Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry ( Prince Albert ' s ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army , which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959 . Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles . Early history . Formation . The regiment was one of nine regiments of foot raised by James II when he expanded the size of the army in response to the Monmouth Rebellion . On 20 June 1685 , Theophilus Hastings , 7th Earl of Huntingdon was issued with a warrant authorising him to raise a regiment , and accordingly the Earl of Huntingdon ' s Regiment of Foot was formed , mainly recruiting in the county of Buckinghamshire . Jacobite wars . The regiment remained in existence when William III came to the throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 . Fernando Hastings took over the colonelcy of the regiment , which accordingly became Hastings ' s Regiment of Foot . Hastings ' s Regiment first saw action at the Battle of Killiecrankie , where they failed to halt the advance of Jacobite rebels , although they were later defeated at the Battle of Dunkeld . The regiment accompanied William to Ireland in the following year , fighting in the decisive Williamite victories at the Boyne and Cork . Nine Years ' War . The Jacobite struggles in Scotland and Ireland were part of a wider European conflict that became known as the Nine Years ' War . In 1692 , Hastings ' Regiment sailed to Flanders and , in 1694 , took part in the disastrous amphibious assault at Camaret on the French coast . In 1695 , Colonel Fernando Hastings was found guilty of extortion , and dismissed . Sir John Jacob became the colonel , and it was as Jacob ' s Regiment of Foot that they returned to England at the end of the war in 1697 . War of the Spanish Succession . After a period of garrison duty in Ireland , Jacob ' s Regiment returned to Flanders in 1701 . In the following year , the colonelcy again changed , with Sir John Jacob choosing to retire . He sold the colonelcy to his brother - in - law , Lieutenant - General James Barry , 4th Earl of Barrymore , for 1 , 400 guineas . With the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession , the Earl of Barrymore ' s Regiment of Foot saw action at the sieges or battles of Kaiserwerth , Venlo , Roermond , Huy , Limburg and Liège . In 1704 , Barrymore ' s Regiment moved to the Iberian Peninsula taking part in the defence of the recently - captured Gibraltar ( 1704 – 05 ) and the Siege of Barcelona ( 1705 ) . In 1706 , the bulk of the regiment was converted into a regiment of dragoons due to a shortage of cavalry . Barrymore returned to England with a small cadre ; the regiment was re - raised and returned to Spain . The unit fought at the Battle of Almanza ( 1707 ) , Battle of Caya ( 1709 ) , Battle of Tortosa ( 1711 ) and the Battle of St Mateo ( 1711 ) . In 1711 , the regiment started a long period of garrison duty at Gibraltar . In 1715 , they became Cotton ' s Regiment of Foot when Stanhope Cotton succeeded Barrymore . Anglo - Spanish War . When war broke out with Spain in 1727 , Cotton ' s were part of the force that resisted the Spanish Siege of Gibraltar . The regiment returned to England in the following year . It remained there until 1742 , with the name changing with the colonelcy : Kerr ' s Regiment of Foot ( Lord Mark Kerr ) in 1725 , Middleton ' s Regiment of Foot ( Brigadier - General John Middleton ) in 1732 and Pulteney ' s Regiment of Foot ( General Harry Pulteney ) in 1739 . War of the Austrian Succession . In 1742 , Pulteney ' s Regiment sailed to Flanders , and in the following year was part of the joint British , Hanoverian and Austrian force that secured a victory over the French at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 . In May 1745 , the situation was reversed when they were part of the allied army decisively defeated at the Battle of Fontenoy . The " Forty Five " . In 1745 , Pulteney ' s Regiment returned to Britain , moving to Scotland to suppress the Jacobite Rising of 1745 . They formed part of the defeated forces at the Battle of Falkirk in January 1746 . Three months later , they took part in the final defeat of the Jacobites in Culloden . Return to Europe . Following the ending of the Jacobite rising , Pulteney ' s Regiment returned to Flanders , where they fought at the Battle of Roucoux ( October 1746 ) and the Battle of Lauffeld or Val ( July 1747 ) . In both cases , the allied forces were defeated by the French . The regiment returned to England in 1747 , and the war was formally ended by the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle in 1748 . 13th Regiment of Foot . By the late seventeenth century , each regiment of the standing army had been alloted a " rank " in the order of precedence . These numbers came to be increasingly used until a royal warrant of 1751 decreed that regiments should in future be known by their numbers only . Accordingly , Pulteney ' s Regiment became the 13th Regiment of Foot . The redesignated 13th Foot entered a thirty - year period of garrison service in England , Ireland , Gibraltar and Minorca . American Revolutionary War . In 1775 , the American Revolutionary War broke out , widening into war with France from 1778 and Spain in 1779 . The 13th Foot sailed for the West Indies , arriving in Barbados . They saw little active service , returning to England in 1782 , moving on to Ireland in 1783 . 