The 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, formed as part of the short-lived

East Anglian Brigade The East Anglian Brigade (known as G Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the regiments with recruiting grounds in East Anglia, and the East of England. History After the Second ...

History

As a result of the 1957 Defence Review, the 1st Battalion,

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the First and Second World W ...

and the 1st Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

amalgamated on 2 June 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot). From its inception, the 3rd East Anglians were based in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, West Germany, the home of the Essex Regiment prior to amalgamation. In 1959, the regiment was posted to Malaya shortly before the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

there was declared over. The regiment served with 28 Commonwealth Brigade until 1962, when it was posted to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The regiment's brief existence came to an end when it amalgamated with three other battalions of the

on 1 September 1964, to form one of the new 'large' regiments, the

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regi ...

; The 3rd East Anglian Regiment became the 3rd Battalion (16th/44th Foot).

Badges and dress distinctions

The regiment's badge consisted of a Napoleonic eagle enclosed within the Garter, combining elements of the insignia of the two merging units. The Garter had formed part of the badge adopted by the then Bedfordshire Regiment in 1898, while the Napoleonic eagle was the collar badge of the Essex Regiment from 1947. The eagle of the French 62nd Regiment was captured by one of the regiment's predecessors at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

in 1812. The eagle and garter badge appeared in the centre of the

colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

presented to the 1st battalion on 30 May 1959. A common cap badge and buttons were worn by all regular battalions of the

from 1958. The 3rd East Anglian Regiment's uniform was distinguished by eagle and garter collar badges and by the wearing of a lanyard of pompadour purple. The purple lanyard had been worn by the Essex Regiment, having originally been the facing colour of the 56th Regiment of Foot. The regiment also had a distinctive

stable belt A stable belt is a striped coloured belt worn at times by the armed forces of the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, and a few other countries including Denmark, Brazil and Lebanon. The stripes vary by regiment ...

, black with purple stripes edged in amber, a combination of those of the two constituents. The collar badges and lanyard of the 3rd East Anglians continued to be worn by the 3rd battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment after the 1964 amalgamation. Since 1992, when the battalion was disbanded, all parts of the Royal Anglians wear a gold eagle on a purple backing as an arm badge.

Alliances

The regiment's alliances included: * 11th/44th Infantry Battalion (The City of Perth Regiment)—Australia (1958–1964) * 16th Infantry Battalion(The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia)—Australia (1936 - 1960) * The Essex and Kent Scottish—Canada (1958–1964) * The First City Regiment—South Africa (1958–1961)

References

{{Royal Anglian Regiment

East Anglian East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

Military units and formations established in 1958 Military units and formations disestablished in 1964 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom