1945 Order of Precedence of the British Army

The British Colonial Auxiliary Forces were the various military forces (each composed of one or more units or corps) of Britain's colonial empire which were not considered part 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 ...

proper. Whether a British ("Home" or "Colonial") military unit or corps was considered part of the British Army was ultimately decided by whether it received Army funds from the War Office. Within and without the British Isles, the British military, (referring to land, rather than naval,components of the

British armed forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

) by the end of the Napoleonic Wars (by which time the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

had been absorbed into the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

, forming the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

, and the Irish military forces had been absorbed into those of Great Britain), included two regular forces (employed in the garrisoning and defence of the British Isles, other parts of the British Empire, and deploying to foreign countries as required), the Ordnance Military Corps (including the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, and

Royal Sappers and Miners The British Army during the Victorian era served through a period of great technological and social change. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, and died in 1901. Her long reign was marked by the steady expansion and consolidation of th ...

), administered and funded under the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, and the

(mostly composed of cavalry and infantry regiments), administered and funded under the War Office. Most were ''Home'' corps and units (i.e., those depoted and recruited in the British Isles, wherever they might be deployed) though some were raised in colonies. The regular forces also included at various times, usually in particular locations,

invalid Invalid may refer to: * Patient, a sick person * one who is confined to home or bed because of illness, disability or injury (sometimes considered a politically incorrect term) * Invalid (film), a 2023 Slovak black comedy movie * .invalid, a top-l ...

fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

, and other units, utilised primarily for garrison or defensive duties. Some regular forces raised in colonies, such as those grouped in the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the British West Africa, West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone ...

, were funded only by the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

or local Governments and therefore not considered part of the British Army. Additional to the Regular military forces, the British Military also included various Reserve Forces. The main ones by the time of the Napoleonic Wars included the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

(or ''Constitutional Force'', composed of infantry regiments), mounted

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

, and the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

, although there were various others at different times and places. The Militia system was duplicated in many colonies, many of which would also raise volunteer units. These Reserve Forces were under the control of local authorities (the Lords Lieutenant of counties in the British Isles, and Governors in their separate offices of ''Commanders-in-Chief'' of colonies; Normally, neither Lords Lieutenant nor colonial Governors had any authority over regular forces in their territories), and locally funded. After the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and the

American War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the D ...

, the British Government slashed defence spending, down-sizing the regular forces, including disbanding the fencibles (most of which units had been raised in Scotland due to the lack of Militia there in the 18th Century as a result of fears of rebellion), disbanding the Volunteer Force in the British Isles, and allowing the Militia there to become a

paper tiger "Paper tiger" is a calque of the Chinese phrase ''zhǐlǎohǔ'' ( zh, s=纸老虎, t=紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand ch ...

. The Yeomanry was maintained as a back-up to the constabulary in maintaining law and order. In the 1850s, the Crimean War highlighted the problems of British military organisation, leading to the abolishment of the Board of Ordnance, with its military corps and various previously civilian transportation, stores, and other departments absorbed by the British Army. The Indian Mutiny led to the abolishment of the East India Company, with the India Office taking over administration of India. The company's military forces were split, with the white units absorbed into the British Army and the native ones composing the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. The British Army saw significant change through the latter half of the century, with the British Army Regular Reserve formed in the 1850s, following which, to avoid confusion, the Reserve Forces were generally referred to as the Auxiliary Forces (i.e., auxiliary to, but not part of, the British Army), or as the Local Forces (as they were originally all for home defence). With the threat of invasion by France, the Reserve Forces in the British Isles were also re-organised throughout the latter half of the 19th Century, into the first decade of the 20th Century. The Militia was re-organised as a voluntary force from the 1850s, and the Volunteer Force restored as a permanent part of the peacetime military establishment. Both now included units other than infantry. These changes were copied to some degree in the colonial Reserve Forces. From the 1870s, administration and funding of the Auxiliary Forces in the British Isles passed from the Lords Lieutenant to the War Office and their units were increasingly integrated into British Army units (new infantry regiments, by example, being formed to include two regular battalions, with one or more Militia battalions and one or more Volunteer Force battalions, all bearing the same regimental name). Although the Auxiliary forces remained organised as, and nominally, separate forces (until the Territorial Army was renamed the British Army Reserve in 2014), their being funded by the War Office meant they were also considered parts of the British Army. Outside the British Isles, the funding of auxiliary forces remained largely with the local governments. The first colonial units established in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

were

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

formations in England's American colonies (specifically, in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

