Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment

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The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army.

As a consequence of defence cuts in the late 1950s, the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and the East Surrey Regiment were amalgamated on 14 October 1959 to form the 1st Battalion, Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment.

In 1959 the 1st Battalion deployed to Cyprus and the following year arrived in the British bases in Libya, while a detachment was sent to Cyprus. In 1961 the 1st Queen's Surreys was sent to Aden -- now part of the Yemen. In 1962 the regiment joined the Hong Kong garrison, remaining there on a 2-year posting before heading for Münster, West Germany in 1964 as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR).

In 1966 the regiment's short existence came to an end when it, along with the three other remaining regiments of the Home Counties Brigade, was amalgamated to form The Queen's Regiment, one of the new 'large' regiments that were formed in the 1960s.

[edit] Territorials

When the regiment was formed, the Territorial Army battalions of the merging regiments continued to use their former titles. However, in 1961, a reduction in the size of the TA lead to the formation of 3rd and 4th Queen's Surreys:

• 3rd Battalion (TA) was formed of units affiliated to the Queen’s Royal Regiment: the 5th and 6th Battalions and the 565th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery (the successor to 4th Battalion). Its headquarters were in Guildford.^[1]
• 4th Battalion (TA) was formed from former battalions of the East Surrey Regiment: the 6th East Surreys and the 23rd London Regiment.^[2] The battalion headquarters were in Kingston on Thames.

The two territorial battalions were disbanded in 1967, with their successor units in the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) being "A" Company (Queen's Surreys) of the 5th (Volunteer) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment and the 6th (Territorial) Battalion, The Queen's Regiment (Queen's Surreys).^[3]

[edit] Other information

• Alliances:
  • The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) -- Canada (1959-1966)
  • The South Alberta Light Horse -- Canada (1959-1966)
  • 2nd Infantry Battalion (The City of Newcastle Regiment) -- Australia (1959-60)
  • Royal New South Wales Regiment -- Australia (1960-1966)
  • The Northern Rhodesian Regiment (1959-1964)

[edit] References

1. ^ 3rd Bn The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment (TA)(The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association)
2. ^ 4th Bn The Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment (TA) (The Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Association)
3. ^ The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment 1967-present (regiments.org)