History of The Royal Marines - Origin

Origin

The 'first official' unit of English Naval Infantry, originally called the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot and soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment, was formed on 28 October 1664, with an initial strength of 1,200 infantrymen recruited from the Trained Bands of London as part of the mobilisation for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. James (later King James VII & II), the Duke of York and Albany, Lord High Admiral and brother of King Charles II, was Captain-General of the Company of the Artillery Garden, now the Honourable Artillery Company, the unit that trained the Trained Bands. It was the fourth European Marine unit formed, being preceded by the Spain's Infantería de Marina (1537), the Portuguese Marine Corps (1610) and France's Troupes de marine (1622). It consisted of six 200 man companies and was initially commanded by Colonel Sir William Killigrew with Sir Charles Lyttleton as Lieutenant-Colonel. Killigrew had commanded an English regiment in Dutch service and many of the regiment's initial complement of officers had served there as well.

The Holland Regiment (later The Buffs) was also raised to serve at sea and both of these two "Naval" regiments were paid for by the Treasurer of the Navy by Order of Council of 11 July 1665. They were also different in that they had no pikemen, every man being issued a musket. The Holland Regiment remained on the naval establishments until May 1667. The name "Marines" first appeared in official records in 1672.

The Regiment was very distinctive, being dressed in yellow, rather than the Red coat of the other regiments, until 1685. John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough, was the most famous member of this regiment. A Company of Foot Guards served as Marines to augment the Marines of the Admiral's Regiment during the key sea battle the Battle of Solebay in 1672. Marlborough's conduct as an Ensign in the Guards during the battle so impressed James that he commissioned him a Captain in the Admiral's Regiment after four marine captains died during the battle. Marlborough served eight years in the regiment and led a battalion of the regiment in the land battle, the Battle of Enzheim in 1674. The regiment was disbanded in 1689 shortly after James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. The Buffs replaced them as third in precedence in the British Army.

Two marine regiments of the army were raised in 1690 and disbanded in 1696. They were the Earl of Pembroke's and Torrington's, later Lord Berkeley's. Each had twelve companies (948 men) and a Grenadier company (237 men) and again there were no pikemen, each man carrying a Dutch snaphance musket. In addition each Marine carried a bayonet, which was unusual at that time. These two regiments participated in an opposed landing during the Williamite War in Ireland at Cork, Ireland on 21 September 1690 under the command of John Churchill, now the Duke of Marlborough.

On the Peace of 1697 two foot regiments raised in 1692, Mordaunt's and Seymour's were converted into Marines. In 1702 six Regiments of Marines and six Sea Service Regiments of Foot were formed for the War of the Spanish Succession. When on land the Marines were commanded by Brigadier-General William Seymour, formerly of the 4th Foot. The most historic achievement of these Marines was the capture of the mole during the assault on Gibraltar (sailors of the Royal Navy captured the Rock itself) and the subsequent defence of the fortress alongside the Dutch Marines in 1704. In 1713, after the Peace of Utrecht, three of these Regiments were transferred to the Line, where they became the 30th through 32nd Foot, and the others disbanded. Only four Companies of Marine Invalids remained.

Six Marine Regiments (1st to 6th Marines, 44th to 49th Foot) were raised on 17 November–22 November 1739 for the War of Jenkins' Ear, with four more being raised later. One large Marine Regiment (Spotswood's Regiment later Gooch's Marines, the 43rd Foot) was formed of American colonists and served alongside British Marines at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in the War of Jenkins' Ear (1741). Among its officers was Lawrence Washington, the half-brother of George Washington. In 1747, the remaining regiments were transferred to the Admiralty and then disbanded in 1748. Many of the disbanded men were offered transportation to Nova Scotia and helped form the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Even though they were part of the Army, these Marines were quite nautical at times. Some Royal Navy officers began in these Marine regiments and some kept their Marine rank throughout their careers, one Royal Navy Captain even serving as the Captain of Marines on his own ship. They were used by the Admiralty to rig ships before they were placed in commission as the Royal Navy had no extra sailors, the law requiring that all sailors must be part of a commissioned vessel. It was another law requiring that in order for Army Regiments to be paid, the entire Regiment had to muster that led to their transfer to the Admiralty. This requirement was hard for the Marine Regiments to follow as their Companies were stationed on many different ships.

On 5 April 1755, His Majesty's Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary. This meant that the farthest a Marine officer could advance was to Lieutenant Colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to Colonel. This situation persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world, the most famous being the landing at Bellisle on the Brittany coast in 1761. They also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. These Marines also often took to the ship's boats to repel attackers in small boats when RN ships on close blockade were becalmed. On February 14, 1779 Captain James Cook took with him the following Marines: Lt.Phillips; a Sgt; Corporal Thomas and seven Privates; besides Cook, four Marines-Corporal Thomas and three Privates Hinks; Allen, and Fatchett-were killed and 2-Lt Phillips and Private Jackson-wounded. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, they were titled the Royal Marines by King George III.

The Royal Marine Artillery (RMA) was formed as an establishment within the British Royal Marines in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb vessels. This had been done by the Royal Regiment of Artillery, but a lawsuit by a Royal Artillery officer resulted in a court decision that Army officers were not subject to Naval orders. As their coats were the blue of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, this group was nicknamed the "Blue Marines" and the Infantry element, who wore the scarlet coats of the British infantry, became known as the "Red Marines", often given the derogatory nickname "Lobsters" by sailors.