The Guards Division was an administrative unit 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 ...

responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s for

public duties Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role. Armenia Since September 2018, the Honour Guard Battalion (Armenia), Honour Guard Battalion of the Mi ...

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. In 2022, the Guards Division was renamed as the Guards and Parachute Division.

Current units

As of 2020, units comprised the Guards Division Headquarters, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster: Guards battalions: * 1st Battalion,

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

* 1st Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

* 1st Battalion,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

* 1st Battalion,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

* 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards * 1st Battalion, London Guards (Reserve) ** Ypres Company, Grenadier Guards, in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

** No 17 Company, Coldstream Guards, in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

** G (Messines) Company, Scots Guards, in Clapham Junction ** No 15 (Loos) Company, Irish Guards, in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

Guards incremental companies: * Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards * No 7 Company, Coldstream Guards * F Company, Scots Guards * No 9 Company, Irish Guards * No 12 Company, Irish Guards

Past units

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

(1968–1994), reduced to Nijmegan Company * 2nd Battalion,

(1968–1993), reduced to No. 7 Company * 2nd Battalion,

(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 The Band of the Scots Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division which primarily guards the British monarch. The band is based at Wellington Barracks in St James's, London, which is the same place as ...

(1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS * Band of the Irish Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS * Band of the Welsh Guards (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 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

Current units

Past units

Telling the regiments apart

Guards Parachute Platoon

UK Special Forces

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links