Somerset Light Infantry: a brief history

The regimental archive of the Somerset Light Infantry is held at the Somerset Heritage Centre (ref. DD/SLI). It is a rich and rewarding collection detailing the 300-year history of the regiment.

The regiment was first raised in 1685 by James II to suppress the Protestant rebellions led by the Duke of Monmouth and the Earl of Aryll. Since then it has gone through several reincarnations: from the 13th Regiment of Foot to the 13th Somersetshire Light Infantry, then in 1842, to the 13th or Prince Albert's Light Infantry. In 1959 it merged with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry before all of the Light Infantry regiments were amalgamated in 1968.

Over the course of its history the regiment gained 112 battle honours. Its first was awarded in 1704 after the siege of Gibraltar. During the 19th century the regiment received honours after action in Burma in 1824 and 1885, and for participation in Afghanistan and the Boer War. In the early years of the 20th century the regiment served in China, through both World Wars, and saw post-war service in Cyprus, Germany, and in the Malayan Emergency. The Somerset Light Infantry was the last British regiment to march out of India after independence was granted.

For details on the archive collection please see the Army Records research guide.

A timeline of the Regiment’s history

1685: The Regiment is raised by Theophilusm Earl of Huntingdon, at the request of James II to quash the rebellions led by the Earl of Argyll and Duke of Monmouth. It is named the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment.

1688: The Regiment switches allegiance to the Protestant William of Orange. Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinando Hastings becomes Colonel of the Regiment, and it becomes Hastings' Regiment of Foot.

1689: The Regiment is sent to Scotland to help smooth the accession of William of Orange. Takes part in a battle against the Scots at Killekrankie.

1695: Colonel Hastings is found guilty of extortion and is relieved of his commission. He is replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Jacob, thus the regiment becomes Jacob's Foot.

1701-1703: The Regiment goes to Holland to fight in the War of Spanish Succession. The Colonel again changes, and the Regiment changes its name to the Earl of Barrymore's Foot. In 1702 the Regiment takes part in the sieges of Venloo, Reuremonde and the Fort of Chartreuse.

1704: The Regiment is sent to Lisbon, Portugal and then to Gibraltar to protect 'The Rock' from a combined French and Spanish force. Gibraltar is taken by Britain for the first time and the Regiment gains its first battle honour.

1705-1706: The Regiment joins the Earl of Peterborough's Expeditionary Force to Spain, taking part in the capture of Barcelona and of San Mateo.

1706: By now called Barrymore's Foot, the Regiment is summoned to a meeting with the Earl of Peterborough, where it is mounted and becomes Pearce's Dragoons. Lord Barrymore, along with five Officers, ten Sergeants, and ten Corporals returned to England and formed a new infantry regiment.

1709: The Regiment suffers its first major defeat, on the banks of the River Caya against the French and Spanish. Over 300 men are captured and remain prisoners for the next year.

1711-1728: Garrison duty at Gibraltar.

1743: The war of the Austrian Succession. The Regiment takes part in the battle of Dettingen as Pulteney's Foot and is awarded Dettingen as a battle honour.

1745: The Jacobite Rebellion. Pulteney's Foot is recalled from Flanders to Scotland, where it takes part in the relief of Stirling Castle before following the retreat of the Jacobite army and fighting in the battles of Fontenoy and Culloden. The Officers and Sergeants are awarded the honour of wearing their sash knotted on the right side, whilst the rest of the army wear theirs on the left.

1747: The Regiment fights in Flanders at the Battle of Val, part of the War of the Austrian Succession.

1751: A Royal warrant, dated 1 July 1751, sets out consistency in uniforms, standards and colours. It also brings in the system of numbering the regiments of Foot according to precedence in a complex hierarchy. Pulteney's Regiment of Foot becomes the 13th Regiment of Foot.

1782: All army regiments are linked to a county in order to aid the recruitment process. The 13th becomes the 13th (Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot.

1790-1794: During the French Revolutionary wars, the Regiment is sent to the Caribbean to increase the British presence in the Windward and Leeward Islands. It is then moved to Jamaica and then on to St. Domingo to assist in the Haitian slave rebellion against the French. Due to illness, the Regiment is reduced to just 60 men.

1801: Napoleon's army is defeated at Aboukirm which allows a British advance to Alexandria. ‘Egypt' and 'The Sphinx' are added to the colours.

1808: The Regiment is sent to the West Indies. Martinique is captured from France in just three weeks, and 'Martinique' is added to the battle honours accordingly.

1809: Guadeloupe is captured from the French in only ten days, and the islands name is added to the list of battle honours.

