Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry - Post-World War II (1945-1966)

Post-World War II (1945-1966)

In October 1945, the 2nd Battalion as part of 6th Airborne Division, arrived in Palestine as Britain's Imperial Strategic Reserve in the Middle East. Palestine was in a highly volatile political state and the battalion was extensively deployed on internal security duties and in assisting the civil authorities to keep the peace between the different communities. On 15 April 1946, 6th Airlanding Brigade, which the battalion was still part of, was renumbered the 31st Independent Infantry Brigade. On 26 April 1946, the battalion wore their red berets for the final time, at a farewell to the division parade. In May 1947 the battalion formed part of 8th Infantry Brigade. The Battalion left Palestine in 1947. In 1946 the 1st Battalion deployed to Trieste—the following year the Free Territory of Trieste—as part of the British-American force there. The Battalion left in May 1947. In 1948, following the independence of India, the British Government implemented substantial defence cuts, which involved all second battalions in the Line Infantry being abolished or amalgamated with their first battalions; this included the Ox and Bucks. Following amalgamation, the Regiment was re-titled the 1st Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 43rd and 52nd.

In 1949 the Regiment moved to Greece during the civil war in that country. In October 1951, following a short period in Cyprus, the Regiment deployed to the British-controlled Suez Canal Zone in Egypt. There, the Regiment saw active service performing internal security duties. The Regiment left Suez in April 1953. It was based in Osnabrück, West Germany from July 1953, as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), where, in October 1955, the Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Read, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the founding of the 52nd Light Infantry. In July 1956 the Regiment took part in operations against EOKA terrorists in Cyprus. On 7 November 1958, after transferring from the Light Infantry Brigade to the Green Jackets Brigade, the Regiment was re-titled the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and subsequently left Cyprus for home—the first time it had been based in the UK since 1939. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Martin had the distinction of being the last Commanding Officer of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the first Commanding Officer of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd). The Regimental Depot which had been at Cowley Barracks, Oxford from 1876 to 1957 moved to Peninsula Barracks, Winchester in 1958. The Regiment was based at Warminster from 1959 to 1962 when it became the first unit to be posted to the Far East without any National Servicemen, following the end of conscription in 1961.

In April 1962, almost two years after the Malayan Emergency was declared over, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) arrived in the Malayan state of Penang. Peace did not reign for long and on 9 December 1962, the Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Tod Sweeney MC, was deployed to Brunei on the island of Borneo, after an Indonesian-backed uprising occurred. In 1963, while still in Borneo, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was re-designated as a rifle regiment to conform to the rest of the Green Jackets Brigade. The Regiment returned to Minden Barracks, Penang in April 1963. The Regiment was later involved in further operations in North Borneo and Sarawak. In January 1964, Lieutenant Colonel David House took over command of the Regiment and in March 1965 the Regiment moved to West Berlin - their last overseas deployment. The Regiment was stationed at Montgomery Barracks in the district of Kladow; the Berlin Wall bordered the perimeter of the barracks. In September 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Pratt took over command of the Regiment and he was to be the last Commanding Officer of the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) and the first Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets. On 1 January 1966, whilst in West Berlin, the Regiment amalgamated with the two other regiments of the Green Jackets Brigade to form the three battalion Royal Green Jackets, the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) becoming the 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets. The battalion was disbanded in 1992 as a consequence of Options for Change and the 2nd Battalion (formerly The King's Royal Rifle Corps) was re-designated as the 1st Battalion. The 3rd Battalion was renumbered as the 2nd. In February 2007, the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets became the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles and the 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets became the 4th Battalion, The Rifles.