, settled in 1607, and Bermuda, which was settled by shipwreck of the

Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission flotilla to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. She was the 300 ton flagship of the London Company. During the voyage to Virginia, ''Sea Venture'' encount ...

in 1609, becoming an extension of Virginia in 1612) a century before the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

and the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

unified to create the

in 1707 (at which point the English Empire became the British Empire). By the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, the colonial auxiliary military forces were generally followed the pattern of the auxiliary military forces of the British Isles. There were also British military units, separate from those of the British Army (such as the

West India Regiments The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

and the Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry) that were raised and recruited in colonies, such as the Permanent Active Militia of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. These units consisted of professional soldiers. They supplied a

reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

either to be called up in war time to reinforce regular British Army garrisons for home defence, or in some cases were entirely responsible for home defence. Many units, however, took part in active campaigns outside of the role of home defence in various conflicts the British Empire was involved in, including the two world wars. Some of the reserve colonial units, especially in the strategically important

imperial fortress Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Salisbury described Malta, Gibraltar, Bermuda, and Halifax as Imperial fortresses at the 1887 Colonial Conference, though by that point they had been so designated for decades. Later histor ...

colonies (consisting of Halifax, Gibraltar, Bermuda and Malta), were funded by the War Department out of Army Funds and considered part of the British Army (by example, the Bermuda Militia Artillery was grouped with the

and the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers with the

in the official Army Lists, which also listed the

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) was created in 1894 as a reserve for the British Army, Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison. Renamed the ''Bermuda Rifles'' in 1951, it was amalgamated into the Bermuda Regiment in 1965 ...

and Bermuda Militia Infantry officers as part of the British Army, whereas most colonial units were listed separately or did not appear at all), whereas others that did not receive Army Funds were considered auxiliaries (British military units, but not part of the British Army). Many colonial units started out as auxiliaries and later became regular units and forerunners to the current militaries of those colonies which have become politically independent. While most of the units listed here were army units, colonial marines were raised at various times, as were colonial naval and air force reserve units. Today, only four

British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

regiments remain (not including cadet corps): the

Royal Bermuda Regiment The Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single Territorial Army (United Kingdom), territorial infantry battalion#British Army, battalion that was formed on the amalgamation ...

; the

Royal Gibraltar Regiment The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which historically, along with Bermuda, Halifax, Nova Scotia (prior to the 1867 Confederation of Canada), and Malta, had been d ...

; the

Falkland Islands Defence Force The Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) is the locally maintained volunteer defence unit in the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The FIDF works alongside the military units supplied by the United Kingdom to ensure the security ...

; and the

Royal Montserrat Defence Force The Royal Montserrat Defence Force is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. The force has an authorized strength level objective of 50 reserve personnel as of 2021-22, akin in size ...

. The British Government is currently (2020) working with the local governments of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

and the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

to raise reserve military units in those territories, also, with recruitment for the new

Cayman Islands Regiment The Cayman Islands Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It is a Territorial Army (United Kingdom), territorial infantry and Combat engineer, engineer reserve unit of the British Armed Forces ...

starting in January 2020.

List of Colonial Auxiliary Forces

Aden

Aden Protectorate Levies The Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) was a military force recruited from indigenous tribal populations, for the local defence of the Aden Protectorate under British rule. The Levies were drawn from all parts of the Protectorate and were armed, t ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewher ...

garrisoned the East African colonies of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

. *

garrisoned the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars Provincial troops were military units raised by colonial governors and legislatures in British North America for extended operations during the French and Indian Wars. The provincial troops differed from the militia, in that they were a full-time ...

Corps of Colonial Marines The Corps of Colonial Marines were two different Royal Marines, Royal Marine units raised from former Black people, black slavery, slaves for service in the Americas at the behest of Alexander Cochrane. The units were created at two separate ...

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

(1780-1783) * American Volunteers (1779-1780) * Armed Boat Company (1781-1783) *

Black Company of Pioneers The Black Company of Pioneers, also known as the Black Pioneers and Clinton's Black Pioneers, were a British Provincial military unit raised for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The Black Loyalist company was raised by Gener ...

(also, known as the Black Pioneers, later merged into the Guides and Pioneers in 1778), (

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

s, another name for military construction engineers) (1777-1778) *

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

(placed on American establishment in 1781 as 5th American Regiment) (1777-1778) * Bucks County Dragoons (absorbed by

in 1780) (1778-1780) *

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

(1777-1784) * Caledonian Volunteers (formed part of the

in 1778) (1777-1778) *

Campbell's Dragoons The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...

(

South Carolina Dragoons South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

) (1781) *

Canadian Companies Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Canada is the world's eighth-largest economy , with a nominal GDP of approximately US$2.2 trillion. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OE ...

(1777-1783) * Claus' Rangers (1775-1783) * Collett's Independent Company (1777) *

De Lancey's Brigade De Lancey's Brigade, also known as De Lancey's Volunteers, De Lancey's Corps, De Lancey's Provincial Corps, De Lancey's Refugees, and the "Cowboys" or "Cow-boys", was a Loyalist British provincial military unit, raised for service during the Ame ...

(1776-1783) * Detroit Volunteers (claimed descent from

Roger's Rangers Rogers' Rangers was a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire raised by Major Robert Rogers and attached to the British Army during the French and Indian War. The unit was quickly adopted into the New England Colonies army as an ...

, later became 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery Regiment,

Michigan National Guard The Michigan National Guard consists of the Michigan Army National Guard and the Michigan Air National Guard. The State adjutant general is Major general Paul D. Rogers. Units Michigan Army National Guard units include: * Recruiting Office ...

) (1778-1783) * Diemar's Troop of Black Hussars (also, known as Diemar's Hussars and Black Hussars,

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s, (

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and body armor, armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was p ...

) (1779-1781) *

Duke of Cumberland's Regiment Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

(1781-1783) *

Duchess County Company Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

(1776-1777) * Emmerich's Chasseurs (

chasseurs ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

) (1777-1779) * Fenwick's Dragoons (

) (1781) * Forshner's Independent Company (1780-1781) * Georgia Light Dragoons (there was also, a Local Volunteer Corps unit, of the same name) (1779-1781) * Georgia Loyalists (1779-1782) * Governor Wentworth's Volunteers (1777-1781) * Guides and Pioneers (absorbed the

in 1778) (1778-1783) * Harkimer's Batteau Company (1780-1783) * Hierlihy's Corps *

James Island Light Dragoons James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...

* King's American Dragoons *

King's American Regiment The King's American Regiment, also known as the "Associated Refugees", were a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War. The King's American Regiment was raised on Staten Island in the Province of New York in December 1776 by Colon ...

(placed on American establishment, in 1781, as 4th American Regiment, part of the regular,

) (1776-1783) *

King's Rangers The King's Rangers, also known as the King's American Rangers, was a Loyalist provincial ranger unit that specialized in close combat, irregular warfare, raiding, reconnaissance, and tracking. It raised in Nova Scotia for service during the Amer ...

* King's (Carolina) Rangers * King's Orange Rangers *

King's Royal Regiment of New York The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, durin ...

* Kinloch's Light Dragoons (formed part of the

in 1778) * Locke's Independent Company * Loyal American Rangers (1780-1783) *

Loyal American Regiment The Loyal American Regiment was a British Provincial regiment raised in 1777 for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment fought in many engagements throughout the war and the men were among the thousands of loyalists ...

* Loyal Foresters * Loyal New Englanders *

Loyal Rangers The Loyal Rangers, or Jessup's Loyal Rangers, was a volunteer regiment of Loyalists in the American Revolution. The Corps was established on November 12, 1781 by the amalgamation of several smaller units, including the King's Loyal Americans. Th ...

