Berkshire Brochure Final(4) - Flipbook - Page 11
LOCAL INTEREST
The 49th Regiment [later 1st Battalion,
The Royal Berkshire Regiment] was
awarded three Victoria Crosses during
the Crimean War. These were amongst
the earliest presentations awarded
for the highest level of valour on the
battlefield.
The Regimental Depot of the 49th
Regiment in Reading was named after
the ‘Saviour’ of Canada, General Sir Isaac
Brock. Today Brock Barracks remains a
Reserve Centre of The Rifles. There are
four memorials dedicated to The Royal
Berkshire Regiment in Brock Barracks
and The Maiwand Lion memorial can be
found in Forbury Gardens, Reading.
In 1816 the 66th [Berkshire] Regiment was
garrisoned in St Helena, where it guarded
Napoleon Bonaparte. On his death in
1821, the grenadiers from the Regiment
carried Napoleon to his grave.
The 1st Berkshire Regiment were
granted the honour of becoming a ‘Royal
Regiment’ by Queen Victoria after the
Battle of Tofrek in the Sudan, 1880.
His younger brother, Victor, was awarded
a Victoria Cross in 1942 whilst serving in
The Rifle Brigade (another Antecedent
Regiment of The Rifles) during World War
II.
In 1940, the 4th Battalion took part in
the retreat to Dunkirk, coming off the
beaches only 40 strong. One of the
surviving officers was Lieutenant Douglas
Jardine, better known as the England
cricket team captain during the ‘Body-line
series’ in Australia, 1932-33.
In 2007, The Royal Gloucestershire,
Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment merged
with three other regiments to form The
Rifles.
The Rifles has the freedoms of three
towns in Berkshire: Reading, Windsor and
Maidenhead.
The Rifles, Berkshire and Wiltshire
Museum is located in the Cathedral
Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
The nickname of the Royal Berkshire
Regiment was ‘The Biscuit Boys’, so
called after the Huntley and Palmers
Biscuit Factory located in Reading that
supplied biscuits to the British Army. A
member of the Palmer family, Lieutenant
Poulton Palmer, who captained the
England rugby team in 1913/14, was the
first officer of the 1st/4th Battalion to be
killed in 1915.
During World War I, the Regiment won
two Victoria Crosses. Lieutenant Turner
won his at Loos, in 1915, where he was
wounded and later died of his injuries.
The Royal Berkshire Regiment Cap Badge
CONTACT US
REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS THE RIFLES
Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road,
WINCHESTER, SO23 8TS
01962 828 527 | rhq@the-rifles.co.uk
JOIN US:
Regular & Reserve Officer |
armyjobs@the-rifles.co.uk
Regular & Reserve Soldier |
enquiry@the-rifles.co.uk
REGIONAL OFFICES:
North (Pontefract) | 01977 703 181 |
yorkshire@the-rifles.co.uk
ARMY CADET FORCE
www.armycadets.com
Midlands (Shrewsbury) | 01743 842 030 |
shrewsbury@the-rifles.co.uk
London (Kensington) | 0207 414 5441 |
london@the-rifles.co.uk
South (Winchester) | 01962 828 501 |
salisbury@the-rifles.co.uk
West (Taunton) | 01823 333 434 | taunton@
the-rifles.co.uk
South West (Exeter) | 01392 492 435 |
exeter@the-rifles.co.uk
THE RIFLEMAN'S ASSOCIATION:
SWIFT - www.theriflesnetwork.co.uk |
swift@the-rifles.co.uk
FORMING & ANTECEDENT REGIMENTAL
ASSOCIATION BRANCHES:
•
Newbury (RIFLES & RGBW)
•
Reading (R BERKS & DERR)
MUSEUMS:
The Rifles Regimental Museum | www.
riflesmuseum.co.uk
The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire
Museum, Salisbury |
www.thewardrobe.org.uk
