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Authors and Contributors this page: T.F. Mills, Christopher Buyers
Page created 15 July 2000. Corrected and updated 14.07.2006
 
crest and tie
The Parachute Regiment
crest and tie
 by A. Melville-Brown
United Kingdom 
  Titles & Lineage
  History
  Battle Honours
  Colours, Standards & Guidons
  Uniforms & Badges
  Colonels-in-Chief
  Colonels

  Biography & Gallantry Awards
  Traditions
  Alliances
  Associations, Forums, Re-Enactors
  Museums, Monuments, Memorials
  Bibliography
How to find information about individuals who served in this corps
 
Notice: 1st Pathfinder Regiment website and the newer Pathfinder Platoon website by "Colonel Maglite" strongly resemble The Parachute Regiment, but are fantasy, and contain material plagiarised from this website.
 
 
1940.06.22 The Parachute Corps
1942.08.01 The Parachute Regiment
part of Army Air Corps
1949.08 independent corps
1950.05.13 part of The Glider Pilot and Parachute Corps
1957.09.01 independent corps
1967.04.01 part of The Parachute Corps
1968 independent corps
crown The Parachute Regiment (Regimental site)
crown The Parachute Regiment (Army site)
crown The Parachute Regiment (Army Infantry site)
pip Mad Mitch's Para Site, by John S. Mitchell.
pip History of The Parachute Regiment (Regimental site)
pip A Brief History of British Airborne Forces, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Operational Deployments of The Parachute Regiment 1941 to 1945, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Operational Deployments of The Parachute Regiment 1946 to 1999, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Units of The Parachute Regiment (Regimental site)
pip The Parachute Regiment, by Glenvil Roberts.
pip British Paratroopers, by Herbert Holeman (Colonel Holeman's Para Pages)
     
  RHQ and Depot:
    RHQ: Browning Barracks, Aldershot, Hants.
     
  Regulars:
  1st Battalion [1940-present]
 
  2nd Battalion [1941-present]
 
  2nd/3rd Battalion [1946-1948]
  3rd Battalion [1941-present]
 
  4th Battalion [1942-1946]
  4th/6th Battalion [1946-1948]
  5th (Scottish) Battalion [1942-1948]
  6th Battalion (Royal Welsh) [1942-1946]
  7th (Light Infantry) Battalion [1942-1948]
  8th (Midland Counties) Battalion [1942-1946]
  8th/9th Battalion [1946-1948]
  9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Battalion [1942-1946]
  10th Battalion [1943-1944]
  11th Battalion [1943-1944]
  12th (Yorkshire) Battalion [1943-1956]
  13th (Lancashire) Battalion [1943-1945]
  15th (The King's) Battalion [1945-1947]
  16th (South Staffordshire) Battalion [1945-1947]
  151st Battalion [1941-1942]
  156th Battalion [1942-1944]
   
Territorials and Volunteers:
  4th/6th Battalion [1947-1948]
  4th (V) Battalion [1967-present]
  10th (County of London) Battalion [1947-1999]
  11th (Middlesex) Battalion [1947-1956]
  12th (Yorkshire) Battalion [1943-1956]
  12th/13th (Yorkshire and Lancashire) Battalion [1956-1967]
  13th (Lancashire) Battalion [1947-1956]
  14th Battalion [1948-1956]
  15th (Scottish) Battalion [1947-1992]
  16th (Welsh) Battalion [1947-1956]
  17th Battalion (9th Bn The Durham Light Infantry) [1948-1967]
  18th Battalion [1947-1956]
Independent Squadrons & Companies:
  No. 1 (Guards) Independent Company [1948-1975]
  Gurkha Independent Parachute Company [1961-1971?]
  Parachute Squadron, Royal Armoured Corps [1964-1976]
  Pathfinder Platoon
 
  16th (Lincoln) Independent Parachute Company [T.A.] [1950-1988?]
   
The Second World War: Bruneval, Normandy Landing, Pegasus Bridge, Merville Battery, Breville, Dives Crossing, La Toucques Crossing, Arnhem 1944, Ourthe, Rhine, Southern France, North-West Europe 1942 ‘44-45, Soudia, Oudna, Djebel Azzag 1943, Djebel Alliliga, El Hadjeba, Tamera, Djebel Dahra, Kef el Debna, North Africa 1942-43, Primosole Bridge, Sicily 1943, Taranto, Orsogna, Italy 1943-44, Athens, Greece 1944-45

 

Goose Green, Mount Longdon, Wireless Ridge, Falkland Islands 1982, Al Basrah, Iraq 2003
Presentation of Colours, 1950, by Brian M. Riordan.
Presentation of Colours, 1998, by Brian M. Riordan.
   
