Fusilier Brigade
Encyclopedia
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1958 to 1968. The Brigade combined the depots of the English infantry regiments designated as fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
s.
The Brigade was created as part of the defence reforms
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...
announced in July 1957. It was formed on April 1, 1958, when the three fusilier regiments were transferred from existing regional brigades:
- The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (from the Yorkshire and Northumberland BrigadeYorkshire BrigadeThe Yorkshire Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry battalions of Yorkshire, England....
) - The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)The Royal Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army until 1968 when it was amalgamated with other regiments to form The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers...
(from the Home Counties BrigadeHome Counties BrigadeThe Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry battalions of the Home Counties of south east England....
) - The Lancashire Fusiliers (from the Lancastrian BrigadeLancastrian BrigadeThe Lancastrian Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry battalions of northwest England....
)
The three regiments adopted common cap and collar badges consisting of a fired grenade bearing Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
and the dragon within a laurel wreath beneath a crown. The grenade was a badge common to all fusilier regiments, while the other elements were each taken from the cap badges of the three regiments. The regiments were distinguished by a coloured feather hackle worn behind the badge in some forms of head dress: red and white (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers), white (Royal Fusiliers), or primrose yellow (Lancashire Fusiliers) respectively.
In 1962 the Forester Brigade
Forester Brigade
The Forester Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1964. The Brigade administered the regular infantry battalions of the English Midlands....
was dissolved and The Royal Warwickshire Regiment was transferred to the Fusilier Brigade, being retitled The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers in the following year, and adopting a hackle in the regimental colours of orange and royal blue. A new button was designed for the Brigade in 1963, bearing the ancient antelope badge of the Royal Warwickshires within The Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.
On April 23, 1968, (St George's Day
St George's Day
St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...
) all four regiments were amalgamated into the single "large regiment" The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
. The RRF continues to wear the Fusilier Brigade badges and buttons, with the red over white hackle of the Northumberland Fusiliers.
On July 1, 1968 the Fusilier Brigade was united with the Home Counties
Home Counties Brigade
The Home Counties Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry battalions of the Home Counties of south east England....
and East Anglian Brigade
East Anglian Brigade
The East Anglian Brigade was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1948 to 1968. The Brigade administered the regular infantry regiments of eastern England....
s, to form the Queen's Division
Queen's Division
The Queen's Division is a British Army command, training and administrative apparatus designated for has the regiments from the east of England and the remaining regiment of Fusiliers. The Queen's Division was formed in 1968 with the regimentation of the Home Counties Brigade, Fusilier Brigade and...
.