Oxfordshire Brochure Final(5) - Flipbook - Page 11
LOCAL INTEREST
The 43rd and 52nd Regiments formed in
1741 and 1755 respectively. Both the 43rd
and the 52nd fought in the famous Light
Division in the Peninsula War (1808-14),
establishing themselves as the new’ Light
Infantry” at the forefront of the British
Army.
The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Light Infantry
played a key role at ‘Waterloo’ in 1815,
by routing Napoleon’s Imperial Guard,
leading to the abdication of Napoleon
and peace in Europe for nearly 100 years.
Cowley Barracks was built in 1876 and
was home to Oxfordshire Light Infantry
until 1959.
Following the Haldane Reforms in 1908,
The Oxfordshire Light Infantry became
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Light Infantry.
In WWI the regiment formed 17 Battalions
and 5,878 of its soldiers lost their lives
fighting in France and Flanders, Italy,
Mesopotamia and Salonika and was still
in action in 1919 in North Russia.
The former Slade Territorial Army
Barracks in Horspath Driftway opened
in 1938 on part of Slade Camp, a WWII
training camp. The Territorial Army’s 7
RIFLES moved from the Slade to Edward
Brooks Barracks in Abingdon in 2008.
In WWII the Regiment formed 10
Battalions and 1048 of its soldiers lost
their lives fighting in France, North Africa,
Italy, Greece, Burma and from Normandy
through Belgium and Holland to the final
victory in Germany.
monsoon conditions of the Arakan in
Burma.
In 1948 the battalions amalgamated to
form the 1st Battalion The Oxfordshire
and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (43rd
and 52nd).
In 1958 it changed its title again to
become the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and
52nd) and in 1962 was the first battalion
to take part in the Borneo Campaign.
In 1965 the County regiment was
amalgamated into The Royal Green
Jackets (RGJ) which saw operational
service in Borneo, Northern Ireland,
Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq.
In 2007, The Royal Green Jackets and
three other regiments formed The Rifles.
The Rifles has a Reserve Company
permanently based in Abingdon, the
barracks is named after Company
Serjeant Major Edward Brooks VC, who
lived in Headington.
There is a bi-monthly ‘Turning of the
Pages’ service in the Regimental
Chapel, Christ Church Cathedral where
the fallen from the Antecedent and
Forming Regiments and The Rifles are
remembered.
Artefacts and archives of the OXF
& BUCKS are held in the Soldiers of
Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock and
in the Royal Green Jackets Museum in
Winchester.
On D Day 6 June 1944, it was the first
formed unit to land, commanded by
Major John Howard, when glider-borne
‘coup de main’ it seized the Orne bridges
and secured the left flank of the invasion.
Subsequently in March 1945 it suffered
50% casualties in 10 minutes whilst flying
into the Rhine Crossing, but still seized its
objectives.
The 6th Bn which was raised in Oxford
was in continuous action for a year in
the disease ridden jungle and extreme
OXF & BUCKS LI Cap Badge
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 (Kensington) | 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:
•
Abingdon (RGJ)
MUSEUMS:
The Rifles Regimental Museum | www.
riflesmuseum.co.uk
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum,
Woodstock | www.sofo.co.uk