Badges: construction sign
Uniform: 1953-present: blue; facings: maroon; piping: maroon
headdress: construction sign
   
   
     
   
   
1977.06.11 Lt-Gen. HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, AK, QSO, ADC
   
   
Colonel Commandant:
  1942.11.12 F.M. Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO [also Col. East Lancs Regt; CIGS]
1944.11.06 F.M. The Rt Hon Bernard Law (Montgomery), 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO [also Col. R Warwickshire Regt, Col. Cmdt. RAC, RTR, APTC; Cmdr 8th Army; C-in-C 21st Army Gp; CIGS]
1956.03.13 Gen. Sir Richard Nelson Gale, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC [also Col. Worcestershire Regt]
1961.03.20 Gen. Sir Gerald William Lathbury, GCB, DSO, MBE, KStJ [also Col. Cmdt. 3rd Green Jackets; Col. West India Regt, Jamaica Regt; Gov. & C-in-C Gibraltar 1965-69]
1965.02.01 Lt-Gen. Sir Kenneth Thomas Darling, GBE, KCB, DSO [also Col. R Fusiliers, R Regt of Fus]
1967.01.31 Lt-Gen. Sir Mervyn Andrew Haldane Butler, KCB, CBE, DSO, MC
1972.12.18 F.M. Sir Roland Christopher Gibbs, GCB, CBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ADC [also Col. Cmdt. 2nd Bn, RGJ; CGS]
1977.12.18 Gen. Sir Anthony Heritage Farrar-Hockley, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, ADC [also Col. Gloucestershire Regt; Col. Cmdt. POW Div.]
1983.12.31 Gen. Sir Geoffrey Hugh Whitby Howlett, KBE, MC [also ACC]
1990.11.10 Gen. Sir Michael Stuart Gray, KCB, OBE [also Hon. Col. 10th Bn Para Regt, 250 Fd Amb RAMC]
1993.07.01 Lt-Gen. Sir Rupert Anthony Smith, KCB, DSO, OBE, QGM
1998.09.01 Gen. Sir Michael (Mike) David Jackson, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC [also Col. Cmdt. AG Corps; Hon. Col. Rifle Vols, 2nd Bn RGBW, 10th Bn Para Regt; Dep. Hon. Col. 4th Bn Para Regt; CGS]
2004.12.03 Gen. Sir John George Reith, KCB, CBE
 
 
 
 
 
vc Victoria Crosses, by Mike Chapman (VC Reference).
VCs in Airborne Forces Museum, by Iain Stewart.
Victoria Crosses awarded to Airborne Forces, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Roll of Honour, D-Day and Normandy, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Roll of Honour, Arnhem, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Roll of Honour, Suez, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Roll of Honour, Northern Ireland, by John S. Mitchell.
pip Roll of Honour, Falklands, by John S. Mitchell.
pip 8th Battalion Roll of Honour [WW2], by Liz Stone.
pip Paras on the Web, by Brian M. Riordan.
pip John Dingwall
   
   
 
Motto: Utrinque Paratus
Nicknames: construction sign
Anniversaries: construction sign
Freedoms: construction sign
Marches: construction sign
Musicians: construction sign
Mascot: construction sign
Miscellaneous Tradition Links:
Australia flag 8th Bn, The Royal Australian Regiment
1967-1973
Australia flag 8th/9th Bn, The Royal Australian Regiment
1973-1997
Australia flag The Special Air Service Regiment 1968-19uu
Canada flag The Canadian Airborne Regiment 1985?-1995
swords The Parachute Regiment Association
swords The Parachute Regiment Association, Lothian Branch, by John Dingwall.
swords Ex Red Devils Worldwide, by Brian M. Riordan.
swords Paratroopers of the 50s, by C.J. Magro.
swords Association of British Military Parachutists
swords Army Parachute Association
swords HQ Coy, 7 th (L.I.) Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne Division [WWII; Tennessee]
swords A Coy, 7 th (L.I.) Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne Division [WWII; Florida]
swords B Coy, 7 th (L.I.) Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne Division [WWII; Carolinas]
swords 5th Airborne Brigade Living History Group [1980s-90s; southern England]]
   
   
monument Airborne Forces Museum, Aldershot (Parachute Regiment listing)
monument Airborne Forces Museum, Aldershot (Army Museums Ogilby Trust)
monument Airborne Forces Museum, Aldershot (Simonides listing)
monument Loughborough War Memorial Museum (Simonides listing)
monument Museum of Army Flying, Stockbridge (museum site)
   
