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List of nicknames of British Army regiments

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Nicknames of regiments

This is a list of nicknames of regiments of the British Army. Many nicknames were used by successor regiments (following renaming or amalgamation).

1

A

B

– Leicestershire Regiment[1][3] (In 1825 the regiment was granted the badge of a "royal tiger" to recall their long service in India)
– 24th Foot[3]
– 1st (Royal) Dragoons and Royal Scots Greys[3][10] (both regiments captured French Imperial Eagle standards at the Battle of Waterloo)
– 87th Foot[3] (captured a French Imperial Eagle at the Battle of Barrosa)

C

D

E

F

G

  • The Gallant Half-Hundred – 50th Foot[3]
  • The Gallants – 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment[3]
  • The Gallopers – 2nd Life Guards[3]
  • The Galloping Gunners – Royal Horse Artillery[3]
  • The Garvies – Connaught Rangers[1][3]
  • The Gay Gordons – Gordon Highlanders[1][3](from the name of a popular dance)
  • The Gentleman Dragoons – 17th Lancers[3]
  • George's – 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars[3] (gained Royal title in reign of King George III)
  • The Geraniums – 13th Hussars[1][3]
  • The German Legion, or The German Mob – 109th Foot[3] (possibly took recruits from the disbanded British German Legion)
  • The Glasgow Greys – 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion East Surrey Regiment[1][3]
  • The Glesca Keelies – 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Highland Light Infantry[1][3](Regiment was mostly recruited in Glasgow ("Glesca"), allegedly from local ruffians ("Keelies").
  • The Globe Rangers – Royal Marines[3] (from their badge)
  • The Glorious Glosters – The Gloucestershire Regiment[35]
  • Lord Adam Gordon's Life Guards – 3rd Hussars[3]
  • Graham's Perthshire Grey-Breeks – 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers)[3] (raised by Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch)
  • The Grannies – Grenadier Guards[3]
  • The Grasshoppers – 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot (reference to rifle green colour of uniforms)
  • The Green Cats – 17th Foot[3] (from their Royal Tiger badge)
  • The Green Dragoons – 13th Hussars[3][36]
  • The Green Horse – 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards[1][3]
  • The Green Howards – 19th (1st North Riding of Yorkshire) Regiment of Foot later Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment)[1] (So named in 1744, to distinguish them from Howard's Buffs by facing colour of uniform; both regiments had colonels named Howard at the time)
  • The Green Jackets – 60th (Royal American) Regiment later Kings Royal Rifle Corps and The Rifle Brigade[1] (in the Napoleonic Wars, both were specialised corps of skirmishers, armed with rifles and wearing rifle green uniforms rather than the standard red coat)
  • The Green Linnets – 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot later The Dorsetshire Regiment[1][3]
  • The Green Tigers – see Green Cats
  • The Greybreeks – see Earl of Mar's, and Graham's
  • The Grey Dragoons – 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)[3]
  • The Grey Lancers – 21st Lancers (Empress of India's)[1][3](from French-grey colour of regimental facings)
  • The Grey Mafia – Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps [37]
  • The Guards of the Line – 29th Foot[3]
  • Guise's Geese – Royal Warwickshire Regiment[1][3][10]
  • The Gurkhas – Royal Gurkha Rifles[38]

H

I

  • The Illustrious Garrison – 13th (Somerset) Light Infantry[3] (from their defence of Jellalabad in 1841–42)
  • The Immortals – 76th Foot[3]
  • The Ink Slingers – Royal Army Pay Corps[3]
  • The Iron Chests – 66th Foot[3]
  • The Iron Regiment – The Royal Sussex Regiment
  • The Irish Giants – The Royal Irish Rifles[1][3]
  • The Irish Lancers – 5th Royal Irish Lancers[47]
  • The Isle of Wight Gurkhas – Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight rifles, 8th Battalion Hampshire Regiment (due to the reputed small stature of its members and similarities in drill and uniform to Gurkha regiments.)
  • The Isle of Wight Rifles – 9 (Princess Beatrice's) Platoon, C (Duke of Connaught's) Company, 6th/7th Battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (disbanded 1998) (due to the platoon's continued lineage from Princess Beatrice's Isle of Wight rifles, 8th Hampshire Regiment and their location on the Isle of Wight.)