* Loyal Rhode Islanders *

Maryland Loyalists Battalion The Maryland Loyalists Battalion, also known as the First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists, was a Loyalist infantry unit which served on the side of the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Raised in 1777 by Loyalist of ...

* McAlpin's Corps (also, known as McAlpin's Corps of Royalists, absorbed the American Volunteers, King’s Loyal Americans, Queen’s Loyal Rangers, and

Adams' Rangers {{Infobox military unit , unit_name= Adams' Rangers , image= Dr. Samuel Adams.png , image_size = 275px , caption = A woodcut of Dr. Samuel Adams, the future British Loyalist and American Revolutionary War military leader of Adams' Rangers, who ...

) * Nassau Blues *

Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal ...

(placed on British establishment in 1782) * New Hampshire Volunteers *

New Jersey Volunteers (Skinner's Greens) The New Jersey Volunteers, also known as Jersey Volunteers, "Skinners", Skinner's Corps, and Skinner's Greens (due to their green wool uniform coats), were a British provincial military unit of Loyalists, raised for service by Cortlandt Skinner, ...

* Newport Artillery Company (Rhode Island) 1741 *

New York Volunteers The New York Volunteers, also known as the New York Companies and 1st Dutchess County Company, was a British Loyalist Provincial regiment, which served with the British Army, during American Revolutionary War. Eventually, the New York Volunteer ...

(placed on American establishment, as 3rd American Regiment in 1779) * North Carolina Highlanders * North Carolina Independent Company * North Carolina Independent Dragoons * Pennsylvania Loyalists * Philadelphia Light Dragoons (formed part of the

in 1778) * Prince of Wales's American Volunteers *

Provincial Light Infantry Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

(placed on American establishment, in 1779, as 1st American Regiment, descended from

) * Roman Catholic Volunteers (1777-1778) * Royal American Reformers *

Royal Fencible Americans The Royal Fencible American Regiment of Foot (or RFA) was a Loyalist battalion of infantry raised in 1775 to defend British interests in the colony of Nova Scotia. The RFA was commanded by Lt. Col. Joseph Goreham throughout its existence. The most ...

* Royal Garrison Battalion (placed on British establishment in 178 * Royal Georgia Volunteers * Royal Highland Emigrants (placed on British establishment in 1779 as 84th Foot) *

Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment The Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment, also known as the Loyal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers and Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1775-1780, the Royal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1780-1783, and the Royal Nova Scotia Volun ...

* Saint John's Volunteers * Starkloff's Dragoons (

) (1781) * South Carolina Rangers * South Carolina Royalists * Stewart's Troop of Light Dragoons *

Van Alstine's Batteau Company A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or p ...

Volunteers of Ireland The Volunteers of Ireland, also known as the 2nd American Regiment and the 105th Regiment of Foot, was a British Provincial military unit, raised for Loyalist service, during the American Revolutionary War, which was later added to the British r ...

(absorbed the Roman Catholic Volunteers and

New Jersey Volunteers The New Jersey Volunteers, also known as Jersey Volunteers, "Skinners", Skinner's Corps, and Skinner's Greens (due to their green wool uniform coats), were a British provincial military unit of Loyalists, raised for service by Cortlandt Skinner, ...

and placed on American establishment, in 1779, as 2nd American Regiment, part of the regular,

) (1778-1782) *

Volunteers of New England Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

* West Florida Royal Foresters * West Jersey Volunteers

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

* Barbados Volunteer Force

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

* Bermuda Militias 1612-1815 *

(1894–1965) * Bermuda Militia Artillery (1895–1965) * Bermuda Volunteer Engineers (1931-1946) * Bermuda Militia Infantry (1939-1946) * Bermuda Home Guard *

(1965–Present) *

Bermuda Cadet Corps The Bermuda Cadet Corps was a youth organisation in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, sponsored originally by the War Office and the British Army. Modelled on the Cadet Corps in England, now organised as the Army Cadet Force and the Combin ...

