The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers), changed in 1920 to the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's). Between the time of its formation and Irish independence, it was one of eight Irish regiments. In 1968, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was amalgamated with the other regiments of the North Irish Brigade, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Ulster Rifles, to become the Royal Irish Rangers.

History

Early history

The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (The Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot. The regiment got its nickname, the Faughs, from its Irish war cry " Faugh A Ballagh" (Fág a' Bealach, meaning Clear the Way) from the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Regimental distinctions included a green plume worn on the left side of the headdress and an Irish harp as part of the badge. It was the county regiment for Armagh,

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

and Cavan, with its depot at Gough Barracks in Armagh. Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with Command Headquarters at Parkgate, ( Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London. The 1st Battalion saw action in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. Both battalions served in South Africa during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902). The 1st battalion was present at the Battle of Talana Hill in October 1899 and the various engagements leading to the

Relief of Ladysmith The Relief of Ladysmith consisted of multiple efforts to relieve the city of Ladysmith by General Sir Redvers Buller during the Second Boer War. Buller and the Natal Field Force attempted to relieve the city through multiple offensive actions ...

. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900. The 2nd Battalion was commanded by Colonel Richard S. H. Moody from January 1901 until the campaign ended in June 1902, when some of it returned to England on the ''SS Custodian'', which landed at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in August 1902. About 500 officers and men of the 1st battalion returned home on the SS ''Pinemore'' in October 1902, after the war had ended three months earlier. The 2nd Battalion left South Africa for

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

early the following year, and was stationed at

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

and the latter the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

; the regiment now had two Reserve but no Territorial battalions.

The First World War

Regular Army

The 1st Battalion landed at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

as part of the 10th Brigade in the 4th Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and suffered heavy losses at the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 A ...

in August 1914. The 2nd Battalion landed at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

as part of the 82nd Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front, but moved to

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

in December 1915 for service on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

before moving on to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for service in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in September 1917. In response to the outbreak of World War One, the 7th Battalion was raised, for the first time, and subsequently commanded, by Colonel Richard S. H. Moody. The 3rd (reserve) Battalion fought in operations to end the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

in Dublin in 1916. Two of the Royal Irish Fusiliers were killed and six more wounded.

New Armies

The 5th (Service) Battalion and 6th (Service) Battalion landed at

Suvla Bay View of Suvla from Battleship Hill Suvla () is a bay on the Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey, south of the Gulf of Saros. On 6 August 1915, it was the site for the Landing at Suvla Bay by the British IX Corps as ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

as part of the 31st Brigade in the 10th (Irish) Division in August 1915 but moved to Salonika in October 1915 for service on the Macedonian Front. The 7th (Service) Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic Thornton Trevor Moore, and 8th (Service) Battalion, commanded by Colonel John Southwell Brown, landed in France as part of the 49th Brigade in the 16th (Irish) Division in February 1916 for service on the Western Front. The 9th (Service) Battalion (County Armagh) landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 108th Brigade in the

36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the ''Ulster Division'', it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteers, who f ...

in October 1915 for service on the Western Front.

Inter-War

With the independence of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

in 1922, all the Irish line infantry regiments of the British army regiments were to be disbanded. However, this decision was later amended to exclude four battalions. After a successful campaign by the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's), it was agreed that the disbandment would not be of the most junior regiment, but of the two most junior battalions. These were the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, the old 89th Foot, and the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the old 108th Foot. The 2nd battalion was re-raised in 1938.

The Second World War

The 1st Battalion, which had originally been serving with 25th Infantry Brigade in the 50th Division, was sent to France in early 1940 to join the rest of the British Expeditionary Force. The battalion fought in the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

and was forced to be evacuated. After Dunkirk, the battalion became part of the 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), which was later renumbered the 38th (Irish) Brigade.Joslen, p. 373 The brigade was initially attached to the 6th Armoured Division and served with them during the start of the

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

until 2 February 1943, when it was exchanged with the 1st Guards Brigade of the 78th ''Battleaxe'' Division. The battalion would remain with the division for the rest of the war, serving in the fighting in Sicily, where the Irish Brigade fought, with great success, in the Battle of Centuripe in August 1943. The success in Sicily was followed by the landings in the Italian mainland. During its service in Italy, the battalion took part in many river crossings and battles with perhaps the most famous being the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

, one of the hardest-fought battles of the entire campaign and saw their final battle in

Operation Grapeshot The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack in the Lombard Plain by the 15th Allied Army Group started on 6 ...

