Coldstream Guards

A Coldstream Guards sergeant checks the parade line-up.

Coldstream Guards ( German  Coldstream - Garde ) is the name of a Garde grenadier - regiment of the British Army , which belongs to the Guard Division ( Guards Division ). It is one of the five body regiments of Queen Elizabeth II.

history

Officer and soldier of the Coldstream Guards

Precision shooters of the Coldstream Guards.

The Coldstream Guards are the oldest regiment in the British Army. Already in 1650 was of Oliver Cromwell for Colonel George Monck issued a patent to recruit a regiment and 23 August 1650 it appeared as "Monck's Regiment of Foot" (dt. About "Moncks Regiment of Foot") in the service.

During the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, King Charles II dissolved the entire army with the exception of Monck's regiment, which had rendered excellent service. The regiment was given its current name in 1855. The name is intended to commemorate the events of 1660: After the campaign against Scotland in 1650, the regiment remained in Scotland. After the death of Oliver Cromwell and the resignation of his son Richard Cromwell , Monck sided with the royalists. On January 1, 1660, he and his troops crossed the River Tweed near Coldstream , which forms the border between England and Scotland at this point. On February 3, 1660, "Moncks Regiment" reached London, where it supported the restoration of the monarchy.

The regiment 's formal name is Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards . Her nickname is lilywhites . A common soldier in the Coldstream Guards is called a guardsman, a distinction introduced by King George V after the First World War . Motto: Nulli Secundus = Unsurpassed.

Today the regiment is deployed as light infantry and used as a guard regiment . It regularly participates in many important protocol events in the UK, such as B. Trooping the Color and Remembrance Sunday .

The current Colonel of Honor of the Regiment is Lieutenant General Sir James Jeffrey Corfield Bucknall KCB, CBE.

Battle Honors

The regiment has several battle honors (honorable mentions of battles in which it has participated), some of which are listed on the regimental flag.

Battle Honors (English terms):

• Tangier 1680, Namur 1695 , Gibraltar 1704–05, Oudenarde , Malplaquet , Dettingen , Lincelles, Egypt, Talavera , Barrosa , Fuentes d'Onoro , Salamanca , Nive, Peninsula , Waterloo , Alma , Inkerman , Sevastopol , Tel-el-Kebir , Egypt 1882 , Suakin 1885, Modder River , South Africa 1899–1902
• First World War (5 battalions): Mons , Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 , Ypres 1914 '17, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nun Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve-Chapelle , Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos , Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916 '18, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Pilckem, Menin Road, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 '18, St. Quentin , Bapaume 1918, Arras 1918, Lys, Hazebrouck, Albert 1918, Scarpe 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line , Havrincourt , Canal du Nord, Selle, Sambre , France and Flanders 1914-18
• Second World War : Dyle, Defense of Escaut, Dunkirk 1940, Cagny, Mont Pincon, Quarry Hill, Estry, Heppen, Nederrijn, Venraij, Meijel, Roer, Rhineland, Reichswald , Cleve, Goch, Moyland, Hochwald , Rhine, Lingen, Uelzen, North-West Europe 1940 '44 -45, Egyptian Frontier 1940, Sidi Barrani, Halfaya 1941, Tobruk 1941 '42, Msus, Knightsbridge, Defense of Alamein Line , Medenine, Mareth, Longstop Hill 1942, Sbiba, Steamroller Farm, Tunis, Hammam Lif, North Africa 1940–43, Salerno, Battipaglia, Capezzano, Volturno Crossing, Monte Camino, Calabritto, Garigliano Crossing, Monte Ornito, Monte Piccolo, Capture of Perugia, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Monte Domini, Catarelto Ridge, Argenta Gap, Italy 1943-45
• Gulf 1991

Identification mark

The various regiments can not be distinguished on foot from a distance . However, they can be recognized by certain uniform details:

• The Coldstream Guard wears a red feather on the right side of their bearskin hat .
• The collar they wear the Garter Star , the symbol of the Order of the Garter .
• Nine buttons, each divided into 2 and the following pause (from above: 2,0,2,0,2,0,2,0,1), are located above the belt.
• The soldiers wear a white ribbon, called The Lily-whites, on the hat of their normal service uniform .

See also

• List of British infantry regiments of the early modern period

Web links

Commons : Coldstream Guards  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official Homepage (English)