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) Regiment of Foot . It was at this time that the regiment ' s link to Somerset was first formed . On 21 August 1782 , the Commander - in - Chief of the Forces , Henry Seymour Conway , issued a regulation giving an English county designation to each regiment of foot other than those with a royal title or highland regiments . The intention was to improve recruitment during the unpopular war , and the Secretary at War , Thomas Townshend issued a circular letter to the lieutenants of each county in England in the following terms : My Lord , < br > The very great deficiency of men in the regiments of infantry being so very detrimental to the public service , the king has thought proper to give the names of the different counties to the old corps , in hopes that , by the zeal and activity of the principal nobility and gentry in the several counties , some considerable assistance may be given towards recruiting these regiments " . The regiment duly became the 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) Regiment of Foot ( the 40th Foot becoming the " 2nd Somersetshire " ) . The attempt to link regimental areas to specific counties was found to be impractical , with regiments preferring to recruit from major centres of population . By June 1783 , each regiment was again recruiting throughout the country , although the county names were to remain . French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . In 1790 , the regiment sailed to Jamaica . In 1793 , Britain was again at war with France , this time with the revolutionary régime . The 13th Foot landed in the French colony of Saint - Domingue , where the Haitian Revolution was in progress . Returning to Ireland in 1797 and England in 1799 , the 13th were next engaged in a series of minor coastal assaults on the Spanish coast in 1800 . In 1801 , the regiment sailed to Egypt to help repel the French invasion force . The 13th took part in the Siege of Alexandria . In 1802 , the regiment was awarded the badge of a sphinx superscribed " Egypt " for display on the regimental colours in commemoration of the campaign . A temporary end to hostilities with France came in March 1802 , with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens . The 13th Foot left Egypt in that month , sailing to Malta , where they were stationed for a year , before moving to Gibraltar . In 1805 , the regiment returned to England . After occupying various stations in the south of the country , the 13th sailed for Ireland in May 1807 . The regiment was brought up to full strength by an intake of volunteers from the Irish militia and sailed to Bermuda , arriving in March 1808 . The regiment lost large numbers of men to disease while on the island . War had again broken out with France , and the 13th Foot formed part of the force that invaded and occupied the French colony of Martinique in January and February 1809 . War with the United States . In 1812 , the war had widened to include the United States of America . In the following year , the 13th Foot left Martinique for Quebec , from whence they proceeded to protect the frontiers of Upper Canada . The regiment crossed the St Lawrence River and took part in minor actions around Plattsburgh and Lake Champlain . The war concluded in 1815 , and the 13th Foot returned to England in July of that year . The regiment spent the next few years on garrison duty in Jersey , Guernsey , England , Scotland and Ireland . 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) Regiment ( Light Infantry ) . In September 1822 , the 13th Foot was moved to Chatham in Kent , where it was brought up to strength for service in India . While there , it was reconstituted as a light infantry regiment in December and was retitled as the 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) Regiment ( Light Infantry ) . First Anglo - Burmese War . The 13th Light Infantry arrived in Kolkata in May and June 1823 . Soon after arrival , Burmese forces attacked Cachar , a territory under British protection . War was formally declared on 5 March 1824 , and the 13th took part in the campaign that lasted until February 1826 , when a treaty was signed , with the King of Ava agreeing to cede territory and pay compensation to the British East India Company . The 13th Light Infantry returned to garrison duty in India . From 1826 to 1838 , they were stationed in Baharampur , Danapur , Agra and Karnal . First Anglo - Afghan War . In 1837 , Persia n troops , allied to the Russians , occupied the Herat region of Afghanistan . The British , who feared Russian intervention in the area , decided to remove the emir of Afghanistan , Dost Muhammad , and to replace him with a pro - British monarch , Shuja Shah Durrani . Accordingly , an expeditionary force , known as the " Army of the Indus " , was formed . The 13th Light Infantry formed part of the invasion force , joining the other units in November 1838 . The army passed into