The 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) 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 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 ...

History

As a result of the 1957 Defence Review, the 1st Battalion,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

and the 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

amalgamated on 2 June 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot). From its inception, the 3rd East Anglians were based in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, West Germany, the home of the Essex Regiment prior to amalgamation. In 1959, the regiment was posted to Malaya shortly before the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

there was declared over. The regiment served with 28 Commonwealth Brigade until 1962, when it was posted to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The regiment's brief existence came to an end when it amalgamated with three other battalions of the

East Anglian Brigade The East Anglian Brigade (known as G Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the regiments with recruiting grounds in East Anglia, and the East of England. History After the Second ...

on 1 September 1964, to form one of the new 'large' regiments, the

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

; The 3rd East Anglian Regiment became the 3rd Battalion (16th/44th Foot).

Badges and dress distinctions

The regiment's badge consisted of a Napoleonic eagle enclosed within the

Garter A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking ...

, combining elements of the insignia of the two merging units. The Garter had formed part of the badge adopted by the then Bedfordshire Regiment in 1898, while the Napoleonic eagle was the collar badge of the Essex Regiment from 1947. The eagle of the French 62nd Regiment was captured by one of the regiment's predecessors at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, so ...

in 1812. The eagle and garter badge appeared in the centre of the

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presented to the 1st battalion on 30 May 1959. A common cap badge and buttons were worn by all regular battalions of the

from 1958. The 3rd East Anglian Regiment's uniform was distinguished by eagle and garter collar badges and by the wearing of a lanyard of pompadour purple. The purple lanyard had been worn by the Essex Regiment, having originally been the facing colour of the 56th Regiment of Foot. The regiment also had a distinctive stable belt, black with purple stripes edged in amber, a combination of those of the two constituents. The collar badges and lanyard of the 3rd East Anglians continued to be worn by the 3rd battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment after the 1964 amalgamation. Since 1992, when the battalion was disbanded, all parts of the Royal Anglians wear a gold eagle on a purple backing as an arm badge.

Alliances

The regiment's alliances included: * 11th/44th Infantry Battalion (The City of Perth Regiment)—Australia (1958–1964) * 16th Infantry Battalion(The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia)—Australia (1936 - 1960) *

The Essex and Kent Scottish The Essex and Kent Scottish is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment was formed in 1954 by the amalgamation of The Essex Scottish Regiment and The Kent Regiment. Its colonel-in-chief is Prince Michael of Kent. ...

—Canada (1958–1964) * The First City Regiment—South Africa (1958–1961)

References

{{Royal Anglian Regiment

East Anglian East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 1964 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom