British colonial regiments and police services
- Thread starter F-14B
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,076
- Likes
- 4,006
Aden Protectorate Levies
Active 1928 - 1967
Country Yemen
Allegiance
Aden Protectorate
Federation of South Arabia
Type Light Infantry and Support elements
Role Scouting
Border guard
Size 6,000 (1965)
Part of GHQ Yemen
6 Infantry Battalions
1 Medium Artillery Battery
1 Light Armoured Cavalry Car Squadron
2 Logistics and Transport Companies
2 Signal Companies
1 Sapper Company
1 Anti-Aircraft Company
Regimental Centre Khormaksar
Uniform Khaki/Drab; faced green
Engagements World War II
North Yemen Civil War (border clashes)
Aden Emergency
The APL were formed on 1 April 1928 primarily to protect Royal Air Force stations following the change of status of Aden to an Air Command in April 1927. Their secondary role was to be that of assisting the civil police. The APL also organized a camel troop.
Prior to 1928 the British garrison in Aden had comprised one British and one Indian infantry battalion, plus Royal Artillery units and detachments of sappers and miners. A locally recruited infantry unit, known as the 1st Yemen Infantry, had been raised in the Aden Protectorate during 1917-18 for service in World War I but had been disbanded in 1925.
OrganisationEdit
Colonel M.C. Lake of the British Indian Army was the first Commanding Officer until Lt. Col. J.C. (Robby) Robinson took over command in 1929 and remained as C.O. till 1939. In 1928 the APL comprised two British officers and six platoons of Arabs recruited from the various tribes that lived in the foothills or the higher mountainous regions of the protectorate. Each platoon comprised one officer and 34 non-commissioned officers and men, as well as 48 camels and 8 mules to carry them, their supplies, and equipment. During the early years of the APL's existence a number of junior commissioned officers and senior NCOs were Indian.
The APL Depot Battalion, the Levies' base and training organisation, was based in Aden Colony. The Depot included married quarters, a neonatal clinic, a school for children, the APL Band, and the APL Camel Troop. Air supply and other repair and supply units also were based there.
The APL Hospital (ALH), located near Khormaksar, was a 160-bed RAF general hospital that provided free medical care to the APL's 1,500 men active members and their families, and also to former members, about 10,000 people in all. The ALH also provided the medicines to the APL. The hospital CO was an RAF doctor; two RAF warrant officers and an administration and supplies staff assisted him. Three RAF doctors and a surgeon, assisted by local doctors, provided medical coverage. The other RAF personnel were two male nurses, two laboratory technicians and a pharmacist. Local people made up the rest of the staff and all of them would have been trained on site.
Arab officersEdit
Arab officers were called Bimbashis, with one in each battalion being responsible to the Commanding Officer for Arab Administration. They held Governor's Commissions as 2nd lieutenant (MulazimIth Thani); lieutenant (Mulazim Al Awal); captain (Rais); and major (Wakil Qaid Ith Thani). During the period of RAF control prior to 1957, a different system of Arab rank designations had been in place at all levels.[1] The senior Arab rank was that of lieutenant colonel (Qaid Al Awal).
World War IIEdit
During World War II the APL was expanded from 600 to 1,600 men. The Levies operated in Aden and the Western Aden Protectorate but also provided garrisons at Socotra Island and Sharjah. By 1939 an APL anti-aircraft wing had been created, which shot down an Italian plane in the course of the war.
In 1942 a six-year process of replacing British Army personnel serving with the APL with RAF Regiment officers and airmen commenced. This policy led to the reorganisation of the Levies into a tactical force of two wings, each about the equivalent of a battalion, plus an administrative wing. A third infantry wing was added after 1948
Active 1928 - 1967
Country Yemen
Allegiance
Aden Protectorate
Federation of South ArabiaType Light Infantry and Support elements
Role Scouting
Border guard
Size 6,000 (1965)
Part of GHQ Yemen
6 Infantry Battalions
1 Medium Artillery Battery
1 Light Armoured Cavalry Car Squadron
2 Logistics and Transport Companies
2 Signal Companies
1 Sapper Company
1 Anti-Aircraft Company
Regimental Centre Khormaksar
Uniform Khaki/Drab; faced green
Engagements World War II
North Yemen Civil War (border clashes)
Aden Emergency
The APL were formed on 1 April 1928 primarily to protect Royal Air Force stations following the change of status of Aden to an Air Command in April 1927. Their secondary role was to be that of assisting the civil police. The APL also organized a camel troop.