Afghanistan in March 1839 , taking Kandahar in April without resistance . The 13th took part in the decisive victory at Ghazni in July 1839 . The British initially achieved their objective of enthroning Shuja in August 1839 . The 13th formed part of the occupation force that attempted to enforce the rule of the new monarch ; but , in October 1841 , a popular uprising against Shuja broke out . The 13th found itself engaged in operations against the rebels who had overthrown Shuja and taken the capital , Kabul . In November 1841 , the regiment was forced to retreat to the fortified town of Jalalabad . The town was soon encircled , leading to a lengthy siege . In April of the following year , the garrison , under the command of Sir Robert Sale of the 13th , broke the siege and defeated the Afghan forces under Akbar Khan . Although the war , which ended in October 1842 with the return of the Army of the Indus to India , was essentially a reverse for the British forces , battle honours and campaign medals were awarded . 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) ( Prince Albert ' s Light Infantry ) Regiment of Foot . The conduct of the 13th at Jalalabad was officially rewarded on 26 August 1842 , when Prince Albert offered his patronage to the regiment and permitted his name to be used in its title , becoming the 13th ( 1st Somersetshire ) ( Prince Albert ' s Light Infantry ) Regiment of Foot . At the same time , the regimental facings were changed from yellow to ( royal ) blue , and the badge of a mural crown with a scroll inscribed " Jellalabad " was granted for display on the colours and uniform of the regiment . The unit was also honoured with the firing of a twenty - one gun salute at each army station it passed on its return to India . The 13th Light Infantry returned to England in 1845 after 23 years of foreign service . Presented with new colours at Portsmouth in 1846 , the regiment moved to Ireland in the following year , remaining there until 1850 , before spending a year in Scotland . From 1851 – 1854 , they were stationed in Gibraltar . Crimean War . In 1854 , the regiment was brought up to full strength and , in June of the following year , landed in the Crimea as part of the Anglo - French forces conducting a campaign against the Russians . They took part in the Siege of Sevastopol , and remained in the area after the ending of hostilities in February 1856 , subsequently sailing to South Africa . Return to India . In May 1857 , the Indian Mutiny broke out . Reinforcements were requested , and the 13th arrived at Kolkata in October 1857 . They took part in some minor actions . Formation of second battalion . The British Army had been shown to be overstretched by the Crimean War , while the mutiny in India had led to the responsibility for providing a garrison in the subcontinent from the Honourable East India Company to the Crown forces . Accordingly , there was a need for an expansion and reorganisation of the existing regiments . Rather than raising new infantry regiments , the senior regiments of foot were each ordered to raise a second battalion , with the existing regiment being redesignated as the 1st Battalion . The 2nd Battalion of the 13th Light Infantry was raised at Winchester in January 1858 . The two battalions , while sharing a depot , operated as separate units . The 1st Battalion saw active service in South Africa , fighting in the Ninth Xhosa War of 1878 and Anglo - Zulu War of 1879 . Jellalabad Barracks . Under the localisation scheme of 1873 , introduced by Edward Cardwell , Secretary of State for War , the United Kingdom was divided into 68 sub - districts for the recruitment of the infantry of the line . Each sub - district was a defined geographical area and was allocated two regular infantry battalions , one of which was to be on foreign and one on home service at any one time . At the same time , the county militia battalions of the sub - district were linked to the regular infantry . In each sub - district , a new permanent depot was to be established . The 13th Light Infantry ' s recruitment area was to be the county of Somerset , which was designated the " 36th Sub - District " , with a depot to be built at Taunton . The red brick Jellallabad Barracks was built between 1879 and 1881 . It was designed by the Army Divisional Surveyor Thomas Berry . The gatehouse tower , which is known as The Keep , is now a Grade II listed building . Childers reforms . The reorganisation begun by Cardwell in 1873 was carried to its logical conclusion by his successor , Hugh Childers , in 1881 . Under these reforms , infantry regiments ceased to bear numbers and were instead known by " territorial " or royal titles only . The 13th Foot accordingly became Prince Albert ' s Light Infantry ( Somersetshire Regiment ) on 1 July 1881 . As the county regiment of Somersetshire , it also gained the county ' s militia and rifle volunteer battalions , which were integrated into the regiment as numbered battalions . Within months the regiment had been retitled to Prince Albert ' s ( Somersetshire Light Infantry ) . On formation , the regiment had the following battalions : The two regular battalions continued the system of alternating