The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in the Thirteen Colonies in 1756 as the 62nd (Royal American) Regiment of Foot for service in the French and Indian War. The regiment was unique in that it consisted in large part of Swiss, German and Dutch Protestants along with American colonists recruited for their skill in unconventional warfare in wooded terrain; the British Parliament passed a special act to allow the regiment's recruitment of foreigners. Renumbered as the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot in 1757, the regiment subsequently served in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
In 1815 the regiment was renamed the Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps before being renamed again to the "King's Royal Rifle Corps" in 1830. It served in multiple conflicts of the Victorian era and both world wars before joining the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) in the Green Jackets Brigade in 1946. In 1966 all three regiments were formally amalgamated into a new regiment known as the Royal Green Jackets, with the King's Royal Rifle Corps becoming the regiment's second battalion.
History
French and Indian War
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was raised in the Thirteen Colonies in 1756 as the 62nd (Royal American) Regiment of Foot to defend the colonies against attack by the French and their indigenous allies. After Braddock's defeat in 1755, royal approval for a new regiment, as well as funds, were granted by parliament just before Christmas 1755 – hence the regiment's traditional birthday of Christmas Day. However, parliamentary delays meant that it was 4 March 1756 before a special act of parliament created four battalions of 1,000 men each to include foreigners for service in the Americas.
A regimental history compiled in 1879 states that, in November 1755, Parliament voted the sum of £81,000 for the purpose of raising a regiment of four battalions, each one thousand strong, for service in British North America. To provide experienced personnel, Parliament passed the Commissions to Foreign Protestants Act 1756 (29 Geo. 2. c. 5) The Earl of Loudoun, who as commander-in-chief of the Forces in North America, was appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment. About fifty officers' commissions were given to Germans and Swiss, and none were allowed to rise above the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
According to a modern history of the regiment, the idea for creating this unique force was proposed by Jacques Prevost, a Swiss soldier and adventurer who was a friend of the Duke of Cumberland (the Duke was the King's third son and also Commander-in-Chief of the Forces). Prevost recognised the need for soldiers who understood forest warfare, unlike the regulars who were brought to America in 1755 by General Edward Braddock.
The regiment was intended to combine the characteristics of colonial units and foreign legions. Swiss and Germans skilled in unconventional warfare in wooded terrain, American colonists and volunteers from other British Army regiments were recruited. These men were Protestants, an important consideration for fighting against the predominantly Catholic French. The officers were also recruited from Europe – not from the American colonies – and consisted of British, Irish, Dutch, Swiss and Germans. It was the first time foreign officers were commissioned as British Army officers. In total, the regiment consisted of 101 officers, 240 non-commissioned officers and 4,160 enlisted men. The battalions were raised on Governors Island, New York. The regiment was renumbered the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot in February 1757 when the 50th and 51st Regiments of Foot were removed from the British Army roll after their surrender at Fort Oswego.
Among the distinguished foreign officers given commissions in the regiment was Henry Bouquet, a Swiss mercenary whose forward-looking ideas on tactics, training and man-management (including the unofficial introduction of the rifle and more practical clothing suited to bush-fighting) would come to be accepted as standard in the British Army many years in the future. Bouquet was commanding officer of the 1st battalion, and with his fellow battalion commanders, worked to form units that were better suited to warfare in the forests and lakes of northeast America.
Elements of the new regiment fought at Louisbourg in June 1758, the Cape Sable Campaign in September 1758 and Quebec in September 1759, and finally the Montreal Campaign from July to September 1760 which finally wrested Canada from France. At Quebec General James Wolfe is said to have granted the regiment the motto (Swift and Bold). To reward and maintain their service and loyalty, Parliament passed the American Protestant Soldier Naturalization Act 1762 (2 Geo. 3. c. 25), which offered British naturalization to those officers, engineers and soldiers who had or would serve for two years, with certain conditions and on the model of the Plantation Act 1740.
These earlier engagements were conventional battles on the European model, but fighting during Pontiac's War in 1763 was of a very different character. The frontier war threatened the British control of North America. The new regiment at first lost several outlying garrisons such as Fort Michilimackinac, later a detachment fought under Bouquet's leadership at the victory of Bushy Run in August 1763.
