A Brief History of the Royal Berkshire Regiment

Introduction

This Web-site is mainly about the Royal Berkshire Regiment between 1914 and 1919 when it was engaged in the First World War. It seems appropriate to provide a very brief outline of the history of the Regiment and both its preceding and succeeding units of the British Army.

The Berkshire Regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 49th and 66th Regiments with the Berkshire Militia and now forms part of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment having previously been merged with the Wiltshire Regiment as the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment.

The Berkshire Militia

The Berkshire Militia had its origins in the Saxon 'fyrd' which was a citizen’s army to defend its local territory. Over the centuries it was called out on numerous occasions, notably when the Spanish Armada threatened in 1588. It was reembodied in 1758, then dispersed, called out again for the American Revolution and again to meet the threat of Napoleon. It was reformed again for the Crimean War and again for the Indian Mutiny. In 1881 it became the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the new Berkshire Regiment.

The 49th Regiment of Foot

The 49th Regiment was originally formed in 1743 for garrison duties in Jamaica but very soon saw service in a much wider sphere. During its early days it served in the American War of Independence fought as Marines under Nelson and distinguished itself in Canada. In 1812, General Sir Isaac Brock, Commander-in-Chief in Upper Canada and himself an ex-member of the Regiment, was killed at its head whilst leading a charge at the battle of Queenstown. In 1872, it acquired a County connection with Hertfordshire and, in 1817, at the particular request of Princess Charlotte of Wales, it also adopted her title.

It fought in the so-called Opium Wars in China in 1839-42 and also in the Crimea ·where it won three Victoria Crosses. It is from this campaign that its famous China Dragon badge was born.

The 66th Regiment of Foot

The 66th Regiment was originally raised in 1756 as the second Battalion of the 19th Regiment (Green Howards) but became a Regiment in its own right two years later and adopted the additional County title of Berkshire in 1782. It saw much service in the West Indies, India and Nepal. In 1803 a second Battalion was raised which served with distinction in the Peninsula under Wellington It formed part of the Garrison of St. Helena during Napoleon’s exile there and six of its Grenadiers helped carry his coffin to its tomb. In 1880 it was practically annihilated in a desperate battle at Maiwand in Afghanistan, as a result of which the Commander of the Force stated in his despatch that ’... history does not afford any greater or finer instance of gallantry and devotion to duty than that displayed by the 66th Regiment on 27th July 1880.’ The famous Maiwand Lion was erected above a memorial in Reading's Forbury Gardens to commemorate the exploit.

The Royal Berkshire Regiment

Following the amalgamation in 1881 of the 49th and 66th the new Regiment was known simply as The Berkshire Regiment. The 'old' regiments of foot becoming its 1st and 2nd Battalions and the former Berkshire Militia the 3rd Battalion. The amalgamation was followed by service by the 1st Bn in the Sudan where it greatly distinguished itself at Tofrek in 1885, as a result of which Queen Victoria ordered, that, in future, the Regiment should be known as Princess Charlotte of Wales’s Royal Regiment. 

A few years later, it was serving with equal distinction in the South African War of 1899-1902. A total of ten Battalions, two Regular, two Territorial, four Service and two Labour, fought in France, Flanders, Italy and Salonika during the First World War and six fought in the Second World War in North-West Europe, Italy, Sicily and Burma.

During World War Two, two members of the Regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross for Valour. Also one of its officers, General Miles Dempsey, commanded the British and Canadian Forces on D-Day. After D-Day the 5th Battalion were in charge of Juno Beach at Bernière sur Mer and to commemorate their efforts a street in Bernière was named Rue du Royal Berkshire Regiment.

The Regimental Depot was at Brock Barracks, Reading and the Regiment has always maintained close links with its Territorial Army connections which, during the latter part of its history, was the 4th/6th Battalion The Royal Berkshire Regiment (TA)

The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment

In 1959 the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales') and the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) were merged to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire & Wiltshire) Under this name the regiment soldiered all over the globe keeping the peace in places such as British Guiana, Cyprus and Northern Ireland. They also served a number of times as part of the BAOR and in Berlin.

The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment

In 1994 the Regiment was again merged, this time with the Gloucestershire Regiment to form The 1st Battalion, Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. This merger pawned a new Regimental Magazine The Sphinx and the Dragon, which superseded the former China Dragon and DERR Journal. The new Regiment's first posting was to Bosnia on UN duties. It then moved to Cyprus on garrison duties and now forms part of the Rapid Reaction Force.

In 1995 the 2nd Wessex (Territorial) Battalion, which had succeeded the 4th/6th Royal Berkshires, became the 2nd Battalion of the RGBW. Under recent Defence arrangements the it has become part of the Home Counties battalion of the Territorial army, ie the HQ Coy of the Royal Rifle Volunteers (TA) at Brock Barracks Reading  and the Company in Gloucester has become part of the West of England Battalion, the Rifle Volunteers.

Regimental Histories

The definitive Regimental History is that published by F Loraine Petre in 1925. This is in two parts covering the period to 1914 and then the First World War. This was completed by Gordon Blight to cover the period 1920-47. An abbreviated history was published by Frederick Myatt. These are now out of print.

The First World War is covered again in four recent publications by the Kitcheners Battalions Project at Reading University. They cover the 5th, 6th and 8th Battalions. Responding to the Call cover 1914/15, On the Somme covers 1916, Arras to Cambrai covers 1917 and Their Duty Done covers 1918.

Major Frederick Myatt MC completed the history of the Royal Berks with his book The Last Twelve Years 1948 to 1959. This was eventually published in 2001.

Lt Col David Stone wrote the history of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment under the title Cold War Warriors.

A further abbreviated history of all the units forming the RGBW was published by its Colonel, Major General Robin Grist in 1997 entitled Their Laurels are Green.  

Copies of these books may be obtained from the Regimental Museum in Salisbury

Other histories now out of print are:-

1st/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment (TA) 1914-18 by CRMF Cruttwell

China Dragons. A Rifle Company at War Burma 1944-5 by John Hill

My God Maiwand by Leigh Maxwell

The 66th Berkshire Regiment 1758-1881 by J Percy Groves

The Fighting 10th - 10th Bn WW2 by DRC West

The Royal Berkshire Militia by Emma Thoyts