Grenadier Guards

Grenadier Guards
Regimental badge of the Grenadier Guards[Note 1]
Active	1656–present
Country	England (1660–1707)  Great Britain (1707–1800)  United Kingdom (1801–present)
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	1st Battalion – Light Infantry/Public Duties Nijmegen Company – Public Duties
Size	One battalion – 558 personnel[1] One independent company One reserve company
Part of	Guards and Parachute Division
Garrison/HQ	RHQ – London 1st Battalion – Aldershot Nijmegen Company – London Ypres Company – Kingston upon Thames
Nickname(s)	The Tow-Rows[2] The Coalers[2]
Motto(s)	French: Honi soit qui mal y pense "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
March	Quick: "The British Grenadiers" Slow: "Scipio"
Engagements	Oudenarde Waterloo Alma Inkerman Sevastopol Omdurman Ypres Battle of the Bulge Cyprus Emergency
Commanders
Colonel-in-Chief	The King
Colonel of the Regiment	The Queen
Insignia
Tactical recognition flash
Plume	White Left side of bearskin cap
Collar badge	Grenade
Shoulder badge	Royal Cypher
Abbreviation	GREN GDS

The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect the exiled Charles II.^[3] In 1665, this regiment was combined with John Russell's Regiment of Guards to form the current regiment, known as the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. Since then, the regiment has filled both a ceremonial and protective role as well as an operational one. In 1900, the regiment provided a cadre of personnel to form the Irish Guards; while later, in 1915 it also provided the basis of the Welsh Guards upon their formation.

The regiment's early history saw it take part in numerous conflicts including the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the Napoleonic Wars; at the end of this period the regiment was granted the "Grenadier" designation by a Royal Proclamation. During the Victorian era, the regiment took part in the Crimean War, the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Mahdist War, and the Second Boer War.

During the First World War, the Grenadier Guards was expanded from three battalions to five, of which four served on the Western Front, while later during the Second World War, six battalions were raised, and several were converted to an armoured role as part of the Guards Armoured Division. These units fought in France, North-West Europe, North Africa and Italy.

After the Second World War the regiment was reduced first to three battalions, then to two, and finally to one battalion in the mid-1990s. Major deployments during this time have included operations in Palestine, Malaya, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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