1st Battalion, The Rifles

1st Battalion, The Rifles
Cap and Back badges of The Rifles
Active1 February 2007 –
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeLight Infantry
SizeBattalion
Part of7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team
Garrison/HQBeachley Barracks, Chepstow
Motto(s)Swift and Bold
ColoursRifle Green
MarchQuick: Mechanised Infantry
Double Past: Keel Row/Road to the Isles
Slow: Old Salamanca
Commanders
Colonel CommandantGeneral Sir Nicholas Parker KCB CBE
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash
Arm BadgeCroix de Guerre
From Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry
Abbreviation1 RIFLES

1st Battalion, The Rifles (1 RIFLES) is a light infantry battalion of The Rifles under the command of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team.[1][2]

History

C Company 1 Rifles and the Afghan National Army engaging the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2009.

The battalion formed on 1 February 2007 as part of 52 Infantry Brigade, merging the single battalions of the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.[3] The battalion then moved in August 2007, to its permanent home of Beachley Barracks at Chepstow.[4]

From 2008 to 2012, it was attached to 3 Commando Brigade as the fourth manoeuvre unit of the brigade alongside the three battalion sized commando units of the Royal Marines.[5]

From March 2020, 1 RIFLES was deployed throughout Wales on Operation Rescript, supporting the UK's efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The battalion helped install hospital beds at Dragon's Heart Hospital, a temporary critical care hospital for COVID-19.[6]

Future

The battalion is currently based in Dhekelia, British Forces Cyprus until 2025. 1 Rifles will return to Chepstow in the summer of 2025 to take on a new role as a Light Mechanised Battalion driving Foxhound vehicles. Towards the end of the decade, 1 Rifles will move to new build facilities at Caerwent Barracks.[7]

References

  1. ^ "1st Battalion The Rifles". British Army. Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. ^ "1st Battalion The Rifles". British Army. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  3. ^ "History of the Light Infantry". Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Barracks set to close as part of armed forces cutbacks". Chepstow Beacon. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ^ "The Resubordination of the 1st Battalion The Rifles to 3 Commando Brigade RM on 1 April 2008" (PDF). Royal Marines Badge & Insignia Reference. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Duchess makes first visit to The Rifles in new role". BBC News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Riflemen bid fond farewell to South East Wales – for now | The British Army".