Cornwall Brochure Final(6) - Flipbook - Page 6
CORNWALL'S PART
IN RIFLES HISTORY
Most infantry regiments carry
their battle honours on Colours
(ceremonial flags). RIFLES Battalions
do not have Colours, but all Riflemen
carry 34 representative battle
honours (of 913 awarded) on their
belt badge. Some honours were for
Lucknow (1857-1858) - The 32nd defended the city of Lucknow during the Indian
Mutiny, withstanding a siege that lasted for 140 days. The heroic defence earned them
the title the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment (LI).
Dettingen (1743) - The Regiment, now titled Huske’s Regiment of Foot, took part
in the Battle of Dettingen, which saw them holding firm against repeated French
attacks, despite being attacked by cavalry when out of square formation.
great battles of national significance,
like Waterloo, the Somme, El
Alamein and Normandy. Others
are unique to The Rifles, such as
Marabout and Pegasus Bridge. One
scroll on the belt badge is left blank
for a battle honour yet to be won.
Waterloo (1815) - The 32nd were heavily engaged at Quatre Bras, successfully
beating back repeated French infantry and cavalry attacks. Two days later, they
were tasked with holding the centre of the Allied line at Waterloo.
South Africa (1899-1902) – 2/DCLI saw service during the
Second Boer War. They most notably took part in the Battle of
Paardeberg and the capture of Bloemfontein, the capital of the
Orange Free State.
Peninsula War (1808-1814) - The 32nd fought in the early battles of
the Peninsula War. They returned to Spain in 1811, where they took
part in the Battle of Salamanca and the final invasion of France over
the Pyrenees
Ypres (1915 & 1917) - The DCLI fought in the Second Battle of
Ypres in 1915 and the Third in 1917.
Gibraltar (1704) - The Rifles’ oldest antecedent battle
honour. Fox's Regiment of Marines took part in the capture
of Gibraltar during the War of Spanish Succession. ‘Gibraltar’
became the Regimental Day of the SCLI after the regiments
amalgamated in 1959.
Somme (1916 & 1918) - The DCLI took part in many of the key
engagements that made up both the First Battle of the Somme
in 1916 and the Second in 1918.
Anzio (1944) - 2/DCLI took part in the final battle to take Monte
Cassino during the campaign to breach the German Winter
Line in Italy. Anzio is a representative battle honour, as although
the DCLI were heavily involved in the campaign, they were not
present at Anzio itself.
Megiddo (1918) - 1/4th DCLI took part in the Battle of Megiddo
which saw the Allied army of General Edmund Allenby achieve
a crushing victory over the Ottoman Empire.
Normandy (1944) - 5/DCLI took part in Operation Overlord and fought
numerous actions throughout the Normandy Campaign, including the
Battle of Hill 112 (later renamed Cornwall Hill).
Iraq (2003) - The most recent of The Rifles battle honours was won by
The Light Infantry during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 1 LI advanced on
and captured Basra.
Abridged timeline of historical names and amalgamations of Cornish regiments from 1702 to the formation in 2007
1702
Edward Fox’s 3rd
Regiment of Marines
1751
1858
1881
1959
1968
2007
32nd Regiment of
Foot (32nd)
32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of
Foot (Light Infantry) (32nd)
Duke of Cornwall's
Light Infantry (DCLI)
Somerset and Cornwall
Light Infantry (SCLI)
The Light
Infantry (LI)
The Rifles
(RIFLES)