The Regular Infantry of the British Army

The regiments until 1751

The Seven Years’ War

The American War of Independence

The Wars of the Coalitions and the Napoleonic Wars

From the Napoleonic Wars to the 1881 Reorganisation

The Regiments in 1880

The Reorganisation of 1881

The Regiments in 1881

The Regiments raised during the Second Boer War

The Regiments in 1914

The Battalions raised during the Great War


The Changes between the World Wars

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After the Great War the regiments reverted to their pre-war establishment. Only the Welsh Guards were an addition.

In 1920/21 many regiments changed their title, often exchanging the primary and secondary part of it.

On the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, twenty-three battalions where disbanded. Five two battalion regiments, three second battalions and five pairs of 3rd and 4th battalions.

In 1935 some regiments were made "Royal" because of their service in the Great War.

 
Changes 1920/22 Changes 1935/38
 
The Grenadier Guards
 
The Coldstream Guards
 
The Scots Guards
 
The Irish Guards
 
The Welsh Guards
 
The Royal Scots
(Lothian Regiment)
The Royal Scots
(The Royal Regiment)
 
The Queen’s
(Royal West Surrey Regiment)
The Queen’s Royal Regiment
(West Surrey)
 
The Buffs
(East Kent Regiment)
The Buffs
(Royal East Kent Regiment)
 
The King’s Own
(Royal Lancaster Regiment)
The King’s Own Royal Regiment
(Lancaster)
 
The Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
 
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
 
The Royal Fusiliers
(City of London Regiment)
3rd Bn and 4th Bn disbanded
 
The King’s
(Liverpool Regiment)
The King’s Regiment
(Liverpool)
 
The Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment
 
The Lincolnshire Regiment
 
The Devonshire Regiment
 
The Suffolk Regiment
 
Prince Albert’s
(Somersetshire Light Infantry)
The Somersetshire Light Infantry
(Prince Albert’s)
 
The Prince of Wales’s Own
(West Yorkshire Regiment)
The West Yorkshire Regiment
(Prince of Wales’s Own)
 
The East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment
(Duke of York’s Own)
 
The Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and
Hertfordshire Regiment
 
The Leicestershire Regiment
 
The Royal Irish Regiment disbanded
 
Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own
(Yorkshire Regiment)
The Green Howards
(Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own
Yorkshire Regiment)
 
The Lancashire Fusiliers
 
The Royal Scots Fusiliers
 
The Cheshire Regiment
 
The Royal Welsh Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers
 
The South Wales Borderers
 
The King’s Own Scottish Borderers
 
The Cameronians
(Scottish Rifles)
 
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 2nd Bn disbanded 2nd Bn raised
 
The Gloucestershire Regiment
 
The Worcestershire Regiment 3rd Bn and 4th Bn disbanded
 
The East Lancashire Regiment
 
The East Surrey Regiment
 
The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry
 
The Duke of Wellington’s
(West Riding Regiment)
The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
(West Riding)
 
The Border Regiment
 
The Royal Sussex Regiment
 
The Hampshire Regiment
 
The South Staffordshire Regiment
 
The Dorsetshire Regiment
 
The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers
(South Lancashire Regiment)
The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers
(South Lancashire)
The South Lancashire Regiment
(Prince of Wales’s Volunteers)
 
The Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment
 
The Black Watch
(Royal Highlanders)
The Black Watch
(The Royal Highland Regiment)
 
The Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
 
The Essex Regiment
 
The Sherwood Foresters
(Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)
 
The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment
(North Lancashire)
 
The Northamptonshire Regiment
 
The Princess Charlotte of Wales’s
(Royal Berkshire Regiment)
The Royal Berkshire Regiment
(Princess Charlotte of Wales’s)
 
The Queen’s Own
(Royal West Kent Regiment)
The Queen’s Own
Royal West Kent Regiment
 
The King’s Own
(Yorkshire Light Infantry)
The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
 
The King’s
(Shropshire Light Infantry)
The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
 
The Duke of Cambridge’s Own
(Middlesex Regiment)
The Middlesex Regiment
(Duke of Cambridge’s Own)

3rd Bn and 4th Bn disbanded
 
The King’s Royal Rifle Corps 3rd Bn and 4th Bn disbanded
 
The Wiltshire Regiment
(Duke of Edinburgh’s)
 
The Manchester Regiment
 
The North Staffordshire Regiment
(The Prince of Wales’s)
 
The York and Lancaster Regiment
 
The Durham Light Infantry
 
The Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry
(City of Glasgow Regiment)
 
The Seaforth Highlanders
(Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s)
 
The Gordon Highlanders
 
The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
 
The Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Ulster Rifles
 
Princess Victoria’s
(Royal Irish Fusiliers)
The Royal Irish Fusiliers
(Princess Victoria’s)

2nd Bn disbanded
2nd Bn raised
 
The Connaught Rangers disbanded
 
Princess Louise’s
(Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
(Princess Louise’s)
 
The Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment disbanded
 
The Royal Munster Fusiliers disbanded
 
The Royal Dublin Fusiliers disbanded
 
The Prince Consort’s Own
(Rifle Brigade)
The Rifle Brigade
(Prince Consort’s Own)

3rd Bn and 4th Bn disbanded
 
The West India Regiment 2nd Bn disbanded 1927: disbanded
 
The West African Regiment 1928: disbanded
 

The Regiments in 1939

The Regiments raised during World War II

Changes from 1958 to 1962

The Brigades in 1963

Changes from 1964 to 1970

The Regiments in 1971

Options for change: 1992 to 1994

The Regiments in 1995

Changes from 2003 to 2007

The Regiments in 2008

The Regiments in 2023

Alphabetic List of the Regiments