between home and foreign stations : Actions in India and Burma . The 2nd Battalion took part in the Third Anglo - Burmese War of 1885 to 1887 . Following an initial invasion , the battalion spent two years broken up into small groups pacifying the inhabitants of the country . Whil the unit lost only 17 men in combat , 150 were to die from disease . During its period in India , the 1st Battalion was mainly stationed in the North West Frontier Province , and took part in First Mohmand Campaign of 1897 . Second Boer War . In October 1899 , war broke out between British Empire and the Boer Republics of South Africa . The 2nd Battalion landed in the Cape in December 1899 , and was part of the British forces defeated at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 . In February of the same year , the battalion helped to relieve the siege of Ladysmith . They spent the remainder of the conflict taking part in a number of minor actions . Haldane reforms . The Boer War had severely stretched the resources of the British Army and had exposed the weakness of the militia and volunteers as an effective reserve force . In 1907 – 1908 , Richard Haldane , Secretary of State for War reorganised these second - line units of the army as part of a larger series of reforms . The existing militia was reduced in size and redesignated as the " Special Reserve " , while the Volunteer Force was merged with the Yeomanry to from a new Territorial Force , organised into 14 infantry divisions , liable for service in wartime . The changes were carried out under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 , and came into effect on 1 April 1908 . From that date , the existing 3rd ( Militia ) Battalion was transferred to the Special Reserve , while the 4th Battalion was disbanded . The three volunteer battalions were organised and reduced to two Territorial Force battalions : the 4th based in Bath and the 5th in Taunton . First World War . The regiment ' s name was again changed to the Prince Albert ' s ( Somerset Light Infantry ) in 1912 . The Regiment saw active service in the First World War , with battalions involved on the Western Front , Mesopotamia ( now Iraq ) and Palestine . Altogether , 18 battalions existed during the war . One of the new battalions was formed by the conversion of the West Somerset Yeomanry , a Territorial Force Cavalry Regiment ; the rest were formed by the duplication of the existing Territorial Force units or by the formation of new " service " battalions . Inter - war period . Following the armistice ending the First World War , the war - raised battalions were rapidly disbanded . The regular battalions returned to the pre - war system of alternating home and foreign stations . The 1st Battalion was stationed in Northern Ireland and England , before being stationed in Egypt ( 1926 – 1928 ) , Hong Kong ( 1928 – 1930 ) and India from 1930 . The 2nd Battalion , which had spent the entire war in India , fought in the brief Third Anglo - Afghan War in 1919 , seeing active service in Afghanistan and on the North - West Frontier . Returning to India in 1920 , the battalion moved to the Sudan in 1926 and England in 1927 . The Territorial Force was reorganised to become the Territorial Army in 1920 , and the 4th and 5th Battalions were reconstituted . At the same time , the 3rd ( Special Reserve ) Battalion was placed in " suspended animation " , and was never again embodied . On 1 January 1921 , the regimental title was changed a final time , becoming The Somerset Light Infantry ( Prince Albert ' s ) . Second World War . Altogether , 12 battalions of the Regiment served during Second World War , six of which saw service overseas . In addition to the regular 1st and 2nd Battalions , the existing 4th and 5th Territorial Battalions formed duplicate units in 1939 prior to war being declared : the 6th and 7th Battalions . The 8th ( Home Defence ) Battalion , which was also formed in 1939 , was redesignated the 30th battalion in 1941 . The 9th , 10th , 11th ( Holding ) and 50th ( Holding ) Battalions were all formed in 1940 - although the latter two had ceased to exist by the year end . The 2nd and 30th Battalions formed part of the First Army , and fought in North Africa and Italy . The 1st Battalion fought in Burma ; and the 4th and 7th Battalions in the North - West European Campaign after the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 . The other battalion to see active service was the 10th Battalion , which was converted into the 7th ( Light Infantry ) Battalion , The Parachute Regiment in 1942 , and parachuted into Normandy on D - Day . The Regiment also had responsibility for defending local airfields , including RNAS Charlton Horethorne , where they prepared trenches , hardpoints and machine gun positions . Post war to amalgamation . The 1st Battalion was the last British infantry battalion to leave India after its independence , departing on 28 February 1948 . During the final ceremony , the battalion marched through Bombay ( now Mumbai ) and received a guard of honour from the newly formed Indian Army at the Gateway of India . The 2nd Battalion ended the war in Greece , subsequently forming part of the Allied occupation