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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
 
The Rifle Brigade
(Prince Consort's Own)
crest and tie
by A. Melville-Brown
United Kingdom 
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  Bibliography

How to find information about individuals who served in this corps
 
1800.01 experimental corps of about forty officers and men raised from volunteers of 2nd Bn, 1st Foot; 21st Foot, 23rd Foot, 25th Foot, 27th Foot, 29th Foot, 49th Foot, 55th Foot, 69th Foot, 71st Foot, 72nd Foot, 79th Foot, 85th Foot, and 92nd Foot
1800.08.25 The Corps of Riflemen
1802.12.25 95th Regiment of Foot
1812 95th Regiment of Foot (Riflemen)
1816.02.23 The Rifle Brigade
1862.01.17 The Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade
renamed in honour of the former Colonel-in-Chief
1881.07.01 The Prince Consort's Own (Rifle Brigade)
reorganised without county affiliation upon territorialisation of the infantry, but taking responsibility for some Militia in Middlesex,Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath, and some Volunteers in Middlesex [see below]
1889 County of London formed from parts of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey
1908.04.01 1st Vol Bn , 4th Vol Bn, 5th Vol Bn, 6th Vol Bn, 8th Vol Bn, 9th Vol Bn, and 26th Middlesex VRC transferred to The London Regiment upon creation of T.F., and non-Middlesex Militia affiliations ceased
1916.07.07 5th Bn , 8th Bn, 10th Bn , 12th Bn, 17th Bn, 18th Bn, 25th Bn and 28th Bn of The London Regiment re-affiliated
1921.01.01 The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
1958.11.07 3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade
1966.01.01 united with 1st Green Jackets, 43rd and 52nd, and 2nd Green Jackets, The King's Royal Rifle Corps, to form The Royal Green Jackets
pip The Rifle Brigade, (RGJ Regimental site)
pip The Rifle Brigade, by Kent Egerton.
pip The Royal Green Jackets and Former Regiments: a Photographic History, by Bert Henshaw
pip The History of the 95th Rifles
pip Sketch of the Field Services of The Rifle Brigade from its Formation to the Battle of Waterloo, by Lt-Col. Leach, CB.
pip The Rifle Brigade, by Anne Woodley (Regency Collection)
pip Short Barrels and Long Bumpers [95th Foot in Napoleonic Wars], by Susan Law.
pip Riflemen of the 95th Regiment ( Rifles) at Corunna 1808-1809, by Keith Raynor (The Discriminating General)
pip The Rifle Brigade, by Chris Baker (The British Army in the Great War).
pip The Rifle Brigade, by Brad Chappell (The Regimental Warpath 1914-1918)
     
  RHQ and Depot:
    RHQ:
  2nd Reserve Battalion [1843-1850]
  ? Depot Battalion [1856-1871]
    52nd Brigade Depot at Winchester [1873-1881]
    Rifle Depot at Winchester [1881-1905]
   
    O Group, at Winchester [1946-1948]
    Green Jackets Brigade, at Winchester [1948-1966]
     
  Regulars:
    1st Battalion [1800-present]
    2nd Battalion [1805-1948]
    3rd Battalion [1809-1819, 1855-1922]
    4th Battalion [1857-1922]
    Composite Rifle Battalion [1899-1900]
     
