by renaming the
1st Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifles. The battalion was part of the
2nd Support Group of the
2nd Armoured Division and then the
200th Guards Brigade until June 1942.
Amalgamations The 1st Battalion was renamed the 3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade in 1958 and was amalgamated with the
1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and the
King's Royal Rifle Corps to form the
Royal Green Jackets on 1 January 1966. ==Regimental museum==