1813-1815: The American War. The 13th fights with the Canadians against the United States of America. Light Infantry tactics are used for the first time.

1822: The 13th (Somersetshire Light Infantry) Regiment is formed as a Corps of Light Infantry.

1823: The Regiment sails for India for the first time, beginning a relationship which would last until Indian Independence in 1948.

1824–1826: The First Burmese War, the regiment is awarded the battle honour ‘Ava’.

1838-1842: The First Afghan War and the siege of Jellalabad. Awarded the battle honours 'Ghuznee' in 1839, 'Afghanistan' in 1839 and 'Cabool' [Kabul] in 1842. The Regiment is also given the honour of being named the 13th or Prince Albert's Light Infantry and is nicknamed the 'Illustrious Garrison'.

1855: The Crimean War. The Regiment is briefly based at Sevastopol. It is awarded the battle honour 'Sevastopol' and the Crimean medal.

1857: The Indian Rebellion. The Regiment plays only a small role, and no battle honour is awarded.

1858: The 2nd Battalion is raised.

1877-1878: The 1st Battalion sees action in the 9th Kaffir War in South Africa.

1878-1879: The Zulu War. The 1st Battalion become involved in the conflict, although it takes no part in the fighting at Isandhlwana, nor the attack on Rorke's Drift. The Regiment's first Victoria Cross is awarded, to Major William Knox-Leet, and another battle honour is awarded.

1881: The Territorial system is introduced. The Regiment becomes firmly linked with Somerset and is renamed Prince Albert's (Somersetshire) Light Infantry.

1885-1887: The Third Burmese War. This sees the 2nd Battalion's first active service.

1899-1902: The Boer War. The 2nd Battalion fight in the Relief of Ladysmith and receives the battle honour 'South Africa 1899-1902'. The 4th Battalion, seeing service overseers for the first time, is also awarded the battle honour 'South Africa 1900-1901'.

1908: The Territorial and Reserves Forces Act comes into force. This disbands Somerset's 4th Militia Battalion and changes the 3rd Militia Battalion to a Reserve Battalion.

1911: In March, the 1st Battalion is sent to South Wales to help keep order during the Great Coal Strike. In September, the 2nd Battalion is sent to Tientsin, China, to take a role in an international peacekeeping force.

1912: The Regiment's title again changes, this time to Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry).

1914-1918: The First World War_._ The 1st Battalion fights on the Western Front throughout the conflict, whilst the 2nd Battalion sees service in India. Nineteen battalions are raised and see service in Palestine, Mesopotamia, Burma and at home. The West Somerset Yeomanry for the later part of the war becomes the 12th Battalion and serves in Mesopotamia and on the Western Front. Altogether 71 battle honours are awarded, including 'The retreat from Mons', 'Le Cateau', 'Somme 1916 and 1918', 'Ypres 1915, 1917 and 1918' and 'Cambrai 1917 and 1918'.

1919: The Third Afghan War.

1920: Another name change: this time to The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's).

1939-1945: The Second World War. The 1st Battalion spends most of the war in India, but fights against the Japanese in the Arakan, Burma in 1943 and 1944. The 2nd Battalion fights alongside the Americans in Italy and helps to end the civil war in Greece. The 4th and 7th Battalions land in France in the weeks after D-Day and fight across north-western Europe. In total ten Battalions are raised, with service across several theatres of war and at home. Twenty-eight battle honours are awarded, including 'Hill 112', 'Rhineland', 'North-West Europe 1944-1945', 'Cassino II' and 'Burma 1943-1944'.

1947: The 2nd Battalion are stationed in Austria performing peace keeping duties.

1948: 28 February: The 1st Battalion are the last British troops to leave a newly independent India, aboard the Empress of Australia.

June: The 1st and 2nd Battalions are amalgamated. The Somerset Light Infantry takes over training of the other Light Infantry divisions at Bordon in Hampshire.

1951: The Regiment is involved in peace keeping duties along the Rhine.

1952-1955: The Malayan Emergency.

1956: The Suez Crises. Only the anti-tank platoon of the Regiment sees action. The remainder of the Regiment are stationed in Malta, before moving to Cyprus to fulfil a peace keeping role.

1959: 6 October: The Somerset Light Infantry is amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry to form the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry. The county's Territorial Army alone keeps the name of the Somerset Light Infantry.

1968: The Light Infantry is formed on Vesting Day, 10 July 1968, and sees the amalgamation of all the Light Infantry regiments. The 6th Battalion (Somerset and Cornwall) Light Infantry, a territorial battalion, maintains its Headquarters in Taunton.