The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the

London Guards The London Guards is an administrative formation within the British Army comprising the Army Reserve companies of the British Army's Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Irish Guards. On formation these companies drew their personnel from the Lond ...

reserve battalion. The Guards Division is responsible for providing two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

s for public duties to London District (plus three incremental companies); although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry.

History

The Guards Division was established by redesignation of the

Brigade of Guards The Brigade of Guards was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1856 to 1968. It was commanded by the Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and was responsible for administering the guards regiments. After the Second Wor ...

in 1968. The headquarters was established at Wellington Barracks in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Before the Options for Change defence review in 1992, there were eight battalions: *1st and 2nd Battalions,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

*1st and 2nd Battalions, Coldstream Guards *1st and 2nd Battalions, Scots Guards *1st Battalion, Irish Guards *1st Battalion, Welsh Guards The cuts made to the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

under Options for Change included three battalions of Guards. However, rather than disbanding them, the 2nd Battalions of each of the first three regiments were placed in "suspended animation" – although they would not be active, they would still be listed on the Army Roll, and could be reactivated should they be needed. In order to maintain the traditions of each battalion, and to keep custody of the

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

, three companies were kept active, one to represent each battalion: *No 2 Company, 2nd Bn Grenadier Guards (renamed Nijmegen Company) *No 7 Company, 2nd Bn Coldstream Guards *F Company, 2nd Bn Scots Guards These three units were based permanently at Chelsea Barracks in

on public duties until Chelsea Barracks was sold off by the army. They represent the suspended battalions at significant events, such as Trooping the Colour, and receive the battalion's new colours whenever they are presented. As such, each company is an independent unit of their regiment, separate from the operational battalions. In 2022, two further public duties companies were formed following the conversion of 1st Battalion, Irish Guards to the Security Force Assistance role. The two new companies, No 9 Company and No 12 Company, have been formed to represent the Irish Guards' 2nd Battalion, which was placed in suspended animation in 1947.

Current units

Currently units comprise: *Guards Division Headquarters, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster **1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

** Nijmegen Company,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

**1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards ** No 7 Company, Coldstream Guards **1st Battalion, Scots Guards ** F Company, Scots Guards **1st Battalion, Irish Guards ** No 9 Company, Irish Guards ** No 12 Company, Irish Guards **1st Battalion, Welsh Guards **1st Battalion,

Past units

Past units include (dates when they were part of the division): * 2nd Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

(1968–1994), reduced to Nijmegan Company * 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards (1968–1993), reduced to No.7 Company * 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (1968–1971, reduced to 2 Scots Guards Company in 1st Battalion, re-instated 1972–1993), reduced to F Company * Band of the Grenadier Guards (1968–1994), transferred to Royal Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) on formation of that corps * Band of the Coldstream Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS * Band of the Scots Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS *

Band of the Irish Guards The Band of the Irish Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division whose main role is to guard the British monarch. The Band supports the Regiment by providing the musical backing to which much of the ceremo ...

(1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS *

Band of the Welsh Guards The Band of the Welsh Guards is the youngest of the five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division, specifically the Welsh Guards which primarily guards the British monarch. History The Welsh Guards Band was formed in 1915, ...

(1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS * London Regiment (2017–2022), redesignated as London Guards Note: The three 2nd battalions have technically not been disbanded; instead they are in "suspended animation" and, in theory, can be re-raised if needed. The colours and traditions of each battalion are kept and maintained by the incremental companies.

Telling the regiments apart

The five regiments of foot guards are most often seen in full dress uniform, comprising navy trousers, scarlet tunic and bearskin cap. From a distance they appear identical, but there are ways to distinguish between the regiments: * The colour of the plume, and which side of the bearskin it is worn on * The spacing of the tunic buttons * The badge worn on the collar * The badge worn on the shoulder British Army Guards officers stars

Guards Parachute Platoon

6 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment is manned by volunteers from the Guards Division and Household Cavalry

UK Special Forces

Although no longer directly associated with the Guards, G Squadron

22 SAS The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

was formed in 1966 following the performance of the Guards Independent Parachute Company under Major LGS Head in support of SAS Operations in Borneo.Secret War in South East Asia, Peter Dickens, Greenhill Books, London, Page 211

History

Current units

Past units

Telling the regiments apart

Guards Parachute Platoon

UK Special Forces

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links