Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) - Reorganisations and Amalgamations

Reorganisations and Amalgamations

  • From 1595 to 1665, the four regiments of the English Brigade served under Dutch command. In 1665, with the coming of the Second Anglo-Dutch War the British and Scotch Brigades were ordered to swear loyalty to the Stadtholder. Those who obeyed would be allowed to continue in Dutch service and those who disobeyed would be cashiered. Using his own funds, Sir George Downing, the English ambassador to the Netherlands, raised the Holland Regiment from the starving remnants of those who refused to sign. It was designated as the 4th Regiment of Foot.
  • In 1688 the Glorious Revolution deposed James II Stuart and seated William Henry, Prince of Orange-Nassau and Stadtholder of the United Netherlands, on the throne of Great Britain as William III of England. To reduce confusion between the Regent's Dutch Blue Guards regiment and the Stuart-era "Holland Regiment", the latter was renumbered the 3rd Regiment and had its title changed to The Lord Admiral's Regiment. Since Prince George of Denmark was Lord Admiral (and thus was its Honorary Colonel), it was also known as Prince George of Denmark's Regiment until his death in 1708.
  • The 1st (Regular) Battalion existed continuously from 1572–1961.
  • The 2nd (Regular) Battalion was intermittently raised in 1678–1679, 1756–1758, 1803–1815, and 1857–1949.
  • In the Childers reforms of 1881 the East Kent Militia became the regiment's 3rd (Militia) Battalion (1881–1953) and its short-lived 4th (Militia) Battalion (1881–1888).
  • In 1881–1908 two Kent rifle volunteer corps were redesignated as the 1st Volunteer Battalion and 2nd (The Weald of Kent) Volunteer Battalion of the Buffs. With the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908 they became the regiment's 4th and 5th (TF) Battalions. In 1921 the TF was reformed as the Territorial Army (TA) and the two units were merged as the 4th/5th (TA) Battalion. The two battalions resumed separate existences on the doubling of the TA in 1939, but were again merged in 1947.

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