Wiltshire Regiment - Post-war and Amalgamation

Post-war and Amalgamation

As part of Britain's post-war reduction, each regiment was required to reduce its strength by one battalion. In the case of the Wiltshire Regiment, this meant amalgamating the 1st and 2nd Battalions. This was done on 10 January 1949 while the regiment was part of the British Army of the Rhine. For the remainder of its existence, the Wilts would remain a one battalion regiment.

After the end of the Second World War, the Wiltshire regiment would add one more campaign to its list. Although initially earmarked to be sent to Malaya during the Emergency, the Wilt's orders were changed en route and they joined the Hong Kong garrison in 1950. After returning home to Britain in 1953, the Wilts were ready for foreign service once more. The Wilts final campaign as an independent regiment came in 1956, when it deployed to Cyprus as reinforcements for the British garrison during the Cyprus Emergency. The battalion, deployed in response to EOKA attacks which escalated in 1955, remained on Cyprus until its amalgamation in 1959. The Wiltshires would be amalgamated with The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) to form The Duke Of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) on 9 June 1959. The ceremony took place at Albany Barracks, Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight.

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