Prior to 1928 the British garrison in Aden had comprised one British and one Indian infantry battalion, plus Royal Artillery units and detachments of sappers and miners. A locally recruited infantry unit, known as the 1st Yemen Infantry, had been raised in the Aden Protectorate during 1917-18 for service in World War I but had been disbanded in 1925.
OrganisationEdit
Colonel M.C. Lake of the British Indian Army was the first Commanding Officer until Lt. Col. J.C. (Robby) Robinson took over command in 1929 and remained as C.O. till 1939. In 1928 the APL comprised two British officers and six platoons of Arabs recruited from the various tribes that lived in the foothills or the higher mountainous regions of the protectorate. Each platoon comprised one officer and 34 non-commissioned officers and men, as well as 48 camels and 8 mules to carry them, their supplies, and equipment. During the early years of the APL's existence a number of junior commissioned officers and senior NCOs were Indian.
The APL Depot Battalion, the Levies' base and training organisation, was based in Aden Colony. The Depot included married quarters, a neonatal clinic, a school for children, the APL Band, and the APL Camel Troop. Air supply and other repair and supply units also were based there.
The APL Hospital (ALH), located near Khormaksar, was a 160-bed RAF general hospital that provided free medical care to the APL's 1,500 men active members and their families, and also to former members, about 10,000 people in all. The ALH also provided the medicines to the APL. The hospital CO was an RAF doctor; two RAF warrant officers and an administration and supplies staff assisted him. Three RAF doctors and a surgeon, assisted by local doctors, provided medical coverage. The other RAF personnel were two male nurses, two laboratory technicians and a pharmacist. Local people made up the rest of the staff and all of them would have been trained on site.
Arab officersEdit
Arab officers were called Bimbashis, with one in each battalion being responsible to the Commanding Officer for Arab Administration. They held Governor's Commissions as 2nd lieutenant (MulazimIth Thani); lieutenant (Mulazim Al Awal); captain (Rais); and major (Wakil Qaid Ith Thani). During the period of RAF control prior to 1957, a different system of Arab rank designations had been in place at all levels.[1] The senior Arab rank was that of lieutenant colonel (Qaid Al Awal).
World War IIEdit
During World War II the APL was expanded from 600 to 1,600 men. The Levies operated in Aden and the Western Aden Protectorate but also provided garrisons at Socotra Island and Sharjah. By 1939 an APL anti-aircraft wing had been created, which shot down an Italian plane in the course of the war.
In 1942 a six-year process of replacing British Army personnel serving with the APL with RAF Regiment officers and airmen commenced. This policy led to the reorganisation of the Levies into a tactical force of two wings, each about the equivalent of a battalion, plus an administrative wing. A third infantry wing was added after 1948
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,076
- Likes
- 4,006
Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps
Active 1900–1949
Country Ceylon
Branch Ceylon Defence Force
Type Militia
Role Infantry
Part of British Army
Garrison/HQ Kandy
Nickname(s) CPRC
Motto(s) Unitas Sales Nostra
Engagements Second Boer War
First World War
Second World War
The Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was a regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force, which existed between 1900 and 1949. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment based in Kandy, made up of only Europeans, who were tea and rubber planters of the hills of Sri Lanka. Throughout its existence, the regiment deployed personnel to fight in the Second Boer War, and the First and Second World Wars.
