Origins and Traditions

Formation Day

These Regiments are known as ‘the Forming Regiments‘ and they all have a long and illustrious history, with 437 Battle Honours amassed between them (some Battle Honours are carried forward from several of the Forming Regiments). In addition, between them, the four Forming Regiments have been awarded a total of 117 Victoria Crosses – the highest award for gallantry.

‘Golden Threads’

The Back Badge is worn on the forage cap and side hats across The Rifles and on the shako of The Rifles’ Bands and Bugles. The Gloucestershire County Cadets are also permitted to wear the distinction on their berets.

All of our officers, warrant officers and serjeants wear cross belts with the Inkerman Whistle and Chain, which was used in the past, alongside the bugle, to direct Riflemen.

The Regimental Day – Battle of Salamanca 22 July 1812

The Origin of the Regimental Motto – Swift and Bold

Lieutenant General Sir John Moore (1761 to 1809) – The Founding Father of The Rifles

John Moore was commissioned into 51st Foot (later the KOYLI) in March 1776, at the age of 14½ and by 1790 he was commanding the Regiment. In 1803, the 43rd and 52nd (Ox and Bucks) were chosen to form the first Corps of Light Infantry and joined with the 95th Rifles (later the Rifle Brigade) to constitute the Light Brigade at Shorncliffe in Kent under the command of Sir John Moore.

At Shorncliffe Sir John Moore generated a succession of advanced ideas later to be adopted as ideals by the rest of the Army: open-order tactics and mobility in place of rigid drills and ponderous movement; camouflage and concealment in place of serried ranks of red coats; individual marksmanship in place of massed musket fire; and intelligence and self-reliance in place of blind obedience instilled by the fear of brutal punishment.

Moore has been described as ‘the very best trainer of troops that England has ever possessed.’ His insistence on absolute professionalism and mutual respect between officers and men (which were very new and unusual concepts at the time) was to create a formation whose contribution was crucial to Wellington’s victories in the Peninsula and whose traditions survive in The Rifles of today.

In October 1808, Sir John Moore was given command of the British Forces in the Peninsular and charged with liberating Spain. When threatened by a huge French army commanded by Napoleon, and mindful that he commanded Britain’s only effective continental army, he conducted a strategic retreat to the port of Corunna (in Portugal) where, on 16 January 1809, he turned and repulsed the French vanguard commanded by the French Marshal Soult. Sir John Moore was killed during the action, but the successful outcome of the battle enabled the Royal Navy to embark the army unhindered.

Long after the Peninsula War had ended, to be known as having been ‘one of Sir John Moore’s men’ carried with it a unique degree of prestige. Napoleon said of Sir John Moore: “His firmness and talent alone saved the British Army [in Spain] from destruction.”

Marching Pace

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the heavy infantry moved in close formation at a slow controlled pace. Rifle and Light Infantry Regiments, on the other hand, frequently used in advance guard and flanking duties, needed to move around the battlefield faster than the rest of the Army. The Rifles march at 140 paces to the minute compared to the Army standard of 120 paces, and retains the custom of the ‘double past’ on ceremonial parades. We never slow march.

In addition, by doubling five paces and then marching five paces, it was found that distances could be covered quickly. The Light Division was famous for its march to Talevera in 1809 – covering 250 miles in six days. At the Battle of Fuentes De Onoro, the Light Division was able to outmanoeuvre the French cavalry, whilst under fire by its speed of withdrawal under fire and then rapidly form squares from their column of route using classic Light Infantry tactics.

Words of Command

Apart from ‘Present Arms’ all drill movements start from and finish at the ‘At Ease’. There is no word of command of Attention or Shun in our drill manual, as it is presumed that Riflemen are permanently alert to receive orders. Therefore, troops are brought to attention by calling them what they are, for example ‘2 Platoon’ or ‘C Company’ or ‘1st Battalion’. Troops are braced up from the stand easy by the command ‘Stand Ready’. There is an economy of words of command e.g. a marching body on being ordered ‘Facing right – Halt’ will halt, shoulder arms, turn to the right and stand at ease. Likewise ‘Move to the left – Quick March’ will see them come to attention, turn to the left, step off and trail arms on the march with no further fuss or bother.

In The Rifles we carry swords (not bayonets) and swords are never fixed. Rifles are always carried at the trail or the shoulder.

All who serve in The Rifles will be known as ‘Riflemen’, an expression of common, collective and united identity, regardless of rank. In addition, no soldier is ever addressed by his surname such as Harris or Costello. It is always Rifleman Harris or Rifleman Costello.

Regimental Music

The bugle has traditionally been used in the past to communicate with, and to direct Riflemen. The bugle was adopted for use in the eighteenth century as it was light and easy to use unlike the cumbersome drum and carried its note clear for up to three miles whereas a drum signal became indistinct. It was originally an ox bugle but later made in silver which gave a clearer note. The bugle is central to The Rifles’ musical traditions, but music has been carried forward from all of our forming regiments. Daily routine in the battalions is marked by bugle calls, and The Rifles sound, rather than beat, Retreat.

The three Marches are:

There are standard songs used in The Rifles, these were more prevalent in the forming regiments but still carried forward by The Rifles. These are:

The Regiment

Sir Arthur Bryant (1899-1985) described a Regiment as having two purposes. “It is an administrative unit which, under the Law, trains disciplines and marshals men in arms for the preservation of a nation’s peace and security. Because in the last resort its duty, in Virgil’s words, is “to impose the way of peace, to spare the humble and to war down the proud”, it has also to evoke from its members an habitual self-mastery and capacity for comradely selflessness and obedience which will enable them willingly to sacrifice their bodies and lives in the course of duty. Since by nature men are impelled by strong instincts of self-interest and self-preservation the second of these ends is the more difficult of the two. That is what Napoleon meant when he said that in war morale is to material as three is to one.

Our morale is underpinned by the example of our forebears, which has given us three major strengths. These are self-discipline, mutual respect and common understanding.

In our Regiment, from the most senior general to the newest joined recruit, we all consider ourselves to be Riflemen. When asked who we are, or what we do, officers and soldiers alike reply by saying “I am a Rifleman”.