(1901-2012) *

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps The Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps was created in 1966 and registered as a charity under the ''Bermuda Sea Cadet Association Act, 1968''. The first unit had actually been created two years earlier. History Despite Bermuda, Bermuda's historical maritime ...

(1968–Present)

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

* British Guiana Volunteer Force (BGVF)

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

* The Prince Regent's Royal Militia (1817-1866) * The Belize Volunteer Force (1866-1868) * The Belize Volunteer Corps (1868-1883) * The Belize Light Infantry Volunteer Force (1897-1905) * British Honduras Volunteers (1905-1916) * British Honduras Territorial Force (1916-1928) * British Honduras Defense Force (1928-1944) * British Honduras Home Guard (1942-1943) * British Honduras Volunteer Guard (1943-1973) * Belize Volunteer Guard (1973-1977)

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

*Burma Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Provincial Marine The Provincial Marine or Marine Department was a coastal protection service in charge of the waters in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and parts of Lake Champlain under British control. While ships of the Provincial Marine were design ...

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

* Cayman Islands Division of the Jamaica Home Guard (1942-1945) https://www.caymancompass.com/2014/11/11/caymans-home-guard-honored-at-remembrance-day/

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

* Ceylon Volunteers (1881–1910) *

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

(1910–1948) *

Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve The Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve was the volunteer naval reserve of the British Crown colony of Ceylon from 1938 to 1950. Established as the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) on 1 January 1938 under the Naval Volunteer Ordinance, No, l o ...

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

* Dominica Defence Force

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

(1892–Present)

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

* Fiji Defence Force

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Gold Coast

Gold Coast Constabulary The Ghana Regiment is an infantry regiment that forms the main fighting element of the Ghanaian Army (GA). History The regiment was formed in 1879 as the Gold Coast Constabulary, from personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to p ...

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

* Grenada Defence Force

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

High Commission Territories

African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps The African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps (AAPC) was a formation of the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces recruited among Africans in the High Commission Territories (HCT) during World War II. It was established in July 1941 after paramount chiefs in ...

(1941-1946)

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Royal Hong Kong Regiment The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) (), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. Its powers and duties were mandated by the Royal Hong Kong R ...

(1854–1997)

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

;Cavalry *The Allahabad Light Horse * The Assam Valley Light Horse * The Bihar Light Horse * The Bombay Light Horse * The Calcutta Light Horse *The Cawnpore Light Horse *The Ghazipur Light Horse *The Gorakhpur Light Horse *The Northern Bengal Mounted Rifles *The Oudh Light Horse * The Punjab Light Horse *The Surma Valley Light Horse ;Infantry *The Agra Volunteer Rifle Corps *The Allahabad Rifles *The Assam Bengal Railway Battalion *The Baluchistan Volunteer Rifle Corps *The Bangalore Contingent *The Bengal and North West Railway Battalion *The Bengal Nagpur Railway Battalion *The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Regiment *The Bombay Volunteer Rifles Corps *The Calcutta and Presidency Battalion *The Calcutta Presidency Battalion *The Cawnpore Rifles * The Chota Nagpur Regiment *The Coorg and Mysore Company *The Coorg and Mysore Rifles *The Dehra Dun Mounted Rifles *The East Coast Battalion *The East Indian Railway Regiment *The Eastern Bengal Company *The Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion *The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Regiment *The Hyderabad Rifles *The Kolar Goldfields Battalion *The Lucknow Volunteer Rifle Corps *The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Rifles *The Madras Guards *The

Malabar Volunteer Rifles The Malabar Volunteer Rifles was formed in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by populat ...

*The Malwah Bheel Corps *Meywa Bheel Corps *The Midlands Volunteer Rifle Corps *The Moulmein Volunteer Rifle Corps *The Mussourie Battalion *The Nagpur Rifles *The Naini Tal Volunteer Rifles *The

Nilgiri Malabar Battalion The Nilgiri Malabar Battalion (NMB) was an Auxiliary Force (India) of the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces of the British Indian Army, composed of Eurasians/Anglo-Indians. Enrollment in the Auxiliary Force was open to all European British subject ...