In 1762, the 3rd Battalion sailed from North America to joining the Earl of Albemarle's expedition to the West Indies. The battalion was closely involved in the capture of Martinique and the successful siege and capture of Havana. It later moved to West Florida prior to England and disbandment in 1764.
The 60th was uniformed and equipped in a similar manner to other British regiments with red coats and cocked hats or grenadier caps, but on campaign, swords were replaced with hatchets, and coats and hats cut down for ease of movement in the woods.
American War of Independence
Two additional battalions of the regiment (the 3rd and 4th battalions) were raised in England in 1775, principally of men recruited from England and Hanover in 1775 for service in the American War of Independence. After assembly in the Isle of Wight, both battalions were sent in 1776 to Florida where they were joined by detachments from 1st and 2nd Battalions. These battalions were deployed to Georgia and were involved in skirmishes at Sudbury in January 1779, the Battle of Brier Creek in March 1779, the Siege of Savannah in October 1779 where elements from the 4th Battalion captured the colour of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, and at Augusta in September 1780. The 3rd battalion later took part in the British defense of the Gulf Coast. Elements of the battalion fought at the Battle at The Village and the Siege of Pensacola. The 3rd and 4th battalions were disbanded in June 1783.
Napoleonic Wars
During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment saw action in the Peninsular War. The first four battalions had been raised as regular line battalions, but in 1797 a 5th battalion had been raised on Barbados, with additional companies formed on the Isle of Wight, and equipped entirely with rifles. The troops of the 5th battalion were so effective that Sir Arthur Wellesley recommended their use to the divisional commanders describing them as the "most useful, active and brave troops in the field".
A 7th battalion was raised specifically for service in the American War of 1812.
Anglo-Egyptian War and Second Boer War
In 1815, the regiment was renamed to the Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps before being renamed again in 1830 to the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC). In 1858, the Rifle Depot at Winchester was made their headquarters. The regiment served in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. During the rest of the 1800s, the unit also was active in China, Canada (Wolseley expedition), Afghanistan, India, Burma and South Africa. The regiment was deployed during the Second Boer War from the outset playing a key role in the first battle at Talana Hill. Two officers from the regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross; Lieutenant Frederick Roberts and Lieutenant Llewelyn Alberic Emilius Price-Davies. Private Frederick Corbett also received the Victoria Cross for his action at Kafr Dowar, Egypt, on 5 August 1882; his VC was later rescinded when he was convicted of embezzlement, theft, and being absent without leave. Following the end of the war in South Africa, the 1st battalion was transferred to Malta, where it arrived in October 1902.
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had two Reserve but no Territorial battalions.These were the 5th Battalion (Special Reserve) and the 6th Battalion (Special Reserve)
First World War
Regular Army The 1st Battalion landed at Rouen as part of the 6th Brigade in the 2nd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. It saw action at the Battle of Mons in August 1914, the First Battle of the Marne and the First Battle of the Aisne in September 1914 and First Battle of Ypres in October 1914. It fought at the Battle of Festubert in May 1915, the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and the Battle of the Somme in Autumn 1916 before taking part in the advance to the Hindenburg Line, the Battle of Arras in November 1917, the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, the Second Battle of the Somme in Autumn 1918 and the Battle of the Selle in October 1918.
The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 2nd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action at the Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915.
The 3rd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 80th Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
The 4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 80th Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 but moved to Salonika in November 1915 before returning to France in June 1918.
Territorial force The regiment did not have any territorial force battalions.
New armies The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 41st Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action in the Second Battle of Ypres in May 1915, the Battle of Delville Wood in July 1916 and the Battle of Flers–Courcelette in September 1916 as well as the advance to the Hindenburg Line, the Battle of Arras in April 1917, the Battle of Langemark in August 1917, the First Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917 and the Second Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 before taking part in the Battle of St Quentin in March 1918 and the Battle of the Avre in April 1918.
The 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 41st Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front and saw action in most of the same battles as the 7th Battalion. The 9th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 42nd Brigade in the 14th (Light) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front and saw action in most of the same battles as the 7th and 8th battalions.