The Royal Garrison Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment 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 ...

that formed in 1901 and disbanded in 1908. The regiment was originally formed from personnel of the

Royal Reserve Regiments The Royal Reserve Regiments were reserve infantry and cavalry regiments of the British Army in existence from 1900 to 1901. The Second Boer War broke out in South Africa in October 1899. By December, the British army had seen several defeats in ...

, a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

force composed of veteran soldiers for home duties in the United Kingdom as a large part of the regular forces were sent to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

for service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. The Reserve Regiments only served in the UK and were phased out in 1901, when the Royal Garrison Regiment was formed. The new units were sent to relieve regular infantry battalions in overseas garrisons; this would allow the regular battalions previously stationed there to be sent on active service in

. In 1901, four battalions were raised. The 1st, 3rd and 4th battalions were sent to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, whilst the 2nd was sent to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. In 1904, all four were moved to South Africa for garrison duty there as the regular units returned to normal duties. A fifth battalion was raised in 1902, for service in

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 ...

; it garrisoned

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

from October 1902 until 1905, when it handed over its role to the Permanent Active Militia. It was the last British garrison to be based in Canada proper. All five battalions were disbanded in 1906-7, and the regiment was disbanded in August 1908. The capbadge worn by the regiment was the same (the

Royal Arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varian ...

, with variously a king's or a queen's crown, depending on the reigning monarch, and bearing the motto of the monarch ''

Dieu et mon droit (, fro, Deu et mon droit), which means "God and my right", is the motto of the monarch of the United Kingdom. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the version of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The motto is said to have first ...

'' and the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

motto '' Honi soit qui mal y pense'') that was used for other British Army regiments and corps for which no unique badge has been authorised, including the General Service Corps, the English regiments of the

, and the

Bermuda Militia Infantry The Bermuda Militia Infantry was raised in 1939 as a part-time reserve of the British Army's Bermuda Garrison. History The Bermuda Garrison The Parliament of Bermuda had authorised three part-time reserve units in 1892 to re-inforce the regul ...

.{{cite book, title=Put Out More Flags , url=https://archive.org/details/putoutmoreflags0000waug , url-access=registration , first=Evelyn, last= Waugh, year= 1977, publisher=Little, Brown and Company, isbn=978-0316926157

References

External links

War Office Records of Service for the regiment at the National Archives
Infantry regiments of the British Army