Royal Bermuda Regiment

Royal Bermuda Regiment
Cap Badge of the Royal Bermuda Regiment
Active	September 1, 1965
Country	Bermuda (British Overseas Territory)
Branch	Army
Type	Line Infantry
Role	Internal Security
Size	One Battalion ~609 soldiers
Garrison/HQ	Warwick Camp
March	Quick - Bermuda
Anniversaries	21 November 1965, presentation of the first colours.
Commanders
Commanding Officer	Lt. Col. David Curley
Colonel-in-Chief	HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
Honorary Colonel	Col. Eugene Raynor

The Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR), formerly the Bermuda Regiment, is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorialinfantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the mostly black Bermuda Militia Artillery (BMA) and the almost entirely white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC).

The original Bermuda Militia had existed from 1612 to 1815, and all military-aged males were required to serve. This militia ceased to exist after the American War of 1812 as the Government of Bermuda saw it as an unnecessary expense, given the buildup of regular army units that had begun as a result of the 1795 establishment of the Royal Naval base in Bermuda. During the subsequent decades, short-lived militias were raised within the Bermuda Garrison without a Militia Act or any financial contribution from the local parliament (Bermudians who enlisted in this way probably included Robert John Simmons, who later served as First Sergeant in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War as, in recommending Simmons as a valuable recruit, prominent abolitionist William Wells Brown described him as a young man of more than ordinary abilities who had learned the science of war in the British Army). Although the local government for decades resisted pleas from the Governor, the War Office, and the Secretary of State for Defence to restore a part-time reserve, it was not until the Secretary of State for Defence made it a condition of his approval of American investment into the Princess Hotel and the widening of the shipping channel into St. George's Harbour that the local government authorised the creation of three units. Of these, only two were raised.