. The 2nd Battalion, formerly the 89th Regiment of Foot, served throughout the Siege of Malta from 1940 to 1943, with the 4th (Malta) Infantry Brigade, later renumbered the 234th Infantry Brigade. The battalion was lost in the

Battle of Leros The Battle of Leros was a combat over the Greek island of Leros between the Allies of World War II, Allies defending it and invading forces of Nazi Germany waged between 26 September and 16 November 1943. Regarded as the central event of the Do ...

in September 1943 and the Battle of Kos in October 1943 and had to be reformed later.

Post-war

The 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated as the 1st Battalion in September 1948. The regiment was deployed to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

in June 1949 and to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

in December 1949, before arriving at Border Barracks in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

in November 1950. It moved to Brooke Barracks in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in June 1953 and then returned to the UK in June 1964. The regiment was deployed to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

in July 1954 and to

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in January 1955 in response to the

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...

. It went to Harding Barracks in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

in June 1956 and deployed to

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in August 1958 before moving to Trenchard Barracks in Celle in October 1961. It was sent on peacekeeping duties to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in June 1964 before returning home in September 1965. It deployed to

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

in April 1966 and to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

in December 1966. In July 1968, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was amalgamated with the other regiments of the North Irish Brigade, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Ulster Rifles to become the Royal Irish Rangers.

Regimental museum

The Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum is located on the Mall in Armagh,

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The exhibits include uniforms, medals, regalia and the two

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

es won by the regiment.

Battle honours

The Regiment was awarded the following battle honours. Those shown in bold from the two World Wars were those selected to be emblazoned on the Kings's Colour: *''From 87th Regiment of Foot'': Monte Video, Talavera, Barrosa, Tarifa, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Ava *''From 89th Regiment of Foot'': Egypt, Java, Niagara, Ava, Sevastopol *Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882 '84, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902 *''The Great War (14 battalions)'': Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Armentières 1914, Hill 60, Ypres 1915 '17 '18, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Guillemont, Ginchy, Le Transloy, Arras 1917, Scarpe 1917, Messines 1917 '18, Langemarck 1917, Cambrai 1917, St. Quentin, Rosières, Lys, Bailleul, Kemmel, Courtrai, France and Flanders 1914–18, Kosturino, Struma, Macedonia 1915-17, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell 'Asur, Megiddo, Nablus, Palestine 1917-18 *''The Second World War'': Withdrawal to Escaut, St Omer-La Bassée, Bou Arada, Stuka Farm, Oued Zarga, Djebel bel Mahdi, Djebel Ang, Djebel Tanngoucha, Adrano, Centuripe, Salso Crossing, Simeto Crossing, Malleto, Termoli, Trigno, Sangro, Fossacesia, Cassino II, Liri Valley,

Trasimene Line The Trasimene Line (so-named for Lake Trasimene, the site of a major battle of the Second Punic War in 217 BC) was a German defensive line during the Italian Campaign of World War II. It was sometimes known as the Albert Line. The German Com ...

, Monte Spaduro, Monte Grande, Argenta Gap, San Nicolo Canal, Leros, Malta 1940

Victoria Cross

Recipients of the

: *Private Robert Morrow 1st Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1915. Messines. *Lieutenant Geoffrey Cather 9th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1916. Hamel,

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

Regimental Colonels

Colonels of the Regiment were: ;The Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) *1881–1883: (1st Battalion) Gen. Sir Charles Hastings Doyle ''(ex 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot)'' *1881–1887: (2nd Battalion only to 1883) Gen. John Arthur Lambert *1887–1897: Gen. Augustus Halifax Ferryman *1897: Gen. Thomas Casey Lyons *1897–1899: Lt-Gen. Sir Alexander Hugh Cobbe *1899–1923: Maj-Gen. Thomas Rennie Stevenson ;The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) (1921) *1923–1937: Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Edwin Scott *1937–1946: Brig-Gen. Adrian Beare Incledon-Webber *1946–1954: F.M. Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer, KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE, DSO *1960–1968: Maj-Gen. Thomas Patrick David Scott, CB, CBE, DSO ''*1968 Regiment amalgamated with The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and The Royal Ulster Rifles to form The Royal Irish Rangers''

Great War Memorials

* Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Dublin. * Ulster Tower Memorial Thiepval, France. * Island of Ireland Peace Park Messines, Belgium. * Menin Gate Memorial Ypres, Belgium. * Helles Memorial Cape Helles, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Irish Brigade: The Story of the 38th (Irish) Brigade in the 2nd World War

{{Authority control Fusilier regiments of the British Army Fusilier regiments Military units and formations established in 1881 Irish regiments of the British Army Ireland in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1968 Museums in County Armagh Armagh (city) Regimental museums in Northern Ireland Defunct Irish regiments of the British Army 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom 1968 disestablishments in the United Kingdom