Robin Hood Battalion The Robin Hood ( T ) Battalion was a unit of the British Territorial Army . History . It was formed as the 1st Nottinghamshire ( Robin Hood ) Volunteer Rifle Corps by Adjutant Jonathan White on 15 November 1859 . It was one of many such ' corps ' to be formed at a time of increased fear of war with France , which created a flurry of interest in establishing such volunteer corps by the more affluent classes of British society . The unit was , also , simply known as the Robin Hood Rifles ; the title ' s name being in honour of the legendary Robin Hood . After the culmination of the Cardwell - Childers reforms on 1 July 1881 , the Sherwood Foresters ( Derbyshire Regiment ) was formed ( later the Sherwood Foresters ( Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment ) and the Robin Hood Rifles became its 3rd Volunteer Battalion . In 1900 , due to the Second Boer War , the Rifles experienced a substantial increase in size . Men of the battalion volunteered for service in the war — which had been raging since 1899 — and returned home when it ended in 1902 , gaining the Robin Hood Rifles its first Battle Honour " South Africa 1900 - 02 " . In 1908 , reserve forces of the British Army were reorganised , and the battalion was transferred to the Territorial Force , as the 7th Battalion ( TF ) . In the following year , they were redesignated as the 7th ( Robin Hood ) Battalion . First World War . When the First World War began in August 1914 , the Robin Hood Rifles were part of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Brigade ( later the 139th Brigade ( Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire ) ) , North Midland Division ( later the 46th ( North Midland ) Division ) . On 19 September , a duplicate battalion of the Robin Hoods was formed , the original becoming the 1 / 7th . This duplicate joined the 2nd Notts and Derby Brigade , 2nd North Midland Division , which later became the 59th ( 2nd North Midland ) Division . Another duplicate battalion , the 3 / 7th , was formed in March 1915 ; this battalion remained in Britain for the duration of the war . The 1 / 7th landed in France in February 1915 with the rest of the 46th Division . The Battalion saw heavy fighting at the Battle of Hohenzollern Redoubt — a subsidiary action of the Battle of Loos — which was their first major action of the war . The battalion received its Victoria Cross ( VC ) when Temporary Captain Charles Geoffrey Vickers was awarded the VC — the highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy — for his actions at Hohenzollern on 14 October . The battalion was involved in the First Day of the Somme on 1 July 1916 and the brigade they were part of sustained very severe casualties in the attack on the Gommecourt Salient . The day ended as bloodiest in the British Army ' s history , with 60 , 000 casualties being incurred . In the home front , the 2 / 7th Robin Hoods had , meanwhile , been sent to Ireland with the rest of the 59th Division to help suppress the 1916 Easter Uprising in Dublin . The division returned to England in January 1917 and then moved to France in February . The 2 / 7th took part in many actions , including the Battle of Passchendaele and Cambrai . The battalion was absorbed by the 1 / 7th on 31 January 1918 and the Robin Hoods reverted to their original name , the 7th ( Robin Hood ) Battalion . On 7 May , the 7th Robin Hoods were reduced to cadre strength . The First World War ended on 11 November 1918 . On 14 June 1919 , the Battalion was disbanded . The following year , the Territorial Force was reformed as the " Territorial Army " and , on 7 February , the 7th ( Robin Hood ) Battalion ( TA ) was raised . During WWI , Captain Albert Ball – fourth ranking ace of the Royal Flying Corps – had been awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in 1916 - 1917 while seconded from the Robin Hoods . Second World War . With the advent of air power , and the reduced need for so much infantry , the Robin Hoods were one of many units to be converted to the anti - aircraft role . The battalion re - roled on 10 December 1936 and became the 42nd ( The Robin Hoods , Sherwood Foresters ) Anti - Aircraft Battalion , . It joined the 32nd ( Midland ) Anti - Aircraft Brigade , 2nd Anti - Aircraft Division and was based in the West Riding region . In August 1940 , the unit became the 42nd ( Robin Hoods , Sherwood Foresters ) Searchlight Regiment , RA . The regiment was involved in the German Blitz against British cities , the Robin Hoods serving in Derby , East Midlands . After the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 , the regiment landed in France and undertook similar duties during the North - West Europe campaign . It was awarded the Croix de Guerre by Belgium for their defence of the port of Antwerp against German V1 and V2 rockets . When the war in Europe ended in May 1945 the Robin Hoods were in Germany . Post - War . In 1946 , the Robin Hoods were placed in ' suspended animation ' whilst still in Germany . The following year , they were reconstituted into the TA as the 577th ( The Robin Hoods , Sherwood Foresters ) Searchlight Regiment , RA . Further name changes took place throughout the 1940s and 1950s . On 10 March 1955 , the Robin Hoods amalgamated with the 350th ( The South Nottinghamshire Hussars Yeomanry ) Heavy Regiment and 528th Light Anti - Aircraft Regiment ( West Nottinghamshire ) to form the 350th ( The Robin Hood Foresters ) Heavy Regiment , RA . The following year Heavy was changed to Light . In 1961 , the regiment converted to engineers and re - titled as the 350 ( The Robin Hood Foresters ) Field Squadron . In 1967 , with reforms of the Armed Forces , it left the RE , returning to the Sherwood Foresters as part of The Robin Hood ( Territorial ) Battalion , a TAVR III ( Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve ) unit . In 1969 , the Robin Hoods were reduced to cadre strength when they became the Robin Hood ( T ) Battalion , The Sherwood Foresters , RE . The Robin Hoods were sponsored by 73 Engineer Regiment , RE . In 1971 , with further defence reforms , the Robin Hoods became D ( Robin Hood Foresters ) Company , 3rd ( V ) Battalion of the newly formed Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment . In 1992 , the Robin Hood lineage was discontinued upon D Company becoming the HQ Company ; the company was disbanded in 1999 . The name was previously used by A Company , Nottinghamshire Army Cadet Force of the Army Cadet Force until 2007 when they were re - badge to the The Rifles . However the name is currently used by The Robin Hood Rifles Corps of Drums .