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21ST (COUNTY OF LONDON) BATTALION THE LONDON REGIMENT (FIRST SURREY RIFLES)

1908
21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)
Boer War
South Africa 1900-02
The Great War
Three Battalions formed
1914
1st / 21st Battalion 2nd / 21st Battalion
1915
3rd / 21st Battalion
1916
Re-designated as a Territorial Battalion of The East Surrey Regiment without change of title

3rd / 21st Battalion re-designated as 21st (Reserve) Battalion absorbing 3rd / 23rd Battalion

 

Location of operations

 
1st / 21st Battalion
2nd / 21st Battalion
1915
Loos
 
1916
Vimy Ridge
High Wood
Warlencourt
Vimy Ridge
1917
Ypres
Messines
Salonika
Beersheba
 
Bourlon Wood
Jerusalem
1918
La Vacquerie
Le Mesnil
Beiyudat
Amman
 
Bray sur Somme
Moislains
 
 
Tournai
 

Battle Honours awarded to 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles):

Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916, '18, Flers-Courcelette, Le Transloy, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Cambrai 1917, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Ancre 1918, Amiens, Albert 1918, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1915-18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1916-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Jericho, Jordan, Tell' Asur, Palestine 1917-18

1920
Reformed as: 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)
1922
Re-designated as: 21st London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)
1935
Change of arm and re-designated as: 35th (First Surrey Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers WW2 Location of operations Air Defence of Britain
1940
Re-designated as: 35th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)
1945
Re-designated as:
129th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)
1947
Reformed and re-designated as: 570th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)
1949
Re-designated as: 570th Light Anti-Aircraft and Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)
1955
Amalgamated with: 622nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Queen's) [formerly: 24th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Queen's)]

To become:

570th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery

1961
Amalgamated with:

265th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery [formerly: 4th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers) 7th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment 8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles) 20th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich) 8th London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery]

458th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (less one battery) [formerly: 4th Home Counties Brigade, Royal Field Artillery Kent (Fortress) Royal Engineers 6th (Cyclist) Battalion, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment]

To become:

265th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery

1964
Re-designated as: 265th Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery
1967
Amalgamated with:

Part of the Kent and County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) [formerly: Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles (Duke of Connaughts Own) The West Kent Yeomanry (Queen's Own) 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)]

To become:

The London and Kent Regiment, Royal Artillery (Territorials)

1971
Amalgamated with: 6th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Queen's Surreys) 10th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Middlesex) The Greater London Regiment, Royal Artillery (Territorials) The Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment) Royal Artillery (Territorials)

[formerly: 3rd , 6th , 11th , 17th , 19th , 22nd and 23rd Battalions, The London Regiment 3rd Battalion, The London Scottish ( 97th Anti-Aircraft Regiment) 4th and 5th Battalions, The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)

5th and 6th Battalions, The East Surrey Regiment

5th , 6th and 7th Battalions, The Essex Regiment 7th , 8th and 9th Battalions, The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) 1st , 4th , 6th and 7th London Brigades, Royal Field Artillery 2nd London Divisional, Royal Engineers The Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment)]

To become:

6th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment

1975
Amalgamated with:

7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment [formerly: 4th and 5th Battalions, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) 4th and 5th Battalions, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment 4th and 5th Battalions, The Royal Sussex Regiment part of The Kent and County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)]

To become:

6th / 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment

1986
B and D Companies, 6th / 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment formed:

A and B Companies, 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Fusiliers (City of London)

with: C (City of London) Company, coming from 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

1993
A Company, 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Fusiliers (City of London) reverted to: 6th / 7th Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)

[formerly: 6th / 7th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment] B and C Companies, 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Fusiliers (City of London) joined with: G (London Scottish) Company, 1st Battalion 51st Highland Volunteers D (London Irish Rifles) Company, 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Royal Irish Rangers

To form:

The London Regiment

organised as: A (London Scottish) Company B (Queen's Regiment) Company C (City of London Fusiliers) Company D (London Irish Rifles) Company HQ (Anzio) Company

1999

Under the Strategic Defence Review of November 1998 The London Regiment absorbed two companies from 4th Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets to be re-organised as: HQ (Anzio) Company A (London Scottish) Company B (Queen's Regiment) Company C (City of London Fusiliers) Company D (London Irish Rifles) Company F (Royal Green Jackets) Company G (Royal Green Jackets) Company

2007
F and G (Royal Green Jackets) Companies moved to join: 7th Battalion, The Rifles leaving HQ and four companies with:

The London Regiment

2017

B (Queen’s Regiment) Company transferred to the 4th Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment with loss of  title.           

C (City of London) Company transferred to the 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers with loss of title.            

These two companies were replaced by F Company which returned to the London Regiment with the title of F (RIFLES) Company and by the raising of a new G (Guards) Company to form The London Regiment, restyled the 'Guards Reserve Battalion' within London District.      

Organised as:             

HQ (Anzio) Company            

A (London Scottish) Company            

D (London Irish Rifles) Company 

F (RIFLES) Company  

G (Guards) Company

2023

On 1st May, The London Regiment was redesignated the 1st Battalion The London Guards

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