Queen's Regiment

The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the army, with 10 battalions, however these were reduced to just six, and later five battalions. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Options for Change reform was published and the regiment amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

Formation

The regiment was formed as a ' large regiment' on 31 December 1966 by the amalgamation of the four remaining regiments of the Home Counties Brigade as a consequence of the Defence Review of 1957. The four regiments formed four battalions, retaining their previous names in the titles. In addition, the former regiment's Territorial battalions transferred under their former titles to the corps of the regiment for a short time. Below is a list of the regiment's subordinate organisations with formation dates, predecessor and successors. It is worth noting battalion subtitles were omitted on 1 July 1968.

Regulars

* Regimental Headquarters, at Howe Barracks, Canterbury
* 1st Battalion (Queen's Surreys) – amalgamated with 2nd Bn to form 1st Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in 1992
* 2nd Battalion (Queen's Own Buffs) – amalgamated with 1st Bn to form 1st Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in 1992
* 3rd Battalion (Royal Sussex) – amalgamated with Royal Hampshire Regiment to form 2nd Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment in 1992
* 4th Battalion (Middlesex) – disbanded in 1973

Territorials

* 6th (Territorial) Battalion (Queen's Surreys)
**Formed in 1967, reduced to cadre sponsored by 5th (V) Bn while forming coy in same bn, disbanded in 1971 and subsequently formed 3 new coys in 5th, 7th, and 6th (V) Bns respectively
* 7th (Territorial) Battalion (East Kent)
**Formed in 1967, reduced to cadre in 1969 in 5th (V) Bn while forming new coy in same bn, disbanded in 1971 and subsequently formed 3 new coys in 5th and 7th (V) Bns
* 8th (Territorial) Battalion (West Kent)
**Formed in 1967, reduced to cadre in 1969 and formed new coy in 5th (V) Bn, disbanded in 1971 and subsequently formed a new coy in 7th (V) Bn
* 9th (Territorial) Battalion (Royal Sussex)
**Formed in 1967, reduced to cadre in 1969 and formed new coy in 5th (V) Bn, disbanded in 1971 and subsequently formed two new coys and new Battalion HQ in 5th and 7th (V)
* 10th (Territorial) Battalion (Middlesex)
**Formed in 1967, reduced to cadre in 1969 and formed new coy in 5th (V) Bn, disbanded in 1971 and subsequently formed two new coys in 5th and 6th (V) Bns

Volunteers – had NATO roles and post 1975 Home Defence roles in addition, separate from the above Territorial battalions

* 5th (Volunteer) Battalion – formed in 1967, transferred to PWRR as 5th (V) Bn in 1992
* 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion – formed in 1975, transferred to PWRR as 6th/7th (V) Bn in 1992
**6th (Volunteer) Battalion – formed in 1971 as new unit, amalgamated with 7th (V) Bn to form 6th/7th (V) Bn in 1975
** 7th (Volunteer) Battalion – formed in 1971 as new unit, amalgamated with 6th (V) Bn to form 6th/7th (V) Bn in 1975
* 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, Queen's Fusiliers (City of London) – formed in 1988 as joint TA unit with Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, became London Regiment in 1993

Operational deployments

The deployment of the regiment's battalions was primarily to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner during The Troubles, taking part in anti-terrorist operations. The 1st Battalion was almost continuously deployed there between August 1969 and November 1976.

In 1970 the 1st Battalion joined the Berlin Brigade in West Berlin, a small enclave in Communist-controlled East Germany, leaving in 1972. In October 1972 the 2nd Battalion arrived in Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNIFICYP), a force intended to prevent conflict from breaking out between Greek and Turkish Cypriots: the battalion returned to the United Kingdom in May 1973. The 4th Battalion was disbanded that year, as with every other 'junior' battalion of the new large regiments. Also that year, the 3rd Battalion arrived in Gibraltar where it remained with the garrison for almost two years. In 1977 the 2nd Battalion arrived in Gibraltar and the 3rd Battalion arrived in Belize, then a British territory, as part of the garrison there to protect it from the perceived threat of war with Guatemala, a neighbour of Belize, which was making claims that it believed Belize to be an integral part of Guatemala.

By 1975 the 1st Battalion had arrived in Werl, Germany (replacing the 2nd Battalion – who had moved from Werl back to Bulford Camp in the United Kingdom) from where they did operational tours in Northern Ireland, in the area of Derry in 1976, and West Belfast in 1978. The 2nd Battalion had preceded it to Northern Ireland, first on a spearhead deployment in South Armagh following the Kingsmill (Bessbrook) massacre in January 1975, and then to West Belfast, on an operational tour in Andersonstown in early 1977.

