The Rifle Volunteers
Encyclopedia
The Rifle Volunteers was a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 of the British Territorial Army.

History

The Rifle Volunteers were formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of the 6th Battalion, The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...

, 4th Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments:*The Devonshire Regiment*The Dorset Regiment...

 (The 1st Rifle Volunteers) and elements of the 2nd (V) Battalion, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment in consequence of the reforms implemented due to the Strategic Defence Review
Strategic Defence Review
The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...

. The HQ was in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 and in February 2007, the battalion comprised four fighting companies and a headquarter company:
  • A Company - Gloucester and Bristol - back bage worn on helmet and beret.
  • B (Somerset Light Infantry) Company - Taunton, Yeovil and Bath
  • C (Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry) Company - Dorchester and Poole.
  • D (Cornwall Light Infantry) Company - Truro, Bodmin and Plymouth.
  • HQ Company - Exeter

Deployments

In April 2004 a composite company of the regiment (Salamanca Company) was dispatched to Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. The company was attached to the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment
Cheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...

, as part of 1 Mechanised Brigade, within the Multi-National Division (South East). The Company returned home later that year. The battalion was part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade.

The Regiment deployed a company to Afghanistan in the Autumn of 2006. The sub-unit was known as Peninsula Company in honour of the Battle Honour earned by the Regiment's forefathers.
In 2008 the battalion deployed another company (Corunna company) to Afghanistan, bolstered by a platoon from its sister battalion 1 rifles.

Amalgamation into The Rifles

On 24 November 2005, it was announced by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 that the battalion would be amalgamated with other units into a new large regiment to be called The Rifles. To that effect in 2007, the regiment became 6th Battalion, The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...

. The merger reunited this multi-regimental battalion with the other territorial and regular units of The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry
The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a "large regiment" by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade:...

, the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, usually just known as the Devon and Dorsets, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1958 by the amalgamation of two county regiments:*The Devonshire Regiment*The Dorset Regiment...

, and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army.It was formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of two English regiments.*The Gloucestershire Regiment...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK