21^st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)

Three Battalions formed

1^st / 21^st Battalion 2^nd / 21^st Battalion

3^rd / 21^st Battalion

Re-designated as a Territorial Battalion of The East Surrey Regiment without change of title

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

 

Location of operations

Battle Honours awarded to 21^st (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

Reformed as: 21^st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)

Re-designated as: 21^st London Regiment (First Surrey Rifles)

Change of arm and re-designated as: 35^th (First Surrey Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers WW2 Location of operations Air Defence of Britain

Re-designated as: 35^th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)

Re-designated as:
129^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)

Reformed and re-designated as: 570^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)

Re-designated as: 570^th Light Anti-Aircraft and Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (First Surrey Rifles)

Amalgamated with: 622^nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (Queen's) [formerly: 24^th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Queen's)]

To become:

570^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery

Amalgamated with:

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

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

To become:

265^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery

Re-designated as: 265^th Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery

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) 3^rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)]

To become:

The London and Kent Regiment, Royal Artillery (Territorials)

Amalgamated with: 6^th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Queen's Surreys) 10^th (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: 3^rd , 6^th , 11^th , 17^th , 19^th , 22^nd and 23^rd Battalions, The London Regiment 3^rd Battalion, The London Scottish ( 97^th Anti-Aircraft Regiment) 4^th and 5^th Battalions, The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)

5^th and 6^th Battalions, The East Surrey Regiment

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

To become:

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

Amalgamated with:

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

To become:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Under the Strategic Defence Review of November 1998 The London Regiment absorbed two companies from 4^th 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

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

The London Regiment

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

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