page_title: Wiltshire Regiment
section_title: The First World War
hierarchical_section_title: Wiltshire Regiment / History / The First World War
caption_attribution_description: British infantry from The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August 1916, during the Battle of the Somme. Comment&#160;: This could be either the 1st Battalion, part of 7th Brigade, 25th Division, or the 6th Battalion, part of 58th Brigade, 19th Division. Both battalions took part in operations of Battle of Pozières and Battle of Mouquet Farm.
context_page_description: The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's Regiment of Foot.
  The regiment was originally formed as the Duke of Edinburgh's, taking the county affiliation from the 62nd Foot and the honorific from the 99th Foot. In 1921, the titles switched to become the Wiltshire Regiment.
  After service in both the First and Second World Wars, it was amalgamated with the Royal Berkshire Regiment into the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment in 1959, which was, in 1994, merged with the Gloucestershire Regiment to form the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, which later amalgamated with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Green Jackets and The Light Infantry to form The Rifles, which continues the lineage of the regiment. The regiment's depot was at Le Marchant Barracks in Devizes.
context_section_description: At the start of the First World War, the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment), like most of the rest of the British Army, consisted of two regular battalions (the 1st and 2nd); there was also a Special Reserve battalion (3rd) and a Territorial Force battalion. Eventually, the Wiltshire Regiment expanded to ten battalions, seven of which served overseas. These included three additional Territorial Force battalions (1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th Battalions) as well as four service battalions (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th battalions) formed for the Kitchener's New Army formations.
  Nearly 5,000 officers and other ranks of the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) had been killed in action or died of wounds sustained during the Great War. 60 battle honours were awarded to the regiment, along with numerous awards for bravery, including a VC.
caption: Men of the Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August 1916, during the Battle of the Somme. This could be either 1st Wilts, part of the 25th Division, or 6th Wilts, part of 19th Division. Both battalions were involved in the battles at Pozières and Mouquet Farm. Photo by Ernest Brooks.
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