Oh! Colonel Coote Manningham, he was the man,
for he invented a capital plan,
he raised a Corps of Riflemen,
to fight for England’s Glory !
He dressed them all in jackets of green
and placed them where they couldn’t be seen
and sent then in front, an invisible screen
to fight for England’s Glory !
(Old Rifle Brigade Song)
All Rifle Regiments obtain their differences in drill, dress and customs from those of regular infantry from the original Rifleman of the British Army, since 1966 embodied in the Royal Green Jackets. Their direct decently from the former and famous British Regiments is clear and contains titles of Regiments who first gained enduring fame in campaigns in North America against the French and in the Napoleonic Wars. The Regiment consists of.
1st Battalion the Royal Green Jackets derived from
1741 -The 43rd Regiment
1755 - The 52nd Regiment
1782 - The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment & the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment
1803 -The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Light Infantry & 52nd (Oxfordshire) Light Infantry
1881- The Oxfordshire Light Infantry
1908 - The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd
1958 - 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd)
2nd Battalion the Royal Green Jackets derived from
1755 - The 60th (initially 62nd) Royal Americans
1824 - The 60th The Duke of York’s Own Rifle Brigade
1830 -The 60th King’s Royal Rifle Brigade (Originally the King’s Royal Rifle Corps)
1881 - The King’s Royal Rifle Brigade
1958 - 2nd Green Jackets (The King’s Royal Rifle Brigade)
3rd Battalion the Royal Green Jackets derived from
1800 - The Experimental Corps of Riflemen
1802 - The 95th or Rifle Corps
1816 - The Rifle Brigade
1862 - The Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade
1920 - The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own)
1958 - 3rd Green Jackets (The Rifle Brigade)
This expression 'Corps' or 'Brigade' indicated a Regiment or several, usually four battalions as opposed to the normal one battalion Regiment.
The three regiments were grouped together on 7th November 1958 to form the Royal Green Jackets Brigade. On 1st January 1966, the Royal Green Jackets was formed as a Large Regiment by the amalgamation of 1st Green Jackets (The 43rd and 52nd), 2nd Green Jackets (The King's Royal Rifle Brigade) and 3rd Green Jackets (The Rifle Brigade). The Regiment, together with the Light Infantry formed the present Light Division.
In July 1992 the 1st Battalion merged with 2nd and 3rd Regiments.
Four milestones can be selected in the development of Rifle Regiments the formation of
The 60th Royal Americans in 1755
The 5th Battalion 60th in 1797
The Experimental Corps of Riflemen in 1800 -1
The Light Brigade in 1803