   
Regimental Journal:
book Pegasus. Aldershot : Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces, Three times a year Apr. 1983- (formerly Quarterly). ISSN: 0031-4080 {publisher's notice}
Full Histories:
book Parker, John. The Paras : the inside story of Britain's toughest regiment. London : Metro, 2000. ISBN: 1900512890
book Parker, John. The Paras : the inside story of Britain's toughest regiment. London : Metro, 2002. ISBN: 1843580047
book Harclerode, Peter. Para! : fifty years of the Parachute Regiment. London : Arms and Armour ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Sterling Pub. Co., 1992. ISBN: 1854090976
book Harclerode, Peter. Para! : fifty years of the Parachute Regiment. London : Orion, 1996. ISBN: 0752803956 (pbk)
book Harclerode, Peter. Para! : fifty years of the Parachute Regiment. London : Brockhampton, 2001. ISBN: 1860199127
book Reynolds, David. The Paras : 50 years of courage, a tribute to the airborne forces. London : Express Newspapers, 1990. ISBN: 0850792215 (pbk)
book Kennett, John. ; Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret. London : Blackie, 1970. (The Kennett library, modern series) ISBN: 0216890985
book Thompson, Julian. Ready for anything : the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1982. London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989. ISBN: 0297796208
book Thompson, Julian. Ready for anything : the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1982. London : Fontana, 1990. ISBN: 0006375057 (pbk)
book Ferguson, Gregor. The Paras, 1940-1984. London : Osprey, 1984.(Elite ; 1). ISBN: 0850455731 (pbk.)
book Hilton, Frank. The Paras. London : BBC, 1983. ISBN: 0563200995
book Ramsay, Roy G. Green on - "go" : National Service and the T.A. Harrow : Cattrysse, 1989. ISBN: 0951463705 (pbk)
book Smith, Graham. The Red Devils : red on, green on-go! London : W.H. Allen, 1989. ISBN: 1852270764
book Bridson, Rory. The making of a para. London : Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989. ISBN: 0283999187 [pbk ed. issued 1990. ISBN: 0283060735 (pbk)]
book Bridson, Rory. The making of a para. London : Greenhill Books, 1995. ISBN: 185367222X
book Gillman, Claire. Para : inside the Parachute Regiment. London : Bloomsbury Pub., 1993. ISBN: 074751500X
book Arthur, Max. Men of the red beret : airborne forces 1940-1990. London : Hutchinson, 1990. ISBN: 0091739314
book Arthur, Max. Men of the red beret : airborne forces 1940-1990. London : Warner, 1992. ISBN: 0747411948 (pbk)
book Canmer, Patrick. True stories of the paras. London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1986. ISBN: 029778692X
book Hunter, Robin. True stories of the Paras : the Red Devils at war. London : Virgin, 1999.ISBN: 0753503018
 
