Regimental colour - Citizendia

A regimental colour is a flag carried or maintained by British Army and Commonwealth infantry regiments or battalions to:

Distinguish one regiment or battalion from another
Be used as a rallying point for the regiment's/battalion's soldiers while in garrison or in battle. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (This tradition is no longer in use in modern warfare)
Display the regiment's/battalion's battle honours or military accomplishments to members of the public

In British Army and Commonwealth tradition, only infantry or line regiments carry Regimental Colours. A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand Armoured regiments carry an equivalent item known as the Regimental Guidon. The Royal Artillery's guns are its Colours (and as such it is the only regiment which still takes its Colours into battle). The Royal Artillery, is the common name for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, is an Arm of the British Army. Other arms and services such as the Royal Army Medical Corps or the Royal Engineers do not carry Colours at all. The Royal Army Medical Corps ( RAMC) is a specialist Corps in the British Army which provides Medical services to all British Army The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers ( RE) and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps .

Apart from the regimental colour, a regiment or a battalion would also carry a King's or Queen's Colour. In military organizations the practice of carrying colours standards or Guidons, to act both as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander is thought Together, these two Colours constitute the regiment's "stand of colours. " However, several infantry regiments carry a third colour that is permitted to be paraded on special occasions.

The term regimental colour was first mentioned in historical military document in ca. 1747. According to a document known as the "Regulations for the Uniform Clothing of the Marching Regiments of Foot, Their Colours, Drums, Bells of Arms, and Camp Colours, 1747", a Regimental Colour is:

Also called the Second Colour of a regiment or battalion as it is second in seniority to the King's or Queen's Colour
Its appearance should be constituted of the colour of regiment's facings^[1] with a Union Flag on its top left hand corner
In the centre of the Colour is a stylized version of the regiment's crest with its ranking number in Roman numbers

The practice of adding a regiment's or a battalion's battle honours onto its Regimental Colours came into existence around 1784. The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Roman numerals are a Numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals. A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand At the time it was a way to show a regiment's military accomplishments to its enemies and thus intimidate them. Since nowadays regiments no longer carry their colours to battles this tradition has become a means for the regiments to show off their past military achievements to its own members, the public as well as other regiments.

In general British and Commonwealth infantry or line regiments have battle honours only on their Regimental Colours. Exception is made to regiments of the Foot Guards where battle honours can be seen on both their Regimental and King's or Queen's Colours. Foot guards is a term used to describe elite Infantry Regiments British Army The Foot Guards are the Infantry Regiments of the

A Regiment Colour, like the King's or Queen's Colour, is a highly revered object in the military. Any military personnel who comes across a Regimental or King's or Queen's Colour must salute to it. This is a tribute paid not only to the Royal monarch's authority but also to the regiment's past accomplishments as well as those who have died for them.

A Regimental Colour is normally presented to a regiment or a battalion by the British sovereign or an agent (e. g. a Governor-General) in a high-profile military parade ceremony. The term governor general or governor-general refers to a vice-regal representative of a Monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription The presentation of a new Regimental Colour and King's or Queen's Colour is normally performed in a regiment once every few decades, and the old or retired Colours are safe-kept in the regiment's church or chapel for public display. An old Colour is never destroyed because of its historical value and the Royal Authority that it represents.

References

^ The colour of the inside edging of the redcoat jacket, seen when the lapels are turned back

References

See also