King's Royal Rifle Corps
The
King's Royal Rifle Corps is a
British Army formation, dating from
1755 as the 60th Royal American Regiment. They fought their first major battles in
Canada at
Louisbourg in
1758 and
Quebec in
1759 against the
French. They fought during the
American War of Independence, withdrawing to Canada following the surrender. During the
Napoleonic Wars the unit played a part in the
Peninsular War. The unit's name was not changed until after the Napoleonic Wars; first to The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps and then in
1830 to the King's Royal Rifle Corps. In
1858 the Rifle Depot at
Winchester was made their headquarters. During the rest of the
1800s the unit was active in
China, Canada,
Afghanistan,
India,
Burma and
South Africa. In
World War I the unit was expanded to twenty-two battalions and saw much action on the Western Front. Over 12,000 soldiers of the regiment were killed while eight members won
VCs and over 2000 further decorations were awarded. After
1918 the unit returned to garrison duties in India,
Palestine and
Ireland. In
1926 the regiment was reorganised as one of the first
mechanized infantry regiments. In
World War II after initial deployment to
France as part of the
BEF, the unit lost 50% of its effectives during disaster at
Dunkirk. Redeployed to northern
Africa the unit saw more success, continuing with actions in
Italy,
Austria,
Germany and
Greece. Post war the unit was deployed in
Germany.
In 1958, the unit was merged into the Green Jacket Brigade, now
the Royal Green Jackets Regiment.