The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was an infantry regiment of the British Army.
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History
The Regiment was first formed in 1685 as the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment of Foot, becoming the 13th Regiment of Foot upon the introduction of a numeral system. In 1782, it gained a county affiliation with Somerset, becoming the 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot.
It became a light infantry regiment in 1822 and was retitled as the 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regiment (Light Infantry). Yet another name change occurred in 1841, when HRH Prince Albert offered his patronage to the Regiment and permitted his name to be used in its title, becoming the 13th or Prince Albert's Regiment of Light Infantry.
This name change came about as a result of the brave defence of Jellalabad by the 13th Foot, during the First Anglo-Afghan War. It is reported that as the regiment marched back through India to return to Britain every garrison fired a ten gun salute in its honour. HM Queen Victoria directed that the regiment be made Light Infantry, carry the additional title of “Prince Albert’s Own” and wear a badge depicting the walls of the town with the word “Jellalabad”.[1]
After the Childers reforms, the numeral system was discarded and the Regiment became known as the Prince Albert's (Somersetshire Light Infantry) on 1 July 1881. As the county regiment of Somersetshire, it also gained the county's militia and volunteer battalions which were integrated into the Regiment as numbered battalions. The Regiment's name was again changed to the Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry), being inverted in 1921 to the name of this article.
The Regiment saw active service in the First World War, raising 20 battalions, and seeing service on the Western Front, Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Palestine. In 1919, the 2nd Battalion fought in the brief Third Anglo-Afghan War seeing active service in Afghanistan and on the North-West Frontier.[2]
In the Second World War, the Regiment raised 10 battalions, 6 of which saw service overseas. 2nd & 30th battalions fought in North Africa as part of the 1st British Army, 2nd & 30th battalions in Italy, the 1st battalion in Burma and the 4th & 7th battalions in North-West European Campaign after the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. The other battalion to see active service was the 10th battalion which was formed into the 7th battalion the Parachute Regiment in 1942 and who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day.
The 1st Battalion was the last British infantry battalion to leave India after its independence, departing on 28 February 1948. During the final ceremony, the Regiment marched through Bombay (now Mumbai) and received a guard of honor from the newly formed Indian Army at the Gateway of India.[3]
It later saw service during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s. The regiment amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1959 to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry. This, in turn, amalgamated with the three other regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade to form The Light Infantry in 1968. The Somerset Light Infantry name has been maintained, however, (as of 2005) by 'B' (Somerset Light Infantry) Company, The Rifle Volunteers of the Territorial Army.
The final Chapter of the Somerset Light Infantry ended on the 1st February 2007 when along with the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, the Light Infantry, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets merged to form the RIFLES
The Regiment's history is exhibited at the Somerset Military Museum which is a part of the Somerset County Museum at Taunton Castle.
Victoria Cross recipients
- Lieutenant George Albert Cairns
- Private Patrick Carlin
- Major William Knox Leet
- Sergeant William Napier
- Private Thomas Henry Sage
Dress and insignia
The 13th Foot had yellow facings from its establishment in 1685 until it was renamed as Prince Albert's Regiment of Light Infantry in 1842. As was common with "Royal" regiments the facings then became dark blue. The earlier colour was sometimes described as light yellow or philemot. The braid and lace worn on officers' coats was silver until 1830 and thereafter gold. It had a black line threaded through it.[4]. In 1822 the Regiment was granted light infantry distinctions, which survived in the full dress of 1914 as a dark green home service helmet (instead of the dark blue of most line infantry) and a bugle-horn incorporated in its badge.
The badge of 1934 comprised a sphinx (for Egyptian service), a bugle with strings (for light infantry) and a mural crown surmounted by a scroll inscribed "Jellalabad" [5] (see under "History" above).
References
- ^ Siege of Jellalabad
- ^ Barthorp, Michael. 2002. Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier. Cassel. London. see p.152
- ^ http://www2.army.mod.uk/lightinfantry/history_traditions/county_regiments/somli.htm
- ^ Carman, W Y; Simkin, Richard; Douglas-Morris, K J (1985). Uniforms of the British Army: The Infantry Regiments. Webb & Bower. ISBN 0863500315.
- ^ Dress Regulations for the Army 1934" page 92
Bibliography
- The Somerset Light Infantry by Hugh Popham; published in 1968 by Hamish Hamilton of London as part of the Famous Regiments series.
External links
- Light Infantry Reunited - Site for all ex and serving Light Infantry/RGJ and Rifles personnel
- Somerset Light Infantry on Light Infantry.org.uk
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