The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
| The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers | |
|---|---|
The Capbadge and Hackle of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
|
|
| Active | 23 April 1968 – Present |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | 1st Battalion - Armoured Infantry 5th Battalion - Army Reserve |
| Size | Two Battalions |
| Part of | Queen's Division |
| Garrison/HQ |
|
| Nickname(s) |
The Fighting Fifth The Shiners The Old and the Bold Lord Wellington's Bodyguards |
| Motto(s) | "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (French) "Evil be to him who evil thinks" |
| March | Quick - The British Grenadiers Slow - Rule Britannia |
| Mascot(s) | Traditional - Black Buck - Bobby Substitute - Otterhound - George |
| Anniversaries |
St. George's Day (23 April) Gallipoli Day (25 April) Albuhera Day (16 May) Normandy Day (06 June) Minden Day (1 August) |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  |
| Battalion Shoulder Title |  |
| Hackle | Red over White |
| Abbreviation | FUSILIERS |
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (FUSILIERS) is an Infantry Regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Today it is a two Battalion Regiment with the Regular First Fusiliers operating as Armoured Infantry based in Tidworth, Wiltshire and the Reservist Fifth Fusiliers working across the North East of England. There are also a number of independent Reservist Fusilier sub-units based across England. Whilst the Fusiliers traditionally recruited in specific counties, today as an English regiment the Fusiliers recruit nationally. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was largely unaffected by the reforms of the Infantry that were announced in December 2004, but under the Army 2020 reduction in size of the Army its Second Battalion was merged into the First in 2014.
The Regiment was formed on 23 April 1968 as part of the reforms of the British Army that saw the creation of 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English Fusilier regiments:
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers now recruits nationally but retains strong ties with its traditional counties of:
The 3rd Battalion of the Regiment saw active service in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. All battalions have also been deployed to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner multiple times.
In 2003 First Fusiliers Battlegroup were at the forefront of the Coalition Invasion of Iraq, ultimately occupying the City of Basra. Over the next decade the Regiment carried out multiple operational tours of Iraq.
In 2006 elements of the former Second Fusiliers were deployed to Afghanistan to support the International Security Assistance Force. Deployed to the town of Now Zad they rapidly found themselves fighting off a sustained Taliban attack that lasted for 107 days - the longest siege of British troops since World War II. Over the following years elements of the Regiment deployed on several occasions to Afghanistan and saw heavy fighting. Most recently the whole of First Fusiliers deployed to Nahri Saraj District, Afghanistan in 2013, where they took part in mounted and dismounted infantry operations.
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Wikipedia