Bury Football Club are delighted to announce that the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, plus a company of Soldiers, will be at Gigg Lane on Monday evening as the clubs guests.
The 45 strong 'Corp of Drums' will be parading around the ground before the game and at half time, as well as drumming out both sides before the game and at the start of the second half.
The 2nd Battalion have recently returned from Afghanistan and are very keen to get amongst the community of their hometowns of Bury & Rochdale.Soldiers from the regiment based within Bury & Rochdale will also be in attendance and hopefully whilst they show us their skills, we can show them just what the East Lancs Derby is all about.
2nd BATTALION THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF FUSILIERS
ORIGINS:The Fusiliers take their title from the time of King James II in 1685 when he ordered Lord Dartmouth to form an Ordnance Regiment to guard the artillery. He called them my Royal Regiment of Fuzileers and had them armed with the Fusil, the most up to date weapon of the day. The Regiment became the 7th of Foot, the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) and other infantry regiments subsequently became Fusiliers, the most famous of which, the royal Northumberland (5th of Foot), Lancashire (XX of Foot) and in the 1960s the Royal Warwickshire (6th of Foot) together with the Royal Fusiliers formed the Royal Regiment of Fusilier in 1968 (Englands Finest)
HISTORY:The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers inherited a unique history and set of traditions from its four former regiments.
Each former regiment has an exceptional place in military history, from the Northumberland Fusiliers winning of the Hackle at the battle of St Lucia, to the Lancashire Fusiliers winning 6 Victoria Crosses at Gallipoli. The Royal Warwickshires led the way on D-Day while the Royal Fusiliers counter attack at Albuhera in 1813 undoubtedly saved Wellington's campaign in Spain against Napoleon.
All four regiments fought in WW1, raised 196 battalions between them and were represented in every major campaign.In WWII all four regiments took part in some of the most incredible operations of that period, from the Lancashire Fusiliers operating as Chindits against the Japanese in Burma to the Royal Warwickshires D-Day landing and the Royal Northumberland and Royal Fusiliers fighting in North Africa and Italy.
After WWII the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and Royal Fusiliers fought in Korea and all four regiments saw service in one of the many trouble spots around the world from Malaya to Kenya.
Since 1968 and the Regiments formation, Fusiliers have seen service across the world and found themselves at the sharp end in countries as diverse as Northern Ireland and Cyprus, More recently the Regiment served in the Balkans and took part in the first and second Gulf wars.
Today, Fusiliers both Regular and TA have served from Iraq to Afghanistan and are ready for deployment anytime, anywhere.
FORMATION:The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was formed on April 23rd 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiment', With theamalgamation of the four English fusilier regiments these were, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), The Lancashire Fusiliers.
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers currently have two regular Battalions and one Territorial Battalion as well as a number of Fusilier companies in Birmingham, London and Bury.
THE HACKLE:The distinctive red and white Hackle, worn by all ranks in the Regiment, was handed down from the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The Hackle was awarded in recognition for the defeat of the French at the Battle of St Lucia in 1778. The white hackles were removed from the French dead by the Fusiliers. In 1829 King William IV ordered the white plume to be worn by all line infantry regiments, and in order not to take away from the Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment of Foot's battle honour, their plume was distinguished with a red tip making the plume red over white.
THE FUTURE:Now the battalion has returned from Afghanistan, as part of Operation Herrick 10, back to Hounslow Middlesex, they are looking forward to performing public duties guarding Buckingham Palace, St James' palace, The Tower of London, and Windsor Castle. The Battalion will move to Celle, Germany in 2010 and to Cyprus in 2013.
Recent Ops:The Second Fusiliers have taken part in a number of key events in over the past months whilst deployed on OPERATION HERRICK 10.The Battalion has been deployed in Musa Qal'ah where they have conducted a number of operations to increase the security and the freedoms of the local population by working alongside the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, testament to this, is that within the Musa Qal'ah area 10000 local people were able to vote in the countries elections.A Company was detached from its parent unit to work in Sangin, where they too have been conducting operations to improve the lives of the local population.All the soldiers of the Fusiliers Battlegroup have been enduring relentless attacks on a daily basis facing roadside bombs, rifle and machine gun fire as well as indirect fire from 120mm mortars that shake the ground under your feet for hundreds of meters from the point of impact.
Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Calder, Commanding Officer, 2RRF said:All Fusiliers can return proud in the knowledge that they left their little bit of Afghanistan significantly better than they found it.
Major Jo Butterfill, Officer Commanding A Company, 2RRF stated: The quiet individual heroism displayed by the soldiers that enabled them to operate in the face of such a severe and ever-present threat will stay with me forever.
Fusilier Kieran Connolly said:Despite the dangers we have had an amazing experience.You have to be alert 100% of the time but after all being on operations is what you sign up for!
Regimental History:On the 23rd April 1968 the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was formed from the four English Fusilier regiments:
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (The 5th of Foot)
The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (The 6th of Foot)
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (The 7th of Foot)
The Lancashire Fusiliers (The 20th of Foot)
These regiments were steeped in history and traditions which have been retained by the Regiment today.
On formation, the Regiment consisted of four regular battalions, one volunteer battalion covering the four Regimental areas, and the Depot. Due to a series of Government Defence Reviews, ' Options for Change' and the recent 'Strategic Defence Review' the Regiment now comprises of two regular battalions and a number of Territorial Army companies located in the four regimental areas
