PROFILPELAJAR.COM

Guards Division
Guards Division
Active	1968–2022
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Role	Administration and training
Size	Division
Part of	London District
Garrison/HQ	Wellington Barracks, London

The Guards Division was an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division was responsible for providing two battalions for public duties to London District (plus three incremental companies); although the guards are most associated with ceremony, they are nevertheless operational infantry battalions, and as such perform all the various roles of infantry. In 2022, the Guards Division was renamed as the Guards and Parachute Division.

Current units

As of 2020, units comprised the Guards Division Headquarters, at Wellington Barracks, Westminster:^[1]^[2]

Guards battalions:

1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
1st Battalion, Scots Guards
1st Battalion, Irish Guards
1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
1st Battalion, London Guards (Reserve)^{[note 1]}
- Ypres Company, Grenadier Guards, in Kingston upon Thames
- No 17 Company, Coldstream Guards, in Hammersmith
- G (Messines) Company, Scots Guards, in Clapham Junction
- No 15 (Loos) Company, Irish Guards, in Camberwell

Guards incremental companies:

Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards
No 7 Company, Coldstream Guards
F Company, Scots Guards
No 9 Company, Irish Guards
No 12 Company, Irish Guards

Past units

Past units include (dates when they were part of the division):^[4]^[5]^[6]

2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards (1968–1994), reduced to Nijmegan Company
2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards (1968–1993), reduced to No. 7 Company
2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (1968–1971, reduced to 2 Scots Guards Company in 1st Battalion, re-instated 1972–1993), reduced to F Company
Band of the Grenadier Guards (1968–1994), transferred to Royal Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) on formation of that corps
Band of the Coldstream Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
Band of the Scots Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
Band of the Irish Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
Band of the Welsh Guards (1968–1994), transferred to CAMUS
London Regiment (2017–2022), redesignated as London Guards

Note: The three 2nd battalions have technically not been disbanded; instead they are in "suspended animation" and, in theory, can be re-raised if needed. The colours and traditions of each battalion are kept and maintained by the incremental companies.

Telling the regiments apart

The five regiments of foot guards are most often seen in full dress uniform, comprising navy trousers, scarlet tunic and bearskin cap. From a distance they appear identical, but there are ways to distinguish between the regiments:

The colour of the plume, and which side of the bearskin it is worn on
The spacing of the tunic buttons
The badge worn on the collar
The badge worn on the shoulder

Regiment	Plume	Plume colour	Button spacing	Collar badge	Shoulder badge
Grenadier Guards	Left	White	Singly	Grenade	Royal Cypher
Coldstream Guards	Right	Red	Pairs	Garter Star	Rose
Scots Guards	—	—	Threes	Thistle	Thistle Star
Irish Guards	Right	Blue	Fours	Shamrock	St Patrick Star
Welsh Guards	Left	White Green White	Fives	Leek	Leek

Guards Parachute Platoon

6 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment is manned by volunteers from the Guards Division and Household Cavalry^[7]^[8]^[9]

UK Special Forces

Although no longer directly associated with the Guards, G Squadron 22 SAS was formed in 1966 following the performance of the Guards Independent Parachute Company under Major LGS Head in support of SAS Operations in Borneo.^[10]

Notes

^ The London Guards is the name of the Guards reserve battalion, which is made up of four companies individually cap badged as Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards and Irish Guards.^[3]

References

^ Heyman, p.88
^ "Army 2020 Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
^ "Letter regarding 'The Integrated Review'" (PDF). Grengds.com. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
^ Whitaker's Almanack 1969
^ "Brigade of Guards [UK]". 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
^ "2nd Bn, Scots Guards: Service". 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
^ @HCav1660 (31 May 2018). "@wildbill_Will Some will go to the Guards Parachute Platoon on a two year posting and join them on their Op Toral t…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "The Parachute Regiment". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
^ "Guards Parachute Platoon, 3 PARA |ParaData". www.paradata.org.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
^ Secret War in South East Asia, Peter Dickens, Greenhill Books, London, Page 211