Guards Division

The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Regiment. The Guards Division is responsible for providing two battalions for public duties to London District (plus three incremental companies); although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry.

See also: Guards Division (United Kingdom)

For other uses, see Guards Division (disambiguation).

History

The Guards Division was established by redesignation of the Brigade of Guards in 1968. The depot was established at Wellington Barracks in London.[1]

Before the Options for Change defence review in 1992, there were eight battalions:

• 1st and 2nd Battalions, Grenadier Guards
• 1st and 2nd Battalions, Coldstream Guards
• 1st and 2nd Battalions, Scots Guards
• 1st Battalion, Irish Guards
• 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards

The cuts made to the infantry under Options for Change included three battalions of Guards. However, rather than disbanding them, the 2nd Battalions of each of the first three regiments were placed in "suspended animation" - although they would not be active, they would still be listed on the Army Roll, and could be reactivated should they be needed. In order to maintain the traditions of each battalion, and to keep custody of the colours, three companies were kept active, one to represent each battalion:

• No 2 Company, 2nd Bn Grenadier Guards (renamed Nijmegen Company)
• No 7 Company, 2nd Bn Coldstream Guards
• F Company, 2nd Bn Scots Guards

These three units were based permanently at Chelsea Barracks in London on public duties until Chelsea Barracks was sold off by the army. They represent the suspended battalions at significant events, such as Trooping the Colour, and receive the battalion's new colours whenever they are presented. As such, each company is an independent unit of their regiment, separate from the operational battalions.

Current units

Currently units comprise:[2][3]

• Guards Division Headquarters, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster
• Regular Army
  • 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards (Public Duties), at Lille Barracks, Aldershot Garrison
  • 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards (Light Infantry), at Victoria Barracks, Windsor
  • 1st Battalion, Scots Guards (Mechanised Infantry), at Mons Barracks, Aldershot Garrison
  • Irish Guards (Light Infantry), at Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow
  • Welsh Guards (Public Duties), at Combermere Barracks, Windsor
  • Guards Independent Parachute Company (1948–1975), reduced to 6 (Guards) Parachute Platoon in 3 PARA[4][5]
  • G Squadron, 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (affiliated, 1968–Present)[6]
  • Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards (Permanent Public Duties), at Wellington Barracks, Westminster
  • No 7 Company, Coldstream Guards (Permanent Public Duties), at Wellington Barracks, Westminster
  • F Company, Scots Guards (Permanent Public Duties), at Wellington Barracks, Westminster
• Regimental Headquarters, Grenadier Guards, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster[7]
• Regimental Headquarters, Coldstream Guards, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster[8]
• Regimental Headquarters, Scots Guards, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster[9]
• Regimental Headquarters, Irish Guards, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster[10]
• Regimental Headquarters, Welsh Guards, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster[11]
• Army Reserve
  • London Regiment (Light Infantry), HQ in St John's Hill, London
• Regimental Headquarters, London Regiment, in Battersea[12]

Past units

Past units include (dates when they were part of the division):[13][14][15]

• 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards (1968–1994), reduced to Nijmegan Company
• 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards (1968–1993), reduced to No.7 Company
• 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (1968–1971, reduced to 2 Scots Guards Company in 1st Battalion, re-instated 1972–1993), reduced to F Company
• Band of the Grenadier Guards (1968–1994), transferred to Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) on formation of that corps
• Band of the Coldstream Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
• Band of the Scots Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
• Band of the Irish Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
• Band of the Welsh Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS

Note: The three 2nd battalions have technically not been disbanded; instead they are in "suspended animation" and, in theory, can be re-raised if needed. The colours and traditions of each battalion are kept and maintained by the incremental companies.

Telling the regiments apart

Two officers and a Warrant Officer class I of the Irish Guards - in this image the blue plume can be seen on the right hand side of the bearskin, the tunic buttons are grouped in fours, and the shamrock badge is on the collar. The Officer on the far side has a parachute badge indicating he's trained to deploy as a parachutist.

The five regiments of foot guards are most often seen in full dress uniform, comprising navy trousers, scarlet tunic and bearskin cap. From a distance they appear identical, but there are ways to distinguish between the regiments:

• The colour of the plume, and which side of the bearskin it is worn on
• The spacing of the tunic buttons
• The badge worn on the collar
• The badge worn on the shoulder

Regiment	Plume	Plume colour	Button spacing	Collar badge	Shoulder badge
Grenadier Guards	Left	White	Singly	Grenade	Royal Cypher
Coldstream Guards	Right	Red	Pairs	Garter Star	Rose
Scots Guards	N/A	N/A	Threes	Thistle	Thistle Star
Irish Guards	Right	Blue	Fours	Shamrock	St Patrick Star
Welsh Guards	Left	White-Green-White	Fives	Leek	Leek

See also

• Household Cavalry
• Household Division
• King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
• Guards Division for the tactical formation active in World War I (and briefly at the end of World War II)
• Guards Armoured Division for the tactical formation active in World War II

List of Bands:

• Band of the Grenadier Guards
• Band of the Coldstream Guards
• Band of the Scots Guards
• Band of the Irish Guards
• Band of the Welsh Guards

References

1. "Wellington Barracks Review". Retrieved 18 April 2014.
2. Heyman, p.88
3. "Army 2020 Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
4. "The Parachute Regiment". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
5. "Guards Parachute Platoon, 3 PARA | ParaData". www.paradata.org.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
6. "22nd Special Air Service Regiment: Service". web.archive.org. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
7. "Regimental Headquarters - Grenadier Guards". www.grengds.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
8. "Regimental Headquarters". Coldstream Guards. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
9. "Scots Guards [UK]". web.archive.org. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
10. "Irish Guards [UK]". web.archive.org. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
11. "Welsh Guards [UK]". web.archive.org. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
12. "Units - British Army Website". web.archive.org. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
13. Whitaker's Almanack 1969
14. "Brigade of Guards [UK]". web.archive.org. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
15. "2nd Bn, Scots Guards: Service". web.archive.org. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2020.

Sources

• Heyman, Charles (2012). The British Army: A Pocket Guide, 2012-2013. Pen & Sword.

External links

• Brigade of Guards at regiments.org by T.F.Mills at the Wayback Machine (archived 15 July 2007)