The 1st Battalion moved to Canterbury (the regiment's home base) in 1980. From there it undertook a six-month tour of Belize before deploying in November 1982 to Omagh in County Tyrone. It served there until January 1985 with south east Fermanagh as its primary focus. During this period all three battalions served in Northern Ireland – 2. Queen's in Derry, also on a two-year tour, and 3. Queen's in Belfast on a six-month tour. A freedom parade was held in Belfast in 1984 at which all three battalions' Regimental Colours were paraded. In 1985 the battalion moved to Gibraltar for two years before returning to the United Kingdom ( Tidworth) in 1987 where it was to remain until 1990. During this period it undertook two 6-month tours of Northern Ireland – South Armagh in 1987 and Belfast in 1989/90. In 1990 the battalion moved to Minden in Germany, where it disbanded in 1992.

In late 1981 the 2nd Battalion deployed to Cyprus on a 6-month tour-of-duty with UN forces. In 1985 the 1st Battalion arrived in Gibraltar on a 2-year posting and the following year the 3rd Battalion deployed to Belize on a 6-month tour-of-duty as well as West Belfast on a 6-month tour-of-duty before deploying to Aldergrove, Northern Ireland for a 2-year operational tour. In 1990 the 3rd Battalion arrived in Cyprus—its last deployment abroad and the location of its disbandment in 1992. The 2nd Battalion's last deployment was to Northern Ireland in 1992 before heading to Canterbury, England where it disbanded later in the year.

Amalgamation

As a consequence of the Options for Change defence cuts, on 9 September 1992 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

Regimental museum

The Queen's & Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Regimental Museum is at Dover Castle.

Uniform

The Queen's regimental uniform consisted of a dark 'royal blue' uniform with blue facings, and scarlet piping. The regimental badge consisted of "A Dragon upon a mount within the Garter; above the Dragon and superimposed upon the Garter the Plume of the Prince of Wales".

Regimental bands

The Queen's Regiment maintained three bands at the time of its disbandment; Band of the 1st Queen's Regiment, Band of the 2nd Queen's Regiment, and Kohima Band of the Queen's Regiment (5th (V) Bn). The first two being regular becoming the Band of the 1st Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, and the Kohima Band being transferred to the same regiment.

Regimental colours

The Queen's Regimental colours consisted of the following:

* ''Central Device:'' A Dragon upon a mount within the Garter, above the Dragon and superimposed on the Garter the Plume of the Prince of Wales
* ''1st Corner:'' A Paschal Lamb upon an eight-pointed star ensigned with the Crown
* ''2nd Corner:'' A White Horse rampant above a scroll inscribed 'Invicta', and The Cypher of Queen Catherine
* ''3rd Corner:'' The Star of the Order of the Garter over the Roussillon Plume, and A Naval Crown superscribed ' 1st June 1794'
* ''4th Corner:'' The Sphinx superscribed 'Egypt', and The Plume of the Prince of Wales above the Coronet and Cypher of the Duke of Cambridge.

Colonels-in-Chief

Colonel-in-Chiefs were as follows:
* Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
*King Frederick IX of Denmark (died 1972)
* Margrethe II (from 1972)
* Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent

Regimental Colonels

Regimental Colonels were as follows:
*1966–1973: Lt-Gen. Sir Richard Craddock, KBE, CB, DSO (from Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment)
*1973–1977: Maj-Gen. Fergus Alan Humphrey Ling, CB, CBE, DSO
*1977–1984: Maj-Gen. Rowland Spencer Noel Mans, CBE
*1984–1989: Brig. Herbert Charles Millman, OBE
*1989–1992: Maj-Gen. Michael Frank Reynolds, CB

Alliances

Alliances arranged were as follows:
* The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) – Canada (1966–1992)
* The South Alberta Light Horse—Canada (1966–1992)
* The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (1966–1992)
* The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment—Canada (1966–1992)
* 1st Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton and York) — Canada (1966–1992)
* The Essex and Kent Scottish—Canada (1966–1992)
* Royal New South Wales Regiment – Australia (1967–1992)
* The Royal Western Australia Regiment (1967–1992)
* University of New South Wales Regiment—Australia (1967–1992)
* 2nd Battalion (Canterbury and Nelson-Marlborough, and West Coast), Royal New Zealand Infantry (1966–1992)
* 5th Battalion (Wellington West Coast and Taranaki), Royal New Zealand Infantry (1966–1992)
* 12th, 14th, 15th, and 17th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment – Pakistan
* The Royal Sierra Leone Regiment, Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces (1966–?)
* The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) – (1966–1992)

Order of precedence

Lineage

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, align="center" colspan="4", Lineage
, -
, width="25%" rowspan="20" align="center" , The Queen's Regiment
, width="25%" align="center", The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment
, -
, width="25%" align="center", The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
, -
, width="25%" align="center", The Royal Sussex Regiment
, -
, width="25%" align="center", The Middlesex Regiment

References

Further reading

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External links

1st Battalion – The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment (PWRR Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment) – Timeline1st Battalion The Queen's Regiment1st Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment / 3rd Battalion The Queen's RegimentHorsham Branch of The Queen's Regimental AssociationThe Queen's Regimental Association RHQ Website6/7th Battalion The Queen's Regiment

HET report into QR soldiers death
{{PWRR

Infantry regiments of the British Army
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Military units and formations established in 1966
Military units and formations disestablished in 1992