J

  • Jacks – Military Police during WWI[4]
  • The Jaegers – 60th (Royal American) Regiment later Kings Royal Rifle Corps[1][3] (when first formed, included large numbers of German and German-speaking Swiss Jägers (light infantry))
  • The Jellalabad Heroes – 13th (Somerset) Light Infantry[3] (from their defence of Jellalabad in 1841–42)
  • The Jocks – Scots Guards[1][3][10] (In Scotland the common Christian name John is often changed to Jock)
  • Joeys – Royal Marine Light Infantry[3]
  • Jollies – Royal Marine Light Infantry[3][48]
  • The Judaeans – 38th–42nd Battalions Royal Fusiliers (the battalions formed the Jewish Brigade)[4]

K

L

– Leicestershire Regiment[1][50]
– East Lancashire Regiment[1][50]
– 109th Regiment of Foot later 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment[1][50]
– Liverpool Blues (Regiment), volunteer unit 1745–46[53]
– 79th Regiment of Foot (Royal Liverpool Volunteers) 1778–84[50]

M

N

  • The Namurs – Royal Irish Regiment (from their battle honour of 'Namur' gained in 1695, the first such honour granted to a regiment of the British Army)[1][50][4][56]
  • The Nanny Goats – The Royal Welsh Fusiliers[1][50]
  • The Night-Jars – 10th Battalion Manchester Regiment (after the nocturnal bird, for its success in night attacks during 1918)[57]
  • Nobody's Own – 20th Hussars[58] (for a time, were almost the only British cavalry regiment not to have a prestigious honorary colonel with his or her title in the regimental name)
  • The Norfolk Howards – The Norfolk Regiment[1]
  • The Nottingham Hosiers – 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot[50] – (lace-making was a traditional industry in Nottinghamshire)
  • The Notts and Jocks – Sherwood Foresters[59] (from their previous title, The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)
  • The Nulli Secundus Club – The Coldstream Guards[10][50] (from their motto: Nullis Secundus (Second to None))
  • The Nut-Crackers – The Buffs[50]

O

– Northumberland Fusiliers[1][50]
– West Yorkshire Regiment[1][50]
– Worcestershire Regiment[1][50]

P

Q

  • Quick And Ready And Never Caught - Queen Alexanders Royal Army Nursing Corps

R

S

– 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons[50]
– Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers[4][50]
– 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot
– The Wiltshire Regiment
– The Lincolnshire Regiment
- 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot later 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment[1][50]
– The Northamptonshire Regiment[1][50]
– 7th Dragoon Guards[50]
– 7th Hussars[50]