Militia and Special Reserve:
  5th Battalion (The Queen's Own Regt of Tower Hamlets Militia) [1881-1953]
  6th Battalion (The Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment of Longford Light Infantry) [1881-1899]
  6th Battalion (Royal Longford and Westmeath Militia) [1899-1908]
  6th Battalion (The King's Own Light Infantry Regt of Militia ) [1881-1953]
  7th Battalion (The King's Own Light Infantry Regt of Militia ) [1881-1953]
  8th Battalion (Leitrim Rifles Regiment of Militia) [1881-1889]
  9th Battalion (Westmeath Rifles Regiment of Militia) [1881-1899]
Territorials and Volunteers:
  [1st VB] 7th Middlesex (London Scottish) Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1908]
  [2nd VB] 14th Middlesex (Inns of Court) Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1908]
  [3rd VB] 15th Middlesex (The Customs and Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps
[1881-1908]
  [4th VB] 16th Middlesex (London Irish) Volunteer Rifle Corps [1881-1908]
  [5th VB] 18th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps [1881-1892]
  [6th VB] 19th Middlesex (St. Giles's and St. George's, Bloomsbury) Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1908]
  [7th VB] 20th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1908]
  [? VB] 21st Middlesex (Finsbury) Volunteer Rifle Corps [1881-1883]
  [8th VB] 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1892]
  [9th VB] 1st Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1892]
  [10th VB] 2nd Tower Hamlets Rifle Volunteer Corps [1881-1892]
  [4th VB] 18th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps [1892-1908]
  [7th VB] 24th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps [1892-1908]
  [8th VB] 1st Tower Hamlets Volunteer Rifle Corps [1892-1904]
  [9th VB] 2nd Tower Hamlets Volunteer Rifle Corps [1892-1908]
  5th City of London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade) [1916-1937]
  8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) [1916-1921]
  10th London Regiment (Hackney) [1916-1929]
  17th London Regiment (Tower Hamlets Rifles) [1916-1937]
  25th (County of London) (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regiment [1916-1920]
  28th County of London Regiment (Artists Rifles) [1929-1937]
  London Rifle Brigade [1937-1941, 1947-1960]
  Tower Hamlets Rifles [1937-1941]
  The Artists Rifles [1937-1939]
  7th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (PCO) (London Rifle Brigade) [1941-1947]
  9th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (PCO) (Tower Hamlets Rifles) [1941-1944]
  The Rangers [1947-1960]
  The City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) [1956-1961]
  London Rifle Brigade/Rangers [1960-1966]
Hostilities-Only Units (First and Second World War, including T.A. duplicates):
2/5th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment [1916-1918]
5th (Reserve) (City of London) Battalion, The London Regt [1916-1919]
2nd Battalion, London Rifle Brigade [1939-1947]
2/8th (City of London) Battalion [1916-1918]
8th (Reserve) (City of London) Battalion [1916-1919]
2/10th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment [1916-1919]
10th (Reserve) (City of London) Battalion, The London Regt [1916-1919]
2/17th (County of London) Battalion [1916-1919]
17th (Reserve) (County of London) Battalion [1916-1916]
2nd Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifles [1939-1947]
3rd Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifles [1940-1941]
2/25th (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regt [1916-1919]
25th (Reserve) (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regt [1916-1916]
7th (Service) Battalion [1914-1918]
7th (Home Defence) Battalion [1939-1941]
8th (Service) Battalion [1914-1918]
9th (Service) Battalion [1914-1918]
10th (Service) Battalion [1914-1918]
11th (Service) Battalion [1914-1919]
11th (Home Defence) Battalion [1941-1942]
12th (Service) Battalion [1914-1919]
13th (Service) Battalion [1914-1919]
14th (Reserve) Battalion [1914-1916]
15th (Reserve) Battalion [1914-1916]
16th (St. Pancras) Battalion [1915-1919]
17th (Reserve) Battalion [1915-1916]
18th (London) Battalion [1915-1920]
19th (Western) Battalion [1915-1919]
20th (Northern) Battalion [1915-1919]
21st (Midland) Battalion [1915-1920]
22nd (Wessex and Welsh) Battalion [1915-1919]
23rd (North Western) Battalion [1915-1920]
24th (Home Counties) Battalion [1915-1920]
2/25th (County of London) (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regiment [1916-1919]
3/25th (County of London) (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regiment [1916-1916]
25th (Reserve) Garrison Battalion [1915-1916]
26th (Reserve) Garrison Battalion [1915-1916]
30th Battalion [1942-1943]
33rd (County of London) (Cyclist) Battalion, The London Regiment [1918-1919]
51st (Service) Battalion [1917-1920]
52nd (Service) Battalion [1917-1920]
53rd (Service) Battalion [1917-1920]
70th (Young Soldier) Battalion [1940-1943]
2nd Motor Training Battalion [1939-1944]
Cadets:
1st (Duke of Norfolk's Own) Cadet Battalion at Mile End [1904-1906]
Copenhagen1, Monte Video, Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, Barrosa, Fuentes d'Onor, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees2, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, South Africa 1846-47, South Africa 1851-2-3, Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Lucknow, Ashantee 1873-74, Ali Masjid, Afghanistan 1878-79, Burma 1885-87, Khartoum, Defence of Ladysmith, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902