Second World War:
book Newnham, Maurice. Prelude to glory; the story of the creation of Britain's parachute army. London, S. Low, Marston 1947.
book Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret; the story of the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1945. London : Joseph, 1950.
book Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret; the story of the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1945. London : Odhams Press, 1958.
book Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret; the story of the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1945. London : The New English Library, 1968. [pbk ed. issued 1971. ISBN: 0450010066 (pbk)]
book Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret; the story of the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1945. London : White Lion Publishers Ltd, 1972. ISBN: 0856178233
book Saunders, Hilary Aidan St. George. The red beret; the story of the Parachute Regiment at war, 1940-1945. 1st American ed. Nashville : Battery Press, 1985. (Airborne series ; 19) ISBN: 0898390877
book Frost, John. A drop too many. London : Cassell, 1980. ISBN: 0304307173
book Frost, John. A drop too many. New and enl. ed. London : Buchan & Enright, 1982. ISBN: 0907675077
book Frost, John. A drop too many. Rev. ed. London : Sphere, 1983. ISBN: 0722136900 (pbk)
book Frost, John. A drop too many. New and enl. ed. London : Leo Cooper, 1994. ISBN: 0850523915
book Frost, John. A drop too many. [2nd ed.]. Barnsley : Leo Cooper, 2002. ISBN: 0850529271
book Barber, Neil. The day the devils dropped in : the 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy D-Day to D + 6. Barnsley : Leo Cooper, 2002. ISBN: 0850529247
book Barber, Neil. The day the devils dropped in : the 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy D-Day to D + 6. Barnsley : Leo Cooper, 2004. ISBN: 1844150453
book Golley, John. The big drop : the guns of Merville, June 1944. London : Jane's ; Boston, Mass. : Distributed by Science Books International, 1982. ISBN: 0867206357
book Mabire, Jean. Les bérets rouges en Normandie. [Paris] : Presses de la cité, 1994. ISBN: 2258038146
book History of 2nd Battalion the Parachute regiment from its formation to the Battle of Arnhem. Aldershot : Gale & Golden, 1946.
book Peatling, R. W. (Robert William). Without tradition : 2 Para - 1941-45. Wimborne Minster : : R. Peatling, 1994. ISBN: 0952299208
book Powell, Geoffrey. Men at Arnhem. London : L. Cooper, 1976. ISBN: 0850522153
book Powell, Geoffrey. Men at Arnhem. Rev. ed. London : Leo Cooper, 1998. ISBN: 0850526264
book Bankhead, Harry. Salute to the steadfast : a history of the 151-156 Parachute Battalion. Eastbourne : Ramsay, 1998. ISBN: 0953329208
book Bankhead, Harry. Salute to the steadfast : a history of the 151-156 Parachute Battalion. [New ed.] Eastbourne : Ramsay, 1999. ISBN: 0953329208
book Buckingham, William F. Paras : the birth of British Airborne Forces from Churchill's Raiders to 1st Parachute Brigade. Tempus, 2006. ISBN: 0752435302
 
Falklands War:
book Frost, John. 2 Para Falklands : the battalion at war. London : Buchan & Enright, 1983. ISBN: 0907675123
book Frost, John. 2 Para Falklands : the battalion at war. London : Sphere, 1984. ISBN: 0722136897 (pbk)
book Colbeck, Graham. With 3 Para to the Falklands. Thirsk, Yorkshire : Warrior, 1992. ISBN: 0951944304 (pbk)
book Colbeck, Graham. With 3 Para to the Falklands. London : Greenhill Books ; Mechanicsburg, PA : Stackpole Books, 2002 . ISBN: 1853674931
book Jennings, Christian. ; Weale, Adrian. Green-eyed boys : 3 Para and the battle for Mount Longdon. London : HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN: 0002555905
book Bramley, Vincent. Excursion to hell : Mount Longdon, a universal story of battle. London ; New York ; Sydney ; Toronto : BCA, 1991.
book Bramley, Vincent. Excursion to hell : Mount Longdon, a universal story of battle. London : Pan, 1992. ISBN: 0330322370
 
Other Wars:
book Morton, Peter. Emergency tour : 3 Para in South Armagh. London : Kimber, 1989. ISBN: 0718306872
 
Battalion and Company Histories:
book Watson, J. N. P. (John N P). Guardsmen of the sky : an account of the involvement of Household Troops in the Airborne Forces. Norwich : Michael Russell, 1997. ISBN: 0859552349
 
Special Topics:
book The Parachute Regiment : presentation of Colours to the First, Second and Third Battalions by His Majesty the King, Queen's Parade, Aldershot, 19th July 1950. Aldershot : Gale & Polden, 1950.
book Davies, Howard Percy. British parachute forces, 1940-45. London : Arms and Armour Press, 1974. (Key uniform guides ; 2) ISBN: 0853681082
book Shortt, James. The Paras : the British Parachute Regiment. [London] : Arms and Armour Press ; New York, N.Y. : Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co., 1985. (Uniforms illustrated ; no. 10). ISBN: 0853686998 (pbk.)
book Plaice, Ellis. Red Berets '44. London : The Illustrated London news, 1994 [roll of honour]
book Buxton, David. Honour to the airborne. Solihull : Elmdon Publishing, 1985.
book Buxton, David. Honour to the airborne. 2nd Rev. ed. [Liverpool] : Liverpool Medal Company, 1993. ISBN: 1899422005
 
Links:
book A Handy One-Stop Index of Books Relating to British Paratroops, by Ian Sadler and Steve Cox