The 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) 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

Defence Review A Defence Review is the process by which government of the United Kingdom decides upon its overall defence policy and upon the means and resources devoted to achieving its defence objectives. Such reviews can happen when political or economic factor ...

, the 1st Battalion,

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

and the 1st Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

amalgamated on 29 August 1959 to form the 1st Battalion, 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk). On formation the regiment was based in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

(the location of the 1st Royal Norfolks). In 1961 the Regiment was posted to the United Kingdom for the first since its creation, being based in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

. The following year the 1st East Anglians deployed to the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n colony of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(now the state of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

) after violence erupted between the African and Indian ethnic groups there. The Regiment returned to the UK later that year. In February 1964 the Regiment arrived in

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. ...

as part of the

Aden Brigade The Aden Brigade was a formation of the British Indian Army formed after 1903 and the Kitchener Reforms. It was commanded by Major General Bell. In August 1914, Connelly writes that the British force in Aden Settlement consisted of only two battal ...

, seeing active service in the

Radfan Radfan or the Radfan Hills is a region of the Republic of Yemen. In the 1960s, the area was part of a British protectorate of Dhala (a member of the Federation of South Arabia) and was the site of intense fighting during the Aden Emergency. In 1 ...

on the border with South Yemen as part of Radforce, fighting

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian-supported guerillas, losing a number of its soldiers in the process. In September that year, while still based there, the Regiment amalgamated with the three other remaining regiments 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 ...

( 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire), 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) and the

Royal Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both ...

) 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 1st East Anglians became the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk).

Alliances

The regiment's alliances were as follows: * 12th Infantry Battalion (The Launceston 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 ...

(1959-1960) *

Royal Tasmania Regiment The Royal Tasmania Regiment (RTR) is a Reserve infantry regiment within the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion. Formed in 1960 following a review of military formations in Australia, the Regiment can trace its lineage back to the l ...

—Australia (1960–64) * The Auckland Regiment (Countess of Ranfurly's) Own—New Zealand (1960–64)

Associated Cadet Forces

The Army sections of some contingents of the

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

were associated with the Regiment, as follows: *

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nursery ...

Woodbridge School Woodbridge School is an independent school in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, founded in 1577, for the poor of Woodbridge. It was later supported by the Seckford Foundation. Woodbridge School has been co-educational since September 1974. Histor ...

Wymondham College Wymondham College is a coeducational day and boarding school in Morley, near Wymondham, Norfolk, England with academy status. A former grammar school, it is one of 36 state boarding schools in England and the largest of its type in the country ...

History

Alliances

Associated Cadet Forces

References

See also