The Royal Anglian Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | September 1964- |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Line infantry |
Role | 1st Battalion - Light Infantry 2nd Battalion - Light Infantry 3rd Battalion - Army Reserve |
Size | Three battalions |
Part of | Queen's Division |
Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St Edmunds 1st Battalion - Woolwich 2nd Battalion - Cottesmore 3rd Battalion - Bury St Edmunds |
Nickname(s) |
The Vikings (1st Battalion) The Poachers (2nd Battalion) The Steelbacks"(3rd Battalion) |
Motto(s) | Stabilis |
March | Quick - Rule Britannia/Speed the Plough Slow - The Northamptonshire |
Anniversaries | 1 August - Minden 1 September - Formation Day |
Commanders | |
Colonel in Chief | HRH The Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO |
Colonel of the Regiment |
Lt Gen Phil Jones CBE |
Insignia | |
Tactical Recognition Flashes | |
Arm Badge | Salamanca Eagle From Essex Regiment |
Abbreviation | R ANGLIAN |
The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army and is one of the four regiments of the Queen's Division. The regiment came into being following the amalgamation of various county regiments and thus can trace its lineage back to 1685. Soldiers and officers of the regiment have been involved in nearly every conflict in the modern era.
The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade:
The Royal Anglian Regiment was established to serve as the county regiment for the following counties:
Initially formed of seven battalions (four regular and three Territorial Army), the regiment was reduced in 1975 with the loss of the 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion to three regular battalions and three TA. The regiment was reduced again in 1992 to two regular and two TA battalions with the loss of the 3rd (16th/44th Foot) and 5th Battalions.
In 1995, each battalion renamed its companies in order to perpetuate its lineage from the old county regiments:
The regiment carried out tours-of-duty throughout "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland and was present on 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry in 1972, when 14 unarmed civilians were killed.
During the Yugoslav Wars, 2 R ANGLIAN was deployed to Bosnia in April 1994 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force UNPROFOR. During the tour, Corporal Andrew Rainey became one of the first ever non-officer to win the Military Cross, for his actions during a heavy contact between 3 Platoon, A Company and a Bosnian Serb Army unit on the confrontation line in the north of the Maglaj Finger.