The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

which existed from 1959 to 1966. In 1966, it was amalgamated with the

Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1961 to 1966. Its lineage is continued by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). History The regiment was formed ...

, the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

and the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) to form the

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 arm ...

, which later merged with the Royal Hampshire Regiment in September 1992 to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires).

History

As a consequence of defence cuts in the late 1950s, the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and the East Surrey Regiment were amalgamated on 14 October 1959 to form the 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment. In 1961 the 1st Queen's Surreys was sent to

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

. In 1962 the regiment joined the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

garrison, remaining there on a 2-year posting before heading for

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1964 as part of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

. In 1966 the regiment's short existence came to an end when it, along with the three other remaining regiments of the

Home Counties Brigade The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of the Home Counties of south east England. After the Second World War the British Army had fou ...

, was amalgamated to form the

, one of the new 'large' regiments that were formed in the 1960s.

Territorials

When the regiment was formed, the Territorial Army

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s of the merging regiments continued to use their former titles. However, in 1961, a reduction in the size of the TA lead to the formation of 3rd and 4th Queen's Surreys: *3rd Battalion (TA) was formed of units affiliated to the Queen’s Royal Regiment: the 5th and 6th battalions and the 565th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (the successor to 4th Battalion). Its headquarters were in Guildford. *4th Battalion (TA) was formed from former battalions of the East Surrey Regiment: the 6th East Surreys and the 23rd London Regiment. The battalion headquarters were in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. The two territorial battalions were disbanded in 1967, with their successor units in the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) being "A" Company (Queen's Surreys) of the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, Queen's Regiment and the 6th (Territorial) Battalion, Queen's Regiment (Queen's Surreys).

Regimental museum

The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment archives were put in storage when Regimental Headquarters and Museum in the Keep at Kingston upon Thames closed. Colonel JW Sewell reached agreement with the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

to re-establish the regiment's museum at

Clandon Park House Clandon Park House is an early 18th-century grade I listed Palladian mansion in West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey. It stands in the south east corner of Clandon Park, a agricultural parkland estate which has been the seat of the Earls of ...

West Clandon West Clandon is a village in Surrey, EnglandOS Explorer map 145:Guildford and Farnham. Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton. within 1 mile of the A3. It is situated one mile north west of the much smaller separate villa ...

. The regiment's archives and library are located at the Surrey History Centre in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

. The ''Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum'' opened in 1981 with exhibits including uniforms, medals, weapons, regalia, photographs and memorabilia. The museum was upgraded in 2001. In 2011, with part funding from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

further redevelopment took place and, in July that year, the museum merged with those of the

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (or PWRR, also known as 'The Tigers') is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Qu ...

and the Queen’s Regiment to become ''The Surrey Infantry Museum''. In April 2015 Clandon Park House caught fire as a result of an electrical fault in the basement. The Surrey Infantry Museum was lost in the fire as it was located in the basement and remains closed as of 2020 with the remnants of the collection held primarily at Surrey History Centre.

Regimental Colonels

The Colonels of the Regiment were: *1959–1964: Maj-Gen.

John Francis Metcalfe Major General John Francis Metcalfe, (30 June 1908 – 11 June 1975) was a British Army officer who served in the Second World War and later became General Officer Commanding Aldershot District. Military career Educated at Radley College and ...

, CB, CBE *1964–1966: Maj-Gen. Francis James Claude Piggott, CB, CBE, DSO ''(to

as Deputy Colonel)''

Alliances

The regiment's alliances included: * The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) --

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(1959–1966) *

South Alberta Light Horse , colours = , march = "A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky" , mascot = Heine the Pony , battles = North-West RebellionFirst World WarSecond World WarAfgha ...

—Canada (1959–1966) * 2nd Infantry Battalion (The City of Newcastle Regiment) --

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(1959–60) *

Royal New South Wales Regiment The Royal New South Wales Regiment (RNSWR) is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. Organisation The regiment currently consists of four battalions: * 1st/19th Battalion; * 2nd/17th Battalion; ...

—Australia (1960–1966) *

The Northern Rhodesia Regiment The Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia. It was formed in 1933 from elements of the Northern Rhodesia Police, which had been formed during Company rul ...

(1959–1964)

Freedoms

* 1964:

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

References

External links

*
Surrey Infantry Museum
{{PWRR Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1959 Military units and formations disestablished in 1966 Military units and formations in Surrey