The Great War (21 battalions)3Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 '18, Armentières 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres 1915 '17, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Hooge 1915, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916 '18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Béthune, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Canal du Nord, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Macedonia 1915-18

The Second World War:  Calais 1940, Villers Bocage, Odon, Bourguébus Ridge, Mont Pincon, Le Perier Ridge, Falaise, Antwerp, Hechtel, Nederrijn, Lower Maas, Roer, Leese, Aller, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Egyptian Frontier 1940, Beda Fomm, Mersa el Brega, Agedabia, Derna Aerodrome, Tobruk 1941, Sidi Rezegh 1941, Chor es Sufan, Saunnu, Gazala, Knightsbridge, Defence of Alamein Line, Ruweisat, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein, Tebaga Gap, Medjez el Bab, Kassarine, Thala, Fondouk, Fondouk Pass, El Kourzia, Djebel Kournine, Tunis, Hammam Lif, North Africa 1940-43, Cardito, Cassino II, Liri Valley, Melfa Crossing, Monte Rotondo, Capture of Perugia, Monte Malbe, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, Orsara, Tossigniano, Argenta Gap, Fossa Sembalina, Italy 1943-45

see also: London Rifle Brigade, 8th City of London Regiment, 10th London Regiment, Tower Hamlets Rifles, 25th London Battalion, The Artists Rifles

1.  supplemented 1951 by Naval Crown badge superscribed "2nd April 1801".
2.  awarded belatedly in 1910.
3. AO 55/1925, amended by AO 8/1927.

Note:  as a rifle regiment, the Rifle Brigade never carried Colours.
   
Badges:
buttons: rifle black
rank badges: sleeve - green on black backing; crowns & pips black
Uniform:

1800-1953: rifle green; facings: black
1953-1966: rifle green; facings: black; piping: black
headdress: standard shako (1800-1872), rifle busby (sealskin for officers, lambskin for ORs; 1872-78), green Home Service helmet with bronze fittings & chains (1878--90), rifle busby (1890-1966)

   
   
     
   
1800.08.25 Maj-Gen. Coote Manningham
1809.08.31 Gen. Sir David Dundas, GCB [also 1st Dgn Gds, 2nd Dgns, 7th Hussars, 22nd Foot; QMG 1796-1803; C-in-C]
1820.02.19 F.M. Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH [also RHG, Gren Gds, 33rd Foot; MGO 1819-27; C-in-C 1827-28, 1842-52; PM 1828, 1830-34; Constable of the Tower 1826-52]
1852.09.23 F.M. HRH Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Saxe-Coburg (The Prince Consort), KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, KSI
1861.12.15 F.M. Sir John (Colborne), 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH [also 2nd Life Gds, 26th Foot, 94th Foot; Gov. & C-in-C Canada; C-in-C Ireland]
1863.04.18 Gen. Sir George Brown, GCB, KH [also 7th Foot, 32nd Foot, 77th Foot; AG 1850-53]
1865.08.28 F.M.. Sir Edward Blakeney, GCB, GCH [also 1st Foot, 7th Foot; C-in-C Ireland; Gov. R Hospital 1856-68]
1868.08.03 F.M. HM King Edward VII
1880.05.29 F.M. HRH Arthur William Patrick Albert, 1st Duke of Connaught & Strathearn, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, VD, TD
1942.02.24 F.M. HRH Henry William Frederick Albert, 1st Duke of Gloucester, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO
Colonel Commandant, 1st Battalion
1809.08.31 Lt-Gen. Forbes Champagné [also 70th Foot, 8th Garrison Bn]
1816.05.21 Gen. Sir Brent Spencer, GCB [also 40th Foot, 2nd West India Regt]
1818.07.02 Lt-Gen. Hon. Sir William Stewart, GCB [also 2nd Bn & 3rd Bn]
1827.01.27 Gen. Sir Andrew Francis Barnard, GCB, GCH [also 2nd Bn]
1855.01.18 Lt-Gen. Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith, Bt., GCB [also 47th Foot; Gov. Cape 1847-52]
1860.10.13 Gen. Sir Beorge Buller, GCB [also 88th Foot]
1884.04.13 Gen. Sir Arthur Johnstone Lawrence, KCB [also 58th Foot]
1892.01.26 Gen. Lord Alexander George Russell, GCB [also 8th Foot]
1907.01.11 Maj-Gen. Sir Arthur Frederick Warren, KCB
1913.07.19 Gen. Sir Martin Andrew Dillon, GCB, CSI [also 14th Foot]
1913.0819 Maj-Gen. Sir Christopher Rice Havard Nicholl, KCB
1921.06.17 Gen. Sir Walter Norris Congreve, VC, KCB, MVO [Gov. & C-in-C Malta]
1927.03.01 Maj-Gen. Sir Victor Arthur Couper, KCB
1929.04.04 Gen. Sir Cameron Deane Shute, KCB, KCMG
1936.01.26 Gen. Sir John Theodosius Burnett-Stuart, GCB, KBE, CMG, DSO
1945.03.14 Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Ralph Eastwood, KCB, DSO, MC
Colonel Commandant, Rifle Brigade
1951.09.04 Gen. Sir Montagu George North Stopford, GCB, KBE, DSO, MC
Colonel Commandant, 3rd Green Jackets
1958.11.07 F.M. Sir Francis Wogan Festing, GCB, KBE, DSO [continued 1966 as Col. Cmdt. 3rd Bn RGJ; also R Northumberland Fus; CIGS]
 