T

U

V

W

X

Y

See also

  • Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
  • Nicknames of U.S. Army divisions
  • Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs ft Field-Marshal His Majesty the King George V of the United Kingdom
  2. ^ Beevor, p.335
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu W.Y Baldry, 'Regimental Nicknames', Part 1, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 1921, Vol I, No 1, pp. 29–30.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hinckley.
  5. ^ Beevor, p.337
  6. ^ "The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War". Bedford Regiment. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  7. ^ Beevor, p.354
  8. ^ Barnes, Scottish, pp. 94–5.
  9. ^ a b Beevor, p.339
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Caffrey, pp. 36–8.
  11. ^ Chant, p 13
  12. ^ "History of the Royal Dragoon Guards". The Royal Dragoon Guards Museum and Regimental Association. Archived from the original on 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  13. ^ "The Green Jacket contribution to the wider army". Royal Green Jackets Regimental Association. Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  14. ^ a b Brewer's
  15. ^ Westropp in 'History of the Manchester Regiment' (Wylly 1923)
  16. ^ Barnes, Britain and the Empire, p. 88.
  17. ^ Beevor, p.336
  18. ^ Godfrey
  19. ^ Lieut.-Col. F.E. Whitton, History of the 40th Division, Aldershot; Gale & Polden, 1926/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004, ISBN 9781843428701, p. 19.
  20. ^ http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Cloudpuncher
  21. ^ a b Richter.
  22. ^ Gilhooley.
  23. ^ a b c d Chant, p 116
  24. ^ Chant, p 43
  25. ^ James, p. 109.
  26. ^ Williamson & Whalley, pp. 349–50.
  27. ^ McElwee, William (1974). The Art of War: Waterloo to Mons. London: Purnell. p. 76. ISBN 0-253-31075-X.
  28. ^ Barnes, Scottish, p. 292.
  29. ^ "Napoleon-series.org". Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  30. ^ Chant, p 45
  31. ^ "The Light Dragoons". Archived from the original on 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  32. ^ Gilhooley, p. 54.
  33. ^ Barnes, Britain and the Empire, p. 26.
  34. ^ Chant, p 20
  35. ^ "Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum Site". Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  36. ^ Chant, p 44
  37. ^ |url= https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Alexandra's_Royal_Army_Nursing_Corps
  38. ^ "Royal Gurkha Rifles". Army Mod UK. Archived from the original on 2009-03-08. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  39. ^ Godfrey, p. 81.
  40. ^ Beckett, p. 61 and Appendix VII.
  41. ^ Westlake, p. 179.
  42. ^ Falling off the Wagon at Fusiliers Museum
  43. ^ Beevor, p.334
  44. ^ Rudyard Kipling, The Irish Guards in the Great War: The First Battalion, London, 1923/Staplehurst: Spellmount, 1997, ISBN 1-873376-72-3.
  45. ^ The Long, Long Trail
  46. ^ a b c d e f Middlebrook, Somme.
  47. ^ a b Chant, p56
  48. ^ Rudyard Kipling, Soldier an' Sailor Too in The Seven Seas.
  49. ^ Holmes, Soldiers, p. 132.
  50. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo W.Y Baldry, 'Regimental Nicknames', Part 2, Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 1921, Vol I, No 2, pp. 74–5.
  51. ^ a b Anon, Lewisham Gunners.
  52. ^ a b Chant, p 29
  53. ^ Williamson & Whalley, pp. 31–55.
  54. ^ http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/24589.aspx
  55. ^ The Long, Long Trail
  56. ^ a b Leslie/
  57. ^ Gibbon, p. 165.
  58. ^ Chant, p 47
  59. ^ Middlebrook, Kaiser's Battle, p. 256.
  60. ^ Williamson & Whalley, p. 145.
  61. ^ a b "The Parachute Regiment". Army Mod UK. Archived from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  62. ^ Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That, London: Cassell 1957/Penguin 1960.
  63. ^ Barnes, Scottish, p. 223.
  64. ^ a b "Royal Anglian Regiment". The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum. Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  65. ^ Chant, p 59
  66. ^ Rawson, p. 122.
  67. ^ Beckett, p. 70 and Appendix VII.
  68. ^ Westlake, p. 161.
  69. ^ Gibbon, p. 172.
  70. ^ "The story of Oxfordshire Yeomanry - Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars - The QOOH in action". Oxfordshire County Council Museum Service. Archived from _M_37L_WCM&WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=http://apps.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Council+services/Leisure+and+culture/Museums/Online+exhibitions/Oxfordshire+Yeomanry/LC+-+M+-+OE+-+Yeomanry+-+s+in+action the original on 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  71. ^ Walton, Vol I, p.56.
  72. ^ Chant, p 54
  73. ^ C. Digby Planck, History of the Shiny Seventh, London:Old Comrades' Association 1946/Uckfield: Naval and Military Press, ISBN 1 84342 366 9.
  74. ^ Chant, p 40
  75. ^ Neal.
  76. ^ Chant, p 37
  77. ^ Morling.
  78. ^ Chant, p 51
  79. ^ R.W.S. Norfolk, Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Forces of the East Riding 1689–1908, York: East Yorkshire Local History Society, 1965.
  80. ^ 582nd M/L Battery War Diary 1945, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 171/5105.

