Birmingham Brochure Final(6) - Flipbook - Page 10
LOCAL INTEREST
Our historic ties with the city of
Birmingham have been inherited from
our Forming Regiment, the Royal Green
Jackets (RGJ) which, in turn, inherited
them from its own antecedent regiments,
the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) and
the Rifle Brigade (RB).
The 1st (Birmingham Rifles) Warwickshire
Rifle Volunteer Corps formed in 1859. It
later occupied a newly built Drill Hall in
Thorp Street in Birmingham city centre.
The building is now a car park.
Alfred Wilcox, who was born in Aston in
1884, was awarded the Victoria Cross
(VC) for his valour in France on 12th
September 1918. Lance Corporal Wilcox
was serving with the 2nd/4th Battalion
of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Light Infantry when, under fire and
almost single-handed, he captured four
enemy machine gun posts. He returned
home safely and died in Aston in 1954.
For many years, his grave remained
unmarked and unknown in St Peter and
St Paul Church, but in 2006 a memorial
was unveiled, at which a commemoration
is now held annually close to the
anniversary of his acts of great bravery.
Lance Corporal Alfred Knight, of
Ladywood, serving with the Post Office
Rifles, was awarded the VC in 1917 after
leading an assault on enemy positions in
Belgium. He too returned to Birmingham,
where he lived until 1960. Sergeant
Albert Gill, also from Ladywood, was
awarded a posthumous VC for directing
a heroic defence during the Battle of the
Somme in 1916, while serving with 1st
Battalion KRRC.
In late May 1940, during the early stages
of the Second World War, the 1st Battalion
RB and the 2nd Battalion KRRC, both
with many Birmingham men in their
ranks, fought fiercely to defend Calais
against an overwhelming German attack.
Although most were killed, wounded,
or captured, their heroism held up
the enemy long enough to allow the
evacuation of the British Expeditionary
Force from Dunkirk to take place.
Since its formation in 2007, all the
regular battalions of The Rifles have
undertaken operational service in Iraq,
Afghanistan and elsewhere. Amongst
those who have given their lives are
Corporal Jeremy Brookes of King’s Heath
and Rifleman Joseph Murphy of Castle
Bromwich.
The Rifles has been awarded the honour
of Freedom of the City of Birmingham
and, on 27th April 2013, paraded in
Victoria Square with the Band and Bugles
and a guard of over a hundred Riflemen.
The 8th Battalion The Rifles has a platoon
based at the Army Reserve Centre
in Gold Hillock Road in Sparkbrook.
Nearby, the Combined Cadet Force at the
Rockwood Academy and the detachment
of the Army Cadet Force, both in Alum
Rock, wear the cap badge of The Rifles.
With ties in the past, the present and
the future, The Rifles is proud to be a
Birmingham Infantry Regiment.
CONTACT US
REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS THE RIFLES
Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road,
WINCHESTER, SO23 8TS
01962 828 527 | rhq@the-rifles.co.uk
REGIONAL OFFICES:
North (Pontefract) | 01977 703 181 |
yorkshire@the-rifles.co.uk
Midlands (Shrewsbury) | 01743 842 030 |
shrewsbury@the-rifles.co.uk
London | 0207 414 5441 |
london@the-rifles.co.uk
South (Winchester) | 01962 828 501 |
salisbury@the-rifles.co.uk
West (Taunton) | 01823 333 434 | taunton@
the-rifles.co.uk
South West (Exeter) | 01392 492 435 |
exeter@the-rifles.co.uk
JOIN US:
Regular & Reserve Officer |
armyjobs@the-rifles.co.uk
Regular & Reserve Soldier |
enquiry@the-rifles.co.uk
ARMY CADET FORCE
www.armycadets.com
THE RIFLEMAN'S ASSOCIATION:
SWIFT - www.theriflesnetwork.co.uk |
swift@the-rifles.co.uk
FORMING & ANTECEDENT REGIMENTAL
ASSOCIATION BRANCHES:
•
Central England (RGJ & RIFLES)
MUSEUMS:
The Rifles Regimental Museum | www.
riflesmuseum.co.uk
