Royal Gibraltar Regiment The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is the home defence unit for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar . It was formed in 1958 , from the Gibraltar Defence Force , as an infantry unit , with an integrated artillery troop . Formation . Initially a reserve force , on the withdrawal of the British Army garrison from the territory in 1991 , it was placed on the British Army ' s regular establishment and attached to British Forces Gibraltar . It is formed as a standard light infantry battalion with a Headquarters Company and three rifle companies . Of these , two are made up of regular soldiers and the other is a Territorial Army unit . HQ Company includes an artillery troop , equipped with the L118 Light Gun : In 1999 , the regiment was granted the Royal title . In March 2001 , for the first time , the regiment mounted the guard at Buckingham Palace . In addition to this , the regiment , thanks to its artillery heritage , is also permitted to fire gun salutes from the Tower of London , something that is traditionally done only by the Honourable Artillery Company . The regiment also has responsibility for the Ceremony of the Keys in Gibraltar . Unit history . 18th Century . The earliest verifiable historical evidence of local civilians enrolled to defend Gibraltar dates to 24 June 1720 and , by 1755 , an armed organisation of local men were mounting guard on the picket line from Bayside to Devil ' s Tower to prevent soldiers from the garrison deserting across to the enemy . These men were known as the Genoese Guard and were disbanded at the end of the Seven Years War . During the Great Siege of Gibraltar , 160 local labourers volunteered to take part in the action during the night of 26 / 27 November 1781 . They were tasked with following the advancing troops and assist in the dismantling and demolition of the Spanish batteries , magazines and trenches . 19th Century . During the Mahdist War , 100 local men were deployed by the commissariat as transport drivers , known as " Los Carreteros Del Rey ( The King ’ s Cart Drivers ) " . The expedition was involved in several battles with the Dervishes . During a parade held in Gibraltar , the cart drivers were awarded the Egyptian War Medal with a clasp bearing the title ‘ Suakin 1885 ’ . 20th Century . During the Second Boer War , in 1900 , a group of Gibraltarians offered to " form a Local Corps of Volunteers " . The suggestion was made that some of the Volunteers might be organised as a Rifle Corps . However , the war was over before the Corps was formed . The Great War . During the Great War , a group of local rowing club members volunteered to take up arms . Such was the interest that soon some 400 Gibraltarians joined . One of the tasks was to act as stretcher bearers for the many casualties arriving on hospital ships from Gallipoli . The wounded were taken to the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar and a number of temporary hospitals . The volunteers obtained recognition from the Governor , General Sir Herbert Miles , on 3 July 1915 . Addressing the volunteers at Wellington Front , the Governor said that the Corps had " come into being not because of any official demand but as a result of their patriotic fervour and of their love and respect for the Crown " . The Corps was based at Orange Bastion , with the Headquarters on the ground floor of what is now City Hall . Later , the group moved to Wellington Front . The volunteers were divided into four rifle companies , A , B , C and D : each was commanded by a Captain , with two subalterns , one Sergeant Major , four Sergeants , eight Corporals , two buglers and about 80 men . The first Commanding Officer was Major G B Roberts of the Royal Engineers . During the war , the Corps provided reinforcement to assist in the defence of the Rock . The Corps was disbanded on 1 February 1920 . World War II . In 1938 , the Governor General ( Sir Edmund Ironside , 1st Baron Ironside ) formed a Territorial Artillery unit to help man the anti - aircraft guns on Gibraltar . The Volunteers paraded for the first time on 28 April 1939 . Just before the outbreak of the war , more volunteers were called for and men were allocated to the 4th and 27th Coast Batteries of the Royal Artillery as well as to the Royal Signals , Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Army Medical Corps . On the 2 September 1939 , the Gibraltar Defence Force was mobilised . The Heavy Anti Aircraft section was attached to 19 AA Battery Royal Artillery and deployed with two 3 inch guns to the Admiralty oil tanks , on the east side of the Rock . They fired their first shots in anger on 7 July 1940 and from then on they were often in action against Vichy French and Italian planes , engaging German planes later in the war . They shot down their first enemy aircraft on the night of 20 August 1940 . The entry in the unit ’ s War Diary reads as follows : In April 1942 , the Coastal Defence element was merged with the Anti Aircraft section . Early in 1944 , the force was reconstituted under the Defence Force Ordinance 1943 . The majority of volunteers were placed on the reserve list , with other sections disbanded . Post War . On 30 August 1958 , the permanent cadre and the reserve of the Gibraltar Defence Force was formed into the Gibraltar Regiment . The Regiment then had a dual role , being organised as an infantry battalion with four rifle companies and , an artillery troop manning the 9 . 2 inch coastal guns . This organisation was to remain in force until 1971 . With the departure of the last gunner unit in 1958 , the Regiment was issued with four 25 pounder guns and took over the responsibilities of firing Royal Gun Salute s . On 25 September 1971 , the regiment was presented with its first colours . At a ceremony held at the Grand Parade , His Excellency the Governor , Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg , presented the Regiment with its colours on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II . On the same day , the Regiment was granted the Freedom of the City of Gibraltar by the Mayor of Gibraltar , the Hon Alfred Vazquez during a ceremony outside the House of Assembly . The artillery battery was named " Thompson Battery " on 15 September 1973 in honour of the late Sir Willie Thomson OBE JP ; and , in December 1975 , Thomson ’ s Battery was issued with three 105mm pack howitzers . Following Operation Corporate , the Ministry of Defence decided , in line with its policy of modernisation and commonality of equipment , to re - equip the regiment with new weapons . In late 1982 , six 105mm light guns replaced the three howitzers and eight Blowpipe surface - to - air missile units replaced the four L40 / 70 AA Guns . On 1 April 1991 , the regiment was reorganised into an all infantry unit and took over the duties of the resident infantry battalion . The re - roled regiment consisted of a Headquarter Company ( Thompson ’ s Bty ) , a military band and three rifle companies of which G and I companies were regular and B Company ( and the band ) consisting of TA soldiers . On 21 April 1998 , the regiment performed its first public duties in London by firing a 62 royal gun salute at the Tower of London on the occasion of HM the Queen ’ s Birthday . On 1 July 1998 , HRH the Duke of Kent presented the regiment with its new colours . 21st Century . In the 21st Century , the Regiment conducted public duties at Buckingham Palace , the Tower of London and St James ' Palace between 28 February to 16 March 2001 . On 21 April 2004 , the Regiment fired its second 62 Royal Gun Salute at the Tower Of London on the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen ’ s birthday . The regiment has supplied officers and men for the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq . It is in these theatres that members of the Regiment have been decorated with two Bronze Star s and a Military Cross .