HistoryEdit
After the disbandment of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) in 1873, some British planters and mercantile elite tried to form a volunteer infantry unit loosely known as the Matale Rifle Volunteer Corps but it was disbanded only months after its creation. In 1900, a new regiment named the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was established with its headquarters at Kandy; the officers and other ranks were made up of Europeans, who were tea and rubber planters in the central highlands of Ceylon. Its first commanding officer was Colonel R.N. Farquharson, a retired naval captain. The regiment was a volunteer regiment mobilized to respond to internal emergencies or for deployments overseas.[citation needed]
The regiment's first deployment took place on 1 February 1900 when a detachment was sent to South Africa under the command of Major Murray-Menzies during the Second Boer War, seeing action in Cape Colony as well as at Drifontein, Johannesberg, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen, and earning the Queen's and the King's Medals with seven clasps. During the conflict, the detachment lost one officer (Lieutenant A.H. Thomas, killed in action) and seven other ranks. A second detachment was sent to South Africa in 1902 arriving just before hostilities ended, and did not see combat. The overall conduct of Ceylon troops received accolades from General Kitchener, Chief of Staff to Lord Roberts in South Africa, who affirmed, "The Ceylon Contingent did very good work in South Africa I only wish we had more of them."[citation needed]
During the First World War, the regiment sent a force of eight officers and
and 229 other ranks under the command of Major J. Hall Brown. The unit sailed for Egypt on October 1914, and was initially deployed in defence of the Suez Canal. The unit was later transferred to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and in mid-1915 was committed to the Gallipoli Campaign, landing at to Anzac Cove ('Z' Beach) on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The CPRC also performed operational duties as providing guards to ANZAC headquarter staff, including the General Officer Commanding ANZAC, Lieutenant General William Birdwood, who remarked, "I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows." According to its onetime commanding officer, Colonel T.Y. Wright (1904–1912), the CPRC sustained overall losses of 80 killed and 99 wounded in the First World War.[citation needed]
The CPRC was mobilized once more when World War II began in 1939. Although primarily deployed for home defence in Ceylon the CPRC was a source for officer reinforcements, providing an estimated 700 volunteers who were commissioned as officers in the British Army and British Indian Army. Between August 1940 and July 1942, the CPRC dispatched six contingents amounting to 172 soldiers as officer reinforcements to the Officer Training School at Belgaum, India.[1]
When Ceylon gained independence from Britain the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was disbanded on 11 April 1949 along with the Ceylon Defence Force, which led to the formation of the Ceylon Army.[citation needed]
Active 1900–1949
Country Ceylon
Branch Ceylon Defence Force
Type Militia
Role Infantry
Part of British Army
Garrison/HQ Kandy
Nickname(s) CPRC
Motto(s) Unitas Sales Nostra
Engagements Second Boer War
First World War
Second World War
The Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was a regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force, which existed between 1900 and 1949. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment based in Kandy, made up of only Europeans, who were tea and rubber planters of the hills of Sri Lanka. Throughout its existence, the regiment deployed personnel to fight in the Second Boer War, and the First and Second World Wars.
HistoryEdit
After the disbandment of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) in 1873, some British planters and mercantile elite tried to form a volunteer infantry unit loosely known as the Matale Rifle Volunteer Corps but it was disbanded only months after its creation. In 1900, a new regiment named the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was established with its headquarters at Kandy; the officers and other ranks were made up of Europeans, who were tea and rubber planters in the central highlands of Ceylon. Its first commanding officer was Colonel R.N. Farquharson, a retired naval captain. The regiment was a volunteer regiment mobilized to respond to internal emergencies or for deployments overseas.[citation needed]
The regiment's first deployment took place on 1 February 1900 when a detachment was sent to South Africa under the command of Major Murray-Menzies during the Second Boer War, seeing action in Cape Colony as well as at Drifontein, Johannesberg, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen, and earning the Queen's and the King's Medals with seven clasps. During the conflict, the detachment lost one officer (Lieutenant A.H. Thomas, killed in action) and seven other ranks. A second detachment was sent to South Africa in 1902 arriving just before hostilities ended, and did not see combat. The overall conduct of Ceylon troops received accolades from General Kitchener, Chief of Staff to Lord Roberts in South Africa, who affirmed, "The Ceylon Contingent did very good work in South Africa I only wish we had more of them."[citation needed]
During the First World War, the regiment sent a force of eight officers and
and 229 other ranks under the command of Major J. Hall Brown. The unit sailed for Egypt on October 1914, and was initially deployed in defence of the Suez Canal. The unit was later transferred to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) and in mid-1915 was committed to the Gallipoli Campaign, landing at to Anzac Cove ('Z' Beach) on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The CPRC also performed operational duties as providing guards to ANZAC headquarter staff, including the General Officer Commanding ANZAC, Lieutenant General William Birdwood, who remarked, "I have an excellent guard of Ceylon Planters who are such a nice lot of fellows." According to its onetime commanding officer, Colonel T.Y. Wright (1904–1912), the CPRC sustained overall losses of 80 killed and 99 wounded in the First World War.[citation needed]
The CPRC was mobilized once more when World War II began in 1939. Although primarily deployed for home defence in Ceylon the CPRC was a source for officer reinforcements, providing an estimated 700 volunteers who were commissioned as officers in the British Army and British Indian Army. Between August 1940 and July 1942, the CPRC dispatched six contingents amounting to 172 soldiers as officer reinforcements to the Officer Training School at Belgaum, India.[1]
When Ceylon gained independence from Britain the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was disbanded on 11 April 1949 along with the Ceylon Defence Force, which led to the formation of the Ceylon Army.[citation needed]
Last edited:
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,076
- Likes
- 4,006
Ceylon Mounted Rifles (a.k.a.The Horse) was the only cavalry regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment was based in Colombo made up of only of British.