References

  • Anon, Lewisham Gunners: A Centenary History of 291st (4th London) Field Regiment R.A. (T.A.) formerly 2nd Kent R.G.A. (Volunteers), Chatham: W & J Mackay, 1962.
  • Maj R. Money Barnes, Military Uniforms of Britain and the Empire, London: Seeley Service, 1960/Sphere 1972.
  • Maj R. Money Barnes, The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments, London: Seeley Service, 1956/Sphere 1972.
  • Ian F.W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0-85936-271-X.
  • Beevor, Antony (1991). Inside the British Army. Corgi Books. ISBN 0-552-13818-5.
  • Rev E. Cobham Brewer, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1870 (and many subsequent editions).
  • Kate Caffrey, Farewell Leicester Square: The Old Contemptibles, 12 August–20 November 1914, London: Andre Deutsch, 1980.
  • Chant, Christopher (1988). The Handbook of British Regiments. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00241-9.
  • Field-Marshal His Majesty the King (George V of the United Kingdom) (1916). Regimental Nicknames and Traditions of the British Army. Gale & Polden Ltd. London.
  • Frederick E. Gibbon, The 42nd East Lancashire Division 1914–1918, London: Country LIfe, 1920/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-84342-642-0.
  • Neill Gilhooley, A History of the 9th (Highlanders) Royal Scots, the Dandy Ninth, Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2019, ISBN 978-1-52673-527-0.
  • Capt E.G. Godfrey, The "Cast Iron Sixth": A History of the Sixth Battalion London Regiment (The City of London Rifles), London: Old Comrades' Association, 1935//Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, ISBN 1-84342-170-4.
  • Paul Hinckley, Battlefield Colloquialisms of the Great War (WW1), https://web.archive.org/web/20141221095907/http://www.ict.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm.
  • Richard Holmes, Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors, London: HarperPress, 2011, ISBN 978-0-00-722570-5.
  • Brig E.A. James, British Regiments 1914–18, London: Samson Books, 1978/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.
  • N.B. Leslie, The Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695–1914, London: Leo Cooper, 1970.
  • Martin Middlebrook, The First Day on the Somme, London: Allen Lane 1971/Fontana 1975.
  • Martin Middlebrook, The Kaiser's Battle, 21 March 1918: The First Day of the German Spring Offensive, London: Allen Lane, 1978/Penguin, 1983, ISBN 0-14-017135-5.
  • Col L.F. Morling, Sussex Sappers: A History of the Sussex Volunteer and Territorial Army Royal Engineer Units from 1890 to 1967, Seaford: 208th Field Co, RE/Christians–W.J. Offord, 1972.
  • Don Neal, Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946, Studley: Brewin, 2001, ISBN 1-85858-192-3.
  • Andrew Rawson, Battleground Europe: Loos –1915: Hohenzollern Redoubt, Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 2003, ISBN 0-85052-903-4.
  • Donald Richter, Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War I, Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1992, ISBN 0-7006-0544-4.
  • Col Peter Walton, Simkin's Soldiers: The British Army in 1890, Vol I: The Cavalry and The Royal Artillery, Victorian Military Society Special Publication No 5, Dorking, Surrey: Victorian Military Society, 1981, ISBN 0-9506885-1-7.
  • Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.
  • Maj R.J.T. Williamson & Col J. Lawson Whalley, History of the Old County Regiment of Lancashire Militia, London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1888.
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