Colonel Commandant, 2nd Battalion
1809.08.31 Gen. Sir Brent Spencer, GCB [also 103rd Foot, 2nd West India Regt]
1816.05.21 Lt-Gen. Hon. William Stewart, GCB [also 1st Bn & 3rd Bn]
1818.07.02 Gen. Sir George Townsend Walker, Bt., GCB [also 3rd Bn; 50th Foot, 52nd Foot, 84th Foot, Meuron's Regt; Gov. Grenada 1815-16, C-in-C Madras 1825-31]
1820.06.13 Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Barnes, GCB [also 31st Foot, 78th Foot; GOv. Ceylon 1824-31; C-in-C India]
1822.08.25 Gen. Sir Andrew Francis Barnard, GCB, GCH [also 1st Bn]
1827.01.27 Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Sidney Beckwith, KCB
1831.06.18 Maj-Gen. Sir George Ridout Bingham, KCB
1833.01.07 Lt-Gen. Sir James Stevenson Barns, KCB [also 20th Foot]
1842.04.25 Lt-Gen. Sir Dugald Little Gilmour, KCB
1847.04.16 Lt-Gen. Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith, Bt., GCB
1855.01.18 Gen. Sir George Brown, GCB, KH [also 7th Foot, 32nd Foot, 77th Foot; AG 1850-53]
1863.04.10 F.M. Sir Charles Yorke, GCB [also 33rd Foot; Constable of the Tower 1875-80]
1880.11.02 Gen. Sir Alfred Hastings Horsford, GCB [also 14th Foot, 79th Hldrs]
1885.09.14 Gen. Sir William Sherbrooke Ramsay Norcott, KCB [also Loyal N Lancs Regt]
1886.01.24 Gen. Sir Alexander Macdonnell, KCB [also R Irish Regt]
1891.05.01 Gen. Lord Alexander George Russell, GCB
1892.01.26 Gen. Frederick Robert Elrington, CB [also 4th Bn; Bedfordshire Regt]
1903.07.29 Gen. Sir Julius Richard Glyn, KCB [also Lincolnshire Regt]
1905.06.17 Gen. Sir Martin Andrew Dillon, GCB, CSI
1913.07.19 Maj-Gen. Sir Francis Howard, KCB, KCMG [also Gloucestershire Regt]
1921.06.17 Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Fuller Maitland Wilson, KCB, KCMG
1929.02.18 Gen. Sir Reginald Byng Stephens, KCB, CMG
1939.10.10 F.M. Sir Henry Maitland (Wilson), 1st Baron Wilson, GCB, GBE, DSO [to 3 Sep. 1951; GOC-in-Chief BTE 1939-41; Mil. Gov. & GOC-in-Chief Cyrenaica 1941; GOC-in-Chief Greece 1941; GOC Palestine & Trans-Jordan 1941; C-in-C Persia & Iraq Cmd; C-in-C Middle East; Constable of the Tower 1955-50]
 