The regiment start out as the cavalry element of the Ceylon Light Infantry attached to the Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers in 1887 (that was in 1910 renamed Ceylon Defence Force) and was named as the Ceylon Mounted Infantry (CMI) .
In 1897, the regiment was represented at the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of HM Queen Victoria, in full dress uniform, which consisted of white helmet, scarlet tunic, white breeches and jack boots.
The first deployment of the regiment can in 1900 a company sized force under the command of Major Murray Menzies, was sent to South Africa for the Boer War experiencing combat at Stinkhoutboom, Cape Colony, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen. After the CMI was withdrawn, another company sized force from the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was in 1902 dispatched to South Africa. The overall conduct of Ceylon troops received accolades from General Kitchener, Chief of Staff to Lord Roberts in South Africa, who affirmed, "The Ceylon Contingent did very good work in South Africa I only wish we had more of them." For the service in South Africa a regimental guidon was presented by HRH Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), on the occasion of his visit to Kandy. On February 18, 1901 Governor of Ceylon Sir West Ridgeway unveiled a Memorial Window in St. Paul’s Church, Kandy for the eight members of the CMI who had been killed in the Boer War. Shortly thereafter regiment was represented at the Coronation of HM King Edward VII by a contingent under the command of Lieut. J.N. Campbell. The unit was based in Kandy and regularly gave Mounted Escorts for members of the Royal family who visited Ceylon.
In 1906 the CMI was renamed the Ceylon Mounted Rifles and shortly had created a mechanized squadron. It was mobilized for war in 1914 when World War I started. In 1928 the CMR Polo Club was formed.
On Armistice Day 1931, the old regimental guidon was laid up for safe keeping at St. Paul’s Church, Kandy where the second was laid up for safe keeping after the regiment was disbanded. With the demise of cavalry warfare the regiment was disbanded in 1938. At its disbandment most of its personal were transferred to the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps.
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,076
- Likes
- 4,006
Gambia Regiment
The Gambia Regiment
Active 1901—1958
Country
Gambia Colony and Protectorate
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Branch
British Army
Role Infantry
Garrison/HQ Bathurst, The Gambia
Engagements Kamerun Campaign
Burma Campaign
Commanders
Notable
commanders Antony Read
The Gambia Regiment was a British Army colonial regiment drawn from the Gambia Colony and Protectorate that existed between 1901 and 1958. It was also known as The Gambia Company, Sierra Leone Battalion and its strength fluctuated between one company and two battalions. It was active service in both World War I and World War II and formed part of the Royal West African Frontier Force.
The Gambia Regiment
Active 1901—1958
Country
Gambia Colony and ProtectorateAllegiance
Branch
Role Infantry
Garrison/HQ Bathurst, The Gambia
Engagements Kamerun Campaign
Burma Campaign
Commanders
Notable
commanders Antony Read
The Gambia Regiment was a British Army colonial regiment drawn from the Gambia Colony and Protectorate that existed between 1901 and 1958. It was also known as The Gambia Company, Sierra Leone Battalion and its strength fluctuated between one company and two battalions. It was active service in both World War I and World War II and formed part of the Royal West African Frontier Force.