*The Northern Bengal Mounted Rifles *The North West Railway Battalion *The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Battalion *The Poona Rifles *The Shillong Volunteer Rifles *The Simla Rifles *The South Andaman Volunteer Rifles Corps *The South Indian Railway Battalion *The Yercaud Volunteer Rifle Corps

Iraq

Iraq Levies The Iraq Levies (Commonly known as the Assyrian Levies) was a majority Assyrian force, and the first Iraqi military force established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies originated in a local armed scout force raised durin ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Jamaica Militia Artillery The Militia of the British Dominions, Self-Governing Colonies, and Crown Colonies were the principal military forces of the Dominions, Self-governing colonies (those with elected local legislatures) and Crown Colonies (those without elected local ...

* Jamaica Engineer Corps * Kingston (later Jamaica) Infantry Volunteers * Jamaica Home Guard * consolidated postwar to form: *

Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Kenya Regiment The Kenya Regiment was a unit of the British Army recruited primarily among white settlers in Kenya and to a lesser extent Uganda. Formed in 1937, it was disbanded at the oubreak of World War II in 1939. It was reformed in 1950 and participate ...

Leeward Island The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

* Leewards Islands Battalion (1943-1945) * Leewards Home Guard

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

*Malay States Volunteer Rifles (1915–1936) *Malayan Naval Volunteer Reserve

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

King's Own Malta Regiment The King's Own Malta Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment on the British Army colonial list prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1801 as the "Regiment of Maltese Militia", existing only until the following year. It was reformed ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

* Mauritius Territorial Force * Mauritius Defence Force * Mauritius Regiment

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

* Waikato Mounted Rifles *

Hauraki Regiment The Hauraki Regiment was a Territorial Force unit of the New Zealand Army. The regiment was formed as the 2nd (Hauraki) Battalion, Auckland Rifle Volunteers. Men of the Hauraki Regiment served during the First World War with the various Auckland R ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
/
Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

* Northern Rhodesia Police * Nyasaland Police *

Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve The Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the British protectorate of Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi). The British Central Africa Volunteer Reserve was formally established by the colonial governme ...

Royal Rhodesia Regiment The Rhodesia Regiment (RR) was one of the oldest and largest regiments in the Rhodesian Army. It served on the side of the United Kingdom in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars and served the Republic of Rhodesia in the Rhodesi ...

Northern Rhodesia Regiment The Northern Rhodesia Regiment (NRR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. ...

* Rhodesian Native Regiment * 1st (Nyasaland) Battalion King's African Rifles * 2nd (Nyasaland) Battalion King's African Rifles * 22nd (Nyasaland) Battalion King's African Rifles * Southern Rhodesian Reconnaissance Regiment * ’C’ Squadron, Special Air Service Regiment *

Rhodesian Light Infantry The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesia ...

St Christopher Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force The Saint Kitts and Nevis Defence Force is the military of Saint Kitts and Nevis. It currently consists of an infantry unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Regiment) and a maritime unit (the St. Kitts Nevis Coast Guard). Both units have regular and reserve ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Singapore Volunteer Corps The Singapore Volunteer Corps or the Singapore Special Constabulary, was a militia unit established in 1854 as the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps. The Corps underwent several reorganisations and was known by various names throughout its histor ...

*Singapore Naval Volunteer Force

St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

* St. Lucia Volunteer Corps

St Vincent

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, ...

Trinidad/Tobago

* Trinidad Volunteers (expanded during WWII to form:) * Trinidad Regiment * Trinidad Volunteer Artillery * Trinidad Home Guard

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

* Uganda Volunteer Reserve

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

* Zanzibar Volunteer Defence Force

Medals

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

Efficiency Medal The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia (United Kingdom), Militia or the Army Reserve (Unit ...

Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration The Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was established in 1899 as recognition for long and meritorious service as a part-time commissioned officer in any of the organized military forces of the British Colo ...

Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal The Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1899 as a military long service award for part-time members of all ranks in any of the organized military forces of the British Colonies, Dependencies and Prote ...

References & External links

{{reflist British colonial regiments Lists of military units and formations of the United Kingdom Reserve forces of the United Kingdom