- Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment
The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment was an infantry regiment of the
British Army from 1961 to 1966. Its lineage is continued by thePrincess of Wales's Royal Regiment .The regiment was formed on
1 March 1961 , as a consequence of defence cuts implemented in the 1950s, by the amalgamation ofThe Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) andThe Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment . [Army Order 91/1960]In
1961 the regiment was deployed inKenya , then a British colony. One of its predecessor regiments, The Buffs, had earlier seen distinguished service in Kenya during theMau Mau uprising. In the following year the regiment returned to the UK, where the 1st Battalion was presented with its first colours by its Colonel-in-Chief, HM King Frederick IX ofDenmark atFolkestone on 23 June. In1964 the regiment was deployed toBritish Guiana after violence broke out there, at a time when theSouth America n colony was experiencing turbulent times. The regiment assisted in operations designed to prevent the opposing ethnic groups from descending into conflict with each other. The regiment departed South America for the Far East the following year, joining theHong Kong garrison.In June
1966 the regiment deployed on a six-month tour-of-duty in the jungles ofBorneo to take part in theIndonesian Confrontation . This had started in1962 after an Indonesian-inspired rebellion took place inBrunei , which was successfully quelled. The 'Confrontation' officially ended a short while after the regiment arrived; it returned to Hong Kong upon the end of its tour.The regiment existed for less than six years: on
December 31 ,1966 , the four regiments of theHome Counties Brigade were merged to formThe Queen's Regiment . Each of the four regular battalions in the brigade became a battalion of the new "large regiment". The 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Buffs, still in Hong Kong, were redesignated as 2nd Battalion (Queen's Own Buffs), The Queen's Regiment. In 1969 the Queen's Regiment was reduced to three regular battalions, and the county subtitles abandoned.Alliances
*CAN -
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (1961-1966)
*CAN - 1st Battalion (Carleton and York), The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (1961-1966)
*CAN -The Essex and Kent Scottish (1961-1966)
*NZL -The Canterbury Regiment (1961-1964)
*NZL - 2nd Battalion (Canterbury and Nelson-Marlborough, and West Coast), Royal New Zealand Infantry (1964-1966)Other information
*"Colonel-in-Chief": HM Frederick IX, King of Denmark
*"Colonel": HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of KentReferences
External links
* [http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/003QOBuf.htm The Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment (regiments.org)]
* [http://www.the-queens-own-buffs.com/ The Queen's Own Buffs (PWRR) Regimental Association]
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