Colonel Commandant, 3rd Battalion
1809.08.31 Lt-Gen. Hon. Sir William Stewart, GCB [also 1st Bn & 2nd Bn]
1816.05.21 Gen. Sir George Townsend Walker, Bt., GCB [also 2nd Bn]
1818.07.02 Gen. Sir John Oswald, GCB, GCMG [also 35th Foot]
1819-1903 vacant
1903.07.29 Gen. Sir John Ross, GCB [also Leicestershire Regt]
1905.01.06 Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Richard Legge Newdigate, KCB
1908.01.18 Gen. Sir Godfrey Clerke, KCVO, CB
1908.11.19 Maj-Gen. Sir Leopold Victor Swaine, KCB, CMG
1920.10.05 F.M. Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, Bt., GCB, DSO [to 1922; also R Ulster Rifles; CIGS 1918-22]
 
Colonel Commandant, 4th Battalion
1903.07.29 Gen. Frederick Robert Elrington, CB [also 2nd Bn]
1904.02.20 Gen. Sir Martin Andrew Dillon, GCB, CSI
1905.06.17 Gen. Sir Godfrey Clerke, KCVO, CB
1908.01.18 Lt-Gen. Sir John Plumptre Carr Glyn, KCB
1912.03.29 Gen. Hon. Sir Neville Gerald Lyttleton, GCB, GCVO [CIGS; Gov. R Hospital 1912-31]
1921.06.17 Maj-Gen. Sir Victor Arthur Couper, KCB [to 1922]
vc Victoria Crosses, by Mike Chapman (VC Reference).
vc VCs in the Royal Green Jackets Museum, by Iain Stewart.
Thomas Wetton, by Bryan Wetton.
The Autobiography of Harry Smith, by Anne Woodley (Regency Collection)
 
 
 
Motto: Treu und Fest
Nicknames: construction sign
Anniversaries: construction sign
Freedoms: construction sign
Marches: construction sign
Musicians: construction sign
  • Band History, by Gordon Turner and Alwyn W. Turner (Droit Music Ltd)
  • Bandmasters, by Gordon Turner and Alwyn W. Turner (Droit Music Ltd)
  • Band History (RGJ Band & Bugles Association)
Mascot: construction sign
Miscellaneous Tradition Links:
Canada flag 6th Regiment (The Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) 1900-1920
Canada flag Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry 1924-1966
Canada flag The Royal Winnipeg Rifles 1923-1966
Canada flag The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) 1920-1966
Australia flag The Melbourne University Regiment
Australia flag The Royal New Zealand Regiment 1962?-1966
South Africa flag The Royal Durban Light Infantry
-1961
Sri Lanka flag The Ceylon Tea Planters' Rifle Corps
 
Affiliated Gurkha Regiment:
UK flag 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles 1950-1966
 
 
swords 95th (Rifles) Regiment of Foot: The Official Web Site, by Leslie Ernest Handscombe.
swords 2nd Battalion, 95th Rifles [Napoleonic; United Kingdom], by Mark Newton.
swords 2nd Battalion, 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot Official Site [Napoleonic; Australia]
swords 2nd Battalion, 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot Unofficial Site [Napoleonic; Australia], by David Sadler.
swords 3rd Battalion, 95th (Rifles) Regiment of Foot [Napoleonic; Massachusetts), by Roger Fuller.
   
   
monument Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester (Army Museums Ogilby Trust)
monument Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester (Simonides listing)
   
   
Regimental Journal:
book The Rifle Brigade chronicle.
Full Histories:
book construction sign
book Elliot-Wright, Philipp.  Rifleman : elite soldiers of the wars against Napoleon. London :  Military Illustrated Books, 2000. ISBN 1-90304002-7
 
Short Histories:
book construction sign
 

Militia:

book construction sign
 

Territorials/Volunteers:

book construction sign
 

First World War:

book construction sign
 

Second World War:

book construction sign