force of Austria . The two regular battalions returned to the United Kingdom where they were amalgamated into a single 1st Battalion on 28 June 1948 - this was part of a general reduction in the size of the infantry following Indian independence . The reconstituted 1st Battalion was stationed in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine from 1951 – 1953 . From 1952 – 1955 , it formed part of the British forces fighting in the Malayan Emergency , where it took part in jungle warfare . In its final years , the battalion was involved in a number of conflicts : the anti - tank platoon formed part of the Anglo - French force that intervened in the Suez Crisis of 1956 . The majority of the battalion was in Cyprus , where a nationalist uprising against British rule had broken out . In 1957 , they returned to Germany . In 1947 , the Territorial Army was reconstituted and the 4th and 6th Battalion were reformed as infantry battalions ; the 5th Battalion was reformed as a unit of the Royal Artillery . Three years later , the 4th Battalion absorbed the two other units . Amalgamation . The regiment amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall ' s Light Infantry in 1959 to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry . This , in turn , amalgamated with the three other regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade to form The Light Infantry in 1968 . The final chapter of the Somerset Light Infantry ended on 1 February 2007 , when the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry , the Light Infantry , the Royal Gloucestershire , Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets merged to form the RIFLES . The Regiment ' s history is exhibited at the Somerset Military Museum , which is a part of the Museum of Somerset at Taunton Castle . Battle honours . The regiment was awarded the following battle honour s for display on the colours : Displayed on the regimental colours First World War < br > Battle honours in bold were selected for display on the King ' s / Queen ' s Colours . Second World War < br > Battle honours in bold were selected for display on the King ' s / Queen ' s Colours . Dress and insignia . Facings . From its establishment in 1685 , the regiment had a red coat with yellow facings . This was originally the colour of the cloth lining of the coat , which appeared in the turned back cuffs , skirts and lapels . Later , as uniform styles changed , it became the colour of the collar and cuffs of the jacket or tunic . A royal warrant of 1751 first regulated the facing colours of the " Marching Regiments of Foot " . Those of the 13th Foot , or Lieutenant - General Pulteney ' s Regiment , was given as " philemot " yellow , a description repeated in the next clothing regulation of 1768 . " Philemot " was a corruption of the French " feuille morte " or " dead leaf " , a shade of yellow approximating to that of a faded ( Autumn ) leaf . When the 13th Foot was given the title " Prince Albert ' s " in 1842 , it became a " royal " regiment , and the facings were changed to dark blue . The braid and lace worn on officers ' coats was silver until 1830 and thereafter gold . It had a black line threaded through it . Sergeants ' sash . A distinction unique to the regiment was that the warrant officers and sergeants wore their sashes over the left shoulder and tied on the right side , in the same manner as officers . This commemorated the regiment ' s stand at Culloden , where the large number of officer casualties led to the sergeants taking command . This was authorised in 1865 , although appears to have been worn earlier without authority . In 1898 , officers of all regiments were ordered to wear the sash knotted on the left side , with the exception of the Somerset Light Infantry who were permitted to continue with the knot on the right . Light infantry distinctions . In 1822 , the regiment was granted light infantry distinctions , which survived in the full dress of 1914 as a dark green home service helmet ( instead of the dark blue of line infantry ) and a bugle - horn incorporated in its badge . The forage cap and postwar No . 1 dress uniform worn by the regiment was also dark green . Badges . The first distinctive badge awarded to the regiment was the sphinx for service in Egypt , authorised in 1802 . From 1814 , a stringed bugle - horn had been the approved badge of light infantry and rifle regiments . When the 13th Foot were converted to light infantry in 1822 , the badge adopted for the shako head - dress was a " bugle - horn with strings with the numerals 13 in the centre and surmounted by the Sphinx " . When a new model of shako was adopted in 1844 , a mural crown and scroll inscribed " Jellalabad " were added . Similar devices were used on the plate of the home service helmet adopted in 1878 . In 1898 , when khaki service dress was introduced , a metal badge was designed for the new slouch hat . This consisted of a bugle surmounted by a mural crown above which was a scroll inscribed " Jellalabad " . The cypher " PA " for Prince Albert was placed within the strings of the bugle horn . This remained the regiment ' s cap badge on various forms of head - dress until amalgamation .