The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army , part of the Light Division . It was formed on 10 July 1968 as a " large regiment " by the amalgamation of the four remaining light infantry regiments of the Light Infantry Brigade : The Light Infantry was descended from the original light troops that formed what were known as ' light companies ' of line infantry regiments and later regiments in their own right . These soldiers were trained to act independently on the battlefield , within the framework of the battle , as skirmishers . In this respect , the Light Infantry shared many characteristics with the old rifle regiments and their descendant , the Royal Green Jackets , with which the Light Infantry formed the administrative Light Division . The Light Infantry though was not a rifle regiment , and the majority of its traditions resembled those of the ordinary line infantry regiments . Prior to 1914 the various light infantry regiments wore the same scarlet and blue full dress as the line infantry , being distinguished solely by their dark green cloth helmets and bugle horn badges . The uniforms of the Light Infantry as created in 1968 did however have much in common with those of the rifle regiments : dark ( Rifle ) green No 1 dress tunics , rifle green beret s and stable belt s and black officers ' shoes . The separate identity of the light infantry was however maintained by the retention of details such as the dark blue trousers also worn in No 1 dress and the red sashes of sergeants . Regular Army . On creation as a new regiment in 1968 there were four battalion s , however on 31 March 1969 4LI ( formerly The Durham Light Infantry ) was disbanded leaving three regular battalions . The remaining battalions remained in service until 1993 when they merged to form two battalions renamed 1st and 2nd Battalions . The regiment was active all through The Troubles in Northern Ireland with eight soldiers from the regiment killed in the Ballygawley bus bombing . Amalgamations of 2007 . In 2004 , it was announced that the Gloucestershire element of the Royal Gloucestershire , Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment would amalgamate with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment . Because the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment was higher in the Order of Precedence than the Light Infantry , the new battalion was to be numbered as the 1st Battalion , Light Infantry , with the other two renumbered accordingly as the 2nd and 3rd . As of 2005 , this amalgamation would have involved the whole of the RGBW . On 24 November 2005 , in a change to the planned amalgamations , it was announced by the Ministry of Defence that , after discussions between The Light Infantry , the Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry , the Royal Gloucestershire , Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry and the Royal Green Jackets , the four regiments would amalgamate to form a single , large regiment to be named The Rifles . The new regiment , which formed on 1 February 2007 , contains five Regular Battalions and two TA Battalions . The cap badge of The Rifles is the traditional bugle horn that The Light Infantry had as its cap badge . The amalgamation described above has been criticised as leading to the disappearance of the Light Infantry as a separate branch of the infantry with its distinctive traditions and history . It is part of a process spread over 2006 - 2007 aimed at reducing and rationalising the infantry regiments into large multi - battalion units .